Day 1: The Four Pillars of Donor Relations

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Pillars One and Two: Acknowledgment and Stewardship

The first day of the conference is based on the first half of Lynne Wester's book, The Four Pillars of Donor Relations. This interactive learning experience is perfect for anyone new to donor relations or even the experienced professional. Filled with fresh content and real-life examples, day one of this conference will teach you the basics of donor relations as well as next practices and new industry trends.

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We'll dive into the first two, must-have pillars of The Four Pillars of Donor Relations—acknowledgment and stewardship—to help you assess your current program and identify where and how you can advance your efforts. We'll also provide you with time to workshop your own acknowledgments and impact reports.

Lynne and her team of experts will bring each topic to life as they share personal stories of tragedy, triumph, ridicule, and redemption. You’ll leave inspired and energized, equipped with tangible ideas that you can implement immediately with any size staff or budget.

Day 2: The Four Pillars of Donor Relations + Individual Bespoke Stewardship and Engagement Plans for Top Donors

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Morning Session | The Four Pillars of Donor Relations - Pillars Three and Four: Recognition & Engagement

We'll kick off the second day with the final two pillars of the Four Pillars of Donor Relations—recognition and engagement. You'll learn why and how nonprofits are moving from dollar-based to behavior-based recognition programs, the importance of crucial conversations around gift agreement policies and procedures, and see examples of ways donors really want to be recognized and engage with your organization. (Hint: It's not a giant check or a rubber chicken dinner in a ballroom.) You'll return to your organization ready to create amazing experiences that will surprise and delight your donors. All participants who complete the comprehensive training on the 4 Pillars of Donor Relations will be awarded a digital certificate and badge.

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Afternoon Session | Individual Bespoke Stewardship and Engagement Plans for Top Donors

They're the top donors to your organization, they consistently give large, transformational gifts. Your program covers the 98% of the donor base, but here we're talking the 1-2% that need custom treatment. Which donors should receive bespoke plans? What resources and staffing are needed for this programmatic effort? How are we building custom plans shaped around our very best donors that are meaningful and manageable? A bespoke plan can evolve seamlessly into other concerted programmatic efforts. Considering these ideas, we will examine the ways individualized plans can be structured, who should have one, what should be contained in an individual plan, and how activities can be integrated into a plan. Join us to get a collection of creative ideas for your top donor stewardship plans – ranging from campus visits to speaking opportunities to meetings with gift beneficiaries. Since not every idea is appropriate for every donor, we’ll help you map the ideas to important donor preferences so that your plans have maximum impact. In addition, we will build engagement inventories and opportunities to ideate on your transformational donors.

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Day 3: Effective Donor Relations Strategies for Campaign Success

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Embarking on a fundraising campaign is a pivotal moment for any nonprofit organization, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Most organizations are either in campaign-mode or they're prepping for the next one. What does this mean for your donor relations program? This half-day workshop is designed for nonprofit professionals who are either in the midst of a campaign or laying the groundwork for the next—or maybe you're in the silent phase—we won't tell anyone! We'll teach you how to design and implement a strategic, organization-wide stewardship and donor relations program that recognizes donors and delivers high-quality practices and deliverables for acknowledgement, recognition, reporting, and engagement—ultimately strengthening the fundraising goals of donor retention and meaningful communication/connection between your organization and your donors. Knowing which activities, events, and outreach are most appropriate and effective are critical in retaining your donors, especially during a sustained campaign period. Learn how to make donor relations a collaborative, institution-wide effort to provide appropriate donor recognition and to encourage others to invest generously.

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CFRE Eligibility: This conference has been approved for 14.75 CFRE points in Category 1.B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification. ​