Equitable Email Fundraising: 5 Ingredients for Inclusive Donor Communication by Kristi Scott (Beginner)

This presentation dives into the challenges of inclusive email fundraising. This includes a lack of awareness, personal biases, and technical hurdles. I then offer a solution to attendees - the Equitable Email Fundraising Framework. The framework is built on my SWADA principles (Strategy, Writing, Assets, Design, Adapt) for the email campaign process. Through these steps, attendees will learn how to craft inclusive email campaigns. I provide steps to create clear goals, respectful language, and user-friendly design. The presentation concludes with strategies for team implementation and ongoing improvement.

Attendees will be able to identify obstacles to inclusive email fundraising. Then they will learn the framework for creating inclusive email campaigns. We'll end with action steps to put the framework in place for their team. This will be interactive with two short activities to increase engagement with participants.

From Annual Giving to Gift Officer - What I've learned in the transition by Taylor Wilmoth (Intermediate)

After seven years of building an annual giving program at a UW System school, Taylor took the leap of becoming a gift officer. While this is a common next step in higher ed development, she never envisioned leaving annual giving. Learn about the transition into the new role and what annual giving lessons, fundamentals, and best practices have helped prepare her: law of averages, balancing time, importance of stewardship, showing impact, making the ask, and staying true to the mission through it all as you build a portfolio.

Participants will learn how an annual giving background can lead to a gift officer role, what skills are transferable, how to transfer the skills, and other pitfalls to avoid when building a portfolio and tips for making a smooth transition. 

How to Have Challenging Conversations with Donors and Stay Whole by Sarah Staiger (Intermediate)

This session is designed to equip you with the skills and tools needed to navigate sticky and challenging discussions with donors while maintaining your authenticity and well-being. In this session participants will learn:

•  Learn how Values-Based Fundraising helps you to raise money from a place of strength while keeping the community served at the center.

• Strengthen your capacity for challenging conversations by developing self-awareness and setting effective boundaries.

• Learn and deploy concrete tools, such as the Values Pivot, to engage in challenging donor conversations and move donors closer to understanding the complexities of our work in this sector.

Rethinking Stewardship to Create Better Donor Experiences (or why the current model is broken and how to fix it) by Barbara O'Reilly (Basic)

 Did you know that on average, nonprofits lose more than 60% of their donors each and every year? And an average 80% of first-time donors don't make a second gift?  And the number of donors has shrunk by 20% over the last 20 years and is continuing on a downward trajectory?  Houston, we have a problem. 

Clearly the way we think about stewardship of our donors is not working. This donor churn we're seeing in the sector creates unnecessary work for fundraisers and is not cost effective for nonprofits, especially those with limited capacity. The commercial world spends billions to understand how to drive loyalty and strives to reach 90% customer retention. Why are we so far off as a sector? 

This session will break down how we need to redefine stewardship from just sending thank you notes to more of a “donor experience” mindset that inspires and welcomes supporters in a radically different way to keep donors longer. What does donor experience mean? And how can every organization rethink its donor engagement so that they are connecting with and keeping more donors over time. Higher donor retention equals more money raised.  But that won't happen without a complete mindset and culture shift in our organizations.

1. Understand giving trends that are forcing fundraisers to think differently and could cause a crisis in the sector if not addressed.
2. Redefine stewardship from acknowledgement letters to a holistic design around experience with an organization.
3. Identify ways to rethink current stewardship strategies to one of a culture and mindset that centers donor retention and experience.

Equitable Email Fundraising: 5 Ingredients for Inclusive Donor Communication by Kristi Scott (Beginner)

This presentation dives into the challenges of inclusive email fundraising. This includes a lack of awareness, personal biases, and technical hurdles. I then offer a solution to attendees - the Equitable Email Fundraising Framework. The framework is built on my SWADA principles (Strategy, Writing, Assets, Design, Adapt) for the email campaign process. Through these steps, attendees will learn how to craft inclusive email campaigns. I provide steps to create clear goals, respectful language, and user-friendly design. The presentation concludes with strategies for team implementation and ongoing improvement.

Attendees will be able to identify obstacles to inclusive email fundraising. Then they will learn the framework for creating inclusive email campaigns. We'll end with action steps to put the framework in place for their team. This will be interactive with two short activities to increase engagement with participants.

How to Have Challenging Conversations with Donors and Stay Whole by Sarah Staiger (Intermediate)

This session is designed to equip you with the skills and tools needed to navigate sticky and challenging discussions with donors while maintaining your authenticity and well-being. In this session participants will learn:

•  Learn how Values-Based Fundraising helps you to raise money from a place of strength while keeping the community served at the center.

• Strengthen your capacity for challenging conversations by developing self-awareness and setting effective boundaries.

• Learn and deploy concrete tools, such as the Values Pivot, to engage in challenging donor conversations and move donors closer to understanding the complexities of our work in this sector.

 
Building an Annual Giving program from scratch by Taylor Wilmoth (Beginner)

In six years, UW-La Crosse grew their Annual Giving program from a part-time position to a multi-faceted, dynamic calendar of appeals, efforts and events. Utilizing multiple platforms, the program now reaches a variety of audiences that make up a University's community. From retirees to parents, students to alumni, current faculty and staff to the community at-large, the program now works to connect with, solicit and steward each group effectively on an annual basis.

Participants will learn best practices for implementing annual giving cornerstones, such as direct mail, phone, text, and email. Participants will walk through a timeline and yearly calendar of communication, strategy, and events. Participants will learn tips for working with  different audiences and how it relates to growing philanthropic support for your mission. 

3 Reasons Why Your Board Doesn’t Fundraise and How to Fix That  by Barbara O'Reilly (Intermediate)

For many boards fundraising is truly an “f” word—and not in a good way.  Yet, it is inherent in a board’s governance duty to ensure that their organization is financially sustainable and has access to funding.  Fundraising is probably one of –if not THE--biggest priorities of any nonprofit yet it is the #1 cause of complaint by both CEOs and Boards.
In BoardSource’s 2021 Leading With Intent report, CEOs gave their boards a C for fundraising citing strengths in internal responsibilities like understanding of the mission, fiduciary duties of financial and legal/ethical oversight rather than external ones.  

Join Barbara O'Reilly, CFRE, Principal of Windmill Hill Consulting, to learn the key steps you need to have in place to build your team of volunteer leaders; to train them and manage their expectations for success; and to determine the roles every Board member can—and should—play in creating a strong culture of giving within your organization. 
1.    How to identify the right board composition for your organization
2.    Key ways to use a board orientation that empowers board members for fundraising success
3.    Ideas on creating a fundraising menu of activities and commitments that are right-sized for each board member 

Equitable Email Fundraising: 5 Ingredients for Inclusive Donor Communication by Kristi Scott (Beginner)

This presentation dives into the challenges of inclusive email fundraising. This includes a lack of awareness, personal biases, and technical hurdles. I then offer a solution to attendees - the Equitable Email Fundraising Framework. The framework is built on my SWADA principles (Strategy, Writing, Assets, Design, Adapt) for the email campaign process. Through these steps, attendees will learn how to craft inclusive email campaigns. I provide steps to create clear goals, respectful language, and user-friendly design. The presentation concludes with strategies for team implementation and ongoing improvement.

Attendees will be able to identify obstacles to inclusive email fundraising. Then they will learn the framework for creating inclusive email campaigns. We'll end with action steps to put the framework in place for their team. This will be interactive with two short activities to increase engagement with participants.

How to Have Challenging Conversations with Donors and Stay Whole by Sarah Staiger (Intermediate)

This session is designed to equip you with the skills and tools needed to navigate sticky and challenging discussions with donors while maintaining your authenticity and well-being. In this session participants will learn:

•  Learn how Values-Based Fundraising helps you to raise money from a place of strength while keeping the community served at the center.

• Strengthen your capacity for challenging conversations by developing self-awareness and setting effective boundaries.

• Learn and deploy concrete tools, such as the Values Pivot, to engage in challenging donor conversations and move donors closer to understanding the complexities of our work in this sector.

 
Building an Annual Giving program from scratch by Taylor Wilmoth (Beginner)

In six years, UW-La Crosse grew their Annual Giving program from a part-time position to a multi-faceted, dynamic calendar of appeals, efforts and events. Utilizing multiple platforms, the program now reaches a variety of audiences that make up a University's community. From retirees to parents, students to alumni, current faculty and staff to the community at-large, the program now works to connect with, solicit and steward each group effectively on an annual basis.

Participants will learn best practices for implementing annual giving cornerstones, such as direct mail, phone, text, and email. Participants will walk through a timeline and yearly calendar of communication, strategy, and events. Participants will learn tips for working with  different audiences and how it relates to growing philanthropic support for your mission. 

Rethinking Stewardship to Create Better Donor Experiences (or why the current model is broken and how to fix it) by Barbara O'Reilly (Basic)

 Did you know that on average, nonprofits lose more than 60% of their donors each and every year? And an average 80% of first-time donors don't make a second gift?  And the number of donors has shrunk by 20% over the last 20 years and is continuing on a downward trajectory?  Houston, we have a problem. 

Clearly the way we think about stewardship of our donors is not working. This donor churn we're seeing in the sector creates unnecessary work for fundraisers and is not cost effective for nonprofits, especially those with limited capacity. The commercial world spends billions to understand how to drive loyalty and strives to reach 90% customer retention. Why are we so far off as a sector? 

This session will break down how we need to redefine stewardship from just sending thank you notes to more of a “donor experience” mindset that inspires and welcomes supporters in a radically different way to keep donors longer. What does donor experience mean? And how can every organization rethink its donor engagement so that they are connecting with and keeping more donors over time. Higher donor retention equals more money raised.  But that won't happen without a complete mindset and culture shift in our organizations.

1. Understand giving trends that are forcing fundraisers to think differently and could cause a crisis in the sector if not addressed.
2. Redefine stewardship from acknowledgement letters to a holistic design around experience with an organization.
3. Identify ways to rethink current stewardship strategies to one of a culture and mindset that centers donor retention and experience.

Changing Our Story: Shifting the paradigm on nonprofit compensation

 This conversational keynote by leaders of Dane County’s Living Wage Collaborative will focus on the importance of paying nonprofit workers a living wage. It will highlight the positive impact that paying a living wage can have on your employees, in addition to creating continuity, quality, and sustainability for your organization’s mission and programs. This interactive presentation will share foundational information about nonprofit compensation and give attendees an opportunity to examine their own perceptions of nonprofit compensation and labor. It will also share tools and ideas to empower nonprofit leaders and champions to start changing the narrative around nonprofit worker compensation.

Presented by: Noah J Salata, Community and Social Impact Advisor, American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation; Dani Luckett, Chief Development Officer, Goodman Community Center; and Letesha Nelson, President & Executive Director, Goodman Community Center

Thank you for attending Fundraising Day Wisconsin 2024. Below are links to the presentations that were given at this year's event.

What's the Big IDEA - presentation about AFP's plans for our IDEA work by Birgit Smith Burton

How to Have Challenging Conversations with Donors and Stay Whole by Sarah Staiger and Laura Vitelli

-Download the Framework from Sarah and Laura

3 Reasons Why Your Board Doesn’t Fundraise and How to Fix That by Barbara O'Reilly

Equitable Email Fundraising: 5 Ingredients for Inclusive Donor Communication by Kristi Scott

Building an Annual Giving program from scratch by Taylor Wilmoth

The Accidental Fundraiser - how to stay passionate about your journey as a fundraiser when it wasn't in your plans by Birgit Smith Burton

Rethinking Stewardship to Create Better Donor Experiences (or why the current model is broken and how to fix it) by Barbara O'Reilly 

From Annual Giving to Gift Officer - What I've learned in the transition by Taylor Wilmoth

Changing Our Story: Shifting the Paradigm on Nonprofit Compensation by Dane County's Living Wage Collaborative: Noah J Salata, Community and Social Impact Advisor, American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation; Dani Luckett, Chief Development Officer, Goodman Community Center; and Letesha Nelson, President & Executive Director, Goodman Community Center           

Kristi Scott (she/her) is an email fundraising consultant. She works with small nonprofits to transform email campaigns from ineffective to impactful. She’s been in the nonprofit sector for over a decade in programs, fundraising, and marketing. She understands the big picture in nonprofit fundraising and the practical steps for the most impact. Her consulting work is rooted in community-centric fundraising (CCF) and she co-organizes the Los Angeles Chapter meetings for CCF. She's professionally and personally committed to Black liberation and equity for all. She holds an MBA in Marketing with honors from Fitchburg State University. Additional industries she’s worked in include small businesses, startups, and corporate sales. She was born and raised and is currently based in the Los Angeles area, the traditional lands of the Tongva (Gabrieleno) peoples. She loves spending time with her family, poodle rescue, Mookie (Go Dodgers!), friends, and listening to true crime podcasts.

Sarah Staiger, Staiger | Vitelli & Associates LLC

With more than 20 years as a nonprofit fundraiser, people-manager, and communicator, Sarah’s inquisitiveness and relational skill create space for curiosity, paving the way for positive change. Passionate about building power with organized people and organized money, Sarah’s work to raise $50 million and counting in private donations for nonprofit missions helped secure ten times that investment from public sources. With a master’s in advocacy and political leadership, Sarah connects fundraising to policies and systems, delving into the impacts of privilege and power. Originally a donor-centric fundraising expert, Sarah has been an eager learner and practitioner of Community-Centric Fundraising principles since 2017, actively contributing to the movement via the Minnesota chapter.

Sarah Staiger Full Bio

https://www.staigervitelli.com/about-us

Taylor Wilmoth, Development Officer – UWL Advancement

Taylor knew she wanted to be a fundraiser from the age of eight. As an undergraduate at the University of Northern Iowa, she took nonprofit management courses and led a chapter of students in fundraising efforts for national conference experiences.

She spent two years fundraising at a homeless youth shelter in Des Moines, IA, before becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, West Africa. Following that life-changing experience, Taylor worked on grassroots fundraising campaigns in Eau Claire, WI, before joining the UWL Foundation staff in 2016.

She cut her 'higher-ed' teeth as the Annual Giving coordinator where she really fell in love with philanthropy. In the next seven years, she grew the program from a basic Phonathon operation to a multi-faceted program including a Student Philanthropy Council, Crowdfunding, and the University’s annual Giving Day. Now as major gift officer for UWL, Taylor is excited to continue learning and growing her professional journey.

Taylor and her husband Mike, have three sweet little girls who keep them humble, laughing, and continuously seeking balance. She lifts heavy weights to stay sane and reads books to put her brain to bed at night.

Birgit Smith Burton, CEO, African American Development Officers Network and AFP Global Board President

Birgit Smith Burton is the Chief Executive Officer of AADO, the African American Development Officers Network, which she founded at Georgia Tech in 1999 to provide professional development, education, employment support, mentorship, and networking opportunities for fundraisers of color. She is a well-regarded speaker on the topics of fundraising and diversity and has authored articles on diversity in the fundraising profession. Birgit coauthored the book, The Philanthropic Covenant with Black America, contributed to the book Five Minutes for Fundraising, A Collection of Expert Advice, and tells her personal story in the book Collecting Courage, which shares the lived experiences of Black women and men working in the nonprofit and charitable space (published fall 2020).

During her 26-year career at Georgia Tech she led her team in raising over $700M from private philanthropic foundations to support programs, scholarships, and capital projects. Birgit was selected to participate in the first cohort of Leading Women @ Tech and was a recipient of the team award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Program Development for the Marcus Center for Therapeutic Cell Characterization and Manufacturing.

For nearly a decade, she has served on the global board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and has the distinction of being the first African American woman in AFP’s 62- year history to be voted chair of the AFP Global Board. Birgit received the Opportunity and Inclusion Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education which recognized her leadership in fostering inclusion and diversity within the fundraising profession. In 2020 the R.I.S.E. Fund was established in Birgit’s honor with a mission to advance women of color in fundraising by providing Resources, Inspiration, Support, and Education.

In addition to serving as chair of the A.E. Lowe Grice Scholarship Fund, which honors her grandmother, Birgit serves on the advisory council for Somos El Poder (A National Latinx Fundraising Institute) and the advisory committee for Women of Color in Fundraising and Philanthropy (WOC). She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

Holding a bachelor's degree in media communications from Medaille University in Buffalo, New York – Birgit also serves on its board of Trustees. (updated 8-22-23)

Barbara O’Reilly, CFRE  

Principal, Windmill Hill Consulting  

Barbara is a seasoned fundraising consultant on a mission to help more nonprofits raise more  money by creating strong donor experiences. During her in-house career she led record setting reunion classes, secured tens of millions of dollars from global corporations  following some of the most devastating natural disasters around the world, and oversaw a  team that grew donor engagement of major individual donors. Barbara knows that  fundraising is much more than just asking for money.  

Her firm, Windmill Hill Consulting, works with nonprofits to give them to resources, skills and  mindset they need to build more effective donor relationships and catapult their revenue. 

She serves as past president of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Washington  DC Metro Chapter. She sits on the board of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and AFP Foundation  and chairs the Research Committee for the Giving USA Foundation. In 2020, she joined the  faculty at the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute teaching nonprofit fundraising.

Letesha Nelson

President & Executive Director, Goodman Community Center

Letesha Nelson joined the Goodman Community Center as its CEO and Executive Director in January 2021. She brings to Goodman a long career working in the nonprofit sector, having spent more than 15 years with the Girl Scouts of America in roles ranging from direct service to Chief Operating Officer, as well as working as the Executive Director of Children and Family enrichment at Idlewild in Tennessee. A naturally authentic person, Letesha’s greatest strength may be the compassion and transparency she brings to her leadership role, coupled with a mix of creative and pragmatic thinking to ensure budgets are optimized to their greatest effect while members of the community receive the services they need.

Dani Luckett

Chief Development Officer, Goodman Community Center

Dani has a passion for education and lifelong learning. She has more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. As Chief Development Officer, Dani is a member of Goodman's executive team and oversees all of Goodman's development and fundraising work. Prior to joining GCC, Dani was the Director of Development for Madison Children’s Museum, where she oversaw all of the museum’s development and fundraising efforts. She also led the Our Future in Play campaign that helped sustain the museum through the COVID-19 crisis and rallied community support to build Wonderground, a new 10,000 square foot outdoor play exhibit. Additionally, Dani was a past leader of United Way of Dane County’s workplace giving campaign and loaned executive program, as well as the University of Wisconsin Foundation's $20M matching gift campaign to establish the Great People Scholarship program that supports UW undergraduate students with financial need.

Noah J Salata

Community and Social Impact Advisor, American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation

As a trust-based advocate Noah focuses on using philanthropy and grantmaking to contribute to more equitable, just, and connected communities. As a community and social impact advisor for the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation, he believes that the antiquated and systemic challenges of philanthropy can be reduced through creating collaborative relationships, centering equity, and intentional power-sharing. In support of a better philanthropic ecosystem, he also serves as a member of the Advisory Board at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies and on the programming committee for the Wisconsin Philanthropy Network. Noah has undergraduate degrees in Communications and English and received his MBA in Organizational Leadership from Norwich University. He loves calling Madison, WI home and is always willing to talk more about unrestricted funding.

In support of a better philanthropic ecosystem, he also serves as a member of the Advisory Board at the University of Wisconsin’s Center for Community and Nonprofit Studies, the programming committee for the Wisconsin Philanthropy Network, and on the board of directors for the Center for Community Stewardship and the Marquette Neighborhood Association. Noah has undergraduate degrees in Communications and English and received his MBA in Organizational Leadership from Norwich University. He loves calling Madison, WI home and is always willing to talk more about unrestricted funding.

Laura Vitelli, Staiger | Vitelli & Associates LLC

With more than years as a nonprofit leader, Laura knows the joys and challenges of working to create change in our homes, institutions, and communities. Her work with consulting clients is focused on building capacity so that it doesn’t have to be so hard. Laura specializes in helping nonprofit leaders clarify and communicate their mission, develop strategic plans, and secure sustainable resources. Laura's strategic thinking, fundraising prowess, and leadership have contributed to an average annual increase of 11 percent in contributed revenue over the past decade. Armed with an MBA in nonprofit management and a passion for continuous learning, Laura has served on the AFP-MN Chapter Board. 

Laura Vitelli Full Bio
https://www.staigervitelli.com/about-us
 

Registration in the conference includes a full day of professional development opportunities.

Grab and Go breakfast will be available from 7:30 am - 8:30 am. Lunch will be served from 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm and offers the chance to mingle with attendees and network.

Early Bird Rate is $170/person if you register by May 1, 2024. Use code ERLYBRD to receive the discount during online registration. Regular Rate is $185/person. Registration ends June 12, 2024.

REGISTER HERE

There are multiple hotels in the area and we encourage you to explore Madison while you are here. 

Cambria Hotel Madison East
5045 Eastpark Blvd, Madison, WI 53718

(608) 241-7070

La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Madison American Center

5217 E Terrace Dr, Madison, WI 53718

(608) 245-0123

Holiday Inn Madison at the American Center

5109 W Terrace Dr, Madison, WI 53718

(608) 249-4220

A group discount is available for organizations sending 3 or more individuals to the conference. Individuals must register at the same time through the conference registration website. 

To receive the group registration discount, please enter code GROUP3 to receive a $20 discount on each attendee. 

Please note that if your group does not register 3+ individuals and utilizes the code, you will receive an invoice for the cost difference.