Your organization has a culture of philanthropy. Is it the culture you want? Fundraising success in your organization requires everyone's involvement, including board members—whether they like it or not. During this session, TWB Fundraising CEO Don Souhrada will discuss how to encourage your board to embrace a thriving culture of philanthropy.

Program Description: 360 Leadership can be a superpower for key leaders of nonprofit organizations.  Rooted in emotional intelligence, 360 leaders embody a skilled and well-rounded perspective and understanding of all aspects of your organization and how the components are interdependent.

This program will address what it means to be a 360 leader and how to strengthen your superpower. We will focus on three areas of influence: 1) Identity and clarity, 2) A culture of innovation, and 3) Reshaping the relationship among the ED, the board, the key leaders, and the team.

Program Description: Do you ever get the sense that your donors aren’t all that interested in your cause? Maybe you aren’t seeing any new names added to your donor file… or your donor base isn’t responding to your touchpoints… or you feel like you are talking to yourself on social media. All of these are symptoms of a larger problem: it’s called MISSION INDIFFERENCE. You can crush donor indifference by giving donors something to care about. Your mission has the power to turn those indifferent, apathetic donors into committed, passionate champions.

Speaker Bio: A sought-after Chief Donor Engagement Strategist, Erin Straza assists nonprofits in making their missions irresistible to donors. Her approach to core messaging and relationship building produces the stability necessary for organizational growth.

After earning her MBA at Illinois State University, Erin worked in corporate marketing and then taught marketing communications strategy at Illinois Wesleyan University. She is a published author, conference speaker, former podcast host, and avid reader.

Corporate Giving 101

PIDN 2024 Luncheon - Let's celebrate each other! You’re invited to the Professionals in Development Network 2024 Luncheon. The PIDN Luncheon will take place on Tuesday, June 4th at Old Orchard Maggiano's (Skokie, IL) from 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM. This is a great networking opportunity!

The cost for this event is $30 for current PIDN Members and $35 for all other guests. Luncheon Includes: Three-Course Meal and Non-Alcoholic Drinks, Keynote Speaker, Scott Whitehair - Storytelling for Everyone, Acts Of Kindness Cabaret, …..And Networking!!!!

Would you like to broaden your knowledge of planned giving strategies and tools? Join Wendy Richter and Maria Sievert from The Lake County Community Foundation as they share ideas, examples and tools that you can leverage when starting your own gift planning program.

During this interactive presentation, we’ll learn what data is important to capture and analyze in fundraising, how to capture it, how to create goals around fundraising metrics, and how paying attention to data can drastically improve fundraising outcomes.

Please join us the PIDN team in person for Peer-to-Peer Fundraising: Roundtable Overview and Discussion.

In this interactive session, we’ll explore the basics of peer-to-peer fundraising, share tips, and discuss how this new method of fundraising can help increase your donor base and spread your mission(s).

In this session, we’ll explore the unique type of burnout specific to fundraisers, what causes burnout and tangible strategies we can use to combat it. Join us as we explore tools rooted in mindfulness to help you stay well while doing the work you love.

Courtney will present on Lake County Community Foundation's journey toward Racial Equity and discuss current trends in local philanthropy toward a more equitable sector. The presentation will delve into topics such as trust-based philanthropy, community-centric frameworks, and practical steps to initiate an equity journey within your organization.

PIDN’s June 6th Program will be an in-person breakfast including some networking and an educational program at the Center for Enriched Living in Riverwoods, IL (8:30-10am). More information will be shared in the coming months.

To successfully fundraise from this demographic, fundraisers need to understand what drives older donors, what trends and pressures are impacting them in 2023, and which giving methods drive the largest donations.

Take a deep dive into the standards and guidelines of ethical fundraising including examples of ethical and unethical fundraising.

Susan Howlett, author of Boards on Fire, will present on how to inspire your board members to raise money joyfully.

Get all the information you need to make 2023 the year you become a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). Whether you wish to pursue your CFRE to sharpen your knowledge to fundraise through a possible recession, stand out on the job hunt, or rise in your career, we’ll cover an in-depth overview of the process.

Janet Mary Cobb, CFRE, will share when and how to take your fundraising efforts to the next level with a fundraising consultant or coach.

Email! Direct Mail! Social! Everyone is promoting THEIR approach. But what works in fundraising now, and most importantly, why? Melissa Brown has prepared a special session for PIDN focusing on the research about the various methods or vehicles for fundraising to share with us what studies have shown really works in charities like ours. She will link HOW we ask with WHAT we raise and challenge us to think “outside the envelope” in ways to educate and engage donors.

Leveraging for Learning: Best Practices explores what it means to be a co-educator as you support our students in community-based learning experiences like academic internships and service-learning.

It’s common, and valuable, to analyze nonprofit giving according to donor demographics. Jen Martensen will talk about how organizations can consider and implement a variety of types of fundraising, according to their operations, goals and visions, and can identify their own “right” development mix:

• Organizing and tracking finances: not just gifts or grants, restricted or unrestricted

• Analysis of funds to communicate impact: what did their dollars do?

• Forecasting: beyond next year’s annual gala budget

Celebrate with us as we kick off the 2022/23 program year and celebrate the fundraisers and volunteers who make our work possible! Please feel free to invite a valued volunteer to join you at the luncheon. RSVP by Sept. 9!

Major donors are deeply passionate about our mission and appreciate knowing our organizations in a highly personal way. As development officers, we are well practiced in building relationships with our major donors. However, sometimes it’s even more beneficial to nurture relationships between the donor and our non-fundraising colleagues who interact most closely with our beneficiaries. With guidance and encouragement, our staff “Champions” can inspire a meaningful major gift and spark a dedicated connection with the donor for many years.

Join us as we explore the key to any successful stewardship program— donor segmentation. Dawn Brown will share strategies on how you can strengthen your relationships with your best donors and raise more by doing less.

This is an opportunity for members to network and share successes, resources, stories and lessons learned in small group breakout sessions. Please come with your experiences and questions. Topics to be discussed include:

• Peer-to-Peer Fundraising

• Hiring and Retaining Development Staff

• Launching a Campaign

• Events: How to Plan for an Uncertain Future

• Annual Reports

• And more!

With years of professional and non-profit board experience, Kirk Hoopingarner will share his reflections on recent trends in charitable giving, including:

• The growth of donor advised funds and possible increased scrutiny and regulation over such funds

• Giving through individual retirement accounts, including charitable rollover, charitable bequests, and the effects of the SECURE Act

• Substantial transfer of wealth in the next 20 years -- will philanthropy get a piece?

• Impactful giving measurements

• Socially responsible investing

• Use of charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities.

• Shift of focus areas of giving, including climate, racial equity and other areas of interest

In the noisy world of social media, your audience can experience information overload. Many nonprofits struggle with successfully conveying their story and impact to their intended audiences.

Jim Connell, President at Craftsman Media, will discuss his approach to successful social media marketing. Jim will share the importance of gaining clarity around your organization’s goals and expectations for social media, share pro tips for popular platforms and discuss how nonprofit organizations can cut through the noise to clearly showcase their mission and impact.

Professionals in Development Network Monthly Meeting - December 2021.