3rd Annual Midwest Regional Forum 
Wednesday, May 10, 2017
YMCA of the USA | 101 N. Upper Wacker Drive #1600, Chicago, IL 60606

A Pep-Talk for Donor Relations and Stewardship Professionals

Shanon Doolittle
Born Do-Gooder, High-Fiving Fundraising Coach & Girl On a Mission to Spread Donor Happiness

Beth Ann Locke
Director of Advancement, Simon Fraser University

Learn more about Shanon and Beth

Breakfast Sponsor: Harris Made

Let’s face it. Spending our days loving on donors may be the best job in the world but that doesn’t mean it can’t feel repetitive or exhausting for weeks on end too. We get it, and we’re here to help. Come ready for a hybrid of the pep talk you didn’t know you needed and keeping-it-real practical advice to shake you out of your comfort (read: uninspired) zone. You'll leave falling in love with your job all over again and ready for a day of sponge-worthy learning.

Digitial and Donor-Centered: Engaging and Stewarding Donors Online

Robyn White
Associate Director, Digital Marketing, University of Minnesota Foundation

Learn more about Robyn

More and more of our lives are lived online. It’s where we pay bills, make charitable gifts, keep in touch with family and friends, and engage with organizations we love. At the University of Minnesota Foundation, we’ve found ways to use digital strategies to improve donor relations in a variety of ways. In this session, I will talk about a new online stewardship approach we’re using with select principle-gift level donors, in which we produce customized websites to communicate the donor’s impact, such as http://landolakes.umn.edu. I’ll also talk about our digital engagement efforts, which include connecting with our audience in social media (www.facebook.com/UofMGiving or @UMN_Give on Twitter) and thanking and recognizing donors in creative ways during our record-breaking giving day in November (givingday.umn.edu). In addition, I’ll mention a number of other donor-centered digital tools we’ve developed, including digital donor reports, a robust crowdfunding platform for donors wishing to fundraise for the U, and more.

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Pride & Prejudice & Fundraising

Katy Hall
Vice President for Development, Newberry Library

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We can learn far more from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice than how to ignore universal truths. A study in relationship building, the novel stands as a guide on how to identify and steward donors. Learnings such as "Persistence in the face of rejection," "The power of a well-written letter," and "Not setting stock in first impressions," create a bridge between the 203 year-old novel and the savvy, modern fundraiser. As fundraisers, we have a responsibility to stewards donors at the highest possible level, particularly concerning major gifts and campaign prospects and donors, and this presentation will provide a set of skills of how prepare fundraisers to avoid the loss of a donor's good opinion since "once lost it is lost forever."

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Giving Societies: They're Not Just for Stewardship Anymore

Kristen Lewis
Assistant Director, Donor Engagement and Leadership Giving, University of Chicago

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Giving and recognition societies have been traditionally used to steward and thank donors for their support at a specific level. Kristen will share how The University of Chicago’s suite of giving societies create a trajectory of giving, deepen a donor’s engagement, and even generate additional gifts through marketing and brand strategy techniques, events, and honor rolls.

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Trends and Best Practices in Impact Reporting

Mary Fisher
Interim Senior Director, Special Events and Stewardship, University of Notre Dame

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Whether you are new to stewardship or a more a seasoned veteran of donor relations, it makes sense to periodically examine and reconsider your institution's impact reporting practices. What do donors really want to know? How often do they expect updates? Are numbers critical or are narrative stories of impact preferred? Can both be done successfully? In this session we will explore trends of the top 20 institutions and their impact reporting procedures, and walk through the lessons learned from a six-sigma process improvement project to enhance Notre Dame’s endowment and current-use reporting practices. Based on these examples, you'll be able to look at your institution’s current reports with fresh eyes.

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Campaign Stewardship: Zero to $250 Million

Betsy Hughes
Vice President, Institutional Advancement, Illinois Institute of Technology

Carrie Casper
Senior Director, Campaign and Donor Engagement, Illinois Institute of Technology

Learn more about Betsy and Carrie

In this session we will share real examples of how stewardship was put into place and used to motivate donors during Illinois Tech’s recently completed six-year, $250M campaign. From recognition and events to reporting, we will discuss the implementation and management of our stewardship plan - and show how we provided excellent stewardship every day of the campaign. 

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