Events
Program Agenda
Nov. 14, 2008, – Ian deGroot
1:45 p.m. – Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT
The focus of this discussion will be to explore the critical ingredients of successful relationship and major gift development. Ian will use a series of specific case studies to examine what worked and what didn’t. This will be a highly participatory session.
Ian worked at UVM for 23 years. He served as Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs for a total of nine years, and served five different Presidents. Most recently he served as Special Assistant to the President, during the final 24 months of the University’s recently completed comprehensive campaign. Ian’s primary responsibility over the last decade has been to manage the relationship between the University and its most important donor prospects. In l992 he became a Certified Financial Planner – in order to build a broader skill set, which allowed him to work with high net worth families in a more comprehensive manner, while trying to identify appropriate gifting strategies. In August of 2007 Ian left the University of Vermont and is now working at Morgan Stanley in Burlington, VT.
March 20, 2009 – Jay Heinrichs
1:45 p.m. – Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT
“Character Is Money”
What's the ideal image for a development officer to project, and how do you project it? Author and rhetorician Jay Heinrichs will lead you through some basic principles of rhetoric, the art of persuasion, focusing on real-world situations – from one-on-one donor asks to campaign kick-offs. A lively Q&A will let us drill down to our own individual problems.
Jay Heinrichs is the author of Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln, and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us About the Art of Persuasion (Random House/Three Rivers Press). A commentator on NPR's “All Things Considered,” he lectures frequently to colleges, business and professional groups around the country. He also works as a publishing and marketing consultant for clients as varied as Time Warner, NASA, the American Society of Association Executives, and Southwest Airlines. He worked at Dartmouth College 1986-1996, and is married to Dorothy Behlen Heinrichs, vice president of development at the Vermont Law School.
May 1, 2009 – Connie Sanderson
1:45 p.m. – Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT
Connie Sanderson, CFRE is the Director of Development and Public Relations at New England Kurn Hattin Homes, a home and school for at-risk children, a position she has held for 19 years. Prior to coming to Kurn Hattin, she was a PR director for a book publishing firm. She serves as a mentor for NNE-AFP, and is on the Board of Westminster Cares, an elder care organization, and chairs their Long Range Planning Committee. Connie lives in Westminster, VT with her husband, Lee.
Connie will share with us some marketing strategies for a start-up gift annuity program and tell us what worked and what did not. She will explore how the Charitable Gift Annuity relationship helped donors become more connected to KH. In addition, she will share some ideas and practices which have helped market KH and its charitable giving program.
Annual Meeting – June 5, 2009 – Penelope Burk
Woodstock Country Club
Penelope Burk, author, fundraising researcher and futurist, will share her ten years of research with us, and discuss:
1. What causes a donor to stay with an organization, to continue to be a consistent donor, and to increase their giving.
2. How to build donor relationships which will result in Planned Gifts, and when to approach donors about a planned gift. The key here is not to let them get lost in the maze of annual giving forever. At the appropriate time, a planned gift may cement their relationship to the organization.
3. How to make our giving programs donor-centered, to reduce donor attrition, and set a new standard for fundraising success. She will share with us why donors stop giving or give less than they could, and how retention and average gift value can be dramatically improved. She will tell us how donors are taking control of their philanthropy in ways never seen before. She makes a compelling argument for "Donor-Centered Fundraising" as the remedy for a jaded public searching for accountability and satisfaction
Registration will begin at 9:30. The program will be from 10:00 -1:00 p.m., with a short break. Lunch will be served at 1:00 p.m.
Programs will develop on an on-going basis, so please check this page frequently. You may also contact the Program’s Co-Chair, Holly Dustin, at hdustinREMOVETHISBEFORESENDING@vermontlaw.edu or 802-831-1312 with questions or to discuss program suggestions.
