DATE: Wednesday, April 21, 2010

LOCATION: Thomas Lounge, Ryerson Student Centre (formerly Oakham House), Ryerson University, 63 Gould Street, Toronto, ON – for a map, please click here.

WORKSHOP TIME: 9:00 a.m. (sharp) – 11:30 a.m. - Breakfast buffet at 8.00 a.m.

LUNCHEON TIME: 12:00 p.m. - 1.30 p.m.

COST: Workshop + Luncheon: AFP Members $60.00 ~ Non-Members $80.00; Workshop Only: AFP Members $50.00 ~ Non-Members $60.00; Luncheon Only: AFP Members $30.00 ~ Non-Members $40.00.  

Workshop Co-Presenters: Susan Taylor Simpson, MA and Ron Collis, MA

Susan Taylor Simpson has over 30 years of experience in community development and integrated human service delivery.  She is a Principal and owner of ProAct Ideas, a consulting practice with a mission to bring professional action to innovative ideas for better community engagement and human services for people.  Before establishing ProAct Ideas, Susan was a Coach and Senior Associate at Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement.  Previously, Susan was the Director of the York Region Human Services Planning Branch.  Susan has a BA in Political Science from York University; a Masters degree in Public Administration from Queen’s University; is a Registered Professional Planner; and is completing certification as an adult educator.

Ron Collis has more than 20 years experience conducting industrial, cultural and health research projects.  Ron has a Masters Degree in research methods, statistics and experimental psychology from York University, and additional graduate training from Duke University in North Carolina. Ron began his career as a Bio-Statistician at the Addiction Research Foundation (now the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health).  Since founding Collis & Reed Research in 1993, Ron has carried out a range of research projects provincially, nationally and internationally. He has conducted studies in market research, business planning, human resources planning, client satisfaction, employee perception, statistical forecasting and polling. Ron is a director for the Clarington Board of Trade, and is also a committee member for the Municipality of Clarington’s Green Advisory Committee, the Clarington Arts & Music Festival Committee and the Ontario Nuclear New Build Council. 

Workshop Topic: Connecting Donors through Community Engagement

Description: 

Building a relationship with donors means you need to understand them – know what drives them, what concerns them and what their aspirations are.  For many years, community developers have been researching the elements of successful community engagement.  Are there lessons from their work that can help fundraisers engage with donors?

In this workshop, we’ll look at nine leading practice principles for effective community engagement and discuss how those principles also apply to successful donor recruitment and stewardship.  Participants will have opportunities for hands-on practice and peer-to-peer sharing.  

Learning Outcomes:

1. Principles of effective community engagement.
2. How the principles of community engagement are important for donor recruitment and stewardship.
3. How to apply principles of community engagement in fundraising strategies.
4. Best and promising practices. 

Target Audience:

• Directors/Managers of Campaigns, Major Gifts and Fundraising
• Directors/Managers of Stewardship Programs  

Luncheon Presenter: Gina Eisler, MA, CFRE

Gina Eisler has been in the non-profit sector for 18 years, and has worked in several charities in Ontario, Manitoba and Nova Scotia.  Her experience includes major gifts, capital campaigns, annual appeals, stewardship, special events and planned giving.  Gina has conducted major gifts campaigns with goals ranging from $1.2 million to $100 million.  After conducting Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation’s largest major gifts campaign, she spent one year as their VP of Stewardship, implementing a stewardship program to ensure pledge fulfillment and ongoing donor relations.  She has been the Chair of the AHP Canada Primer Faculty since 2005 and has won five fundraising awards.  She completed her Master of Arts in philanthropy and development in 2008.  Her thesis was titled, “Donors Without Borders: The Globalization of Philanthropy”.  Gina is currently the Vice President of Philanthropy for The Scarborough Hospital Foundation, Canada’s largest urban community hospital.  

Luncheon Topic: Stewardship for Today’s Donor:  Beyond the Walls and Moves

Description: 

From recognition events to reports, stewardship is changing the way our organizations operate. Stewardship is the management of each donor’s relationship with your organization – and it involves more than recognition walls and an annual report.  To manage a donor’s expectations, you need to make it special and unique.  Whether you’re a small shop with a black & white printer and one person, or a larger organization with a binding machine and 120 people, stewardship is becoming a core element of our development programs.

This session will introduce issues being faced with donor recognition (e.g., how long IS your name on the building?), ethical challenges and some innovative ways to serve donors.

Learning Outcomes:  

1. The components of a stewardship program.
2. Ideas for events, benefits and materials for donors.
3. Take home a sample stewardship report and the steps to build one. 

Target Audience: 

CFRE Accreditation

• Participation in the Workshop qualifies for 2.5 CFRE points
• Participation in the Luncheon qualifies for 1.5 CFRE points