Lunch & Learn - Donor Relations - It’s All About the Story 

Donor Relations - It’s All About the Story

 Choosing, Crafting and Sharing Stories Strategically to Raise Funds

March 23  Lunch & Learn - 11:30am - 2:00pm
AFP/ADRP Members $65 | Non-members $80
Venue: University of Victoria

                                 

While all fundraising organizations have stories to tell, what’s often missing is the knowledge of how to choose, craft and share stories strategically to educate prospects and donors about the mission of your organization and clearly articulate the crucial role they can play in your organization’s ongoing ‘story of success.’

However, adopting a more strategic approach in using stories to build and maintain positive donor relations can only be achieved by shifting to a truly donor-centred model of fundraising.  This shift requires us to take the time to discover  and understand what our donors wish to accomplish through their philanthropy (now and/or in the future), then find the match with what our organizations wish to achieve, and work with donors all  the way through to reporting on impact and outcomes.   

This approach incorporates the exploration and creation of organizational, donor and beneficiary stories.   And, to accomplish this requires the integration of fundraising and communication skills and knowledge.  

So whether you work in a large organization or a small shop, we believe you will find what fundraising and communications industry experts Norma Cameron, CFRE and Sarah Tarnopolsky have to share about using stories to achieve positive donor relations both interesting and useful. 

Please join us on March 23 and leave with a toolbox of practical tips and techniques you can start to use immediately to strengthen your relationships with your donors.  

Workshop Learning Objectives:

Workshop participants will gain:

• a deeper understanding of the role stories can play in building positive donor relations
• insights into a donor-centred approach to strategic gift planning that incorporates stories
• a practical guide to start building your storybank development plan
• a variety of tips and techniques you can use to incorporate stories into you work with donors.

Who Should Attend?

This workshop is specifically designed for:

• Fundraising professionals including annual, major and legacy gift development staff and volunteers
• Communication staff or volunteers that support fundraising activities
• Managers or Directors of fundraising and/or development communication professionals  

This workshop is a joint presentation between AFP Vancouver Island and The Association of Donor Relations Professionals (ADRP). ADRP is the authoritative resource for the donor relations profession.  With more than 1,600 members in 11 countries ADRP provides an unparalleled resource for professionals working in education, healthcare, the arts, or a variety of other non-profit sectors. The ADRP has the information and professional development opportunities needed to build long-term and lasting relationships with donors.

Deadline to Register: Monday, March 20th

Register Now! 

About the Presenters:

Norma Cameron, CFRE

 Norma has over 25 years of experience in fundraising, communications, training and performance storytelling. Originally from Scotland, she worked in the financial sector before returning to school in Canada to study journalism and creative communications and soon found her calling in the charitable sector. 

In addition to working as a fundraiser in small shops in the social services, health, arts, culture and sport sectors, she has held senior fundraising positions at various universities across Canada.  Her university experience includes being the Director of External Relations for the University of Prince Edward Island, the Director of Planned Giving at the Universities of Manitoba and Victoria and negotiating multiple corporate partnerships on behalf of the University of British Columbia.   She has a successful track record in securing multi-million dollars gifts from individuals through major and legacy gifts, managing staff and volunteer fundraising teams and negotiating multi-million dollar corporate partnerships. 

She obtained her CFRE designation in 2004 and has been a member of the CFRE International Advisory Council.  She is also an active volunteer and mentor through the Canadian Association of Gift Planners (CAGP).  She has served as a CAGP faculty member since 2007 teaching their Original Gift Planning, 5-day intensive course as well as developing and teaching the 3-day Bootcamp: Strategic Gift Planning for Major Gift Professionals’ course.  She is a CAGP national board member and sits on CAGP’s Education and National Conference Program Committee.

Norma is the owner and principal of The Narrative Company, formed in 2006 to provide consulting and training services focused on creating donor-centered fundraising and communications strategies for charities.  Her client list includes charities in healthcare, education, arts, poverty relief, social services, public education broadcasting and community foundations.

As a writer and performance storyteller, Norma draws on her childhood experiences growing up outside Glasgow to weave Scottish traditional stories with family tales. She has performed at various storytelling festivals, schools, conference and events in Canada, the USA and the UK (and has represented Canada at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in Edinburgh).

She has delivered workshops and keynote presentations at national and international conferences in the USA, the UK and across Canada. For more information, check out Norma’s website or watch her TedxVictoria Talk on The Evolution of Story. 

Sarah Tarnopolsky, Donor Relations Communications Officer at the University of Victoria

Armed with a Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of York in the UK, Sarah’s dream was a career in PR or Publishing, and was surprised to find herself accepting a job at a non-profit. She enjoyed it so much she’s never ventured out of the non-profit world.

During the next 8 years working in various organizations, Sarah was always making excuses to create newsletters, update websites or plan social media campaigns. She realized that she was passionate about telling stories, about sharing wonderful and inspiring acts of giving, and communicating impact. She’s been doing exactly that as the Donor Relations Communications Officer at the University of Victoria for 2 ½ years. Every day Sarah strives to do her job better, and is excited that through this presentation you’ll be sharing great ideas about how to do that (and perhaps vice versa)!