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Major Gift Roundtable—Reaching the Pinnacle

High Impact Professional Development


This Seminar is for the intrepid professional who wishes to take a quantum leap forward in securing the major gift. To register, we recommend you be in a senior position or in the field for five years or more. It will be especially helpful for those who have taken our Seize the Opportunity Seminar.

We Explore in Depth Each of the Following:

Part 1: Building Your Leadership to Full Potential. It will be especially helpful for all who lead a staff— an opportunity to mold your group into a creative, effective, spirited, and motivated team that will reach its highest aspirations. You will learn how a leader must adapt to change, have the willingness to abandon power and control, and inspire others to willingly and fully participate.

Part 2: Managing Your Major Gifts Program in Preparation for a Major Gift Initiative/Campaign. How do you define a major gift initiative/campaign in your organization? You will learn the critical decision points in selecting the appropriate funding model. We discuss the 21 significant factors in assessing the right time to launch your program and how to prepare staff, administration, and board members to optimize success.
Part 3: Strategic Communications and Design. How to weave your Mission Statement and Vision Statement into all your material and publications and make them come alive. And here is something special; we’ll ask you to send us some of your material in advance of the Seminar. It will be critiqued for relevancy, urgency, clarity, and action.
Part 4: Relationship Building— Tapping into the Power of Women
Women are the fastest growing segment of the US economy.
Women of color are starting businesses at 6 times the rate of men.
We discuss the Important Role of Women in Philanthropy and the essential benefits to your organization of a Women’s Initiative Program.
Part 5: Donor Centric Fundraising. What Motivates a Donor? It is probably true that there is no single factor which plays the dominant, overriding motivation in propelling a large gift to your institution. Donors do have a certain path they follow, and there is a singularity to their rationale. We will discuss these factors that motivate large gifts. For purposes of this discussion, we will consider large gifts as any donation in the range of mid-six figures or more.
Part 6: Stewardship— Donor Retention & Attrition. Your attrition should be something you measure every month. It is your most critical element in your development program. If you haven’t been measuring it and don’t know the percentage of attrition— shame on you. Next in importance to getting the gift (note this well) . . . is stewardship. You will be given an instrument for measuring your effectiveness. Take the test. Score yourself and add the points. If you are 63 and above, you are well on your way to developing strong relationships and retaining your donors. Anything below 63 indicates you have work to do. You are probably losing more donors that you should.
Part 7: The Essential Skills that Make You a Really Successful Major Gift Fundraiser. What are the special qualities— professional attributes that are necessary to make you successful? What are the skills you need to acquire— or the proficiencies you need to sharpen? We will explore the challenges and the success factors in your role as a major gift fundraiser. The skill-set you need isn’t a collection of tools. It’s a commitment to the organization— and to the donor— that’s deeply rooted in your own personal integrity, your growing self-confidence, and your commitment to building relationships.
Part 8: Are Men and Women Motivated Differently to Give? A session for professional fundraisers to be able to more effectively call on women for gifts.


Distinct Activities During Our Seminars


ParkBenching

Mark Twain once wrote that the most profound learning experience a person can have is to have a great teacher on one end of a log and a student on the other. Well, we do that, but we skip the log! In ParkBenching, registrants at the Institute have the opportunity for a one-on-one, twenty minute session with a faculty member. The session is open-ended, with no prohibition on the topic. How to advance in the profession, how to deal with a Chair that’s not effective, having a problem with the boss, looking for a new job. You name it— whatever you would like to discuss.

the Buzz Group

The name says it all. Buzz Groups are interactive sessions covering vital topics— every possible area that leads to a successful ask. The Buzz Group is lead by a faculty member. You select the topic you want. Attendees are divided into small teams. In each Seminar, there are two, one-hour Buzz Groups. The way they are scheduled, registrants can attend their choice of subjects during the two-day Seminar.

 

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    Who Should Attend

    • All staff, board members, volunteers involved in fundraising.
    • Organizations that can benefit from an infusion of gift income.
    • Newcomers to the field, and those who have been at it for awhile.
    • Fundraisers who want to grow professionally.
    • Those who would like to have their professional batteries recharged.
    • Those who want to become more effective and successful at fundraising.
    • Those who choose to be the best they can be.

    Limited Registration

    There’s limited registration to ensure extensive 
interaction and provide maximum personal attention.


    Philosophy (But Not Much!)

    It’s important to consider what’s new in major gifts fundraising and how this affects making the ask.

    Developing Prospect Strategies

    The real art of major gifts is in the development of strategies. How do you develop the touch? You’ll practice strategies and skills in a small group setting.

    Inside the Head & Heart of a Philanthropist

    Understand the spirit and heart of those who give major funds. We attempt to have a philanthropist join us. You will be able to probe and ask questions regarding the spirit and motivations of their giving.


    CFRE Continuing Education Approved Provider Programs


    ICG is an approved provider of CFRE continuing education unit credits. All courses presented are submitted to CFRE International for review and approval. A CE Tracker is available at all Seminars.

     

    Here Are Some Things You Will Take Home From a 2019 Institute Seminar


    A Registered Certificate of Seminar participation and completion.

    PLUS...Valuable resources from our Tool Chest that will enhance your fundraising with more than two hundred presentation outlines, checklists, relevant reprints, and a host of fundraising tools to put to immediate use upon your return.

    PLUS...Regular mailings from the Institute & Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners regarding new ideas in fundraising, pertinent new techniques, and innovative approaches to getting the gift.

    PLUS...A group of men and women— fellow alumni— with whom you will be networking and in regular contact.


    Seminar Scholarship Application


    A limited number of partial scholarships are available. The Review Board of the Institute will be particularly encouraging to relatively new organizations, those that serve primarily a minority constituency, or those especially affected by cutbacks in government funding. Scholarship Application (pdf)