Center For NonProfit Success

How to build a successful relationship with grantmakers

The relationship between grantmaker and grant seeker seems at first blush to contain a major power imbalance: one side has money, the other needs it. However, according to recent reports, grantmakers are coming to realize that the interests of both sides are met when the playing field is more level.

This session will cover the following topics:

The importance of honesty: how much to tell a grantmaker in the beginning and as the relationship evolves
Face to face meetings: when should your pursue them and what should they be about?
Going off the beaten path: convincing the program officer to look at a more unconventional program
The program officer as advocate: how to convert a program officer into your most important supporter within and outside the foundation
When "no" means "not yet": turning a rebuff or a declination into a relationship-building opportunity

This session is intended for grant seekers who understand the importance of relationship building with grantmakers, but have not yet figured out how to do it successfully.

Speakers for this session:

Catherine Baginski

Program Officer

Washington Square Health Foundation

Catherine Baginski joined the Washington Square Health Foundation in 2003 as an Intern as a Junior working on her bachelor’s degree in Finance and Economics at Loyola University Chicago. She was hired full time as the Foundation’s Program Assistant in 2005, and is currently the Foundation’s first Program Officer. Catherine is now pursuing, as part of the Foundation’s staff development program, a Masters in Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Catherine’s responsibilities at the Washington Square Health Foundation include evaluation of grant proposals, maintaining the Foundation’s contact with grantees, daily operations of the Foundation office, and creating financial projections. Catherine is also responsible for all of the Foundation’s educational grant awards. The Washington Square Health Foundation grants funds that promote and maintain access to adequate healthcare for all people in the Chicagoland area regardless of race, sex, creed or financial need.

Madalyn Messer-Brooks

Development Associate

CommunityHealth

Madalyn has been a development associate at CommunityHealth, Illinois` largest volunteer-based free clinic serving the uninsured, for nearly four years. Her day to day activities at the health center include assisting in the preparation of grant proposals, maintaining the donor database, managing the web site, and serving as a staff point person for annual fundraising events. Madalyn is also the staff chair for CommunityHealth`s Young Professionals Committee. Madalyn received her bachelors degree in communication from Loyola University Chicago.

Tamara Nelson

Manager, Planning and Development

Access Community Health Network

Tamara Nelson has spent most of her career raising funds for organizations serving low-income communities. Since 2004, she has been Manager, Planning and Development at Access Community Health Network, whose 50 health centers throughout Cook and DuPage Counties serve 215,000 low income patients annually: 70,000 of these patients are uninsured. Tamara works with physicians, executives and program directors to conceptualize and evolve programmatic strategies, including outcomes, budgets, and evaluation protocols, and to develop grantsmanship relationships that support the organization as a whole and specific programs. She previously held fundraising and communications positions with, among others, The Children’s Place Association, Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository. A graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, Tamara is a member of Women in Development Professions and the Association for Fundraising Professionals, with whom she has held numerous leadership positions.

Chicago Fundraising Summit

A relationship approach to fundraising
Nonprofit fundraising has become highly specialized, and each segment of your donor market requires a different set of relationship management skills. Whether you are reaching out to private foundations, wealthy individuals or your own members, you need to understand who they give to, and why. The Chicago Summit focuses on the relationship aspects of fundraising, and offers you several ways to enhance your relationship management skills:

Day One:
In the morning, listen to a panel of private, corporate and community grantmakers who will openly discuss their philosophy on grantmaking, how they operate, and most important, how you can build a more successful relationship with the grantmaking community. In the afternoon, participate in seminars led by experienced grant seekers who have successfully secured many foundation grants, and have built successful relationships with the grantmaking community.

Day Two:
Attend a series of fundraising seminars covering the hottest areas of fundraising (capital campaigns, major gifts, annual giving campaigns, and many more). Panels of experts will discuss the latest developments in these fields, and then enter into a dialogue with the participants that addresses their most pressing questions.

WHY ATTEND THE FUNDRAISING SUMMIT?
Fundraising is primarily a relationship business, and with increasing pressures facing all nonprofit professionals to build key relationships, it is becoming more important, though much more difficult to meet people face-to-face. Our innovative Summit format provides the most efficient and cost effective use of time away from the office by enabling attendees to interact with experts in the field, as well as other nonprofit leaders.

CAN ONE ATTEND SPECIFIC SESSIONS ONLY?
We understand the demands that are placed on you and on your time. That’s why you can attend only the seminars that are of interest to you. Come for the day or stop by for a couple of hours. You pay for only the seminars you wish to attend and only for the information relevant to you. It’s a novel approach to learning that allows you to get exactly what you’re looking for in a short amount of time. In 2009, we are also introducing a two-day pass so that attendees can attend all sessions at a reduced price.

WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF THE SEMINARS?
Each seminar features a panel of 3-4 experts who will give a short overview of the key developments in that field. After that , we will move into a moderated discussion to explore what these developments mean for nonprofit organizations. During the seminar, panelists will engage with the audience in an interactive manner to ensure the real-world implications of these developments emerge, and the session will end with a summary of practical next steps.

ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING SESSIONS
In 2009, we are adding an exciting new component to our Summits: one on mentoring sessions. In these 30 minute sessions, you can sit down with an experienced nonprofit fundraiser to discuss specific questions not addressed by the seminars. Mentoring sessions will cover the same topics as the seminar topics.

HOW IS THE SUMMIT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER EDUCATIONAL EVENTS?
The Summit offers a unique format to help you accomplish the following:

Build relationships: to ensure maximum exposure to the experts and other nonprofit leaders, each seminar offers structured networking before the session starts
Hear different perspectives: the experts are drawn from different sectors of the nonprofit community to ensure cross-pollination of ideas and practices
Provide a global view: speakers give an overview of key issues so that you can eliminate any gaps in your understanding of the subject
Drill down to the specifics: speakers will also focus on providing specific answers to real-world questions that are common to most attendees
Obtain information you can use: the emphasis in all sessions is on avoiding theoretical discussions in favor of practical tools and techniques that nonprofit leaders can actually use

WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SUMMIT?
The Summit is organized by the Center for Nonprofit Success, a nonprofit organization that specializes in bringing highly relevant information that nonprofit leaders need to run their organizations successfully. We developed the Fundraising Summit series as a follow-on to the Nonprofit Success Forum, a highly successful educational series on grantmaking that has been taking place around the country for the past two years. The Fundraising Summit drills down into specific areas of fundraising to give nonproft leaders cutting edge tools and techniques.

HOW DO I REGISTER FOR THE SUMMIT?
Simply click on the seminars listed below to learn more about the topics that will be covered in each seminar. Then select only those seminars that you wish to attend.

Location/Directions

The Summit will be taking place at the Illinois Institute of Technology which is located just south of the Loop at:
Hermann Union Building (Hermann Hall)
HH Ballroom East
3241 South Federal Street
Chicago, Illinois 60616-3793

Public Transportation

The Summit venue is accessible from the following stations:
- CTA Red Line (Howard-95th/Dan Ryan) to Sox-35th station
- CTA Green Line (Ashland-63rd or 63rd-Cottage Grove) to 35th-Bronzeville-IIT station
- CTA Bus lines with stops on Main Campus (#29-State, #35-35th, #24-Wentworth, #4-Cottage Grove)

Driving Directions

From the North:
Dan Ryan Expressway east to 31st Street exit, continue south to 33rd Street, turn left (east).

From the South:
Dan Ryan Expressway west to 35th Street exit, continue north to 33rd Street, turn right (east).

From Lake Shore Drive:
Exit at 31st Street, go inland (west) to State Street, turn left (south).

Parking - PLEASE CONSIDER USING PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. PARKING IS LIMITED! IF YOU DO DECIDE TO DRIVE, PLEASE ALLOW 30-45 MINUTES TO FIND PARKING IN ONE OF THE LOTS.
Metered parking (max 4 hours, 30 minutes per quarter) is available to all visitors in Lots B6 and C1 located along Federal Street north and south of 33rd Street. If you wish to park for longer than four hours, parking is available in the Visitor's Parking Lot ( Lot A2-V, A3, A4). When you park in these lots, look for a cash-only pay box in the lot. Park your car, and pay at the cash box. Place the receipt on your dashboard as proof of payment. Rate is $10 for the entire day.

THE LOTS ARE NOT DEDICATED TO THE FUNDRAISING SUMMIT AND WILL BE USED BY OTHER PATRONS. PARKING IS ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVE BASIS IN EACH LOT.
Lot A2-V is located at 31st and State Street. Entrance is on 31st Street. (A2V: 40 spaces/A2: 96 spaces)
Lot A4-V is located at 32nd and State Street. Entrance is on State Street. (50 spaces)
Lot A3 is located at 31st Street and State Street. Entrance is on 31st Street. (LARGEST LOT - WILL BE USED FOR OVERFLOW)

Hotel Accommodations
Most hotels near the Summit venue are within the $133 - $389 per night range. The following hotels are within a four-mile radius of the hotel:

1. Hyatt Regency McCormick Place                      BOOK NOW          1.3 miles from venue
2. Best Western Grant Park                               BOOK NOW          2.4 miles from venue
3. The Blackstone, A Renaissance Hotel           BOOK NOW    2.7 miles from venue
4. W Chicago City Center       BOOK NOW    3.1 miles from venue
5. Hampton Inn Majestic Chicago Theatre District BOOK NOW    3.2 miles from venue

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One-on-one mentoring

Click on any seminar title or the arrow on the right side to learn more about that seminar

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