Finding Foundation Funders: the art of successful research|San Francisco, CA|10/27/2009

Finding Foundation Funders: the art of successful research

According to a recent survey of grantmakers, between 40% and 75% of the proposals that they receive do not fit their guidelines. It is now recognized that the more thoroughly you conduct your research, ask smart questions, and cultivate foundation contacts, the more your organization will stand out from the crowd.

This session will cover the following topics:

Prospecting for new money: how to find suitable grantmakers in expected and unexpected places
Computer resources and technology: where to find the best information on grantmakers on the web
Making sense of foundation guidelines: and how to read between the lines
Is there a fit: how to decide whether a foundation's priorities are compatible with your mission

This session is ideal for beginning grant seekers who are getting their feet wet, and need step by step guidance on how to find appropriate funding.

Speakers for this session:

Troy Arnold

Director of Development and Strategic Initiatives

Center for Resource Solutions

Troy has raised over $15 million dollars for a variety of nonprofits and has over a decade of nonprofit fundraising and organizational development experience. Troy has successfully identified foundation prospects which have resulted in new program funding through a combination of online research, activating board and volunteer connections and personal networking. Troy has developed a holistic approach to grant fundraising, including qualifying funders, initial approach strategies, continued stewardship and cultivation. Troy currently raises over $1 million annually from grants for the Center for Resource Solutions in the emerging market of renewable energy. Troy is also active as a volunteer in the San Francisco fundraising community and a member of Development Executives Roundtable and AFP. Troy holds a MA in History from Binghamton University in New York and a BA in Social Thought and Political Economy & History from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Kim Bender

Director, Foundations and Major Gifts

San Francisco Film Society

Kim has worked in her current position since 2007, during which time foundation giving has increased by over 50% to her organization. Kim’s work involves researching, identifying and establishing relationships with private foundations and public sources whose missions are aligned with the Film Society. Her work also involves close collaboration with other departments (and at times other institutions) to craft effective program and general operating proposals to support the Film Society’s three focus areas: exhibition, education and filmmaker services. Kim has over 20 years of experience raising funds for nonprofits. She was a freelance grant writer for many years, and most recently served as the capital campaign director for a Bay Area complex that opened in September of 2007. From 2004 to 2006, she also managed foundation and individual giving at the California Film Institute. Kim earned a Bachelor`s degree in humanities from UC Berkeley

Jeff Leininger

Director of Development

New Leaders for New Schools

Since October 2007, Jeff has raised over $2 million for New Leaders for New Schools` local operating budget, nearly 70 percent of which originated from private foundation grants. He has eight years of experience identifying, evaluating, and soliciting prospective foundation, corporate, and individual donors for progressive Bay Area organizations, including New Leaders for New Schools and the Development Corporation for Israel. Jeff also participates in the annual AIDS Life Cycle event, a seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles, sponsored by the San Francisco AIDS Foundaion. He holds a B.A. from Cornell University and an M.A. from Hunter College.

San Francisco 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 San Francisco 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 corporate and 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 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 break down the fundraising process into a series of phases with measurable outcomes and action steps for each phase. During the seminar, panelists will engage with the audience in an interactive manner to ensure that the sessions are educational and also fun to attend.

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 take place at the Event Center at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The registration tables will be located in the hallway outside of St. Francis Hall, which is located in the Events Center below St. Mary’s Cathedral. St. Mary’s Cathedral is easy to reach by public or private transportation. The full address is:

The Event Center
Saint Mary’s Cathedral
1111 Gough Street
San Francisco, CA 94109

Public Transportation
St. Mary’s Cathedral is accessible by both Muni Bus and BART.

Muni Bus: The Van Ness Station is the closest Muni stop. Take #38L route (not Limited), which runs along Geary or take #47 route or #49 route, which run along Hwy 101 to the Van Ness station. To walk from the Van Ness Station to St. Mary’s Cathedral, walk to the West (left) on Geary for two blocks. You will cross Franklin. St. Mary’s Cathedral is on the corner of Gough and Geary.

BART: The Civic Center Station is the closest BART stop and is 1.59 miles from St. Mary’s Cathedral. To walk from The Civic Center Station to St. Mary’s Cathedral, start out going southwest on Market Street toward Hyde Street. Turn right onto Hayes Street. Turn right onto Van Ness Ave/US-101. Turn left onto Geary Blvd. Turn right onto Franklin Street. Turn left onto Sutter Street. Turn left onto Gough Street.

Directions by Car

From East Bay (Bay Bridge)
If traveling from East Bay (Bay Bridge) take the 9th Street Exit. Go one block, and then turn right onto 9th Street. Stay in the two right lanes – 9th Street turns into Larkin. Stay on Larkin until Ellis and turn left. Just past Gough and the high school, make a right into the parking lot of the Cathedral.

From The Golden Gate Bridge
If traveling from The Golden Gate Bridge take the Lombard Street turnoff, continue on Lombard to Gough and turn right on Gough. Follow Gough across Geary. The parking lot has two driveways on the Gough street side of the Cathedral.

From the South Bay
If traveling from the South Bay you can take either 280 to Highway 101 North or take 101 North directly. From 101 North stay in the extreme left hand lane. Take the 9th Street Exit. Stay in the two right lanes – 9th Street turns into Larkin. Stay on Larkin until Ellis and turn left. Just past Gough and the high school, make a right into the parking lot of the Cathedral.

Parking at the St. Mary’s Cathedral
There is limited visitor parking in the lot at St. Mary’s Cathedral. It is free to park at the church. If the church lot is full, the closest parking is the Japan Center Main Garage located at 1610 Geary Blvd San Francisco, CA 94115 about 3 minutes/0.8 miles away.

Directions to Japan Center Main Garage: Go South on Gough Street. Turn left onto Eddy Street. Turn left onto Franklin Street. Turn left onto Geary Blvd.

Hourly Parking Rates at Japan Center Main Garage:
0-1 Hour $ 2.00
  1-2 Hours $ 4.00
  2-3 Hours $ 6.00
  3-4 Hours $ 8.00
  4-5 Hours $10.00
  5-6 Hours $12.00
  6-7 Hours $14.00
  7-24 Hours $16.00

All Day In and Out Rate     $ 16.00

Early bird special $ 10.00 per day (Must enter by 10:00 a.m. and exit before 10:00 p.m.)

Motorcycle (2 wheels)     $ 5.00 per day

Hotel Accommodations
Most hotels near the Summit venue are within the $139-$269 per night range. The following hotels are within a one-mile radius of the hotel.

1.    Cathedral Hill Hotel                       BOOK NOW              .19 miles from venue
2.    Hotel Kabuki                                 BOOK NOW               .23 miles from venue
3.    Holiday Inn Golden Gateway       BOOK NOW               .37 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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