Past Summit Sessions
2021 Sessions
SEPTEMBER 29, 2021, 9-11 A.M.
ALIGNING PROGRAM IMPACT & COMMUNICATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL
YEAR-END FUNDRAISING
PRESENTED BY MARIA S. AZURI, LMSW, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF IMPACT & SUSTAINABILITY, NETWORK FOR GOOD
In this strategies-to-actions workshop, we’ll examine how communicating programming and organizational impact from mission through to evaluation, fundraising, and donor relationships work in tandem. Consistent and engaging multi-channel communication is the thread that has to weave through all of these elements, culminating in strong fundraising. We’ll look at the importance of fine-tuning our impact, story-telling, and fundraising, and align our communications and donor cultivation activities to leverage this important time.
Within the elements above, we’ll also explore: How we consistently communicate ‘the opportunity’ and ‘our impact’ and engage with diverse donor stakeholders through ongoing communications; Fundraising and diverse stakeholder engagement as core leadership roles that require ongoing cultivation and stewardship; And fundraising appeals and communications planning, with accompanying tips, tools, and templates to get us started and take back to our teams.
Maria Azuri, LMSW is the Senior Director of Impact and Sustainability at Network for Good, where she connects and provides the diverse social sector with the tools, resources, and knowledge it needs to strengthen and elevate the reach of philanthropy through strong capacity building, partnerships, and cross-sector initiatives. Maria prioritizes long-term strength, sustainability, and impact throughout every aspect of strategy, impact, and leadership. She is a subject matter expert in nonprofit organizational excellence and intersecting social work/community-based organizational practice, bringing over 20 years of recognized expertise in organizational development, fundraising, and leadership
ARTICULATING YOUR BRAND’S IMPACT - MAY 20, 2021
Nonprofit storytelling is a vital expression of an organization’s mission and purpose. It’s this expression that shares the impact of their programming and highlights their abilities to stewart resources that will change our communities. To be effective in the marketing and development of your work, you must first be effective in articulating your brand. During this interactive workshop, we will identify the strengths of your organization to aid in weaving together an ideal brand story that will captivate your audiences and provide you with the skills to attract new donors and sustain current donor relationships. This session was presented by Heather Singleton, Principal Consultant of Strategic Public Relations Consulting.
Heather Singleton was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree from the University of South Carolina in 2010. After graduating, Heather has worked in the corporate and nonprofit sectors, with focuses on training, facilitation, and fundraising. Most notably, Heather worked as a Resource Development Division Director with United Way of the Midlands, where she was a member of their development team for nearly seven years.
She is the Principal Consultant of Strategic Public Relations Consulting, a firm that serves businesses and nonprofits with needs surrounding public relations and corporate training. In her spare time, she has served on the board of directors with the Midlands chapter of the American Advertising Federation, volunteers with her church and is a mentor with Perfect Pearlz, Inc. Heather finds purpose in helping others improve their professional skills to become the success stories that they were born to be.
2020 Sessions
crisis Communication & Pivot Fundraising - October 15, 2020
In times of crisis like we’re experiencing right now with the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s hard to know how to respond. In this first part of this session we will discuss a series of steps that your organization can follow in case of an emergency or other unexpected event. Whether your organization is facing an internal challenge (such as a board member who’s been accused of harassment) or one that’s precipitated by outside challenges (such as a Pandemic) one of the most important things you can do is have a plan in place. This part of the session will be presented by Kelvin Waites from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Department and Waites Lifted Life & Leadership Coaching.
For the second half of the session, we will talk practically about how we pivot to meet the new needs of our organizations, how we change permanently to deepen relationships with our community of donors, and how we process and apply the resources at our disposal. This session will leave participants with the practical tools to implement a short-term Pivot Campaign, the long-term framework for how to transform your Annual Fund, and the lens through which you can find the best and most relevant resources your organization needs. Daniel Prohaska from Lions Vision Services will conduct the second half of this session.
volunteerism & virtual engagement - October 22, 2020
Please join us on Thursday, October 22nd at 9 a.m. for an exciting Volunteer Engagement panel comprised of three inspiring nonprofit leaders in the community as they discuss the recruitment, engagement, training, and retention of volunteers in a COVID-19 world. These panelists, all from very different organizations, have excelled at engaging volunteers during this time of crisis, so you definitely don’t want to miss out.
Our inspiring panelists are Amy Brauner from the American Red Cross, Dr. Tracy Bailey from Freedom Readers, and Joe Kunkel from Neighbor to Neighbor. Majorie Thompson, a longtime volunteer, will moderate the conversation. Eileen Soissen, from The Meeting Institute, will also present a segment on Virtual Engagement.
Financial Toolkit - November 12, 2020
During the session you will learn the six areas of focus that will empower your organization’s leaders to develop financial activities for growth during uncertain times. You will take away information and tools that can have an immediate positive impact on your financial operations and ultimately be able to develop stable financial activities to succeed no matter how the economy is performing.
Doug Snyder CPA, CGMA, and Mary Jo Rogers, who is a Community Banker and volunteer, will lead this session and answer any questions that you have!
Board governance - december 3, 2020
Through this session, you will learn how to build greater understanding among nonprofit Executive Directors, Board Chairs and Board Members by understanding what it means to be an active and engaged board member, sustainable relationship building with the Executive Director through communication, supervision, problem solving, etc., successful practices for identifying, cultivating and retaining engaged board members and maintaining current governance practices.
Both the Executive Director and the Board Chair are required to attend this session, and a pre-assessment will be distributed. Jennifer Bush, of Level-Smart Consulting, will be the presenter.
implicit bias - January 21, 2020
Through the Implicit Bias session, we hope that participants will have increased self- awareness of implicit bias, develop strategies to overcome it, and have a greater understanding on how implicit bias can affect those that they are serving. A pre-assessment will be conducted.
This session will be led by Charles Weathers from The Weathers Group on January 21st, 2021!