This workshop will show how to create a legacy programme from scratch and will give practical examples from the UK’s leading stroke charity, the Stroke Association, on how to find your prospects, market effectively on a limited budget, and plan for growth.

Learning outcomes

• Practical tips on data mining and the types of segmentation to consider
• Marketing and stewardship examples that the attendees can use for a wide variety of channels
• Tips on integrating legacy messaging across your organisation
• Activity plan for implementing a legacy programme

You do have a few, some hundred or thousand donors. You do get a major gift from time to time. But it is more a gamble instead of a systematic approach. In this workshop you will learn what it takes to set up and run a major gift programme. You will get to know the five fundamental requirements for major gift fundraising (organisational readiness), the seven steps of every major gift program or campaign, and the 24 major giving skills (personal requirements) for every major gift officer/director.

Learning outcomes

• Assess organisational readiness
• Gain knowledge about requirements and steps of a successful major gift programme
• Have leadership skills to set up a major gifts programme for an organisation.

Who should attend: This session will be inspiring and informative for any fundraising professional considering establishing a major gifts programme and particularly useful for those who feel intimidated by the prospect or want to transform their unstructured acts in major gift fundraising into a structured and systematic programme.

When the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) decided to leverage its upcoming anniversary as a major gifts fundraising opportunity, challenges such as a short lead time and an inexperienced team had to be overcome.

Despite these and other challenges, WEHI has gone on to build a very successful major gifts program that has so far raised $25 million and is on track to meet its goal of $50 million by 2019.

In this case study, Susanne Williamson will discuss important aspects of the campaign such as: the importance of a strong case for support; how the campaign served to focus and unify the staff and leadership team; how donors are recognised and stewarded; the importance of being flexible in meeting donors’ needs; examples of some of the marketing materials used to engage supporters.

Learning outcomes

• Able to assess organisational readiness and have leadership skills to prepare organisation for a major gifts campaign.
• Know what steps they will need to take to prepare for a major gifts campaign.
• Appreciate the leadership qualities required of a fundraising professional guiding their organisation through the challenges of a major
  gifts campaign.

Who should attend: This session will be inspiring and informative for any fundraising professional considering establishing a major gifts program or intending to undertake a major gifts campaign. Particularly useful for those who feel intimidated by the prospect or are not sure if their organisation is ready for a major gifts campaign.

Session style: This is a case study based session that provides honest, behind-the-scenes insights into conducting a major gifts campaign. Focus is on engaging story-telling and offering honest insights from a fundraising practitioner (not a consultant).

‘You got to get it before you can give it.” Before we are able to give away money, we have to be able to get it.

And the sources of funding are changing as some large and significant foundations are focusing their efforts in new directions and away from the European continent. As a result, foundations are now looking beyond traditional funders to other sources, including individual and corporate major donors. For more than 20 years, Tony has been working with fundraisers on five continents, helping them make the transition from institutional funding to other sources of wealth and generosity. Join him for an engaging and insightful exploration of how you can diversify your funding sources.

Learning outcomes

• How the international fundraising landscape is changing
• Options available to them to raise more money
• Steps to successful major donor fundraising from individuals and corporations
• Approaches to get started in raising more money in your own country
• The things you need to know before asking big

Who should attend: This session is for those foundations and NGOs that give away money. CEOs, directors of development, fundraisers, board members and decision makers who are interested in building sustainable donors beyond institutions and monthly givers.

Aimed at fundraisers who feel like they can’t compete with the big brands when it comes to corporate partnerships. This session will share case studies and tactics from multi-million pound pitches including Credit Suisse, Chelsea FC, Unilever and many more. It will show how to win major corporate partnerships without a big budget and use your own personal influence to change the way your charity secures corporate partners.

Whatever the size of your charity, by the end of the session you will gain real insight and practical examples that you can use in your own corporate fundraising; tactics to show how you can make a huge impact without a huge budget; knowledge on how to use your personal strengths to win against bigger brands – and even against better fundraisers; simple steps you can take to increase your own personal impact and influence; and ways to build your reputation in the sector as a high-performing corporate fundraiser.

Learning outcomes

• Practical tools to make a bigger impact at your next corporate opportunity
• How to compete and win against bigger names and bigger budgets
• Strategies to increase your own confidence and ensure you are the best you can be
• How to develop a high performance mind-set and the accompanying behaviours
• Ways to trigger effective behaviours in others and make them stick

Who should attend: Suitable for all conference attendees, but of particular relevance to anyone who wants to hear about corporate fundraising and has a desire to increase their own personal influence.

Session style: Case studies and practical examples of how charities have beaten bigger brands will combine with leadership and team development expertise, to ensure that every participant will gain valuable insight from the session.

The landscape of corporate partnerships has changed dramatically nowdays in line with the emergence of new technology, the digital disruption and the increased predominance of millennials in the workforce, as well as the rise of a more innovative and direct social impact agenda. At a time when the world is witnessing an unprecedented volume of social challenges, corporations around the world continue to seek out ways to establish corporate social responsibility programs, inform their philanthropy, contribute to social change, influence policy and improve their own bottom line. Most importantly, they continue to look for partnerships that involve a higher level of engagement and generate the co-creation of shared value – as well as partners with whom they can pool their varied resources and align their strategic interests.

This interactive masterclass, offering cutting-edge theory alongside a mix of case studies from the USA, Europe and the Middle East, will provide professionals with the skills and tools to make their corporate alliances and partnership-seeking activities more competitive, meaningful, mutually beneficial and sustainable. The session will cover current trends in corporate giving, sponsorship and cause-related marketing, as well as partnership development based on shared values. It will look, amongst other things, at:

• What is different about today’s corporate fundraising? How can one think of their Unique Selling Proposition when mapping out potential partners?
• What are some of the modern corporate fundraising techniques and why are they important to your organisation?
• How is the rise of mobile first and the millennial population changing one’s partnership portfolio and overall approach?
• Skill and information building
• Planning for success
• Audience development
• Targeting potential corporate funders
• Creating the offer
• The sales process
• Closing the sale
• Servicing
• Renewals

Learning outcomes: Participants will walk away with a thorough understanding of what corporate partnerships can provide to their organisations and a step-by-step guide on how to build a corporate partnership and corporate partnership program.

Who should attend: This course is aimed at new and experienced practitioners from organisations of all sizes and scope.

Session style: This masterclass will predominantly be in an interactive style with a lot of delegate participation.

Relationships between corporates and NGOs are often difficult due to the fact that both parties have different goals and reasons for existence. Most corporates enter partnerships with NGOs to improve their reputation and their credibility; NGOs enter partnerships with corporates to access funding. In order to create effective societal change, we need partnerships between NGOs and corporates to extend beyond the money/reputation exchange. Companies need to engage with NGOs and other stakeholders beyond the strict ambit of their business practices in order to focus together on solving the social problems in our society.

These shared value partnerships are vital mechanisms for developing innovative responses to shared problems. This workshop will explore the concept of shared value partnerships between NPOs and companies. It will focus on examples of successful partnerships (in South Africa) and explore the elements of successful shared value partnerships. It will also work with the participants on a plan to develop successful sustainable funding partnerships with corporate donors that are mutually beneficial.

Learning outcomes

• Understanding the concept of corporate shared value and how it is relevant for their organisations
• Understanding how to identify and source key partnerships
• Understanding the elements of what makes a successful corporate funding partnership

Who should attend: Non-profit organisations, corporate funders

Session style: The first part of the workshop will focus on the concept of shared value partnerships. I will bring one of the Children’s Hospital Trust corporate partners, Comair/British Airways, to present as an example of a good corporate partnership. I will also give other examples and engage the audience in sharing their examples. We will then workshop the elements of what makes these partnerships successful. Once these elements have been identified, we will work in groups to work on a plan for the attendees on how they can go about sourcing these partnerships. The audience will be inspired by examples of successful partnerships, including inspirational videos. They will be engaged in sharing their examples within the session with shared discussion and brainstorming around partnerships that will work for them.

Meetings with major donors or potential ones can be hard. What should you talk about? What if they’re bored? When can you show them your annual report or case for support? Should you make an ask?

The answers to all these questions can be found in our ultimate major donor meeting process, which puts the donor at the heart of what we do. In this practical session, we’ll show you how to get to know your donors better than they know themselves, to only ask them for things they want to give, and to become their favourite person.

Learning outcomes

• How to plan a meeting
• How to gain insight on your donors
• How to use insight to offer donors things they want

Who should attend: Major donor fundraisers, corporate fundraisers, trust and foundation fundraisers, and any fundraisers who are relationship fundraisers – who have a face-to-face relationship with their donors

Session style: A combination of straight-forward presenting, role playing, interacting with one another (getting into pairs to discuss questions posed) and case studies to bring the material to life, explain how it’s relevant and demonstrate how we’ve used it to get the results we want.

New foundations are creating new ways of supporting social purpose organisations, going beyond grants to partnerships for change, and using new tools including social impact bonds, loans and equity. These innovations are spreading fast through the foundation community in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Gulf and Africa. If your organisation is anything like most, you’re asking: Who are these people? What do they want? What can I do, and what can my organisation do to match their needs and expectations? Using case studies, data, stories, sources, pictures and debate, this session will bring you up to date on this quickly evolving sector and outline how your organisation can benefit from these new foundations.

Learning outcomes

• Understand the size, scope and trends of the new wave of foundations in Europe and Asia
• Learn where to find out more about new foundations and their financial innovations
• Understand how and when to apply at least two financial innovations in your own organisation
• Understand the relevance and importance of social enterprise in new foundation finance
• Understand the role of advisors, including the banks, in developing relationships in this segment

Who should attend: Senior fundraisers in organisations, including social enterprises, NGOs and foundations, who want to work with innovative philanthropists.

Session style: This will be an active masterclass, with groupwork and debate, as well as data and lived experience.

Imagine: three generations of experience… three generational perspectives… gender diversity… know-how from five continents… all in one masterclass on major donors! Different generations of donors expect to be addressed in different ways, and major gift fundraising especially requires a perfectly tailored approach. This unique session brings together ‘an old guy from Canada’, ‘a sophisticated German lady’ and a ‘young European fellow’ for a mix of sharing, role playing and learning focused on raising more major donor dollars by remaining authentic while uniquely tailoring messages to specific audiences.

Learning outcomes

• 7 steps of a successful major donor programme
• Motivations for people in their 30s, 50s and 70s to contribute major gifts
• The right approach and communication content, tools and channels that work for people of various ages
• 7 things you need to know before asking for big money

Who should attend: Fundraisers, major donor fundraisers, CEOs, board members, founders of NGOs and foundations

Session style: Teaching, participation, hands-on, role play, Q&A, group discussion. Highly interactive