Double Session – Presented by Simone Joyaux, ACFRE and Tom Ahern, ABC, of Ahern Communications, Ink
Is the nonprofit sector broken? Let the debate begin.
Does the nonprofit sector need to be fixed? The consequences for our communities are too important to put this question off another day. And the obvious answers up to now have usually been wrong.
Problems abound: Financial betrayal by the government sector. Arrogance and ignorance by the for-profit sector. Entitlement by the nonprofit sector. And enough scandal for everyone.
Sounds like a soap opera. But in fact it’s the world nonprofits now operate in. Tune in on November 12 and find out how the story could end…happily?
Join Simone P. Joyaux, ACFRE – known internationally as one of the most provocative leaders in the sector – for a rabble-rousing session. Some comments may make you uncomfortable – and that’s the point!
Simone P. Joyaux, ACFRE, an expert in fund development, strategic planning, and board development, provides consulting services to all types and sizes of nonprofits. She teaches philanthropy at the university level, speaks at conferences worldwide, and regularly serves on boards.
Her books, Keep Your Donors: The Guide to Better Communications and Stronger Relationships and Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last, receive rave reviews. The 3rd edition of Strategic Fund Development will be released in spring 2011. Simone has also written chapters in The Fundraising Feasibility Study and Philanthropy in 7 Words, and is a web columnist for The Nonprofit Quarterly.
As a volunteer, Joyaux founded the Women’s Fund of Rhode Island, a social justice organization. She has been recognized as RI’s Outstanding Philanthropic Citizen, “demonstrating outstanding generosity and inspiring others,” and as “an outstanding individual who has demonstrated her commitment to the community” by Leadership RI.
Professionals and volunteers around the world describe Joyaux as “one of the most thoughtful, inspirational, and provocative leaders” in the philanthropic sector. Simone’s website is full of free downloadable resources. Her weekly blogs and free e-news provide professional tips, pet peeves, and personal rants.
Is direct mail dead? No, but it’s often badly done.
Cancel the obituary. Direct mail appeals, done right, still work. Plus, direct mail plays a key role if you hope to promote bequest and monthly giving. Yet local charities often find their direct mail results deeply disappointing. This two-hour immersion will clarify how direct mail really works (physically and emotionally), how to set valid expectations, and how to write an appeal that engages the reader. Successful and dysfunctional local appeals will be analyzed.
Tom Ahern, ABC, of Ahern Communications, Ink. is the author of four well-received books on donor communications. He writes direct mail appeals for clients that include one of the nation’s 10 biggest charities (Volunteers of America), one of the nation’s top hospital systems (Sharp, in San Diego), as well as local charities. He travels internationally to train thousands of fundraisers annually in the arts and science of donor communications. In 2010, he will speak at conferences in New Zealand, Australia, and the Netherlands, as well as across North America. Besides direct mail, he is a specialist in bequest marketing, donor newsletters, and capital campaign case statements.
Thank you to our meeting sponsors!
Most development directors work heroically to get their board members engaged in face to face fundraising — with very mixed results. Yet we tend to forget about the other “human resource” available to us: the staff. Using successful case studies, we will discuss ways to engage employees in cultivating, asking, and thanking donors.
