Blackbaud Delivers

For lack of a more delicate way to say it, the economy’s in the gutter, and everyone’s feeling the strain. Which means that there are fewer discretionary dollars destined for charity, and nonprofits have to work harder than ever to bring in and stretch each dollar.

But there are specific steps you can take right now to buck the trend and protect your organization’s future — you just have to know how to take matters into your own hands. We’re here to show you exactly how.

What is Blackbaud Delivers™?
At Blackbaud, we speak with hundreds of nonprofit executives every week about the issues that keep you up at night. And we have knowledge experts on hand who can help you overcome just about anything you throw their way. So we created Blackbaud Delivers — thought leadership and practical nonprofit management seminars presented by some of our best experts, delivered to a variety of major cities and via web seminars.

How do the seminars work?
Each regional seminar lasts a half-day, so you’re only away from your desk a few hours. And each web seminar lasts 90 minutes. You vote for the topic you are most interested in, and the winning topics will be presented. And here’s the best part: Blackbaud Delivers events are absolutely free for you to attend!

The theme of this inaugural Blackbaud Delivers program is “Growing Your Fundraising in a Recession,” and all seminars are geared toward helping you keep your fundraising on the upswing despite today’s economy.

Seminar Locations and Dates

Choose your city, vote for your favorite topic, and go ahead and register!  Since these events are free, we expect more interest than we can accommodate. The only way to reserve your spot is to register early!

Web Seminar Dates

Unable to attend one of our regional events? Don’t worry, you can hear the same great content from the exact same experts online at our upcoming web seminars. Vote for your favorite topic, and go ahead and register!

Date	Registration	Topic
10/23/08	Register today!	Multi-Channel Marketing — A Strategic Advantage in a Recession by Beth Isikoff
11/04/08	Register today!	Donor Retention: From Analysis to Action by Samantha Cohen
12/03/08	Register today!	The Right Message, The Right People, The Right Time — Making the Most of Email Marketing by Allison Van Diest

Seminar Topics

The Case for Moves Management when Financial Times are Tough

We've all heard that Moves Management is important to our organizations, but do we really know what "it" is, or why "it's" important, especially in a slow or depressed economy? In this seminar, we'll focus on helping you identify which groups within your organization need “moving,” how to design moves strategies that match your organization's needs with your constituents' interests, and how to measure your success. If your organization is new to the concept, or even if you've been doing "it" for a while, you’ll benefit from this in-depth look at the role Moves Management can play in helping your organization survive and even prosper despite a downturned economy. Presented by Jim Bush, CFRE, an Enterprise Business Architect at Blackbaud. Read full bio »

Developing a Culture of Accountability and Stewardship

As the economy continues to slide and nonprofit fundraisers pay particular attention to how they spend funds to cultivate donor dollars, we must not forget the enduring importance of accountability and stewardship. Good stewardship and financial accountability is essential to success — and now more than ever, we all want and need to be successful! Openness and honesty in reporting to constituents, as well as fiscal and fiduciary responsibility in handling finances, appropriately top the list of priorities to be better stewards of your donors so you can maintain strong relationships. This seminar will highlight these and other aspects of accountability, including governance, administrative policies and procedures, strategic planning, and resource management. Presented by David Kilmer, a lead solutions engineer for enterprise sales at Blackbaud. Read full bio »

Donor Retention: From Analysis to Action

Everyone feels the effects of a fallen economy. All-time high gas and food prices lead to shrinking or absent discretionary income, which in turn can lead to shrinking or absent dollars earmarked for charity. And even donors with money to give tend to “charity shop,” which may lead to flat donor retention rates. But history has proven time and again that organizations with high donor loyalty can actually thrive in the face of a recession! So how can you build loyalty at your nonprofit? It involves much more than improving renewal rates and sending more thank-you notes. In this seminar, we’ll discuss why donor retention is one of the most important signs of your health and future viability; offer a deeper understanding of current trends in donor retention and what motivates donor loyalty; ways you can measure and evaluate loyalty; and things you can do today to increase donor loyalty both now and in the future. Presented by Samantha Cohen, a Blackbaud Enterprise CRM consultant. Read full bio »

Multi-Channel Marketing — A Strategic Advantage in a Recession

With acquisition costs rising, it’s more important than ever to reach out to your donors and keep them involved in your mission. But with so many communication channels available, how can you decipher which one is the most valuable for each constituent? How do you compliment your offline messages with your online programs? More organizations are relying on ways other than direct mail to acquire and renew supporters to keep their programs and services on target. The challenge is coordinating these efforts and not confusing your donors with mixed messages and irrelevant asks. This seminar will explore the many channels available for marketers and help you begin a multi-channel marketing strategy to keep constituents engaged in your mission. Every opportunity to engage your constituent will enable you to ask smarter — a wise strategy in today’s economy! Presented by Beth Isikoff, director of national account development at Blackbaud. Read full bio »

Why a Recession is Not the Time to Postpone Your Planned Giving Efforts

Now more than ever, planned giving is paramount to the fundraising success of most organizations. It’s continuously important to build long-term donor development strategies, and planned giving programs are a crucial piece of doing just that. Long-term donor development can suffer when planned giving strategies are postponed in the short term because of budget cuts tied to a recession. So what are we to do? In this seminar, we’ll discuss the primary reasons for continuing your planned giving efforts and how you can allocate funds and resources even during economic downturns by piggy-backing planned giving tactics onto existing fundraising strategies. We’ll highlight practical ways you can find planned giving prospects, how to communicate with them, proven marketing strategies, and how to make the call for a planned gift. Presented by Lawrence Henze, the managing director of Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company. Read full bio »

The Right Message, The Right People, The Right Time — Making the Most of Email Marketing

With the economy in a slump and no foreseeable end in sight, it’s high time for you to beef up your email marketing strategy! There’s simply no faster or more cost-effective way to reach out to supporters and keep your organization top of mind than through a well-organized and managed email marketing program. In this seminar, we’ll discuss why email is so effective, how to get started if you haven’t already, how to grow your email address list, and much more. We’ll highlight proven strategies to help you bring in gifts, as well as tools to help you plan, develop, launch, and manage a successful program. Plus, we’ll share tips and tricks that can help you ease donors’ concerns about parting with their dollars during a recession. Presented by Allison Van Diest, marketing manager for Blackbaud® NetCommunity™. Read full bio »

Telling Your Story: Compelling Case Statements Made Easy

Storytelling may be the most essential item in the delicate recipe of “fundraising.” In this seminar, we’ll highlight the ingredients necessary for you to perfect a vivid and compelling case statement.  We’ll weigh and measure each component and fold them into a step-by-step plan that you can immediately put in place when you return to your office. Our recipe includes: gathering the essential components of a persuasive case statement; mixing a basic timeline and document format for the greatest impact; allowing your writing team’s talents to rise; and serving up compelling donor stories and quotations. When the timer winds down, you’ll have your shopping list ready, and your imagination is guaranteed to be cooking! Presented by Katherine Swank, a consultant with Target Analytics, a Blackbaud company. Read full bio »

 

Proven Best Practices for Online Event Fundraising

Does your organization support events/fundraising efforts with online tools like Friends Asking Friends(TM)?  Join us as we highlight several well-tested and proven best practices on how large and small organizations have used these tools effectively to raise money and grow their donor databases. We’ll also review several case studies of “a-thon”-based online events and determine what has made them so successful. Presented by Mark Davis, Vice President of Technical Sales and Support, Blackbaud San Diego. Read full bio »