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MARCH 12-13, 2020 | LOS ANGELES, CA

The Donor Relations Guru Group has created two-day regional conferences based on Lynne Wester's book, The Four Pillars of Donor Relations. Lynne delivers an interactive learning experience filled with dynamic content and real-life examples that will teach you the basics of donor relations as well as new industry trends.

 

The first day of the conference will be dedicated to the Four Pillars of Donor Relations—acknowledgment, stewardship, recognition, and engagement. Lynne and her team of experts will bring each topic to life as they share personal stories of tragedies, triumph, ridicule, and redemption.

 

You’ll leave inspired and energized, equipped with tangible ideas that you can implement immediately with any size staff or budget.

HERE'S WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO LEARN IN EACH SESSION:

Acknowledgments

A good acknowledgment is about more than just saying, "thank you." In this session, we'll teach you how to craft expressions of gratitude that will surprise and delight your donors. We'll discuss gift acceptance and receipts, thank you letters, pledge reminders, behavior-based thank you's (e.g., first-time donors), and more.

 

Stewardship

Discover unique ways to show donors the true impact of their generosity. Demonstrating transparency and remaining donor-focused are key. We'll discuss broad-based and individual impact reports, how to prioritize your work based on audience and resources, and the components that go into an effective report.

 

Recognition

Events, giving societies, public displays - there are many ways to recognize donors (and a few you should avoid). We'll discuss how to create meaningful experiences that will make lasting impressions and leave donors wanting more.

 

Engagement

A donor is engaged once they are emotionally invested and committed to an organization. In this session, we'll show you what it takes to get them there. We'll share examples and ideas that you can implement at your organization to connect donors to your mission and turn them into loyal supporters of your organization.

The second day will be a half-day donor communications workshop. One of the most crucial keys to retaining donors is creating an effective donor communications program that resonates and engages your audience.

So how do we go about creating a dynamic donor communications? How to we create messages that truly resonate? How do we write for both persuasion and gratitude at the same time? How do we meet the demands for print, video, and social content that answers everyone’s needs? Where do we start?

During this donor communications workshop you'll learn:

  • How to effectively tell your story using the 4 Pillars of Donor Communications

  • How to create communications donors want to consume and share

  • When to use certain types of communications over others

  • How to advocate for change and attain buy-in with internal constituencies

  • How to eliminate communications that aren't working

  • Simple changes to transform a bad communication into a good one 

  • Tests to run on your current communications efforts to evaluate effectiveness

  • How to make the donor the hero of your work!

  • Much more!

 

We'll inspire you with samples of amazing communications, teach you the same proven strategies we've shared with clients all over the world, and equip you with the tools you need to create and implement a winning donor communications strategy at your nonprofit.

Designed for intentionally small audiences to maximize collaboration and idea sharing, the Four Pillars conference offers something for both new and experienced professionals—and it’s a great networking opportunity! This conference is an excellent learning opportunity for any fundraising professional and we encourage those outside of donor relations to attend as well

Our team is actively monitoring the situation involving COVID-19, the coronavirus. Our top priority is your health and safety at our conferences. As of right now, all of our conferences are scheduled as planned. We will continue to monitor the situation and update all registered attendees should that change. We have taken the following steps:

 

  1. We have been in contact with the CDC and are following their advisories. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

  2. We continue to monitor announcements and updates from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Centers for Disease Control and will take our guidance from them and other key agencies.

  3. At the 4 Pillars conference, we will institute the following policies and procedures:

    • We are encouraging participants to make it a “handshake-free” meeting.

    • We will be providing disinfectant wipes and recommending hand washing as much as possible.

0 DAYS TO THE EVENT
When
Mar 12, 2020, 8:00 AM – Mar 13, 2020, 1:00 PM
Where
University of California, Los Angeles,
Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA

HOTEL INFORMATION:
 

Kimpton: Hotel Palomar Beverly Hills
$229/night

Click here for our personalized link to book this special rate.
 

HERE'S WHAT OUR ATTENDEES ARE SAYING

"This was one of the best conferences I have attended, and I took away so much information and best practices to implement at our organization. I gained so much joy in such an interesting and fun environment. The day flew by and was so impactful!"

"I was blown away by what this conference offered in terms of quality content and atmosphere. You packed a lot of insights into two short days. Thank you for keeping your conference costs down so public employees, such as myself, can further our professional development!"

"Absolutely wonderful conference; one of the best I have been to. It was very organized, informative, relevant, and interesting. Great presenters. Thank you!"

"One of the best conferences I've been to. The mix of practical advice, statistics, best practices, and humor left me eager to return to my team and begin rethinking how we do our work"

"Professional development that makes you take a step back and look at the whole picture. You leave feeling motivated to make changes and implement new things while being creative."

"Best conference I've ever attended. This was my second time and I learned even more! I brought my leadership team this year and it has opened the door for a culture change in donor relations! We are blown away!"

AGENDA

DAY 1 | MARCH 12, 2020

Conference registration includes breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack

9:00 AM

INTRODUCTION: ROADMAP TO THE FOUR PILLARS

 

9:15 AM

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

10:30 AM

BREAK

10:45 AM

STEWARDSHIP AND REPORTING

 

12:00 PM

LUNCH: ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

 

1:00 PM

RECOGNITION

 

2:15 PM

BREAK

 

2:30 PM

ENGAGEMENT

 

3:45 PM

WRAP-UP

DAY 2 | MARCH 13, 2020

Workshop registration includes breakfast

9:00 AM

WHAT DONORS WANT

10:00 AM 

BREAK

10:15 AM

EFFECTIVE STORYTELLING

11:15 AM

CASE STUDIES

12:30 PM 

WRAP-UP

SPEAKERS

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LYNNE WESTER

Principal and Founder,

Donor Relations Guru

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ANGIE JOENS

Assistant Vice Chancellor of Development Outreach, University of California Davis

OUR SPONSORS

Our sponsors allow us to keep our prices low while still providing you with the best experience possible. Thank you to our friends who partner with us to make these conferences and workshops possible. We couldn't do it without you! Click on their logos to learn more about the incredible work they're doing. 

Lunch Sponsor:

Printing Sponsor:

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MARCH 12-13, 2020 | LOS ANGELES, CA

Conference Location Information:

UCLA

Conference Hotel Information:

Kimpton: Hotel Palomar Beverly Hills

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