On October 10, I attended the GPA Kentucky Chapter’s Fall Grant Summit. Susan Black, CFRE, a fundraising consultant from central Ohio, was the guest speaker. She presented on the 10 Rules to Fundraise By and Dear Development Staff, You’re Driving Your Grant Writer Crazy. To end the day, we had a funder’s panel where we heard from four funders in the Louisville area.
My takeaways from the day:
- I love being with other Grant Professionals.
Every time I am in a group of grant professionals, I come away feeling energized and a better professional.
- Build a positive culture of philanthropy in your organization.
Each person involved with your organization from the Board of Directors and Executive Director to staff members and volunteers are a part of building philanthropy at your organization.
- If it’s not in the database, it did not happen.
All the information you have on a donor needs to be added to the database. Use social media to add insight to donor profiles. If the information is not in the database, it is like it never happened because not everyone has access to the information.
- Ask clients and internal program staff – What are your expectations in working with me on this project?
As a grant professional, start each new grant development project with the question “What are your expectations in working with me?” This helps you as the grant professional to know the client or program staff’s expectations and be able to set expectations at the beginning of the project.
- I’m brilliant. 🙂
We each know our organization best. Use your knowledge and expertise in fundraising.
To see others’ takeaways, check out the #grantsummit17 hashtag.
