Available Training Topics from Susan Black, CFRE
Provide dynamic professional education for your board, membership or conference attendees by using development consultant, Susan Black, CFRE! Susan is a certified Master Trainer with the Association of Fundraising Professionals and speaks regularly at conferences and seminars, as well as providing training for boards and staff for her non-profit clients. She is consistently rated as an outstanding speaker. Most presentations can be tailored to your allotted timeframe. For more information or for scheduling, please contact Susan Black.
Susan has spoken at:
AFP Western New York Annual Conference (Keynote)
Charity Channel Press In the Trenches Fundraising Conference
Grant Professionals Association (HQ) webinars
Grant Professionals Association, Central Ohio Chapter (Keynote)
Grant Professionals Association, Louisville Chapter (Keynote)
Board Training and Retreats
2 Hour Power Session
If you are struggling with unproductive meetings, lack of enthusiasm, or want to boost your board’s overall effectiveness, then invest just two hours to jumpstart your board’s success. Your board will discover how improving the functioning of the board builds a stronger, more resilient organization.
Board Governance Topics covered:
How do we get from good to excellent?
Whose job is it anyway? The role of staff versus board
The board meeting: pitfalls and priorities
How do we attract the right talent on the board? How do we keep them?
What does diversity really mean for us? How do attract diverse members?
Fundraising for Board Members
Boards come in many shapes and sizes, but all have a common need: securing sufficient resources to sustain the organization’s programs and operations. The only problem is that often boards do not know how to make this happen and more importantly, they are afraid to do so. They fear that they lack the skills, influence or contacts to be successful. This 4-hour retreat addresses these issues with a creative, engaging training your board will enjoy.
Board Governance Topics covered:
Responsibilities of board membership
Taking the board from good to excellent
Board Fundraising Topics covered:
Learning the basic building blocks of fundraising success
Facing fears about fundraising
Tapping into personal passion for the organization
Setting personal fundraising goals
Practice sharing the organization’s story
Where Do We Go from Here? Mission, Vision, and Values (6-8 hours)
Does your organization need help clarifying its mission, vision and values in preparation for a strategic plan, capital campaign or after a change in leadership (such as a loss of a founder)? Perhaps you find yourself asking, is our mission statement still true? What is our vision for the future? Do our programs and services really align with our values? Let us help you take a deep dive into these challenging discussions and emerge with the clarity and re-commitment you’re seeking.
Topics/Activities covered:
Dreaming of what could be
Clarifying the mission statement
Identifying a clear vision that everyone can support
Determining organizational values – what do we really stand for?
Assessing program alignment with values
Getting to next – where do we go from here?
Add-ons:
If your group needs additional help, you may wish to expand your training time if you need to:
· Consider other pressing issues faced by the board or the organization;
· Address problems on the board;
· Conduct team building exercises;
· Brainstorm new donor opportunities;
· Create a development plan;
· Create an implementation plan after strategic planning.
General Fundraising Education
10 Rules to Fundraise By
Gleaned from the Fundamentals of Fundraising Course taught by the Central Ohio AFP Chapter, this fun keynote address will help nonprofit fundraising professionals of any level strip away the complexity of their roles as fundraisers and remind them of the few simple rules they really need to know to be successful at fundraising, while highlighting emerging trends affecting the field.
Help! They Want Me to Fundraise!
Based on Susan’s book by the same name, in this hands-on session, participants will learn the key building blocks of a successful fundraising program; determine their organizations’ readiness to embrace fundraising; learn the primary fundraising vehicles used by professional fundraisers; and identify specific steps they can take to implement a fundraising program in their organizations.
Creating Constituencies: A Prospecting Road Trip
Pack your bags! We’re going on a road trip! In this fun and interactive session, Susan will lead participants on the harrowing but exciting road to creating constituencies where none exist. Attendees will work in groups as they learn the four key steps for creating constituencies and simultaneously design a donor acquisition strategy for their assigned organization. Whether novice or expert, all skill levels will enjoy the ride and leave knowing how to: 1) identify an organization’s ideal donor; 2) determine where ideal donors congregate; 3) create effective donor communication strategies; and 4) collect key data for donor cultivation.
Toward a Culture of Philanthropy: The Changing Face of Fundraising
New research from the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund shows that the face and the nature of fundraising are changing. Younger donors equate their participation with their giving and organizations that do not engage everyone, including staff, as philanthropic ambassadors will fall behind. Join Susan Black, CFRE as she helps you navigate this new landscape and determine a path forward toward a robust culture of philanthropy in your organization.
Grantsmanship/Corporate and Foundation Giving
Grant Writing Like a Boy Scout: Be Prepared!
Did you know that being prepared to write a grant may increase the chance you might receive funding? Even if you’ve never written a grant proposal or have only written a few, come learn how to collect the essential boiler-plate materials, consider your Case for Support, and create a Logic Model. Then see what a difference a little planning can make for your organization’s proposal writing success.
Goals, Outcomes, and Measures, Oh My! The Yellow Brick Road to Program Grant Oz
Writing program grant proposals or any grants that require specific measurements of impact can be a challenging process, fraught with potential pitfalls. But with just a little courage, heart, and brains, and by following the yellow brick road of the Logic Model, you’ll get to “Oz” more quickly and keep those flying monkeys off your back!
Ready . . .Set . . . Go! Grantwriting Basics
If you're ready to write grant proposals, then this session is for you! In this half-day training, Susan will bring her 25 years of fundraising experience to help you 1) Identify your funding prospects; 2) Write a compelling needs statement; 3) Determine your program goals, objectives and outcomes; and 4) tackle those tricky application questions about evaluation, sustainability and impact. Come with one or more specific projects in mind, a few ideas about funding sources, and your organization's brochure(s), newsletters or other publicity materials. You'll leave with the major components you need to complete at least one grant application!
Dear Development Professional: You’re Driving Me Crazy! Sincerely, Your Grant Writer
Grant professionals have one thing in common when it comes to working with development staff and nonprofit leaders: they drive us crazy! From making us miss deadlines, to keeping us in the dark, to a complete lack of power, grant professionals are at the mercy of organizational structure and culture. With her trademark wit and candor, Susan provides practical solutions that help maximize the value of grant writers within the larger context of nonprofit fundraising and management. Attendees will leave empowered and re-energized to take on their toughest challenges in the workplace.
Executive Leadership
A Brave New World: Diversifying Your Organization’s Funding
Many human service organizations are facing new challenges in the “new economy.” They can no longer rely solely on government funding to cover costs, and only those organizations that are poised for the future will survive. Designed for the leaders of organizations without existing fundraising programs, session participants will learn how their organizations can take stock of their current assets, build on those assets or create new ones, and discover ways to diversify funding in order to strengthen their organizations for the future.
Key Leadership Factors for Fundraising Success
Most non-profit CEO’s and Executive Directors must rely on their development staff to raise dollars but the relationship between the chief executive and the fundraising staff can make or break fundraising outcomes. In this seminar designed for CEO’s and Executive Directors, we examine the key factors every CEO should know to ensure the success of their fundraising staff. (This training is also available tailored for CFOs.)
A Match Made in Heaven? The Important Relationship Between the CEO and the Chief Development Officer
A 2012 study found that a significant number of CEOs are dissatisfied with their chief fundraiser and that a large number of fundraisers are dissatisfied with their jobs! Maybe it’s because CEO’s are from Mars and CDO’s are form Venus! Both parties need new strategies for addressing their differences. In this hands-on, interactive session, participants will learn the three key factors for building a strong relationship between the CEO and the CDO and leave with specific tools both parties can implement when they return to the office.
Starting Off Right: Recruiting, Training and Retaining Fundraising Staff
It seems like finding and keeping good fundraising staff is a problem that is only getting worse. The average length of stay is now down to 16 months and many young fundraisers are burned out or moving on before they ever learn the craft. What can be done? In this session intended for hiring managers, CEOs and anyone concerned about this issue, participants will learn a three-step approach for ensuring that new fundraising staff are recruited properly, fully trained and most importantly, retained for the long term.
Board Building
Help! My Board is Killing Me!
Boards of Directors come in many varieties but nearly all struggle with the same problem areas: recruitment, retention, Board member engagement, and self-governance. For non-profit staff that must work with these Boards, managing the Board often becomes a major stumbling block. In this workshop intended for non-profit leaders, attendees will gain specific tools to use in helping their Boards become more effective: from mining community resources for the best board prospects, to orientations that work, to “tricks of the trade” for an engaging meeting, to tips on unlocking the hidden potential of each Board member. You’ll leave energized to work as a team with your Board!
From Toxic to Terrific: Changing the Culture of Your Board
Do you want a governing board, but instead you have a "working" board? Do you want a fundraising board but you have only "worker bees"? Is your board losing members from lack of engagement? Or failing to recruit the "right" people? All of these problems may be related to your board's culture. In this fun and interactive session, you will learn how the culture of your board is affecting its performance; identify your board's specific problem areas; and learn tips and tools you can use with your board right away to begin to change your board's culture for better performance and higher engagement.
Contact Allene Fundraising to book a training for your group: