Association of Fundraising Professionals: Extended Session with Tom Ahern

Tom Ahern speaks internationally on how to make more money from donor communications. He’s written five how-to books on that particular topic. His clients for direct mail, case statements, audits and training include major charities like Sharp Healthcare (San Diego), the Gettysburg Foundation, the University of Chicago, Save the Children, Oxfam Australia as well as many smaller and local nonprofits.
Event Details
7:30 – 8:15 am: Senior Professionals – Meet the Author
8:00 am – Registration & Breakfast
8:30 – 11:30 am Two Presentations: “Writing a Powerful Case for Support“and “Direct Mail for Smaller NGOs”
12:00 – 1:30 pm – Lunch and “Loverizing”: The Lucrative\Difference a Few Well-Chosen Words Will Make in Your Donor Communications
Cost: $85 for AFP members, $130 for non-members (includes parking, breakfast and boxed lunch)
Senior Professionals Breakfast (limited to 25 people)
Network with your colleagues and engage in an informal Q&A with speaker, Tom Ahern, prior to the Seminar.  Also, share your feedback on the types of programming that you would like AFP to offer Senior Professionals. This breakfast is only for Senior Professionals (10+ years in the profession). Open only to those who register for the May 25th Session with Tom Ahern.
Writing a Powerful Case for Support: “Why should I give you my hard-earned money?”  Answer this question well, and you’ll never be short of funds. Answer it poorly, and fundraising becomes an uphill battle.  Most nonprofits suffer from what the best-selling business book, Made to Stick, rightly calls the “curse of knowledge.”  This shortcoming – and a common lack of donor-centricity – seriously undermine the effectiveness of many (maybe even most) donor communications … from the humble elevator speech (an overrated exercise) to direct mail appeals to websites to stewardship materials like “gratitude reports” all the way up to capital campaign case statements.  In this revealing session, one of North America’s most experienced case writers shares his secrets for properly selling your projects, programs, endowments, initiatives, buildings, renovations, and bright ideas.
Direct Mail for Smaller NGOs: How to Make It Work for You
Is direct mail dead? Cancel the obituary. It is still, by far, the biggest moneymaker in fundraising.  On the other hand: given that many of the so-called “rules” of direct mail derive from campaigns that mail millions of pieces, can smaller, local non-profits, mailing mere hundreds or thousands of pieces, reasonably expect to use direct mail to advantage?  Absolutely.  Direct-mail appeals from local non-profits, done right, can net tens of thousands of dollars with a single mailing. For smaller NGOs, direct mail remains a powerful tool for (1) acquiring new donors and (2) attracting repeat gifts from past donors. Direct mail also plays a key role in promoting bequest and monthly giving.  Yet local charities often find their direct mail results deeply disappointing.  What are they doing wrong?  This workshop will analyze several recent case studies where small or local non-profits used direct mail to attract shockingly large amounts of philanthropy. This workshop clarifies how direct mail really works (physically and emotionally); how to set achievable expectations; and how to write an appeal that engages the reader.
Loverizing: The Lucrative Difference a Few Well-Chosen Words Will Make in Your Donor Communications
You’ve heard the news: donor-centricity — an approach psychologist Jen Shang has dubbed “loverizing” — is a street paved with gold. It raises lots more money and retains donors longer.  But you’re in the trenches. You need practical advice. What — exactly — makes a direct mail appeal irresistibly “donor-centered”? How do you “loverize” your website or newsletter?  Learn the nuts and bolts in this heavily illustrated new workshop from copywriting master, Tom Ahern.  Angel Aloma, ED of Food for the Poor, a billion dollar charity, recently wrote Tom to say: “I want to reiterate that much of what we are doing now in regards to donor centricity was inspired by your wonderful presentation…. I am convinced that the reason why we have grown in the last years of tough economic conditions in the country is because of that wonderful switch that you inspired [in our communications].”