Hawaii Gift Planning Council presents Annual Conference on Gift Planning
Co-hosted by Hawaii Community Foundation and University of Hawaii Foundation
Featuring: Anne Melvin, J.D., Director of Training and Education, Alumni Affairs & Development, Harvard University
Anne Melvin has worked as both a volunteer and a professional in the field of development for over two decades. In recent years, Anne specialized in planned giving, negotiating and closing gifts for various schools at Harvard. As Deputy Director of Gift Planning at Harvard College, she directed the marketing portion of Harvard’s gift planning efforts for 12 years, revamping its approach to marketing and tripling its lead generation. She also worked with prospects, soliciting and closing gifts. For the past three years, Anne has directed the fundraiser training and overall development education program at Harvard’s central development office.
Anne is a member of AFP, the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning (PPP), and the PPP Leadership Institute. She speaks around the country to professional development organizations and leads trainings at non-profits, specializing in donor motivation, gift planning, cultivating the donor, fundraiser training and gift solicitation and negotiation. Anne serves on the board of the Wellesley Education Foundation, and volunteers her time consulting for a number of non-profits, as well as fundraising for her alma mater. Prior to joining Harvard, Anne practiced real estate law in the Boston area. She is a cum laude graduate of Williams College and holds a J.D. from the Boston University School of Law.
Conference schedule:
- 7:30-8:15 Check in and light breakfast
- 8:15-8:30 Welcome and speaker introduction
- 8:30-10:00 Session 1: The Seven Secrets of Solicitations
- 10:15-11:45 Session 2: The Art (and Science) of Persuasion
- 11:45-1:00 Buffet lunch
- 1:00-2:30 Session 3: Mission Possible: Getting in the Door, Getting What you Came For, and Getting out of Difficult Prospect Conversations
- 2:30-2:45 Check in for afternoon session
- 2:45-4:00 Session 4: Hawaii Community Foundation presents: Community Issues and Legacy Giving
- 4:00-6:00 Pau Hana, networking cocktails and live sushi bar!
Session overview:
The Seven Secrets of Solicitations: If you want a gift, you have to ask for it. That’s easier said than done: people consistently rate asking for money at the top of the list of things they fear most. Whether you’re an experienced solicitor looking for some new strategies, or new to the game and seeking help, this session will explore the art of asking for a gift. We’ll review seven separate step-by-step strategies for building the strongest possible outright and planned gift solicitations. We’ll delve what makes some solicitations stronger than others. Once you learn the principles behind effective asking, you can start to craft stronger and better solicitations, bringing in more gifts. Throughout this talk, you will hear examples of more than thirty specifically worded solicitations to help you understand exactly how these principles work, allowing you to choose which ones fit your style best. As the great Wayne Gretsky said, “You miss 100% of shots you never take.” Come learn how to take some new shots in your next ask!
The Art (and Science) of Persuasion: At its heart, fundraising is about persuading people to engage in an unnatural act: giving away money. How the best fundraisers do it is an intangible art, but there is hard science behind the six universal principles of social influence that sway people. This session will examine each of those six principles, exploring how we unknowingly use them, how we can use them more intentionally, and putting them to good use for the charities we care about. First, we’ll dive into social science experiments that underlie the six principles of social influence: liking; authority; reciprocation; social proof; scarcity; and commitment and consistency. Next, we’ll look at where the rubber meets the road: ways to apply those principles to your one-to-one interactions with prospects. Sometimes small changes in presentation or behavior can yield large changes – and larger gifts. Make sure you understand the subtle, unspoken language of social influence, and that you’re not accidentally “saying” the wrong thing to prospects.
Mission Possible: Getting in the Door, Getting What You Came For, and Getting Out of Difficult Prospect Conversations: From getting the visit to getting the gift, this step-by-step presentation will outline what you need to do to make effective use of your time on donor visits, and eventually get the gift you came for. Learn proven strategies, guiding principles, and tips to help you help your organization. These principles are pulled from proven social psychology research into human dynamics, and are road-tested from hundreds of real-life prospect visits. We will also examine what happens when a prospect veers into rough waters, disagreeing with your organization’s programmatic direction, asking difficult questions about a recent scandal, or displaying hurt feelings over a past slight from your organization. How do you respond and rebound, keeping your organization in the prospect good graces and moving the conversation in a positive direction? You will not only learn the principles of ‘pivoting’ away from problematic issues and steering into smoother sailing, but you’ll have the chance to practice some of this yourself now – before you get into an actual sticky situation at work!
Registration rates:
- Before February 1, 2016: $135 member, $150 non-member, $140 non-member group (6 or more)
- From February 1, 2016: $150 member, $175 non-member
- Afternoon session and Pau hana only: $55 (includes 2 drinks and live sushi bar)
Refund policy:
Refund policy for the HGPC full-day conference on March 10, 2016: Cancellations by February 25, 2016 will receive a full refund, less a $25 administrative fee. Cancellations after that date will not receive a refund. If you wish to request a refund for an event registration, please contact membership@pppnet.org.
Special needs:
We require a minimum 5 business days notice for ADA requests. While we will make our best efforts to provide requested accommodations, we reserve the right to decline to provide or provide substitute accommodations if the request is (1) untimely; and/or (2) unduly burdensome to our organization as defined under the ADA.