FIA Conference

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A touching recognition letter from Lindsay May

Lindsay MayWhat’s in your letterbox today? A few bills? Some charity appeals? Advertisements for the latest pizza restaurant in the neighbourhood? I received an envelope from Bluestar Direct on Tuesday afternoon. I suspected the envelope contained a follow-up sales piece related to the Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) Conference two weeks ago.  Like you, I’ve received a few emails and mailings from suppliers since the FIA conference concluded.  But, it was not a sales piece. The envelope contained a letter from Mr Lindsay May recognising my being elevated as a Fellow of FIA at the recent FIA conference.

Many of you know Lindsay May. He is a class act. Lindsay has done much for our profession, for FIA, and for countless organisations and fundraisers over his career. To receive a letter like this at the end of a long work day touches me beyond words.

It is letters like these that you and I should write more often. Letters of congratulations, notes of thanks, and other personal outreach to donors, prospects, and colleagues mean so much to the recipient. This is personal touch, which is lacking, especially, in this day in age when SMS, voice mail, or Email have taken away the personalisation people crave. In the letter, Lindsay himself recognised how two people did the same for him when he was named an FIA Fellow. This obviously had a lasting impact on Lindsay. Lindsay’s letter will have the same impact on me.

 

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FIA Conference is fast approaching

Snip20151207_40In a little over a week’s time, fundraisers across Australia will be cleaning up their desks and preparing for the Christmas and New Year’s break. It’s a great time of the year – celebrating the end to a calendar year, preparing to launch plans for the New Year, and getting ready to enjoy about a two week break with friends and family.

There is one more important thing to do before you lock the office door…

…register for Fundraising Institute Australia Conference 2016 in Melbourne, 2-4 March. And, early bird registration closes in three short days. Save yourself and/or your organisation money by taking advantage of the early bird discounts. Reserve your spot at FIAConf2016 to set the platform for your professional development in the New Year.

There is something for everyone at #FIAConf2016 – small shop or large and those new to fundraising or the most seasoned professional. New this year is a scholarship specific to small organisations. Check this site to learn how you may qualify and apply for a conference scholarship.

Don’t start 2016 regretting you did not take a few moments to submit a registration before you left for the holiday break!

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Nuggets of information from Fundraising Institute Australia 2015 Conference

Snip20150222_2The Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) Conference is the largest gathering of fundraisers in Asia-Pacific. The Fundraising Institute Australia 2015 conference occurred last week on 18-20 February 2015.

If you could not attend, you missed a lot! And, because you missed a lot, I decided to create a blog post containing some of the nuggets of information learned from a few of the sessions I attended, including: a master class, plenary sessions, and various breakouts.

Wednesday, 18 February

9:00AM – 4:00PM

Building Your Personal Brand Master Class

The three days kicked off with some spectacular master classes, including one I attended called Building Your Personal Brand. This class contained a panel of four remarkable women from Brisbane, Sydney and Washington DC talking about the importance of building and maintaining a personal brand.

Presenters included:

  • Julie Lamberg-Burnet, Sydney School of Protocol.
  • Mary Macuga, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane
  • Korrin Barrett, Living Possibility.
  • Eva Aldrich, CFRE International.

The panellists combined to deliver a message, which included:

  • The importance of the first impression.
  • How to properly carry yourself in a social setting or interview.
  • Personality traits and work styles we each bring to the workplace.
  • How supervisors and co-workers learn to deal with our personality traits and work styles (and we deal with theirs) is key to successful offices.
  • How those same traits apply to successful donor interactions, Board relations, and donor solicitations.
  • How to rebuild your personal brand after a catastrophic situation.
  • How professional credentialing adds value to your personal brand.
  • How you can achieve goals and build your personal brand while also meeting the requirements to achieve the CFRE credential.

The day was packed with information and rich content from the presenters while, at the same time, insight from audience participants.

5:00PM – 7:00PM

Opening Reception

Often one of the favourite events of the FIA Conference, the opening reception was a chance for attendees to visit with suppliers in a sold-out exhibit hall, to make new acquaintances and to renew old friendships. The conference exhibit hall was packed and many of us found it the place to be to network and to gain insightful information from fellow conference participants.

Many conference participants coordinated one on one or group dinners to take advantage of the opportunity to network further and to kick the conference off right.

Thursday, 19 February 2015

Plenary I – Simone Joyaux, ACFRE (Joyaux Associates)

Simone Joyaux kicked off the conference with a direct and powerful message to the audience. She said fundraising is “not about the money”. Rather, its “about the donor’s own aspirations”. Simone has a unique style of presenting and the audience was captivated by her message.

Plenary II – Tom Latchford (Raising IT)

Young Tom Latchford offered a motivating talk about getting the NFP sector ahead of the commercial sector. His humour, coupled with his vast international knowledge, caused his message to resonate with the audience.

11:00 – 12:30PM – Breakout

Panel Discussion – Management and Leadership Issues in Fundraising

Dr Wendy Scaife, EMFIA (Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies – QUT)

Margaret Scott, FFIA CFRE (Margaret Scott & Associates)

Dr Daniel McDiarmid, FFIA CFRE (Global Philanthropic)

Simone Joyaux ACFRE (Joyaux Associates)

Nigel Harris, CFRE (Mater Foundation) led an expert panel discussion where the panellists focused on problems, challenges, opportunities and responses identified through research. The packed room gained insight from these seasoned professionals.

2:25PM – 3:10PM – Breakout

Mining Your Data – Getting the Gold

Dan Bernstein, MFIA (FundraisingForce)

Dan Bernstein, FundraisingForce, presented a 45-minute session full of tips and tricks to find the gold in your customer relationship management (CRM) system. As an experienced fundraiser and consultant, Dan knows how to get to the gold and his energetic presentation style and the information he presented captivated the audience. The audience was seen taking copious notes and some said they were creating a plan to implement right after the conference.

3:10PM – 3:40PM – Marketplace

How to Become a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) Next Quarter

Stephen Mally, CFRE (FundraisingForce)

I was able to take a dozen interested fundraisers through the CFRE process and to try to take the mystery out of CFRE. During the session I shared information about the application and examination process. I also invited participants to join the FIA NSW CFRE Study Group – whether these participants live in NSW or elsewhere. Videoconference is available for all.

4:35PM – 5:20PM – Breakout

Practical Ways to Use Your Data to Drive Up Results

Fiona McPhee (Pareto Fundraising)

Fiona McPhee’s sessions are always about sharing and Fiona did not hold back in this instance. She offered a lot of insight into RFM segmentation and how charities are winning the data battle in Asia-Pacific.

7:00PM – 11:00PM – Gala Awards Dinner

Friday, 20 February 2015

10:30AM – 11:25AM – Breakout

Deeper, Smarter Engagement of Donors

Derek Bell (MarketingCube) and Claire Wytcherley (Diabetes Australia VIC)

Marketing automation may be a foreign term to many in the NFP sector, but Derek and Claire offered definition and clarity into exactly what marketing automation is and how it applies to the NFP organisations. The two walked us through the process to change our marketing from “batch and send” processes to marketing automation processes. Derek and Claire discussed a need to understand our audiences and our supporter’s preferred methods of communication. Derek reminded us to be aware of the donor’s online and offline behaviour.

Diabetes Australia VIC is one such organisation seeing success through marketing automation. Cost reduction and deeper file penetration were both winds for Diabetes Australia VIC.

MarketingCube suggests the five p’s:  Plan, produce, publish, promote, and prove.

11:35AM – 12:30PM – Breakout

DIY Fundraising – 365 Days of Opportunity

Adrian Coupe and Henry Gresson (GoFundraise)

As the title says, do it yourself fundraising is available 365 days a year! Adrian and Henry offered insights into how charities throughout Australia are maximising the opportunity to captivate the attention of supporters to gain the most form every event. The two talked about the changing fundraising landscape: Fundraising landscape – 40% – signature event (owned by charity), 30% – 3rd party (owned by specialist event org), and 30% DIY. DIY is the fastest growing pillar in the fundraising landscape according to GoFundraise.

2:40PM – 3:25PM

Four Successes and a Failure: Sharing the behind the Scenes Secrets of Non-Profit Website and Social Media Successes to learn That Works and What Just Doesn’t

Tom Latchford (Raising IT)

Tom’s sense of humour and knowledge of best practice around the world came out in this session. Despite the fact we were in the midst of a cyclone, the room was packed and everyone benefited from Tom’s knowledge on leveraging best practices in websites and social media.

Closing Plenary

Following the Path to Donor Nirvana: The 6 Realisations Approach

Tom Ahern (Ahern Communications)

Tom Ahern offered several examples of US charity materials and showed best practice and opportunities for improvement. Tom told us if everyone tells you they love your newsletter you should “be suspicious”! He reminded us that we, as fundraisers, care more about the ask and the donor cares more about the thank you.

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Why do you care about your personal brand?

Personal+brandingSome of us spend a considerable amount of time each day focused on building our personal brand. Others go about it quite naturally and do not seem to realise the things they are doing are dramatically impacting their personal brand. And, there may be others who may not care about their personal brand.

Personal brand is the most important thing you own. If you are not branding yourself, others may be branding you!

What is a personal brand?

Simply put, personal brand is investing in yourself and your career to create a brand. People who believe in personal branding believe in creating a self-package. Personal branding is “owning” the space you exist in, controlling your career development, and how you are perceived. Personal branding gives you the power to create your unique value in the marketplace.

Why do we care?

Personal brand expert, Julie Lamberg-Burnet, tells audiences they have three to five seconds to make a first impression. Three to five seconds? I’ve barely said hello. The fact of the matter is, Julie tells us we do not even need to say hello to make the first impression. People walk into a networking event, immediately “size” one another up, and make decisions about one’s value without even greeting the person. Others arrive at a meeting and sit nearest to the person with whom they want to associate or emulate.

Everyone should care about his or her personal brand!

Take back the control. Learn more about your personal brand at a one-day masterclass at the Fundraising Institute Australia Conference on 18 February 2015. This masterclass offers a unique panel of marquis speakers, including:

  • Julie Lamberg-Burnet, Brand Service Consulting, Modern Etiquette and International Protocol – Sydney School of Protocol
  • Korrin Barrett, Motivational Speaker – Life Unlimbited
  • Mary Macuga, Director of Resource Development – Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane
  • Eva E. Aldrich CFRE, Chief Executive Officer – CFRE International

To give you a sampling of what you will experience the day of the masterclass, consider Korrin Barret’s story. Learn more about Korrin here.

Investing 8 hours in this masterclass may simply change your value in the marketplace or workplace. Sign up for the masterclass today!

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Employee professional development – a right for staff, not a privilege

PDHaving worked and consulted with hundreds and hundreds of non-profit organisations worldwide, one of the biggest challenges I have witnessed is staff turnover. In some organisations, staff turnover in a year might amount to 40%+. This is a problem not just in non-profit organisations, but with suppliers in our market as well.

Why might staff leave your organisation? Most staff leave because of 1 (or more) of these 5 reasons:

  1. More attractive opportunities elsewhere
  2. Poor recognition
  3. Increased compensation
  4. Poor management/management changes
  5. Lack of investment in staff professional development

Investing in your staff will pay multiple dividends. Investing in the professional development of staff will increase staff retention and do so much more, in return, for your organisation.

Some managers suggest investing in staff carries too high a risk because those staff may leave anyway. So, why pay for conferences, courses or memberships in professional organisations if the staff may not be with your organisation for the long-term?

As managers, we need to provide professional development for our staff. Professional development is a right for staff, not a privilege.

Where do you turn to come up with professional development investment opportunities for your staff? Sometimes the answer is right in front of us. In this case the answer is in our own backyard.

Fundraising Institute Australia has a wide variety of professional development opportunities, including those in early, intermediate, and advanced career. Consider Essentials for Fundraisers, Certificate in Fundraising, Fundraising Management Diploma, and Executive Fundraising Leadership. Look at the FIA short courses, including Copywriting for Fundraisers, Creative for Fundraisers, Database Analytics for Fundraisers, and more. Additionally, offer staff the opportunity to look at attending the FIA Conference, scheduled for 18-20 February in Brisbane. Allow staff to get involved in FIA in your state and to attend their monthly meetings. Encourage staff to get involved as a mentee in the FIA mentoring program.

FIA offers a host of opportunities at your fingertips, yet these opportunities require managers to actively encourage their staff to participate. Staff should feel welcome to take advantage of these opportunities. Managers need to open the door to FIA membership, FIA education courses, and the FIA Conference. Push staff to get involved in their profession as a volunteer. Doing so will strengthen your organisation, strengthen the fundraising profession, and foster growth in the individual staff. Doing so, may very well be one of your top staff retention strategies for the year.

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FundraisingForce’s Stephen Mally Named Deputy Chair of FIA Conference

brisbane_landscape01

Stephen Mally, CFRE, has been named Deputy Chair of the Fundraising Institute Australia Conference 18-20 February 2015 in Brisbane.

“The FIA Conference is our sector’s premier professional development conference in Asia-Pacific and I am honoured to be working with Lesley Ray and the FIA staff to create a superb conference experience for attendees. This year’s conference will be packed with master classes, breakout sessions, suppliers, and social events”, Stephen Mally said.

Mark your diaries to attend FIA Conference 18-20 February at the Brisbane Convention Centre.