Instructor: Doug Diefenbach, Vice President of Campaign Strategy and Communications, Advocate Charitable Foundation

You understand what you raise money for. You understand the basics of donor motivation. But to break through and bridge the two, you have to convey your fundraising objectives in terms that will be valued by your donors—that is, in terms of their own personal values and experiences, interests, and hopes.

Ranging from the strategic to the highly practical, this workshop in “case craft” is appropriate for development professionals, executive directors, board members—or anyone facing the challenge of representing your organization to its constituents. Using discussion, “tales from the front,” and hands-on laboratory experiences, you will begin to craft a new case for your institution, pinpointing your organization’s unique philanthropic appeal and packaging its fundraising objectives not as dry projects, but as expressions of institutional values that resonate with donor interests. Discover and practice the rational, stepwise process for dissecting your organization and breaking down its programs to the underlying values they represent—values your donors will recognize readily and support generously.