.png)
Join the Colorado Gives Foundation to learn more about the tools and tactics your nonprofit can use to raise more this Colorado Gives Day and year-round. Not on ColoradoGives.org yet? This session will also cover the changes to enrollment that make it even easier for your nonprofit to join this statewide movement of generosity.
Colorado Gives Day is your chance to be a part of the largest nonprofit-support movement in the state. Enroll, update your account, access donor reports, leverage valuable fundraising and marketing tools – and make good happen for your organization!
To help you dedicate more time to engage with donors, Colorado Gives has created a marketing toolkit to successfully promote and raise awareness for Colorado Gives Day. With a range of resources, including pre-made templates and materials, you can easily communicate with a consistent brand and message.
Jordan Brown, Nonprofit Success Manager, Colorado Gives Foundation
Success is the name of the game for Jordan who joined the Foundation in December 2022 as the Nonprofit Success Manager with the Colorado Gives 365 team. She brings over a decade of marketing, sales and partnership experience helping nonprofits make the most of online giving platforms. Before joining the Foundation team, Jordan was the manager of Enterprise Strategic Accounts for NeonOne and the Philanthropic Partnerships Manager for MightyCause which is the platform that drives ColoradoGives.org. Jordan has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies & English from Washington College. She participates in her community by actively supporting the Chaffee County Community Foundation.
Many Executive Directors and Development Staff struggle to engage board members in fundraising, and in some cases, in meeting the minimum financial, legal and general requirements of their role as outlined in the Three D’s – Duty of care, Duty of loyalty, and Duty of obedience. In this session you will learn how to create a Board Development Plan that is a guide to building a strong board structure for the future that aligns with your mission, vision, values and goals as outlined in your strategic plan. The session will help you answer the following key questions for your organization:
Dana Bacardi, Senior Vice President of Philanthropy at Strat Labs
Dana Bacardi has 15 years experience in the nonprofit sector where she has specialized in several aspects of fundraising as VP of Development and later as VP of National Expansion with a national non-profit organization supporting families and children facing critical illness. Helping to grow the organization from the ground up, she has hands-on experience with everything from donor engagement, corporate sponsorship strategy and community events, to board development, grant writing, and major fundraising campaigns. Dana graduated with a Business Management and Communications degree from Bentley University in Boston. She began her career in the tech and wireless industry in Boulder, Colorado before moving into the non-profit sector in 2007. Dana is goal oriented, results driven and passionate about bringing people together for a greater good.
Melissa Shane, Vice President of Philanthropy at Strat Labs
Melissa Shane has extensive knowledge in the nonprofit sector with over 22 years of experience in fundraising, board development and management, philanthropic investment, nonprofit case support, and donor strategy. The last fourteen years of her career have been in- house at a large elite university and Illinois’s most extensive hospital system. She began her career in public affairs consulting in Washington DC and Chicago, where most of her clients needed expertise in nonprofit strategy and cause marketing campaigns, sprinkled in with a bit of politics and corporate foundations.
End of year giving is one of the most stressful times for fundraisers and nonprofits – whether you’re seeking to close the year strong, close a gap in support, or stay on track for success, a strong end of year gameplan is essential; especially for small to mid-size organizations.
In this entertaining, informative, and interactive session, you’ll get the support, ideas, and encouragement you need to have success at the year end and beyond.
The focus will be on developing a multi- channel year end gameplan that can be implemented by any size organization. We’ll walk through identifying initiatives; prioritizing prospects; laying out a gameplan from start to finish for your year-end campaign, and how to engage your board in the year end plan.
Participants will have an opportunity to develop a year-end framework that can be implemented after the session. Templates for end of year plans will also be available for participants.
Recorded 8/2/23.
Paul F Morris, Executive Fundraising Coach, Auxilia
A highly-skilled professional comfortable with strategic visioning and “brass-tacks” tactical fundraising. Over a 30-year career in fundraising, Paul’s work has resulted in tens of millions of dollars being raised and thousands of donors being engaged for a wide spectrum of not-for-profit organizations. He has led successful development efforts in direct health services at the state and national levels; regional theatre; architectural preservation; a statewide organization offering chess to low-income students; lead development, communication, and operations for an organization focused on breaking generational cycles of poverty in outer NE Portland through a classroom curriculum and 1:1 mentoring; and most recently lead development efforts for an environmental education organization set on a 100-acre site in the metro area.
In his consulting practice, Paul works with clients nationwide with a focus on planning/systems, annual and major gift support, and grants.
Paul has a commitment to giving back to the community and the profession, including regular speaking and teaching engagements focused on small or emerging not-for-profits navigating success. In his volunteer work, he utilizes his background and expertise to help other not-for-profits develop their own sustainable and scalable fundraising programs.
Paul lives in Beaverton with his family.
In this training, participants will learn to thoroughly and strategically read grant Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to determine whether there is a good fit between the grant opportunity and your organization or program. We’ll cover how to analyze the key sections of an RFP, including the funder’s priorities and interests, award information, eligibility criteria, application requirements, and evaluation criteria. Participants will learn how to extract crucial details, understand how to interpret application questions by reading “between the lines,” and create a proposal strategy that sets your application up for success.
Morgan Carpenter
Morgan Carpenter (she/her) is a nonprofit consultant and grant writer based in northern Colorado. She works with a variety of nonprofits in the human services sector to improve their grant readiness, engage in strategic planning and program development, and create tools and resources that support their ability to achieve their goals and create a positive impact in our community. Her strategic approach to this work is rooted in her experience with proposal writing and grants management, which enables her to help organizations solve challenges and achieve long-term success through alignment with nonprofit best practices.
Morgan serves as a board member for the Grant Professionals Association’s Colorado Chapter, the Zeta Tau Alpha Fort Collins Alumnae Chapter, and the Junior League of Fort Collins, where she previously served as president. In 2021, she was named one of BizWest’s Northern Colorado 40 Under Forty young professionals and was also recognized by the Junior League with the Elena Lawrence Inspiration Award for her work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. When she’s not working with social impact organizations to make the world a better place, Morgan enjoys cooking, reading, and watching true crime documentaries with her husband and their beloved pets. Learn more and get in touch at www.carpenternonprofitconsulting.com.
Volunteers who believe in an organization’s mission are 80% more likely to donate and are more likely to donate 10x more money to charities than those who do not volunteer. Subsequently, donors who participate in at least one volunteer activity increase their donor retention rate by 2.5x. Volunteers and donors go hand-in-hand, and every nonprofit needs both.
In this session, we’ll focus on how you can turn your volunteers into loyal and engaged donors by understanding what motivates your volunteers and donors, tips for segmenting your volunteers, and how to double down on storytelling to connect with your audience.
James Goalder
With almost 20 years of experience working in nonprofit technology and sales and relationship management, James brings the perfect blend of experience for his role as Partnerships Manager at Bloomerang. In addition to his work experience, James volunteers with Project Grows, a community farm in Virginia, serving on the Board and on Volunteer Nights with the organization.
Leverage new reporting requirements to better share your story through fundraising efforts.
New auditing standards require disclosure of contributed nonfinancial assets. While the tax treatment of contributed nonfinancial assets did not change, now is a good time to review the different reporting standards, ensure your organization is adequately capturing gift-in-kind data and efficiently reporting your data in way that adds to the story of your organization.
Stockman Kast Ryan + Co
Doreen Merz, Tax Partner
With over 20 years of public accounting experience, Doreen has worked with syndicated real estate partnerships, multi-fund investment partnerships, multistate corporate entities, small businesses, non-profits, private foundations and individuals. She also has her Not-for-profit certificate from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Jena Fogle, Senior Audit Manager
Jena has been in public accounting since 2009 and spent over two years with a nationally ranked firm in California prior to joining the SKR+CO team. She has experience advising clients on various economic and regulatory risks within their industry and resolving complex accounting issues. Jena specializes in employee benefit plans, financial institutions, small businesses, healthcare organizations, construction and nonprofit audits.
Have you been stuck in a cycle of applying for grants and receiving declination letters – without an explanation? Are you curious about pursuing grant funding for your nonprofit, but aren’t sure where to start?
Navigating the world of grant funding can feel like walking around with a blindfold, but the secrets to success are simple (even if they aren’t always easy). In this session, you’ll learn about the key elements required to build a foundation for grant-seeking success – and how implementing these principles can amplify the impact of your programs and make your work easier and more fulfilling.
Morgan Carpenter (she/her) is a nonprofit consultant and grant writer based in northern Colorado. She works with a variety of nonprofits in the human services sector to improve their grant readiness, engage in strategic planning and program development, and create tools and resources that support their ability to achieve their goals and create a positive impact in our community. Her strategic approach to this work is rooted in her experience with proposal writing and grants management, which enables her to help organizations solve challenges and achieve long-term success through alignment with nonprofit best practices.
Morgan serves as a board member for the Grant Professionals Association’s Colorado Chapter, the Zeta Tau Alpha Fort Collins Alumnae Chapter, and the Junior League of Fort Collins, where she previously served as president. In 2021, she was named one of BizWest’s Northern Colorado 40 Under Forty young professionals and was also recognized by the Junior League with the Elena Lawrence Inspiration Award for her work to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. When she’s not working with social impact organizations to make the world a better place, Morgan enjoys cooking, reading, and watching true crime documentaries with her husband and their beloved pets. Learn more and get in touch at www.carpenternonprofitconsulting.com.
Chase will help your small nonprofit demystify the donor stewardship process while demonstrating ways a small nonprofit can still engage with donors in powerful and impactful ways, even with a “shoestring” budget and staff. Chase will dissect the annual activities of a sample nonprofit org, identify engagement opportunities and finally develop an easy to follow stewardship calendar that nonprofits of any size can confidently execute.
Chase Whisenhunt, Director of Fundraising Strategy with Lasso Digital
Chase has led fund development and fundraising activities for a variety of nonprofit organizations, first responder agencies, and local governments for over 14 years, raising over $6 million for organizations through grant writing, individual and major donor development, capital campaigns, sponsorships, and special events. Before entering the world of nonprofit fund development, Chase was responsible for developing and implementing county-wide emergency planning, evacuation routes, and emergency shelter management for several coastal North Carolina counties.
He graduated from the University of North Carolina with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Masters of Public Administration.
Rachel Hutchens (she/her) is a Colorado native with a mission to make culture and nature accessible to everyone. Rachel has been the Executive Director of Bluff Lake Nature Center since 2018, and has helped grow the organization’s education programs and accessibility to diverse communities. She has a degree from the University of Colorado Boulder in History and Education. Rachel has worked in the nonprofit field for over 10 years, including spending time at the Missouri History Museum and the St. Louis Science Center. Rachel also serves on the Board of Directors for two partner organizations: Sand Creek Regional Greenway Partnership and Friends of the Front Range Wildlife Refuges.
ZIM will give an overview of grants lifecycle, from start to end, and provide tips for successfully writing and submitting grants. We will review our step-by-step process for ensuring high-quality proposals by walking through common proposal formats and questions. We will discuss identifying opportunities, how to get started, how to tackle difficult questions, and what attachments and financials you may need.
Matt Barker | Director of Grants & Organizational Learning
Matt has 10 years of experience working in nonprofit resource development, including grant management, individual giving and stewardship, and special events. An accomplished grant writer, Matt has successfully developed grants for small and large nonprofit organizations in Denver and Saint Louis, Missouri, writing for mental health, youth development, senior services, refugees, informal education, and STEM. He received his Bachelor of Science in English, Professional Writing, from Brigham Young University–Idaho. A Denver native, Matt recently returned to Denver to pursue a Master of Arts degree in International Development. from the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies.
Aaron Charney | Director of Grant Research
Aaron graduated from CU Boulder summa cum laude with a BA in Environmental Studies and minors in both Political Science and Business. He is now pursuing his Masters of Development Practice from Regis University. Aaron became fascinated with the non-profit sector and specifically community development after spending a summer of college working in Nairobi, Kenya. His passion for searching for sustainable solutions for underserved communities drove him to work abroad again after college when he spent a year living and working with some of Nepal’s most remote communities. In Nepal, he became passionate about participatory development methods and working towards context-specific community development solutions.
Born and raised in Denver, CO, Aaron loves spending his time in the mountains either snowboarding or backpacking. He also loves reading, live music, and talking about scuba diving whenever he can.