Corporate and Foundation Support Initiative at The Ark

Violet Needham

School of Music, Theatre & Dance Multidisciplinary Studies in French Horn; Psychology, 2022
Hails from: Chesterton, IN

Project Showcase Video:

Project Description:

The Ark is one of Michigan’s anchor arts and culture institutions and presents over 300 shows year-round.  These shows actively engage over 400 volunteers and about 4,000 members on a regular basis.  The Ark benefits from genuine loyalty and friendship from this broad base of constituents, and efforts to introduce new people to The Ark are routinely received with great enthusiasm.   Summer 2020 will be an exciting time for a D-SIP Dobson Intern to join The Ark’s development team as new capacity built through the successful capital campaign launches us into a new 5-year strategic plan that is all about More, Bigger, Better –doing more in our community and playing a bigger role as a non-profit leader to make life in Southeast Michigan better. This year, The Ark seeks to expand annual fundraising to support organizational growth.

Over the past five years The Ark has raised its visibility as a nonprofit leader in Southeast Michigan and in the arts and culture sector.  Additionally, the community has demonstrated outstanding support for The Ark through the capital campaign. Those efforts transformed The Ark’s fundraising capacity, but allowed only limited focus on corporate and foundation relations. The main purpose of my role was to help expand sponsorship and grant opportunities through corporate and foundation relations, an area with significant unrealized potential for The Ark.

Specifically, I worked on three key development activities that will move prospects through and beyond the first half of the donor relationship cycle, including identification, information, awareness/understanding, involvement and cultivation/solicitation. These activities will offer a unique opportunity to think creatively and take real control of meaningful work that is critical to The Ark’s future. I also helped The Ark expand efforts to secure corporate sponsorship and foundation support. My work included research to develop new ways to search for foundation and corporate support opportunities to increase The Ark’s number of prospects. I conducted market research on sponsorship benefits and donor recognition, evaluated The Ark’s current benefit and recognition programs, and recommended updates to increase the programs’ attractiveness. Finally, the ultimate goal of my work was to help increase corporate, foundation and sponsorship support for The Ark by assisting with the contacts, cultivation and solicitation of new prospects.

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My project, titled the “Corporate and Foundation Support Initiative”, revolved primarily around funding opportunities and donor stewardship. The tasks were as follows: produce a list of resources to find funding opportunities, draft a prospect list and plans to pursue them, develop a donor recognition plan via social media, recommend updates to benefits schedules, and conduct cold call solicitations for Folk Festival program ads and Fall Festival silent auction items.

However, COVID-19 made my project plan considerably more elastic, and so in addition to the above, I chose to benchmark and pursue some DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) ideas, make a reference guide for constituent benefits, and establish several “sub-deliverables” to make my project implementation easier and to aid any new interns in their transition to working at The Ark.

Project Impact:

• Cultivate and maintain genuinely warm and reciprocal relationships between The Ark and its constituents.
  •  I will be leaving staff members with a document listing people I have met throughout the course of my project, for what purpose, and whether or not The Ark has a pre-existing connection to the individual or their organization. 
• Improve transparency and communication between departments by organizing and consolidating long-term resources. 
• The Ark’s social media presence will be bolstered via a set of recommendations for cultivating and promoting corporate and foundational supporters.
• Encourage and explore the inclusion of younger audiences and connect my own experiences and values to those which can be had and observed at The Ark.
• Facilitate the use of my project by leaving guides and references, supplement the learning process of any future interns.

Skills Learned:

While acquiring skills is always an ongoing process (particularly with soft skills), I believe that those listed below were those I sharpened most during my time in the 2020 D-SIP cohort.

Hard Skills

• Grantseeking, Pivot, Foundation Directory Online, Guidestar
• Donor cultivation, setting up meetings to speak with key stakeholders
• Solicitations, begin cultivating relationships
• Social media, analytics for donor recognition and stewardship purposes
• Data analysis, recording and evaluating prospects’ funding interests and giving histories
• Benchmarking, comparing peer institutions’ benefit schedules and DEI initiatives
• Navigation skills with Abila Fundraising 50 software, evaluating viability of prospects
• Zoom

Soft Skills

• Adaptability, remaining flexible and enthusiastic amid stressful situations (pandemic, etc.)
• Organization, notes were taken religiously during any meetings, an hourly schedule was organized and followed, weekly reports
• Teamwork, helping cohort members where possible, becoming part of “the team” at The Ark despite differences in demographic
• Goal Setting, learning to be more realistic and patient with myself
• Personal reflection, evaluating my strengths, working towards intercultural competency

“Pivot.”

– Marianne James

Cool extra links:

LinkedIn Profile

Work Artifact

School Artifact

The Ark Family Room Series

New Donor Engagement with Corner Health

Trevor Johnson

Cyber Security & Information Assurance, 2022
Hails from: Harrison Township, MI

Project Showcase Video:

Project Description:

The Corner is fortunate to have diversified sources of income, with the annual giving program critical to our overall financial health.  We have a very dedicated donor base, a number of individuals who have given 30+ years.  However, the donor base is also aging, making it critical that we focus on attracting new donors while sustaining our loyal donors.  This means it is important to run our annual giving program in ways that appeal to both our longtime, senior donors while also appealing to a younger generation of donors (25-55 as a target age range). 

All generations are doing a lot of their giving online.  The Corner website, our Giving Tuesday campaign, and social media strategies needed updating and fresh ideas.  This summer I helped by researching effective fundraising ideas and samples, and helping us apply these ideas to the Corner annual and social media campaigns.

We also wish to find more corporate and foundation support, which can supply larger gifts for special projects.  We are launching a 3-year strategic plan in January, and will required the kind of investment support corporate and foundation grants can provide.  In turn, I researched and recommended potential grant funders for these purposes, and lead funding application processes.

Finally, we want to create an annual report for 2018-2019 that is much more donor-focused and compelling.  The D-SIP intern will include in their research ideas for the Corner annual report.

Current staffing allows us to maintain standard methods of annual fundraising, i.e., direct mail, donor newsletter, and donor stewardship, but doesn’t allow much time to do the tasks outlined in our application: donor and grant research, updating the website, writing for new grants.  This opportunity to participate in the D-SIP program is an important opportunity to stepping up our donor acquisition efforts.

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The Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti main purpose is to inspire 12- to 25-year-olds (and their children) to achieve and sustain healthy lives by providing judgment-free, affordable health and wellness care and education. I was positioned to be a member of their development team, as a development officer. Although I was an intern, I was tasked with projects as if I was a member of the full-time team which included grant writing, research, analysis, and other projects that are time-sensitive.

Although I spent the majority of my time researching health-related statistics and data, I had many collaborative experiences with other offices to better understand their vision of the future and how they could best serve their population. Many of my assignments did include grant writing, research, designing and developing an annual report, development of presentations, analysis of social media, and a feasibility report of virtual events.

Project Impact:

While some portions of my project impact are not immediately obvious, I have completed many deliverables that have clear impacts. First I developed a clear analysis of our social media presence, and I did a feasibility study of a program that facilitates virtual events. Both of these tasks changed the approach that our team took in regard to our future engagement with our audience. Soon after, I worked on lots of grant research and wrote grants based on my research. Fortunately, some grants were accepted during my internship. Not only did it allow the Corner to have the chance to develop a deep relationship with them, but it provided funding for a childrens’ nutrition program. I am confident that the other grants I found will continue this trend. My development of a presentation on the safety of the Corner Health Center will help patients feel more comfortable, safe, and knowledgeable about the expectations of the Clinic during a pandemic. Along with that, the annual report I designed will give prospective donors an idea of the great work that we do. These impacts are not necessarily obvious, but they help bring awareness to the work that is done.

Many of my prospective grant research and analysis of old and new foundations will help deepen relationships and will help keep the Corner funded. The work done will also minimize the work that the development team needs to do in the future, so they can work on even greater ideas and implementations that can best serve the Corner.

Skills Learned:

• Grant Writing, by focusing on what’s important and creating meaningful connections through my writing
• Communication, through being clear and concise
• Data Analysis, as I had to look at previous data and draw accurate and informative conclusions
• Research, when I had to find new foundations or information to supplement my grant application
• Time-management, by working without direct supervision and balancing multiple projects

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.”

– Eric Thomas

Donor Communications at SOS Community Services

Jill Graham

Sociology; Communications & Media, 2021
Hails from: Grosse Pointe Park, MI

Project Showcase Video:

Project Description:

Effective storytelling is a powerful tool in fundraising. Stories create connection, communicate impact, and inspire donors to give. Stories are more memorable to supporters than facts or statistics that describe a problem. Stories personalize large-scale problems and make them seem solvable.

In 2020, SOS will celebrate 50 years of service to the community. In honor of the 50th anniversary, SOS plans to feature stories of impact throughout the year. This summer I helped collect these stories and prepare them for use in SOS’s marketing materials. Stories will be collected from current and former SOS board, staff, volunteers, program participants, and donors. They were asked to describe how SOS has made a difference in their lives and to share times they believe they made a difference for others by volunteering or supporting SOS.

As a secondary project, I will assisted with an annual assessment of SOS fundraising performance metrics. This project involved analyzing and summarizing data related to amount of funds raised over the last fiscal year, number and type of donors, gifts at each giving level, gifts by solicitation, etc. The metrics are compiled and compared with previous years to determine trends and inform fundraising projections for the next year and fundraising strategy. 

Project Impact:

The primary purpose of the newsletter I created for SOS is to secure a higher volume of gifts from individuals who have already donated to the organization. In addition to this short-term impact, I provided SOS with a resource that can be used in the development of future newsletters; my research-backed recommendations has offered the organization information that can be referenced for many years to come.

Skills Learned:

• Adaptability/Resilience: This position required me to adjust to major changes at a moment’s notice. While this was never easy to do, it has allowed me to foster the ability to adapt in the workplace.
• Relationship-building: Working remotely did not change the fact that I needed to develop a strong relationship with my supervisor. Building a close connection with my boss was critical to my success with this project, and I regularly checked in with her throughout the summer.
• Self-motivation: Working from home made it difficult to stay motivated at times, but it was a huge learning opportunity. I was given the chance to develop the ability to keep myself driven even when others weren’t constantly checking in on me.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

– Nelson Mandela

The Impact of Michigan Ability Partners

Audrey Baecker

Sociology, 2022
Hails from: White Lake, MI

Project Showcase Video:

Project Description:

This project arose out of the need to elevate the awareness of MAP within our community. Although MAP has been around for over 30 years, we have flown under the radar for most of that time. There are other players in the community that fight for the homeless and advocate for those struggling to find stability in their lives, but MAP is the only one that provides vocational training, financial management and stable housing under one umbrella. Using a multi-pronged campaign I created a social media and mini-event campaign to create awareness of the work we do, and bring aboard new donors. Additionally, I will created an effective and standardized donor acknowledgement/retain policy. And last but not least, raise a little money. The data that results from the social media campaign will be entered into a report to be presented to the CEO and used to determine if it is cost-effective to hire a part-time social media position at MAP.

Project Impact:

Michigan Ability Partners works to alleviate homelessness, combat the lack of affordable housing within Washtenaw County, and assist clients in their journey through the inequitable workforce. My role is to help promote the importance and accessibility of MAP’s services. The impact of Michigan Ability Partners is life changing, as they assist people in finding sustainable work and affordable housing. The work I have engaged in this summer enables the nonprofit to provide these services. I have created a weekly newsletter that goes out to MAP constituents, run and managed MAP’s social media accounts, and launched a fundraising campaign that featured client and staff testimonials in regards to their journey with MAP. Without these promotional materials, MAP reaches a smaller audience, thus leaving them with a lack of prospective donors. This summer, I have assisted MAP in reaching new donors, engaging with the community, and promoting MAP’s services. These are all assisting in creating enduring prosperity for the organization, and to ensure that they can continue to holistically assist Washtenaw County members on their journey to self-sufficiency.

Skills Learned:

• Adaptability, by being flexible with my time based on new deadlines or recent events within the nonprofit
• Communication, when working with my supervisor, forming relationships with other workers at the nonprofit, and contacting clients to learn about their journey with the nonprofit
• Analysis, tracking donor engagement and retention with the nonprofit to determine which methods of engaging MAP’s audience were most effective
• Storytelling, through crafting client and staff testimonials that engaged the audience and properly highlighted MAP’s impact

“We breathe, we pulse, we regenerate. Our hearts beat, our minds create, our souls ingest.”

Mr. Magorium

A United Approach to Giving – Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum/Leslie Science and Nature Center

Description: 

As an intern with the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum (AAHOM) and Leslie Science & Nature Center (LSNC), I’ve had the privilege to witness the operation and amazing work of these two nonprofits this summer in the realm of data. Because AAHOM and LSNC have merged to become a single regional resource for science, technology, engineering, math, nature, and environmental programming for the Washtenaw County area, my project was centered around data strategy. With my time at AAHOM and LSNC, I have assessed the state of donor and constituent records, identified donor duplicates across the two databases, standardized the data, and created a suggested improvement plan for the organizations. Outside of working with data, I have assisted in coordinating Mayfly 2019 and June Donor Appreciation Event, identified potential corporate sponsorships by benchmarking other similar sized nonprofits in Washtenaw County, and participated in weekly development meetings with staff and board members.

Impact: 

Because entering in donor data is the first step to a cultivated, sincere donor relationship and will set up how interactions begin between the organizations and households, schools, and organizations, it is immensely important to lay a strong foundation with a standardized entry method. Moving forward, AAHOM and LSNC will be able to more effectively identify, understand, and communicate to their donors to strategize for future joint and separate projects.

Skills Gained:

• Data Strategy
• Tactful Advising
• Flexibility
• Benchmarking

 

“These past 12 weeks with D-SIP have been saturated with self-discovery and growth—learning about who I am and who I want to be. While I am continuing to unearth myself, I know that I will firmly carry the tenets of philanthropy with me, regardless of the career I pursue.”

Kathy Pham, D-SIP 19′

Peer Organization Annual Fund Profile and Reimagining Online Giving – Fair Food Network

Description:

As a Dobson intern at Fair Food Network, I worked with the development team to unlock the giving potential of individual donors for an organization that has worked mainly with foundations in the past. Specifically, I worked on two different yet projects: annual giving and online giving. For the annual giving portion, I conducted research on nonprofit annual giving programs to figure out how to implement an annual giving program in a way that is feasible and applicable. This involved benchmarking with peer organizations of similar size and scope to review the history of their annual giving programs, including current strategies for donor stewardship and retention. For the online giving component, I was tasked with analyzing the current structure of Fair Food Network’s online giving processes after research and analysis efforts. This project culminated in my suggesting four distinct recommendations for Fair Food Network for improving their annual and online giving programs.

Impact: 

Though separate, these two segments of the project will synchronously aid the organization in securing, stewarding, and retaining individual donors. It is my hope that my recommendations will expand community outreach by increasing access to funding and expanding donor networks. In this way, Fair Food Network will be able to reinvest more money in communities across the country, raise awareness about food insecurity and its implications, and reach more individuals and families in need. Further, a diversified revenue stream will provide new sources of funding, thus making Fair Food Network a more stable and wealthy organization and enabling it to make a bigger impact. Tapping into the pool of individual donors will lead to more charitable contributions and less reliability on grants, more impact, and overall sustainability for this nonprofit.

Skills Gained:

• Collaboration
• Multi-tasking
• Communication
• Autonomy

 

“D-SIP has given me a unique knowledge and skill set in an area that many students don’t even know exists. Working in fundraising and development has allowed me to help make meaningful change in the philanthropic world in a way that I can see myself doing for the rest of my career.”

Laura Pasquale, D-SIP 19′

A Superior Library for Superior – Ypsilanti District Library

Description: 

As a community resource, the Ypsilanti District Library’s (YDL) mission is to enrich life, stimulate intellectual curiosity, foster literacy, and encourage an informed citizenry. Today, YDL operates three buildings and serves three municipalities. With more than 400,000 visitors each year, YDL remains a pillar of the Ypsilanti community and committed to the mission and vision set forth by our board. The Ypsilanti District Library has served the community for over 150 years.

With the passing of a new operating millage, which was approved by voters in 2018, YDL plans to be and operate a new library located on North Harris rd in Superior Township. The new building will replace a small, inadequate, library located in a fire station and will dramatically increase access to citizens in Willow Run and Superior Township.

As a D-SIP intern, my responsibilities were

Prospect Research: researching and identifying prospective clients that the library already doesn’t have in the database and vetting a list of over 100 YDL donors for potential asks.

Grant Research: locating different funding/grant opportunities and even writing for  some.

Engagement materials: creating engagement materials for our potential donors.

Interviewing Residents: asking residents of Superior Township how they feel about the Ypsilanti District Library.

Impact:

YDL is now prepared more than ever to enter their capital campaign. The library has over 700 prospective donors to start with when it enters the asking phase of the campaign for the Superior Library. Prospecting donors is important when starting a campaign plan because it gives the campaign a foundation to build off of. The library also has an grants database, filled with information such as deadlines, explanations on how to proceed and suggestions for each grant. The fundraising committee will use this data base to make connections to the prospects, allowing for more of a connection to our prospects.

Skills Gained:

• Communication
• Stewardship
• Critical thinking
• Effective writing strategies
• Networking/relationship  building
• Marketing

 

“D-SIP has made me aware of my self-worth and values. Because of this, D-SIP has enabled me to know what to strive for in my personal growth and career goals.”

Josiah Foster, D-SIP 19′

Feasibility for Establishing a Complementary Foundation – Eversight

Description:

Envision a world without blindness. Eversight is a thriving nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring sight and preventing blindness through the healing power of donation, transplantation and research. As the world of eye banking is shifting, Eversight has set a strategic goal element to diversify revenue streams, as 98% of current revenue derives from “fee-for-service”. In the exploration of achieving this goal, my project was to conduct a study on the feasibility of establishing a separate foundation to complement the existing organization.

To do this, I benchmarked with other organizations to determine the pros and cons of setting up a foundation that is separate, yet affiliated with Eversight. I was able to identify over 400 organizations consisting of Eye Banks, Organ Procurement Organizations, nonprofits, businesses, and other organizations like Transplant Labs or Universities. From there, I spoke directly with 33 organizations, with and without foundations, and analyzed the feedback to deliver comprehensive themes, trends, and recommendations to Eversight leadership.

Impact:

Eversight not only restores sight through donation, transplantation and research, but aids recipients who are unable to bear the financial burden of receiving sight. Navigating methods to diversify revenue streams, such as a complementary foundation, means continuation of providing eyesight to those who require a cornea transplant, supporting the financial needs and international capacity of tissue donation, and ultimately envisioning a world without blindness. The recommendations provided to Eversight will guide leadership in the decision of establishing a foundation, and other modes in which the organization can philanthropically grow.

My final recommendation of creating an Eversight Global Research & Memorial Fund will allow Eversight to highlight and capitalize on the current research and memorial efforts in place, while designating a separate entity in which a culture of philanthropy can be introduced, fostered, and expanded. Although not immediate, the impact of this decision would increase opportunities for grants, large individual contributions, and corporate giving. A foundation will allow Eversight to grow internationally, while maintaining local community engagement in each service area.

Skills Gained:

• Strategic questioning
• Customer relationship management
• Interpersonal communication
• Goal-setting
• Self-Motivation & responsibility

 

“D-SIP created a space for intrinsic growth on a personal and professional level while revealing the multi-faceted layers of Philanthropy and Development.”

MaryRose Clark, D-SIP 19′

Growing Corporate Giving – Growing Hope

Description:

Growing Hope is a non-profit organization based in Ypsilanti, MI, working to improve lives and communities through gardening and increased access to local, affordable, and healthy food. With the retirement of the executive director at the end of 2017, Growing Hope began the process of transitioning from a founder-driven organization to a mission-driven organization. As a part of this transition, it is important that Growing Hope moves away from donations based on the relationships of the founder, and moves towards donations based on a belief in the mission of the organization and our programs. With this goal in mind, my project this summer was to increase the number of local sponsors of the Growing Hope farmers markets in order to maintain the markets funding and increase community awareness and involvement with our organization. To do this, I performed donor research to identify potential sponsors, I went to each business in person to perform the “ask”, and then I worked to secure sponsorship.

Impact:

During Growing Hope’s transition from being a founder-led organization to being mission-driven, one goal is to change their sources of funding. In the past, many donations came to the organization because people knew the founder, and they trusted her to do good work with their money. Now, as a mission-driven organization, the goal is to have people make donations based on a belief that the work that we’re doing is worthwhile and that we are a responsible organization. My project addresses this goal by introducing Growing Hope as an organization to many local businesses within Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor and demonstrating the value of the work that we are doing through our Farmers Markets. By introducing Growing Hope to local businesses and telling our story, I am helping build our network. This network will allow relationships to be made that can one day turn into support for the organization, whether that be through a financial sponsorship, or by hosting an event, or volunteer work on our urban farm. These connections and relationships allow Growing Hope to expand its presence within the community, while also increasing support based on our mission rather than our founder’s relationships.

Skills Gained

• Working Independently
• Communication
• Adaptability

 

“Development is a field that is ripe for innovation and one that I want to pursue a career in. D-SIP has allowed me to gain a strong foundation in this field and I feel ready to go out and pursue my passions.”

Gerrit Rietsema, D-SIP ’18

Annual Fund Campaign Plan – Huron River Watershed Council

Description:

Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC) is a community nonprofit in Southeast Michigan committed to protecting the Huron River and serving the communities that live on it. Despite having a highly robust development strategy, the council’s annual campaign has in recent years needed more attention than it currently receives, due to a lack of staff resources. Additionally, the development team hoped that welcoming in a fresh perspective would allow new ideas for supporting the annual campaign to emerge. With that in mind, I entered into my project with the mission of analyzing past annual campaigns and preparing a report of recommendations to be approved by HRWC’s Development and Marketing team, along with the organization’s Executive Director. The recommendations are to be implemented over the next three years of annual campaigns, according to a corresponding timeline I also developed. Through this placement I had the opportunity to delve deeply into the world of small nonprofit fundraising and have a level of professional responsibility like none I’ve ever experienced before.

Impact:

Over the course of my placement, it became clear that my impact was going to extend beyond the realm of simply making these recommendations. My work also served to shift the perspective of HRWC marketing and development regarding planning the annual campaign. Creating a task list and timelines has allowed HRWC to begin slowly formulating the annual campaign ahead of time, improving efficiency and saving staff resources. Making the annual campaign as best as it can be provides valuable support to under-served programs at HRWC, and takes care of all costs that go on behind the scenes. Annual campaign giving may not be as alluring to donors as giving to high capital campaigns or at events, but funding these facets of nonprofits is critical to the longevity and success of all kinds of organizations. For that reason, I feel fortunate for the opportunity to support HRWC, and through them the Ann Arbor community.

Skills Gained:

• Time Management
• Effective Communication
• Strategic Data Analysis
• Knowledge of Development

 

“D-SIP provided me with an invaluable first step into the world of development and nonprofit work. Coming out of the program, I have a new understanding of what it means to be a young professional and the tools to be a successful individual in the nonprofit field.”

Michael Orrange, D-SIP ’18