Ventures in Philanthropy E-Newsletter: October 2008

	October 2008
President’s Message:
Welcome to our Ventures in Philanthropy E-Newsletter

Halloween Horror Stories
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE

Last year we featured some Halloween horror stories that can happen in the life of a development officer. Throughout the year, we've heard a lot more so we thought this issue would be worth a repeat.

What are some of the worst nightmares in the field of development? How about: Your CEO leaves just as a capital campaign is announced? Or, a major donor with a named building on your campus makes headlines because of a financial malpractice scandal. Or, the special event you planned for all year, gets canceled because of bad weather (the recent hurricanes across the Gulf Coast are a classic example) or because your celebrity guest is arrested for DUI, armed robbery or some major crime. Or, a golfer at your tournament

gets a hole-in-one but you forgot to get hole-in-one insurance.

A few helpful hints for avoiding the horrors that can face a development officer:

Make sure that your organization has a strong succession plan for its CEO and Chief Development Officer.
Develop or revisit your gift acceptance polices especially regarding named giving opportunities. Some organizations have begun to name buildings or rooms for a limited number of years.
Don't rely solely on special event fundraising.
If you do hold a major annual event, be extremely cautious about involving local or national celebrities. Be sure that you understand all the stipulations of the celebrity and have a written contract allowing you to back out of the arrangement if some unforeseen circumstance arises.
Be cautious of joint events and third party events and have a written contract with any collaborating groups or organizations.
Be certain that everyone in your organization understands and follows the Donor Bill of Right and the AFP Code of Ethics.
Consider having a professional consultant on call to help with unique situations that can haunt your development office.
Train your board so they understand the importance of ethical and professional fundraising strategies.
Make sure that all fundraising volunteers also understand the importance of ethics and the techniques of fundraising that are most effective.
Develop a solid Development Plan that encompasses a diversity of funding streams.

CAPITAL VENTURE 15^th Anniversary Celebration

If your board members are not effective enthusiastic fundraisers, check out our Board Boot Camp. To wind up CAPITAL VENTURE’s 15th year in business, our Board Boot Camp program being offered at a 15% discount throughout the end of the year. Before the end of 2008, we will be announcing some changes to our website and enhancing our Consultant on Call program. Watch for future developments which will be announced in our December newsletter.

Technology Corner — Drop.io, the Free & Easy Way to Store & Share Files

Drop.io is a simple and private online file storage and sharing service. It requires no registration and provides you with up to 100 MB of free storage. You can access it through the web, email, SMS/phone or fax. You can even call the folder from your phone and leave voice notes... all for free!

Drop.io (pronounced dropio) allows users to create online sharing points called "drops" that are used for uploading documents, images, video, audio, and other digitale content without accounts, registration or e-mail addresses. Drops are non-searchable, non-networked and never require any type of account registration. All drops can be password-protected and set to expire after a period of time. Users send 'in' files (documents, images, videos, audio files, archives, and more) via various methods (web, MMS, email, phone and fax) into their "Drops." Once in the drops, users can view their content and move it 'out' via the web, email, MMS, and fax. The service is a hit with all types of users from mothers sharing baby photos to large companies using 'drops' as collaborative workspaces.

Drop.io has several tutorials available on their website to familiarize you with the interface. The DemoGirl.com screencast is particularly good. Take a tour... you'll be surprised how simple file sharing can be.

Consultant Profile: Margaret Guellich, CFRE, Senior Consulting Associate

Margaret Guellich, a Certified Fund Raising Executive, has over 30 years of fund raising experience. Margaret led Catholic Relief Services direct response program managing more than $55million annually. Margaret’s background includes development audits, planning and feasibility studies, management of comprehensive development programs, capital campaigns, major gift development and cultivation, direct response/ annual funds, board development and seminars.

Prior to earning her MBA from Drexel University with a focus in Organizational Behavior, Margaret received her BBA from the College of Insurance. These successful learning experiences launched her own teaching career as adjunct faculty for Gwynedd Mercy College, George Washington University and Notre Dame College. She was the Fund Raising Executive of the Year 2000 for

Greater Washington DC Chapter of AFP and was named the Women’s Direct Response Group’s 2000 Woman of the Year. In 2001, she was selected as one of the twelve ‘Most Powerful Women in Direct Marketing’ by the Non-Profit Times.

Margaret is an internationally known conference speaker presenting for organizations like the National Catholic Development Conference, Catholic Charities USA, the Association of Fund Raising Professionals, and the Direct Marketing Association. She was president of the Greater Washington DC Chapter of AFP Chapter and was a member of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Board. Currently Margaret is a member of AFP’s Leadership Society and serves on several committees. In her spare time, Margaret enjoys travel and relaxing wit her “best friend,” Wes Stanley, also known as Stosh!

Special thanks to Margaret for her dedication and commitment
to the success of CAPITAL VENTURE clients!

To read more about our other nationally based consultants on our website, please click here.

Training and Professional Development

CAPITAL VENTURE has updated our Training Catalogue, which is available by email. We offer a wide variety of workshops for groups such as AFP chapters, statewide associations, national organizations, Dioceses, United Ways and Centers for Nonprofits. If you would like to receive a copy of our offerings, please contact cvlinda@cox.net.

Training Opportunities

Pressed for time? Travel budget limited? Check out our website for the great webinars presented by Affinity Seminars on various topics of interest to development professionals.

Another excellent resource for nonprofit webinars is Charity University. You'll find several on-demand courses sessions I've recorded available there, including the most recent one, The Development Plan. I'll be presenting three more tele-courses for Charity University this fall which will be available on demand as well. You'll find the dates and details listed in the Upcoming Presentations section below.

Later this year, CAPITAL VENTURE will be launching our own special training videos, so be sure to check next month’s newsletter for more information.

UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS
October 17 , 2008 Charity Channel Building a Board of Extraordinary Fundraisers Webinar Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration October 30 , 2008 Affinity Seminars Raising Money from the Business Community Webinar Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration November 5 , 2008 Monterey Bay Community Foundation The Development Plan Monterey Bay, CA Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration November 6 , 2008 eTapestry Workshop The Development Plan Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Using the Internet to Increase Fundraising Mike Kierce, eTapestry Sacramento, CA Email Linda for details	November 7, 2008 Charles Schwab Nonprofit Roundtable Raising Money from Individuals Reno, NV Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Email Linda for details November 13, 2008 Northeast Indiana AFP Philanthropy Day The Development Plan & Getting Ready for a Capital Campaign Fort Wayne, IN Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Email Linda for details November 14 , 2008 Charity Channel Are You Ready for a Capital Campaign? Webinar Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration November 21 , 2008 Charity Channel Organizing Your Capital Campaign Webinar Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE Click here for details and registration
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CONTACT U S
CAPITAL VENTURE
Advancing Philanthropy through Consulting and Training for Nonprofits
Offices throughout the United States
	Administrative Office: P O Box 731 Reading, PA 19607	Executive Office: 10245 S. Maryland Pkwy., Ste. 1188 Las Vegas, NV 89183 866-539-9990 toll free 702-892-0955 voice 702-892-0655 fax
CAPITAL VENTURE Associates are located throughout the United States. Call to find the one closest to you. (866) 539-9990 toll free
Email: info@cvfundraising.com Website:www.cvfundraising.com
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