Young America’s Foundation (YAF) has a sophisticated and high-performing development program. Despite this, or rather because of it, YAF continually invests in training for its development staff and leadership.
YAF particularly values collaborative, discussion-based professional development that engages leadership and staff simultaneously. This is particularly important as a number of YAF development staff work remotely outside of the organization’s Washington-area headquarters, and still more staff travel regularly.
YAF sought a customized training solution for its 2017 development training that would bring a high degree of expertise and that would effectively facilitate important discussions among the organization’s development personnel.
American Philanthropic developed a customized, day-long training seminar that met YAF’s needs and conveyed important industry trends and topics. Our seasoned consultants facilitated the session for 20 staff members, and each received a substantive customized training manual that will serve as a desk reference for the staff’s future use, as it addresses a variety of pertinent fundraising tips and guidance.
The training seminar addressed topics in development such as major gift solicitations, planned giving, and the psychology of donor experience, all drawing on the latest industry insight, trends, and research, as well as American Philanthropic’s own extensive experience with hundreds of nonprofit organizations.
The custom-designed training seminar was deeply informative for YAF development staff and leadership. Importantly, it facilitated essential conversations about the organization’s approach to certain development challenges and provided an occasion for leadership to make strategic adjustments to development activities.
American Philanthropic is registered as “fundraising counsel,” “fundraising consultants,” or other similar designations in all states requiring this kind of registration. We did not act as a “professional fundraiser” in the case cited above, meaning, among other things, that we did not at any time solicit funds, assets, or property on our client’s behalf.