Philanthropy is a core part of the revenue model for local news organizations. As an ever increasing number of news organizations turn to foundations and individual donors for support, The Lenfest News Philanthropy Network is committed to supporting journalists and news organizations at every stage of their fundraising journey. 

Together with our partners, we’re thrilled to share upcoming courses, workshops, and community chats designed to support both first-time fundraisers and experienced development professionals. We’ll plan to announce additional training and workshops in the coming weeks. Please sign up for our newsletter to get updates on all Network programming. 

Participation in the Network is free, and open to publishers of all sizes and business models. The Network has a sole and exclusive focus on fostering a collaborative, diverse, and supportive community of practice for professionals who are filling a vital role for publishers by creating contributed revenue streams. In order to facilitate an interactive learning environment, we will limit the number of participants in some courses, but we will share best practices and resources with the full community. 

Here are the Network’s upcoming courses and workshops: 

Building a Major Gift Pipeline

During this four-week course, you will work with experienced fundraising professionals who will help you learn the key building blocks to building relationships and developing a pipeline of major gift donors. Key lessons will include: 

• Developing a case for support
• Building the major gift pipeline
• Effective listening and observing techniques
• Moves management
• The art of the ask

Led by Schultz & Williams, the course will meet once every other week for two-hour sessions on Wednesdays between May 12 and June 23 at 1 p.m. EDT. 

In order to foster an interactive learning environment, participation is limited to 30 people. Learn more and apply here. 

Fundraising Fundamentals: The Six Stages of Infrastructure Development for Fundraising

Tuesday, April 13, 2021 at 3 p.m. EDT

This one-session workshop is designed for journalists or media professionals who are new to fundraising. In this session, Anna Barber, President and Principal Consultant for Barber & Associates, will introduce participants to six core principles of developing a fundraising program: 

1. Goal Setting
2. Budgets & Campaign Selection
3. Stewardship Structures
4. Identification of Prospects 
5. Policies and Procedures
6. Pitch

This session will provide participants with the grounding in essential concepts and ideas they need to begin to build a successful development plan. 

The workshop will last one hour and is open to all. You can learn more and register here. 

Data Analysis for Fundraising

Thursday April 22, 2021, at 3 p.m. EDT

The team from Schultz & Williams will lead this workshop focused on best practices in managing fundraising data and the critical role data analytics play in optimizing your fundraising efforts. The workshop is intended for organizations that have a donor database but who struggle to employ it effectively to advance fundraising.

Topics and takeaways will include recommendations for processing contributions in a systematized way that follows best practices and ensures that gifts are acknowledged in a timely way from a donor-centric perspective; methods for incorporating major gift prospect ratings, activity, relationships, and opportunities into the database; ways to ensure that fundraising data is recorded and maintained following standardized protocols; and advice for how to use data and metrics for reporting and analysis that support and advance fundraising efforts.

The Data Management & Analytics workshop will also offer a day of “office hours” when workshop participants can sign up for 30-minute, one-on-one sessions with the course instructor to pose questions  and challenges specific to their data needs and receive practical solutions tailored to their desired outcomes.

The workshop is limited to 20 participants, and will last two hours.

The deadline to apply is Monday April 12 at 11:59 p.m. EDT

You can apply here.

Mid-Level Fundraising Strategies

Thursday, May 6, 2021 at 3 p.m. EDT

Fraser Nelson, an accomplished development professional who led The Salt Lake Tribune’s transition from for-profit to non-profit status, will lead a workshop on how to most effectively manage mid-level donors. 

The workshop will cover the following topics: 

• How do you create a mid-level giving program along your membership, subscription, or grassroots giving strategies? 
• How do you identify grassroots supporters or members who have the capacity to make larger donations? 
• How can you use membership as an opportunity to build loyalty when you miss out on a major donation? 

Fraser will share key tactics and case studies from her own experiences in this highly practical session.

This workshop will last one hour and is open to all. Learn more and register here.