Advance - Foundation for Fraternal Excellence

Advance is a unique opportunity for fraternal fundraisers to learn, connect and reflect on their work and goals. This program successfully provides dynamic sessions rooted in sharing, small group discussion and networking within the industry.

Real-world, practical education for fraternal fundraisers

2025 REGISTRATION NOW OPEN

Four Workshops to Enhance Your Fundraising

Planned Giving Workshop: Tuesday, Feb. 25 from noon-3 p.m. ET
View the schedule and meet the facilitator, Lauren Winther-Hansen.
Planned Giving Workshop participants will explore strategies to grow planned gifts, focusing on aligning available giving opportunities with donors’ season of life.

Mid-Level & Major Giving Workshop: Wednesday, Feb. 26 from noon-3 p.m. ET
View the schedule and meet the facilitator, Jeffrey Hilperts.
Mid–Level & Major Giving Workshop participants will explore strategies for improving the performance of their portfolio.

Segmentation & Personalization Workshop: Monday, Mar. 3 from noon-3 p.m. ET
View the schedule and meet the facilitator, Erik Tomalis.
Segmentation & Personalization Workshop participants will focus on communication and marketing tactics for tailoring messages that resonate with various segments of donors and non-donors to engage, cultivate and steward.

Donor Retention Workshop: Tuesday, Mar. 4 from noon-3 p.m. ET
View the schedule and meet the facilitator, Emily Thornton.
Donor Retention workshop participants will learn how to build and support long-term relationships with donors by developing and evaluating stewardship strategies.

All workshops will take place entirely online.

(Optional) Newcomer Coffee Chat: Watch the recording
Whether you are new to the nonprofit industry or new to your organization’s team, this casual Coffee Chat is designed to introduce you to the Foundation for Fraternal Excellence (FFE) – both how we serve you and our community of members.

You’ll leave this gathering with an understanding of how our FFE team members and volunteers can support you and FFE’s strategic priorities in moving the fraternal industry forward. But most importantly, you’ll spend valuable time meeting and networking with peers who can support you 365 days a year in your work.

2025 FFE Member Registration Costs & Information

Ultimate Advance Pass: $249 per person, includes access to four virtual workshops and related resources | Registration closes Friday, Feb. 21 at 11:59 pm ET
Any Single Virtual Workshop: $99 per person | Registration closes the Friday before each set of workshops at 11:59 pm ET (Feb. 21 & Feb. 28)

If your organization is not an active FFE Member, you will be charged a $100 non-member fee per registrant. To renew or activate your foundation’s FFE Membership, contact FFE Executive Director Ashley VanDewark at ashley.vandewark@foundationfe.org.

Alliance Partner Registration: FFE Alliance Partners at the Silver level and above receive complimentary registration(s). Email Ashley VanDewark at ashley.vandewark@foundationfe.org to access your company/organization’s coupon code.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Advance offers something for everyone working in or supporting fraternal fundraising. New and mid-career professionals benefit the most, but experienced fundraisers find value in refreshing fundraising fundamentals, sharing their organization’s best practices and continuing to build peer-to-peer connections.

This program centers around four topical-focused workshops: Mid-Level & Major Giving, Planned Giving, Segmentation & Personalization, and Donor Retention.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT?

All tracks heavily focus on tactics, innovations and real-world experiences. Sessions are hosted exclusively over Zoom. Participants take part in dynamic sessions rooted in sharing, small group discussion and networking connections within the fraternal fundraising industry.

WHAT WILL I LEARN?

Planned Giving Workshop participants will:

Understand fundamental planned giving concepts
Explore various planned giving vehicles and what factors influence individuals to make planned gifts
Discuss how to effectively communicate the benefits of planned gifts
Develop strategies to identify potential planned giving donors, along with engaging and recognizing planned giving donors

Mid-Level & Major Giving Workshop participants will:

Develop skills to identify, engage and cultivate mid-level and major donors
Better understand the donor journey and how to move donors through the giving cycle
Develop techniques for understanding donor motivations, philanthropic goals and concerns through meaningful conversations
Discuss effective and productive donor meetings, along with building trust and credibility as a fundraiser.

Segmentation & Personalization Workshop participants will learn:

How to segment donors for greater fundraising success
Personalization tactics that build authentic, lasting donor relationships
Tools and technology tips to scale personalized outreach without losing the human touch
Real-world examples and templates designed for fraternity and sorority fundraising teams

Donor Retention Workshop participants will:

Understand the importance of donor retention and how to calculate donor retention rate
Develop or evaluate your donor retention plan
Discuss how to effectively track retention rates, recapture efforts, and appealing donor engagement opportunities

Learn More About Each Workshop

Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025

Monday, Mar. 3, 2025

Tuesday, Mar. 4, 2025

GET INVOLVED

Are you interested in volunteering to plan the next Advance program? Submit your Advance Planning Committee interest through the form linked on the right.

SUBMIT VOLUNTEER INTEREST