Special events, regardless of the size and scope of the event, provide a unique opportunity to educate and connect with those in attendance. While staff typically is tasked with handling the logistics of the event, members of your Board of Directors should be tasked with interacting with attendees. Too often, board members are left to their own devices without any guidance on what to do or how to do it.
During this session, experienced nonprofit consultant, Michael Buckley, will highlight the 5 main things board members can do at special events; inform, connect, qualify, cultivate, and steward. We’ll discuss what each task means and provide advice on how to effectively train board members in advance of special events. We will also discuss how to set clear expectations and solicit follow up after the event.
Ultimately, by ensuring your board members are actively engaging with attendees, you ensure your special event a long-term, financial positive for your organization and to ensure it has a lasting impact.
Key Takeaways:
- Train board members to effectively engage with event attendees.
- Be able to communicate and effectively set expectations with board members.
- Build long term, sustainable fundraising practices through special events.
Speaker
Michael Buckley
Founder & Managing Partner, The Killoe Group
A career fundraiser, Michael J. Buckley, CFRE is a non-profit consultant, coach and speaker whose work focuses on small and medium-sized nonprofit organizations. He has assisted non-profits across a broad spectrum of focus areas increase dollars, exposure and capacity to support the work of their organization. As the Founder and Managing Partner of The Killoe Group, Mike’s extensive experience includes annual campaign audits and management, capital campaign leadership, feasibility studies, interim and ad-hoc program leadership, board governance, strategic planning and capacity building.
Mike is an effective and sought-after international level speaker and has been invited to an array of professional development opportunities including the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ International Conference on Nonprofits (ICON), the National Association for Animal Welfare Advancement, the Northeast Annual Giving Conference, and the Mid-South Philanthropy Conference as well as serving as Founding Faculty for the Institute of Nonprofit Leadership and Community Development at the State University of New York at Albany.
He currently serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Association of Fundraising Professional’s Foundation for Philanthropy as well as a Trustee for Saratoga Independent School. A native of Long Island, New York Mike now resides in Albany, New York with his wife Alison O’Brien Buckley.
