Farmhouse Intensives
The famous fundraising farmhouse ...
Magic happens here.
Fundraisers come to the farmhouse struggling, stagnant and stuck ... wondering how to grow their organization and worried they're not going to hit their fundraising goals.
But when they leave, they're confident and energized. They've got a plan for exceeding their fundraising goals and have crafted powerful fundraising materials that motivate donors to give.
Maybe it's the breeze off Hood Canal (which is actually a fjord).
Maybe it's the fresh Pacific Northwest air.
Maybe it's the cookies?
At the fundraising farmhouse, you'll learn the exact strategies and process you need to raise more money in less time. As one fundraiser said, "I accomplished more in three days at the farmhouse than I usually do in a month at the office."
Here's why people love the Farmhouse Intensives.
Watch the videos below:
"We took one piece of advice we got at the intensive about major donors… and raise more than what we spent (to come to the intensive)"
"This is an incredible space to be able to open your mind … and think creatively about the future."
"I've been doing this for 15 years -- learning fundraising on the fly, like a lot of nonprofit executive directors do. And I feel more confident ... than I ever have"
"We went from $3,000 to $75,000..."
Proven Results
Tested and proven to raise more money.
The fundraising strategies and techniques you'll learn at the farmhouse are battle tested and proven to raise more money. They are not based on somebody's "feelings" or what somebody "hopes" will work. You can be confident that the techniques and strategies you learn will help you raise more money than you're raising now.
As you can see from what your fundraising peers have said, our unique method of helping raise more money works. And these same techniques and strategies will work for you.
Join us at the farmhouse. Choose your intensive below.
Upcoming Farmhouse Intensives
MOST POPULAR
POPULAR
Raise More Annual Plan Intensive
Raise more money in 2023.
Here's how.
Join Steven Screen and Chris Davenport at the farmhouse for three days. Steven and Chris will help you craft all of your main fundraising messages to your donors. And you'll create a dynamic fundraising plan. You'll also create all of the fundraising materials you need for the first six months of the year (and maybe even more than that!).
Here's what you'll leave the farmhouse with:
- A "Raise More" 12 Month Fundraising Plan for 2023
- All the main fundraising messages you'll share with donors throughout the year
- Two fundraising appeal letters (and the emails to go along with them)
- Two donor reporting letters
- A donor survey that will raise money and get you legacy gift leads
- A "My First Gift" email to help you acquire new donors
- A Shortfall appeal letter (if you think you'll need one for 2023)
In just three days, you'll have planned all of your 2023 fundraising and written at least six pieces of fundraising to send to your donors. Think of how long that would take you if you had to write everything by yourself at your office!
December 7 - 9, 2022 Sold Out
January 11 - 13, 2023 Sold Out
Late January/Early February (exact dates TBD)
Major Giving Intensive
Major donor gifts are the lifeblood of successful organizations.
Here's how to get new major donors. And how to get bigger -- and more frequent -- gifts from the major donors you already have.
At the Major Giving Intensive with Jim Shapiro, you'll learn the same process and strategy the most successful organizations use to raise more money from major donors every year.
Here's what you'll leave the farmhouse with:
- A proven process for finding, identifying and cultivating new major donors
- A customized fundraising plan for your top donors (with the exact amount you should ask them for)
- A major donor management tool that shows you which of your major donors is ready to be asked -- and how much you should ask them for
- Personalized cover letters for each of your major donors to include with the next fundraising appeal you send
In just two days, you'll have a complete major donor system set up and ready to implement. And you'll have the confidence you need to ask your majors for more and bigger gifts.
Date: TBD
Reporting to Your Donors Intensive
If donors don't feel like their gift made a difference, they stop giving.
Reporting to donors of what their gift accomplished is critical to the health of your fundraising.
There are three powerful ways to report back to your donors on the impact of their gift.
The first is a 4-page printed newsletter. The second is a donor reporting letter. And the third is an e-story.
All three can raise you money.
And all three will keep your donors giving longer.
When you come to the Reporting to Your Donors Intensive, you'll spend three days working side-by-side with Steven Screen to create the materials you need to successfully report back to your donors.
Here's what you'll leave the farmhouse with:
- A 4-page newsletter you can send to your donors (and a template you can use to create newsletters over and over and over again)
- A donor reporting letter to send to your donors BEFORE you send your next appeal
- 3 e-Stories to send to your email list
In just three days, you'll have a complete system created to report back to you donors on the impact of their generosity. And you'll have completed all of the reporting materials you'll need for the next 12 months.
Date: TBD
Monthly Donor Intensive
Monthly donors are the holy grail of nonprofit fundraising.
They provide a dependable, bankable source of revenue each month.
And they're the donors most connected to your cause. Which means they're great prospects for legacy giving, volunteering and funding urgent needs.
At the Monthly Donor Intensive, you'll sit around the farmhouse table with Steven Screen and Chris Davenport as you craft a campaign to acquire new monthly donors. You'll also learn how raise more from the monthly donors you already have and how keep them giving year after year.
Here's what you'll leave the farmhouse with:
- A monthly donor recruitment campaign
- A monthly donor communication plan that makes your monthlies feel great about their giving and keeps them giving for longer
- A new donor welcome series that quickly makes new donors feel great about giving to your organization and encourages them to become monthly donors
- A "13th Gift Appeal" that will help you get an additional gift from your monthly donors at year-end
- A "Monthly Donor Lift Appeal" that will help you increase the amount each of your monthly donors makes.
In just three days, you'll have completed all of the fundraising materials you need to start or grow a powerful monthly donor program. And you'll have templates and resources you can use this year, next year and the year after that.
Date: TBD
Find New Donors Intensive
Every fundraiser wants more donors.
Finding a steady stream of new donors is critical to your organization's long-term stability.
At the Find New Donors Intensive, Steven Screen and Chris Davenport will help you create a system for acquiring new donors and converting prospects on your list to donors.
Here's what you'll leave the farmhouse with:
- An appeal letter that draws in new donors
- A "My First Gift" email to help you convert prospects on your email list to first-time donors
- A new donor welcome series that quickly makes new donors feel great about giving to your organization and gets them to give a monthly gift
- A Donor Retention communications plan, so you're always sharing messages that make your donors proud to support your organization (and that inspire them to give again)
- A donor survey that helps you get new legacy donors
In just three days, you'll craft a system that will help you acquire new donors and retain the ones you have. And you'll have templates and resources you can use to acquire more donors next year ... and for years to come!
Date: TBD
Digital Fundraising Intensive
More and more donors are going online to make gifts and find mission-driven organizations that align with their own values
At the Digital Fundraising Intensive, Steven Screen and Chris Davenport will help you build a system for finding and cultivating new donors online. And they'll help you craft the fundraising messages to deliver to your donors, followers and prospects. You'll also learn how to use your existing donor and supporter list to grow your social media following.
Here's what you'll leave the farmhouse with:
- A 12-month Donor Communications plan so you'll 'never go dark' on your donors and supporters
- A Facebook fundraising campaign you can use at year-end (or any time of year!)
- A My First Gift email to help you convert prospects on your email list to first-time donors
- A new donor welcome series that quickly makes new donors feel great about giving to your organization and encourages them to become monthly donors
- 3 different e-appeals that you can send out at any time of the year to predictably raise money at a moments notice
- An email donor survey that will help you steward your donors, raise more money and get you legacy gift leads
In just three days, you'll craft all the fundraising messages you'll share with your donors online over the next 12-months. And you'll have a deeper knowledge of how to leverage social media and other online platforms to convert your followers to donors!
Date: TBD
Board Fundraising Intensive
A high-functioning, fundraising-oriented board can be an incredible asset to an organization looking to grow and scale.
And the truth is, every board should be actively involved in your major donor fundraising -- either as major donors themselves, or as participants in your fundraising.
At the Board Fundraising Intensive, Jim Shapiro, Steven Screen and Chris Davenport will help you build a culture of major donor fundraising engagement among your board. And you'll create a major donor plan, so you know exactly which majors your board should be communicating with.
Here's what you'll leave the farmhouse with:
- A 12-month Fundraising Engagement Plan for each of your board members -- that's proven to motivate even the least-engaged board member
- Identified the strengths and weaknesses of each of your board members and pinpointed where they can be most helpful in your major donor fundraising
- A customized fundraising plan for your top donors, with the exact amount you should ask them for, so your board members know who to be talking to (and when)
- A major donor management tool that shows your board members which major donor is ready to be asked -- and how much they should be asked for
- Customized major donor cover letters from your board to include in your next appeal.
In just two days, you'll create a plan for getting your board engaged in your fundraising. And you'll have the tools you need to jumpstart your board's involvement in your major donor fundraising!
Date: TBD
Year-End Fundraising Intensive
Join Steven Screen and Chris Davenport at the famous farmhouse for three days. You'll learn and write your complete year-end fundraising campaign with the help and direction of Steven and Chris.
You'll walk away with completed:
- Year-End Fundraising Appeals
- Year-End E-Appeals
- A "Perfect Donor Thank You Letter"
- Donor Reporting Letter
- Year-End Fundraising Campaign Plan
- Major Donor Year-End Plan
- A "Raise More" 12 Month Fundraising Plan for next year (2023)
That's a lot.
But like one person told us, "What usually takes me a month to do, I did in three days at the farmhouse!"
Fundraising Mastermind
There's a formula for raising a lot more money...predictably...every month.
And when you have the formula and a plan to follow, you're on the road to fundraising success.
At the Fundraising Mastermind, you'll learn the formula, craft the plan AND have Steven and Chris' help as you execute the plan over the course of a year.
That means you'll have personalized support as you write your appeals and e-appeals, newsletters, donor reporting letters, and e-stories.
And you'll always be able to get an expert's take on any fundraising problem you encounter -- all year long.
Here's what you get when you join the Farmhouse Mastermind:
- A "Start the Year Strong" in-person intensive
- An "End the Year Strong" in-person intensive
- Two "Keep the fundraising momentum going" online meetings with Steven and Chris
- Twelve months of support through online Q&A + Appeal Review sessions.
You'll also work closely with the other people in the mastermind. This has been a surprise bonus for everyone in previous masterminds - and a real value. Everyone helps each other out all throughout the year. The mastermind group becomes your family.
The Farmhouse Mastermind is limited to 6 organizations and costs $25,000
There's More Intensives on the Horizon
We're always thinking of new ways to help you raise more money ... easily and reliably raise money.
Here are just a handful of intensives we'd like to host. Most of these ideas grew out of conversations we had with attendees of previous intensives!
- Pro Level Appeal Writing Intensive
- Donor Loving Newsletter Writing Intensive
- Founders on Fire Intensive
- Small Org. Start Up Intensive
- New Org. Start Up Intensive
What other intensives would YOU like to see offered in 2023? Fill out the form below and let us know!
You'll witness magic happening in the small group.
As part of the Farmhouse Intensives, you'll be working along side Steven and Chris -- and a handful of other nonprofit organizations seeking to grow their fundraising in the same way as you. You'll bond and discover how valuable it is to have a close group of people walk the fundraising journey with you.
We've designed the Farmhouse Intensives to have the perfect balance between group learning and individual learning. Once you come to an Intensive, you'll become part of a family that looks out for each other.
As part of the Intensive, you're also able to bring along another member of your team. Folks have found having another person from their organization at the Intensives to be incredibly valuable.
Because space is extremely limited, we fill seats around the farmhouse table on a first-come, first-served basis.
And every mastermind we've ever done has sold out.
If you're interested in coming to one of the Farmhouse Intensives,
please fill out the form below to be added to the waitlist