Please be our guest at the upcoming workshop.
Register below. If you are a client and want to invite others in your organization, include their names and emails. Each will be sent an invitation with login credentials.
Find the Right Funders — Not Just Any Funders
Join us for this Online Workshop | Tuesday, November 4, 9am-11am CST | $99 for One / $125 for Up to Four
Finding the right funders takes more than checking eligibility boxes. Strategic prospecting means digging deeper into a funder’s past giving, geographic focus, values, openness to new grantees, typical grant sizes, key contacts and relationships, and nuanced language.
In this interactive workshop, you will gain practical tools that go beyond surface-level research and build stronger, more targeted prospect lists. You will also learn how to identify funders that truly align with your mission, increasing your chances of meaningful and lasting support.
Agenda
Who Should Attend
Our workshop is perfect for development staff, grant writers, nonprofit leaders, and board members—whether you’re with a large institution like a university or arts organization, or just getting started in your search.
For those ready to move beyond the “usual suspects,” this workshop offers tools to explore small family foundations, national foundations, and corporate funders. You’ll learn how to assess not just eligibility, but whether a funder is truly the right fit for your mission, values, and community.
Organizations of every size and budget will gain practical tools, insider insights, and connections to strengthen their fundraising strategy and secure sustainable support.
Takeaway Materials Include:
Presenters
Steve Paprocki (he/him) has dedicated more than 45 years to philanthropy, serving as a foundation director, fundraiser, trainer, donor consultant, author, researcher, and lobbyist. A former program officer, foundation advisor, and research director for national and regional think tanks, Steve has worked with nonprofits across the U.S. and internationally, helping them connect with the right people at the right time to achieve their goals. He has authored more than two dozen books and directories on foundations and corporate giving programs and has taught philanthropy, fundraising, and communications in undergraduate and graduate programs for both business and nonprofit students. Steve holds a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas, and he continues to draw on his diverse experience and extensive network to strengthen nonprofits and the communities they serve.
Kirsten Gulbro (she/her) has more than 20 years of fundraising experience and more than $100 million raised for Minnesota’s nonprofit community, Kirsten is deeply passionate about supporting mission-based work. She’s worked for organizations with a variety of missions, including social services, education, arts and culture, workforce development, and environmental conservation. Kirsten holds a Master of Nonprofit Administration Degree from Metropolitan State University and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology from Augsburg University. Her professional experience includes grant writing, corporate sponsorships, major gifts, special events, nonprofit communications, and prospect research.
Kathy Bonnifield, Senior Program Officer at the Piper/Proteus Fund, is an accomplished, connected leader with over 20 years of nonprofit and philanthropic experience building the space for and power of justice-based collective action—across the United States and globally.
As Senior Program Officer at the Piper Fund, Kathy works to unite groups across traditional divides to unleash the power of common purpose of protecting and advancing judicial integrity. In support of that mission, Kathy has spearheaded specialized trainings, messaging research, and shared-learning forums to expand the impact of individual organizations by drawing them into a larger community of advocates.
Her previous work includes advancing and protecting voting rights and election integrity as the Executive Director of Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota and supporting grassroots coalitions advocating for land and water rights in Southeast Asia and women’s economic advancement in East Africa as The McKnight Foundation’s International Program Administrator.
She is a University of Minnesota Humphrey Policy Fellow and has an MBA from the University of St. Thomas.
What Workshop Attendees Have to Say:
“I always enjoy your seminars – lots of info presented well.”
“Steve has an incredible wealth of knowledge. I appreciate his generosity in sharing what he knows. I always learn something new!”
“Some trainings just provide ideas, but you gave me the tools I need to go out and get started.”
“Having specific examples, and the various tips and tools you shared are also very appreciated.”
“The training was succinct and to the point!”
About Us
Our team of seasoned fundraising professionals brings decades of experience and a strong network of relationships across the philanthropic sector. Our insider knowledge provides a unique advantage: we understand funder trends, shifts in priorities, and gather insights that go far beyond what’s posted on websites or IRS 990s. By combining proven research techniques with real-time intelligence from our connections across the sector, we’ll help you make informed decisions and approach funders with confidence.
$99 for One / $125 for Up to Four
Thank you for attending our workshop. Please help out by giving us your feedback!
Fluff Free Fundraising Feedback Form
Locally and nationally, there has been recent sobering news about the state of the nonprofit workforce. Overwork, burnout, low wages, lack of benefits, and an inability to meet a surging need for programs and services are all making the sector a demanding place to work.
When coupled with shifts in funding patterns and priorities—and grantmakers’ reluctance to fully fund operating and administrative costs—a gap has developed and increased.
For some organizations, these conditions are creating a demoralizing loop of increased demand with decreased ability to meet community needs as effectively as once was possible. In other words, frustration and fatigue have become chronic conditions.
Consider the survey conducted last year by the Federal Reserve Bank and the National Council of Nonprofits (NCN); more than 900 organizations that serve low- and moderate-income people responded. Eighty percent of these organizations said that they expected increased demand for services in the coming year, and 84% predicted increased expenses.
They cited funding and fundraising as their biggest challenges, with 26% noting challenges raising sufficient funds to support new positions and 15% reporting challenges related to staff well-being.
NCN conducts its own separate biennial surveys of nonprofit employment; the most recent was conducted in autumn 2023. At that time, two-thirds of respondents reported difficulty in filling vacant positions, and they couldn’t create sufficient positions to meet community needs because they didn’t have the money. Salary competition was the No. 1 reason that vacancies went unfilled, followed by budget constraints and staff burnout.
The Minnesota Council of Nonprofits conducts state-of-the-sector research, most recently publishing results in fall 2023. Key finding No. 1 in its report: “Retaining and hiring staff continues to present a significant challenge for nonprofit managers.”
When Minnesota’s nonprofit leaders were asked about the biggest challenges facing their organization over the next 12 months, nearly 40% said difficulties with staff recruitment, over 30% said difficulties with staff retention, and 20% said staffing levels overall.
What are nonprofits doing to stem this disturbing tide? The Nonprofit Leadership Center offers four practical suggestions for responding to these trends, including reexamining compensation structures to offer competitive arrangements that are less likely in for-profit or government employment.
For example, extended opportunities for sabbatical leave, flexible work arrangements, and professional development experiences can be attractive to employees. Investments in technology can make work more efficient and satisfying. Some offices are closing entirely once or twice a year—or more—such as the end of December and during summer weeks. Some nonprofits are shifting to four-day workweeks. Others are working on creating the healthiest possible work environment.
Some grantmakers are taking notice and trying to help. In 2023, the Minnesota Women’s Foundation provided unrestricted $10,000 grants to 40 women of color to spend however they choose. Called Rest Up grants, funds were intended to support self-care for leaders at risk of burnout. The grants are part of a new focus on well-being, with the intention of encouraging other philanthropies to follow suit.
Nexus Community Partners is offering the ROOT (Reclaiming Our Own Time) Sabbatical Fellowship, which supports leaders of color to allow time for “the practice of rest and restoration.” Its website states: “At Nexus, we believe all people deserve joyful and abundant lives filled with the rest that our bodies, minds, and spirits need. Rest is not for the privileged few—it is a birthright for us all.” Selected leaders receive $30,000, join workshops, and receive coaching to invest in their ability to rest.
The Saint Paul and Minnesota Foundation’s long-standing Management Improvement Fund supports organizations to expand organizational capacity, improve management capabilities, and nurture Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) leadership in the nonprofit sector. Funds have supported staff development, executive coaching and skill-building, and community healing circles.
These examples are likely to expand in the coming years, as grantmakers and nonprofits alike experience firsthand the energy that nonprofit work frequently demands and understand the need to offer avenues of respite and support that can keep leaders from exiting to other opportunities and that may help attract new workers.
Perhaps nonprofits will help employers in the for-profit sector imagine and invest in employee recruitment and retention in new and creative ways.