As members of Apra, we know how important it is to share our knowledge, support each other, and build our resources and networks across the fundraising community. In 2023, Apra Pennsylvania, Apra Maryland, Apra Metro DC, Apra Virginia, and Apra Carolinas are taking it one step further - hosting 5 days of sessions from experts throughout the region to share talent with each other. Join us for 5 days of virtual learning, hosted by your Apra Mid-Atlantic Chapters. 

Registration is limited to members of the five Mid-Atlantic chapters. Check with your chapter for your free registration code!

For more info or to register, please visit: https://apramd.wildapricot.org/event-5142195

Schedule:

• Monday, April 17: 1PM-2PM - "Advocating for Philanthropy" hosted by Apra Maryland
• Tuesday, April 18: 11AM-12PM - "10 Steps That Will Improve Your Writing Today" hosted by Apra Virginia
  
• Tuesday, April 18: 3PM-4PM - "Tool Shed Inventory" hosted by Apra Metro DC
  
• Wednesday, April 19: 10AM-11AM - "Organizing Institutional Portfolios by Applying The Home Edit Method" hosted by Apra Pennsylvania
  
• Friday, April 21: 1PM-2PM - "Database Conversions Panel Discussion - Lessons Learned, Mistakes Made & “Next Time I Should…” hosted by Apra Carolinas

Session Descriptions:

Monday: "Advocating for Philanthropy"

As the professional development and networking resource for Maryland-area fundraising professionals who harness information and data to drive philanthropy, Apra Maryland educates the public and influences policymakers to ensure the voice of Maryland's fundraising community is heard. In this session by Apra Maryland and AFP Global, we will discuss important policy issues that may dramatically affect the future of fundraising, prospect research and data analysis including a non-itemizer charitable deduction, data privacy and more.

• Conner Wolfe is a nonprofit and development professional dedicated to advancing social justice and the common good. In his current position, Conner provides administrative, correspondence, fundraising, and technology support to the Maryland Nonprofits President & CEO and Board of Directors and engages in advocacy, primarily at the federal level.
  Conner completed his Master’s degree in Museum Studies at the SUNY Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program in 2018 and holds a background in development, capacity building, and public policy with arts and culture, higher education, and advocacy organizations. He is a member of the St. Mary’s County Museum Division Board of Trustees and a former board member of Apra Maryland. Originally from Western New York, Conner enjoys the outdoors and volunteering in his community.
• Sally Schaeffer is Principal Consultant at Uncorked Advocates, a federal government relations firm. She represents Association of Fundraising Professionals and on behalf of American Heart Association, she helped to coordinate a national coalition of 60 nonprofits in support of the Legacy IRA Act, which passed into law in December 2022. She was named by The Hill as a Top Lobbyist for 2021 and 2022 and named Top 100 Lobbyist in 2022 by The National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics.
  
• Lisa M. Chmiola, MS, CFRE, CSPG has more than 21 years in philanthropic development. She has served in major gifts and gift planning roles in education (public and private) and religious institutions, following initial career experience in event-based philanthropy. As Chief Fablanthropist for Fablanthropy (the intersection of fabulous and philanthropy), she works with nonprofit organizations and fundraising professionals providing consulting, training, and coaching services, particularly on legacy giving strategies. An AFP Master Trainer since 2014, Lisa has presented at four AFP International Conferences, and a variety of AFP and other industry association regional conferences, chapter meetings, and webinars. She serves as an adjunct instructor in Communication at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and in Rice University’s Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. Lisa is an active volunteer, serving as chair of the AFP Global U.S. Government Relations committee, as National Association of Charitable Gift Planners board member and chair of its Emerging Professionals Committee (and past president of the Houston chapter), as an AFP Baton Rouge Chapter board member, as a Junior League of Lafayette sustainer, a member of Ellevate Louisiana, and is a graduate of Leadership Houston. Additionally, she has co-authored several pieces for AFP’s Advancing Philanthropy magazine.

Tuesday (AM): "10 Steps That Will Improve Your Writing Today"

Learn how to improve the impact and clarity of your writing, from grammar to organization, style, and proofreading, in just 10 steps.

• Kristin Walinski is the CEO of Scribe On Demand, LLC, a Richmond-based content marketing agency founded in 2008. Earlier in her career, she was a legal writing professor at the University of Richmond School of Law and School of Continuing and Professional Studies and a practicing employment lawyer. Kristin earned a bachelor’s degree in English and history with a concentration in American Studies from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Tuesday (PM): "Tool Shed Inventory"

Do you have the right tools of the trade in your tool shed? Come learn what two seasoned fundraisers keep at the ready in their toolbox to build a successful, sustainable fundraising program, including a robust pipeline, funder assessment rubric, and gift acceptance policy.

• Jennifer N. Broome, MA, CFRE, serves as the Vice President of Philanthropy at Prosperity Now, where she leads a team of fundraising professionals and manages multiple revenue streams in service to Prosperity Now’s timely and urgent mission to eliminate racial economic injustice and build an economic system in which all people can thrive. She has over 20+ years of fundraising experience across the non-profit sector, having worked at organizations with economic development, higher education, environmental, disaster relief, and international security missions. Her expertise in building comprehensive and sustainable fundraising programs is informed by experience in many types of revenue generating activities, including major and principal donor solicitation, foundation and corporate relations and cause marketing, annual fund and direct marketing, and government grants and contracts. Jennifer holds a master’s degree in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from The Ohio State University with dual undergraduate degrees in French and Comparative Studies of Religion and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She is actively involved in the Association of Fundraising Professionals, where she has served in various volunteer leadership roles, including as the 2017 president of the local Washington D.C. chapter, and volunteers with several local organizations. She served as a Peace Corps in Madagascar where she taught English, health, and environmental education to 6th and 10th graders. She is fluent in French and is an avid traveler, reader, and hiker. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with her fur-babies.
• Kristen Wesloh is the Director of Institutional Investment at Prosperity Now, a national economic justice organization working to close the racial wealth gap in America. At Prosperity Now, she leads a team responsible for securing and managing more than $20 million in corporate and foundation grants annually. Kristen has 30 years of development experience with a focus on grants management for nonprofits working in the human service, cultural, education, and social justice sectors. She has worked with a wide range of organizations including American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (NYC), the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, Acre Family Child Care (Lowell, MA), and the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation (Baltimore), and currently serves on the board of the Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) and on the development committee of the Natural History Society of Maryland. Kristen earned a master’s degree in public and nonprofit administration from Metropolitan State University (Minneapolis-St. Paul) and a bachelor’s degree from Berklee College of Music (Boston). She has two grown children and two Great Pyrenees dogs and enjoys kayaking and birding with her husband near their home on the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland.
  

Wednesday: "Organizing Institutional Portfolios by Applying The Home Edit Method"

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) Institutional and Events Fundraising (IEF) Prospect Development team approaches portfolio hygiene using The Home Edit method. The Home Edit method, as seen on Netflix’, Get Organized with The Home Edit, is an organizing process created by professional organizers Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin that follows four concrete steps:

• Sara Anasiewicz joined the Prospect Development team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in January of 2020. In her current role as Senior Associate Director, Prospect Development, IEF, Sara works with IEF leadership and other stakeholders to drive a cohesive institutional and events fundraising strategy with a particular emphasis on corporations. Sara executes the IEF strategy through creating pipeline reports to reflect the work of IEF fundraisers; management and maintenance of IEF fundraiser portfolios; as a Subject Matter Expert for tech projects pertaining to Prospect Development/IEF; and through building and managing processes for IEF Prospect Development, which includes data hygiene for institutional constituents. Prior to joining CHOP, Sara served as a Manager, Prospect Research, at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, where she created portfolio management systems in Salesforce, led outreach efforts for business partners, and supported efforts in drafting and securing proposals from foundations and corporations, among other research duties.  Other prior positions include Researcher with City Harvest in New York; Events Intern at Amnesty International; Researcher at Drexel University and a former career in risk management at law firms Loeb & Loeb, Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, and Dechert. She earned her M.P.A. in Non-profit Management with a specialization in International Policy and Management from New York University and a B.S. in Political Science with a Women’s Studies minor from Temple University.
  
• Danielle Travaglini joined the Prospect Development team at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation in May of 2021. Her primary duties as Coordinator at the Foundation include conducting Corporate and Foundation research, as well as individual research as needed. Danielle serves as the main data entry point person and is responsible for organizing, analyzing, maintaining and providing information regarding all incoming requests to the Department. She also ensures all prospect information is entered into the DonorForce database, including biographic, rating, solicitor, and action information. In addition, Danielle locates viable contacts for organizations and foundations prior to assignment, maintains various prospect lists, and oversees news alerts. Prior to joining the Foundation, Danielle worked as a Prospect Researcher at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and held various roles over the course of 9 years at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, including Prospect Researcher and Data Integrity Analyst. She earned her B.A. in Communications with a minor in Digital Media from Albright College in 2009.

Friday: "Database Conversions Panel Discussion - Lessons Learned, Mistakes Made & “Next Time I Should…”

Have you ever gone through a database conversion? Are you gearing up for one or going through the process now? Join us for a prospect development and management focused panel discussion about what went well during our database conversions, what could’ve gone better and how we would approach the project differently next time!

Panelists:

• Emily Glesias joined Novant Health Foundation in 2016 and has since held several roles within the Operations team and currently oversees internal operations for the regional healthcare foundations focusing on: gift administration and reporting, donor record management and prospect research and management. In her role, she loves fostering cross-functional team collaboration, diving head-first into big, complex projects and ensuring everyone has space to be both a dreamer and a doer. She graduated from Western Carolina University with a BA in English and spends all of her free time reading, spoiling her dog, Ruggles, and traveling.
  
• Andi Marrs is seasoned fundraising professional with over seven years of comprehensive prospect research and management experience and currently serves as senior prospect development analyst for the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). Prior to her role at UNC Charlotte, Andi was the senior associate for prospect research at The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization in Washington, DC. She has also held roles at the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC)  and a boutique fundraising consulting firm, A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates. Andi received her bachelor's degree from Liberty University and her master's in nonprofit management from UMGC. She lives in Concord, NC with her husband and rescue dog, Kobe.
• Kathy Mills is a Senior Prospect Identification Analyst at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC. She researches prospective donors for Wake Forest University School of Medicine and all areas of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. She joined Wake Forest in 2012 after 14 years as a freelance market researcher. In 2019-2020, she was a member of the data conversion committee as her department prepared to convert its CRM from Millennium to RENXT. Kathy earned a BA from Elon University and MLIS from UNC at Greensboro. When she’s not busy playing with data, she’s spoiling her two dogs and buying more books than she can read.

Moderator: Teresa Pezdek, Furman University