Team Work Summary Descriptions

SPEA - V558 Fund Development for  Nonprofits Fall 2007 Kirsten A. Grønbjerg Section 20518, MW 5:30-6:45 pm, PV 274 Portfolio Project Assignments Students (working alone or in teams) will be required to undertake a minimum of ten of the activities listed below for a particular nonprofit organization. The portfolio assignments should be completed in collaboration with one of the many nonprofits that have expressed an interest in partnering with students in this class on the assignments. That means the executive directors, board presidents, or other key executives have agreed to (a) cooperate with you, (b) make relevant information available (see the Appendix) in a timely manner so that you can carry out the assignments (recognizing that some information may be too sensitive to share), and (c) provide feedback on the utility of the portfolio that you develop. A list of the nonprofits offering to partner with us for this course will be distributed separately (see Syllabus information on Oncourse). You should also review information they have provided in SPEA 410. Please follow instructions on the sign-up sheet. Top | Team Work | Summary Descriptions Team Work You should carry out these assignments as a part of team of 3-4 people. You may choose your own team members, but because of the nature of the assignments, the team MUST stay together for the entire semester. All members of the team must participate in each of the assignments and the work should be divided as evenly as possible.   Three times during the semester (when your team has submitted respectively three, six, and ten assignments) you must give me a confidential assessment of the contributions each of your peers have made to the team effort for the assignments submitted since your last assessment. Further details are available on Assignment page on Oncourse for this class: http://oncourse.iu.edu. Top | Team Work | Summary Descriptions Summary Descriptions Below is a brief description of the projects. As noted above, team members must complete a confidential assessment of the contributions made by other team members three times during the semester. More detailed descriptions and evaluation criteria are available on the Oncourse webpage for this class: http://oncourse.iu.edu. Prepare a revenues and a philanthropic gift profile for the organization and explain how and why these profiles differ from national statistics. Required. Review the organization's mission statement in terms of how well the organization's values are represented (or write such a mission statement if none is available) and describe the organization's link to its various constituency groups. Required. Revise or write a case statement for the organization's annual fund. Required Construct a gift range chart for the annual fund goal. If at all possible, prepare an analysis of the actual gift size distribution for the annual fund. High Priority Revise or write a direct mail letter (for purposes of donor acquisition, gift renewal or gift upgrade) asking for gifts to the organization. Optional. Evaluate the organization's planned giving program in terms of effectiveness and opportunities for expansion or improvement (or design a start-up planned giving program for the organization, if no plan is in place). Optional. Complete a "test for readiness" for a capital campaign for the organization and an assessment of the organization's readiness to start such a campaign (or, if the organization has completed a capital campaign within the past 15 months, prepare an analysis of the results based on the "test for readiness" elements). Optional. Develop a donor profile and a solicitation plan for a prospective major donor to the organization. Optional. Write a letter of inquiry to a foundation or corporation that is a valid prospective donor to the organization, making the case for support for the organization. Optional. Based on #9 above, prepare a five-minute presentation to the grants committee to the respective foundation or corporation, making the case for support. Optional. Write a plan for how the organization can expand its donor base and attract new donors. High Priority. Assess the organization's total development program - how it acquires or renews donors and asks for increased gifts; what it does for major gifts and planned gifts. High Priority. Assess the role of the organization's board in fund development. High Priority. Assess the organization's process for managing fund development resources (human, information, financial, physical/space/equipment, or relationships). Optional. Undertake a fundraising budget analysis to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of at least one component of the organization's fundraising effort. High Priority. See course schedule for information on when projects are due. A complete description of the portfolio assignments and the take-home final exam is available on the assignment page Oncourse for this class. For important information on how to format tables and graphs, please see Tables and Graphs Guide.pdf Top | Team Work | Summary Descriptions