More than a Grant: Cultivating Relationships with Foundations

Wednesday, December 13, 2017, 9 a.m. - Noon

Registration is closed. Thank you for your interest.

Half-Day Workshop: $90

About this session: Building a relationship with a foundation begins with personal contact and can be cultivated in ways similar to developing individual donors. Foundations can do more than write checks. You can foster a meaningful relationship with foundation staff that will be rewarding for the long-term--especially during uncertain times like the Illinois budget impasse. Learn practical tips for starting, maintaining and, in some instances, letting go of relationships. Learn how to respond to foundations’ request for innovation and how to get program officers to help you in opening doors. Be prepared to discuss useful engagement of board members in the grant seeking process. At the conclusion of the workshop, listen as local foundation program officers, Tawa Mitchell of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Lucy Tarabour of Grand Victoria Foundation share their experiences about "help beyond the grant".

Who Should Participate: Executive directors and fundraising staff

About the Presenter: Claudette Baker, President, Claudette G. Baker & Associates, Inc.

Claudette G. Baker is president of Claudette G. Baker & Associates, Inc., a consulting company delivering training and providing technical assistance to nonprofit organizations and their leaders to help them build capacity and become effective in accomplishing their mission and goals.  Her consulting focuses on organizational development (strategic thinking and planning, and program planning and development), project management, board governance and development, annual fundraising, leadership development and group facilitation.  Claudette provides formal and informal coaching to executive directors with an emphasis on board and fund development, and on working with diverse groups and perspectives. She is also skilled at facilitating group process.

Her career has spanned the for-profit, government and nonprofit sectors for more than 30 years. She has an in-depth understanding of the complexities in managing and governing nonprofit organizations. Claudette served as the vice president of library and nonprofit services at Forefront (formerly Donors Forum), worked as senior director of center development for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, was a regional director for retired US Senator J. Bennett Johnston (D-LA), and was an account executive for a top-rated radio station in Louisiana.  Claudette holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She is a past board member of the Crossroads Fund and Association of Fundraising Professionals, Chicago Chapter. She is currently on the board of African American Legacy at the Chicago Community Trust.