About

Over 20 years ago, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust taught the first Essentials of Development program to help organizations both articulate their mission and create a development program that will sustain the organization for the long haul. 

Launching in 2020, the Idaho Nonprofit Center is proud to partner with the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust to bring this important resource to Idaho in support of growing nonprofit organizations. 

The program focuses on important strategies such as methods for developing a case statement, special approaches to donors with major gift capacity, role-playing on how to make the “ask,” an overview of the board’s role in the development program, and more.  

Registration cost is $575 per organization, which includes three full days of training (starting spring 2023) with the executive director, development director (if applicable) and two board members. 

In the form below, please express your interest in this program before November 1, 2022. Once reviewed, organizations will be asked to submit a letter of interest.

Core Values and Outcomes

The Essentials of Development program received its name from the four essentials of the program, which are directly tied to the program’s outcomes:
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  • Essential #1: the case statement.  The case statement—an organization’s presentation piece for one-on-one interactions with prospective and continuing donors—is a key component of the Essentials program.  The case statement is written in conjunction with a philosophy of development describing how and why your organization seeks financial support from stakeholders, and what benefits or outcomes donors receive when they give.  Each organization completes the Essentials of Development program with a polished case statement.  

  • Essential #2: the annual plan.  A strong annual plan allows organizations to articulate their mission and purpose through their budgets and funding goals.  

  • Essential #3: segmented donor list.  Segmenting your donor list and having unique strategies for various segments—even to the level of individual donors—is a key value of the Essentials philosophy.  Seminar participants will learn how to divide the roster of donors for maximum 
    personalization and effectiveness. Each organization will leave with a segmented list of its donors.

  • Essential #4: development teams.  An important component of any development strategy is having a core group of organizational leaders involved in partnering with the current executive director in major donor development. Each organization will begin to establish their development team, beginning with those who attend the seminar (see #3 below under Expectations).
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Expectations

In addition to a willingness to work within the structure of the core values listed above, there are four additional expectations of organizations participating in the Essentials of Development program:
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  1. ​Each organization will complete a current survey prior to the seminar. The survey asks questions related to the organization’s finances, donor history, development strategies and so on. Three additional surveys will build on the first survey. Completion of all surveys is a requirement of the Essentials program. The Idaho Nonprofit Center will use this information to assess the organizations’ progress and improve the Essentials program, and organizations will be given feedback regarding all survey results. 

  2. Organizations will be paired with an Essentials coach, who works with the organization from the survey prior to the first seminar through the remainder of the training, to assess and build the organization’s development process.

  3. Because of the core value regarding development teams, each organization will bring three or four people to all seminar sessions: the head of your organization (e.g. Executive Director), at least one board member (the board chair is preferable), and additional board or staff members involved in fundraising.
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  4. Each organization will complete its assigned work, specifically creation of the documents described above under Core Values and Outcomes.  These documents will be evaluated by the Essentials coaches.

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Assessment

Real-time evaluation and feedback are provided during the Essentials of Development seminars and coaching sessions.  Additionally, the coaches will follow-up with the organizations for a three month and six month check in, as well as a follow-up survey from the Idaho Nonprofit Center.  

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Eligibility

Essentials is for small to mid-sized organizations that:
  • need help increasing the contributed income base of their revenue stream
  • are willing to exert the concerted effort to implement the four “Essentials” of development in their fundraising practice
  • desire to focus on increasing their individual donor base, including major donors
  • are committed to including a board member and development personnel in all three training sessions.

Essentials IS NOT for organizations: 
  • looking for help mostly in the area of foundations and grants
  • seeking to get their foot in the door with the Murdock Trust
  • hoping for a “quick fix” for their contributed revenue need.
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Timeline

Class Schedule - exact dates TBD
  • February 2023
  • May 2023
  • September 2023
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Pricing

Registration cost
  • $575 per organization

Includes Admission of three full days for:
  • executive director
  • development director (if applicable)
  • two board members
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Sponsored by Interstate Bank Foundation & JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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