Course overview

This course is designed to help participants master the art of crafting compelling donor communications. This course will explore how to transform data and information into a powerful case for support, teaching practical techniques to articulate mission and impact. You will learn to cut through the noise and deliver messages that resonate emotionally, inspire trust and motivate action. The course blends foundational principles with interactive, hands-on exercises, delivering a framework for purposeful, donor-centric communication.

Course aim

This course aims to empower participants to become more effective communicators in the fundraising sector. This course will give participants the skills to confidently and concisely articulate their organisation's mission and impact, ensuring their message inspires action and secures support through clear and concise communication.

What you’ll learn

• Identify and remove unnecessary noise from your communication to deliver a clear message
• Structure compelling stories that connect with donors on an emotional level
• Understand different audience segments and how to deliver tailored messaging
• Consider how different channels change the way messages are structured
• Translate data and mission-based information into a persuasive case for support
• Craft powerful calls to action that motivate and guide donor engagement

Targeted skills

This course will allow you to:

1. Feel confident that your communications will deliver a compelling message
2. Understand how to weave storytelling into your fundraising language
3. Create a consistent narrative across multiple channels
4. Engage donors emotionally
5. Create strong call to actions for different audiences and channels

Participant level

Intermediate

Who is this course for?

Marketing and communications professionals who are directly responsible for grant writing, securing donations and communicating across multiple channels. This would benefit those staff who are responsible for using communication channels to build a relationship with donors and beneficiaries.

Prerequisite knowledge

This is not for entry level marketing and communications professionals - participants should have some knowledge of different marketing channels and the characteristics of these. You should also have experience in writing content for different platforms and different audiences.

This course won’t explore

• Overview of different channels - this course will talk about how to structure messages depending on the channel but will not outline the channel itself in detail.
• Development of automated customer journeys
• Trigger-based communications
• Brand or tone of voice development

Delivery

1 x 3hr session via Zoom

Format:

• 2-page case study with questions as pre-reading
• Break-out rooms/groups, group discussions, survey and case study review
• Workbook will be provided before the course to use during the course
• Follow-up template to be circulated after the course

Meet the facilitator

Read Rebecca Merryfull's bio. (PDF)

Guidelines for enrolment

1. Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.
2. You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.
3. If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au .

CFRE

Full participation in Donor Communications that Cut Through is applicable for up to 1.5 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

FIA Code

This course relates to the following aspects of the FIA Code of Conduct:

Conduct towards donors:

A focus for this course is communicating clearly and with purpose. The focus on communicating clearly and concisely without resorting to exaggeration or misrepresentation, ensuring the message's simplicity comes from honesty, not from withholding information. This course focuses on treating donors with respect and appreciating the value that donors bring to for-profit organisations. Participants will look to empower donors with a clear understanding of their role in creating change, rather than pressuring them with guilt or urgency, ensuring that every call to action is respectful and honors the donor's choice.

Conduct towards beneficiaries:

This course is centred on a commitment to transparency and authenticity. This course is grounded in leveraging true stories of impact and genuine human need, rather than exploiting emotional vulnerabilities or using manipulative tactics. I focus on inspiring trust, demonstrating integrity and accountability, providing clear evidence of how funds are used and the real-world results they achieve. I will also focus on representing the stories of beneficiaries with dignity and respect.

Course overview

This may be the most important training you will ever participate in as a fundraiser. Understanding the discovery call – getting to know very high-net-worth individuals – is essential to generating transformational gifts for your charity. Research clearly indicates that major gifts methodologies are by far the most effective method of raising funds, but these gifts are not possible without the discovery call. While research also shows that discovery calls are often the most difficult tasks fundraisers face, it doesn’t have to be that way. This course will define the discovery call and introduce best practices to help charities get to know their largest potential givers. If you would like to dramatically increase your fundraising revenue most effectively, this is the course for you!

Gain valuable insights from a U.S. based expert, bringing local and international perspectives and real-world experience to enrich your learning

This course covers the following:

• A step-by-step process through which a discovery call can be conducted.
• Open forum discussion on a case study and pre-course survey.
• Review methods to prioritise prospects and determine the next steps following the discovery call.

What you'll learn

By the end of the course, you will:

• Understand what a discovery call is and what it is not.
• Take away recommended step-by-step procedures for conducting the successful discovery call.
• Grasp the best methods for initial outreach to set up a meeting with a potential major donor.
• Understand ways to prioritise major donor prospects – in other words, who to see first.

Targeted skills

• Relationship building through written communication, phone/virtual calls and personal meetings.
• Relaxing/being comfortable when starting new relationships.

Who is this course for?

All fundraisers will benefit. However, those who find time in their schedules for one-on-one meetings with prospects will gain the most.

While all audiences will benefit, the entry and intermediate levels may find the most useful. This is because entry/intermediate level fundraisers are typically called upon to do the “heavy lifting” in the discovery call process.

Participants would benefit from understanding the difference between an annual/sustaining gift and a large/major gift.

Delivery

1 x 3hr session via Zoom

This course won't explore

• More well-known fundraising methods, including direct mail, face-to-face, events, etc. – we will focus on building personal relationships with our largest potential givers.
• While the session will touch on the topic (prioritising which prospective donors to see), the workshop is not intended as a training on prospect research

Meet the facilitator

Read John Greenhoe's bio (PDF).

Guidelines for enrolment

Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.

You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.

If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

Full participation in Mastering the Discovery Call: Opening the Door to Your Largest Gifts is applicable for up to 3 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

FIA Code

This course relates to the following aspects of the FIA Code of Conduct:

FIA Code 3.0 Ethical conduct.

Course overview

Building on the foundations of donor journey mapping, this advanced program takes a deeper dive into designing, testing, and optimising donor journeys for long-term fundraising success. Through an interactive, face-to-face workshop, participants will work on their own donor journeys—focusing on acquisition or retention/engagement strategies—and collaborate with peers to refine and validate their approaches. A dedicated session on audience segmentation and donor insights ensures participants build journeys grounded in data and donor understanding.

Level up your donor journey mapping in this advanced face-to-face workshop. Gain skills in segmentation and donor insights, work on your own acquisition or retention journey, and collaborate with peers to create strategies you can apply immediately.

Course aim

Equip fundraisers and marketers with advanced tools to refine and enhance donor journeys. Participants will gain the confidence to assess their current approaches, identify gaps, and design more impactful, data-informed journeys that improve donor retention and campaign outcomes.

What you’ll learn

• Analyse and critique existing donor journeys to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Apply audience segmentation techniques and donor insights to inform journey design.
• Map donor experiences across multiple touchpoints with a focus on acquisition or retention/engagement.
• Integrate multi-channel strategies into donor journeys.
• Test, evaluate, and refine donor journeys using peer feedback and performance metrics.
• Translate donor insights into actionable strategies for fundraising and marketing campaigns.

Targeted skills

1. Audience segmentation
2. Donor insights
3. Journey mapping
4. Turning ideas into actions

Participant level

Intermediate–Advanced

Who is this course for?

Fundraising and marketing managers, donor engagement specialists, and fundraisers responsible for donor acquisition, retention, or campaign strategy who already understand the basics of donor journey mapping.

Prerequisite knowledge

Foundational understanding of donor journey mapping (e.g. completion of the introductory FIA Donor Journey Mapping course or equivalent experience).

This session won’t explore

Step-by-step configuration in specific CRMs or marketing automation platforms (platform-specific build and technical setup).

Delivery

In-person. 8-hour (full-day).  Sydney venue to be advised.

Meet the facilitator

Read Mike Zeederberg's bio (PDF).

Guidelines for enrolment

Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.

You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.

If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

FIA Code

Full participation in Donor Journey Mapping is applicable for up to 2.5 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

Course overview

Bringing together the principles of customer journeys, learn the theory behind donor journeys and how they can be used to drive great fundraising outcomes. You will create your own bespoke journey for your donors and participate in the hands-on construction of a donor journey, working in groups to create an assumptive donor journey map in class.

The course is designed to provide insights and value to beginners and more seasoned practitioners, starting with the basics of what customer journeys are and why we use them and then progressing rapidly to hands-on workshops where participants apply the knowledge immediately against scenarios. Where participants have already existing journeys, we often discuss those and provide insights on how those can be improved and evolved to the next level.

What you’ll learn

• Why donor journeys have become so important
• Why you need to develop them for your donors
• How to run a customer journey for your donors
• Techniques for understanding your donors and creating the journeys
• How journeys can be used to determine marketing, digital and fundraising strategy

Who is this course for?

• Fundraising and marketing managers
• Fundraising event organisers
• Gifts in Wills donor managers
• Fundraisers responsible for donor engagement, retention and acquisition

If you are a more experienced marketer or a UX professional, this course is also for you. There are generally a number of key insights you get through the course, and it helps validate your current knowledge and round out what is often on-the-job experience. 

Delivery

2 x 4hr sessions via Zoom.

This course won't explore

Whilst the course will discuss the implementation of communications frameworks into marketing systems based on a detailed understanding of the donor journey, it does not explicitly go through the implementation of marketing automations and engagement sequences at granular level within a CRM given the wide variance of technology capabilities and platforms utilised by fundraisers.

Meet the facilitator

Read Mike Zeederberg's bio (PDF).

Guidelines for enrolment

Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.

You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.

If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

Full participation in Donor Journey Mapping is applicable for up to 7 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

FIA Code

This course relates to the following aspects of the FIA Code of Conduct:

FIA Code 4 Conduct towards Donors by considering scenarios where this conduct may be challenged and discuss how to navigate any challenges in ethical and appropriate ways.

Course Overview

In this session Dr Cassandra Chapman will introduce you to some of her latest research on the psychology of giving and evidence-based practices for fundraising, including:

• Charitable Triad Theory: How donors, beneficiaries, and fundraisers all influence donations
• Donor motivations: Which motivations are most important for giving (to different causes)
• Identity and giving: How identities and social norms influence people’s charity preferences
• Localised prosociality: How donors collate their charity portfolios around geographic concerns
• Rage donations: Giving as a form of collective action
• The Champion Effect: How fundraisers drive success in peer-to-peer campaigns

There will be an extended Q&A about donor psychology and how you can apply it in your fundraising strategy and campaigns.

Delivery

1 x 3hr session via Zoom.

Meet the facilitator

Read Dr Cassandra Chapman's bio (PDF).

Guidelines for enrolment

Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.

You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.

If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

Full participation in Donor psychology: Evidence-based insights to improve your fundraising is applicable for up to 3.0 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

FIA Code

This course relates to the following aspects of the FIA Code of Conduct:

FIA Code 3.0 Ethical conduct.

Course overview

Learn the latest insights from the science of philanthropy and fundraising. Complementing Donor Psychology 101, and covering new and emerging topics, this course will introduce participants to new insights from donor psychology and fundraising research. 

Topics covered will include: 

• Incentives for charitable giving (e.g., matches, rebates, thank you gifts, recognition): Which offers should work and which may backfire 

• Social norms and how they can be leveraged in fundraising appeals 

• The potential and risks of face-to-face fundraising 

• Emotional appeals: When making donors feel either positive emotions (e.g., joy, pride, gratitude) or negative emotions (e.g., sadness, guilt, anger) can promote giving 

The half-way workshop will be interactive. After introducing the latest research on each topic there will be time for group reflection and discussion. Time will also be left at the end for general Q&A.

Course aim

The course aims to introduce key insights from the latest research on fundraising and donor psychology. Participants will leave with a broader range of ideas to help develop their fundraising strategy and creative.

What you’ll learn

• Understand what social norms are and how they can be used in fundraising
• Select from an inventory of potential incentive offers that could be deployed in fundraising appeals
• Consider the use of emotion (whether positive or negative) in fundraising appeals and the common impacts on donor generosity
• Identify images that are most likely to be perceived as promoting perceptions of beneficiary need and strength and know the likely fundraising outcomes of using each

Targeted skills

1. Donor Psychology
2. Strategy
3. Creative development

Participant level

Intermediate

Who is this course for?

The course should be of value to all fundraisers at any point in their career and across most sectors. However, it will be especially relevant to those working in individual giving.

Prerequisite knowledge

None. Donor Psychology 101 is complementary and is not a pre-requisite for attending this course.

This session won’t explore

Topics other than the ones listed.

Delivery

1 x 3hr session via Zoom.

Meet the facilitator

Dr Cassandra Chapman’s bio (PDF)

Guidelines for enrolment

Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.

You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.

If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

FIA Code

FIA Code 4. Conduct towards donors. 

All content is presented in a way that is reflective of these ethical practices, especially conduct toward both donors and beneficiaries. Some content (e.g., on emotional appeals, face-to-face fundraising) engage directly with these topics.

Course overview

This course equips fundraising professionals with the tools to confidently attract, secure, and sustain meaningful corporate partnerships. Participants will learn how to identify and engage the right partners, negotiate and manage contracts effectively, and apply best-practice relationship management techniques that drive long-term impact. The course also explores critical decision-making skills, knowing when to say yes or no, and defines the qualities that make a partnership truly successful. By the end, you will walk away with a clear framework for building mutually beneficial relationships that deliver value for both parties.

Course aim

• Enhance knowledge of strategic philanthropy trends and best practices for partnerships, enabling you to make informed decisions
• Develop practical skills in prospecting, partner engagement, storytelling, negotiation, and contract management that can be applied immediately
• Build confidence to approach, pitch, and manage relationships with current and prospective partners.
• Strengthen decision-making by applying clear frameworks to evaluate opportunities and determine when to say yes or no.
• Walk away with a refined organisational value proposition, an ideal partner profile and a personal action plan tailored to their role.
• Make a tangible difference by fostering stronger, more aligned partnerships that increase impact and reduce risk in day-to-day fundraising work.

What you'll learn

• Attract the right partners by positioning their organisation’s unique value and aligning with a partner’s goals.
• Engage partners effectively through storytelling, co-design, and impact-driven conversations.
• Apply relationship management techniques that build trust, deepen engagement, and strengthen long-term collaboration.
• Negotiate and manage contracts with confidence, ensuring clarity, accountability, and mutual benefit.
• Evaluate partnership opportunities and make informed decisions about when to say yes or walk away.
• Define what makes a great partner and use this as a guiding framework in all engagement.

Targeted skills

• Problem-solving for attracting and retaining partnerships
• Active listening, communication and storytelling
• Planning for engagement and negotiation

Who is this course for?

Corporate partnerships professionals with a new or established corporate partnerships program. This course is designed for anyone managing a new or established corporate program, especially those with limited support, such as small teams or no in-house partnership colleagues.

Delivery

2 x 3hr sessions via Zoom.

This course won’t explore

• Organisation specific consulting or deep dives into organisation specific programs.
• In depth prospecting or qualifying processes.
• In depth pitching or proposal templates.

Participant level

 Intermediate

Prerequisite knowledge

Although the principals in this program can be applied to many different relationships in an organisation, ideally participants would come with some experience in corporate partnerships (at least 1 year) and the start of a new corporate partnerships program or an established program.

Meet the facilitator

Read Georgina McKenzie's bio (PDF).

Guidelines for enrolment

1. Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.
2. You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.
3. If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

Full participation in Building Powerful Partnerships - Strategic Philanthropy and Relationship Management in Fundraising is applicable for up to 2.25 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

FIA Code

This course relates to the following aspects of the FIA Code of Conduct:

Acting openly, honestly and with transparency: clearly communicating the purpose, delivery and outcomes for participants, providing pre and post work, designing the program in consultation with other Orange Sky colleagues to ensure holistic best practice is represented Protecting dignity and privacy: For both participants and corporate partnerships highlighted in the course content, all interactions are grounded in respect and choice. Personal stories and images are only shared with full, informed consent. Complying with all legal obligations: ensuring contract or MoU agreement advice is based on anecdotal learnings and is clearly not formal legal advice or guidance of any kind. All participants will be recommended to seek external counsel to ensure clauses and inclusions are correctly represented.

Course overview

Supporter Care teams often speak to more supporters than anyone else in an organisation, yet their role is frequently positioned as reactive or administrative.

This course reframes Supporter Care and relationship roles as strategic drivers of retention, trust and long-term value. It explores what supporters expect, what truly delights them, and how everyday conversations can strengthen loyalty. Drawing on Australian charity case studies and frontline experience, participants will learn how to design proactive engagement moments, improve conversations, and better articulate the measurable value of Supporter Care or Relationship Management actions internally. The session blends strategic thinking with practical application and is suitable for anyone responsible for supporter relationships.

Course aim

To equip charity professionals with the mindset, tools and strategic lens to elevate Supporter Care and relationship management from reactive service to proactive, measurable supporter engagement.

What you’ll learn

• Understand how Supporter Care contributes strategically to retention and supporter experience.
• Identify opportunities to move from reactive service to proactive engagement.
• Apply practical techniques to improve conversations and increase engagement.
• Develop simple ways to track and demonstrate the value of Supporter Care actions.

Targeted skills

1. Proactive stewardship design
2. Storytelling within frontline interactions
3. Internal influence and value articulation
4. Cross-team collaboration
5. Outcome tracking and performance framing

Participant level

Intermediate

Who is this course for?

• Supporter Care and Donor Services teams
• Relationship managers
• Supporter Experience leads
• Fundraising managers wanting to elevate frontline engagement
• Organisations looking to reset how relationship-building responsibility is shared across teams

We strongly encourage organisations to send two participants – one from Supporter Care and one from fundraising. Supporter Care teams hear directly from supporters every day, while fundraising teams design the strategies that shape those relationships. When both roles attend together, it creates powerful opportunities to connect frontline insight with fundraising strategy. In previous sessions, this approach helped teams break down internal silos and identify new ways to collaborate across programs.

Prerequisite knowledge

They should have had a conversation with a supporter before.

This session won’t explore

• Detailed CRM training
• Full marketing automation and journey design
• How to make an ask training (e.g. for Majors)
• Technical telemarketing compliance frameworks

Delivery

Online. 3-hour preference.

• PowerPoint presentation and case studies
• Sector examples
• Live reflection questions
• Breakout discussions
• Worksheets and action planning templates
• Optional dashboard examples for tracking Supporter Care impact

Where possible, a charity partner will join to share lived experience and implementation insights.

Meet the facilitator

Megan Maya's bio.

Kate Thorpe's bio.

Guidelines for enrolment

1. Bring one example of a good and bad supporter interaction.
2. TBC – could provide pre course survey to understand course participants and ensure we are tailoring content.
3. For questions about enrolment, contact training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

CFRE points pending confirmation.

FIA Code

FIA Code of Conduct Integration

• Conduct towards Donors

Course overview

This full-day, practical course guides fundraisers from strategy to operation, equipping them with the knowledge and hands-on skills to deliver effective donor stewardship.

You will learn core principles, evidence-based best practice, and examine real-world, on-the-job examples, then actively translate these into stewardship frameworks and operational plans using actionable tools. All tools and plans are tailored to participants’ organisations, considering capacity and current fundraising operations.

You will also gain a foundational understanding of designing and building positive donor experiences. You will leave with ready-to-use templates, tools, and a 90-day plan you can implement immediately.

To enhance your ability to build strong, enduring relationships with donors through a practical, strategy-to-operations approach, gaining confidence in applying stewardship principles, understanding donor experiences, developing tools, and operationalising plans tailored to their organisation, leaving you with a toolkit of templates, tools, workflows, and a 90-day plan ready for immediate implementation.

What you'll learn 

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:

• Understand core donor stewardship principles and their role in building lasting donor relationships.
• Apply stewardship principles to develop strategic approaches that strengthen donor engagement and retention.
• Operationalise these strategies using practical tools and frameworks tailored to their organisation’s capacity and operations.
• Create and implement donor touchpoints and stewardship workflows using workshop tools to deliver experiences that build loyalty and drive long-term engagement.
• Create a focused, actionable 90-day stewardship plan using workshop tools that can be implemented immediately.

Targeted skills

• Donor stewardship strategy and application
• Operational planning and workflow design
• Donor experience mapping and touchpoint development
• Practical use of stewardship tools and templates
• Action planning for donor engagement and retention

Who is this course for?

Entry to intermediate fundraisers, donor relations officers, and communications or marketing staff who want to strengthen donor retention, loyalty, and engagement. Ideal for those seeking to translate stewardship principles into actionable strategies and operational plans.

Delivery

2 x 3hr sessions via Zoom.

This course won’t explore

You will focus on applying stewardship principles and designing donor experiences. The following topics are out of scope:

• Full donor journeys
• Comprehensive major gifts strategies
• Detailed data strategies
• Detailed operational donor care

Participant level

Entry to Intermediate

Prerequisite knowledge

Participants should have a basic understanding of fundraising concepts and some practical experience with donor engagement. No advanced technical knowledge is required, as the workshop builds from principles to practical application.

Meet the facilitator

Read Leanne Rayner's bio (PDF).

Guidelines for enrollment

Make sure you have a login for the FIA Learning Hub. Click "Sign In" or "Forgot Password" if needed.

You can enrol a staff member if they already have a login.

If you require assistance, please email training@fia.org.au.

CFRE

Full participation in Practical Donor Stewardship: From Principles to Action is applicable for up to 2.25 continuing education points in Category 1. B – Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

FIA Code

This course aligns with the FIA Code of Conduct by embedding ethical, donor-centred practices throughout. Participants will explore compliance, ethical decision-making, and transparent communication to build trust with donors, ensure beneficiary-focused outcomes, and manage supplier relationships responsibly. The course equips fundraisers to apply these principles in practice, fostering integrity, accountability, and sustainable donor engagement