Socratic Fundraising Workshop: Advancing the Donor’s Story
Limited to 40 Participants. Don’t miss out.
Part of the 2025 Canadian National Fundraising Conference
October 23, 2025 at the Omni King Edward Hotel, 37 King St E. Toronto.
Workshop Leader: Russell James, J.D., Ph.D., CFP®, Professor of Charitable Financial Planning at Texas Tech University. Author, speaker, insights guru.
“It’s very important not to know all the answers. Often we don’t know, and if we did it would be no good, for it is of greater value to the patient when he discovers the answers himself.” -Carl S. Jung
Socratic Fundraising: Using Questions to Advance the Donor’s Journey
Fundraising often focuses on making “the ask.” But appreciative inquiry uses questions throughout the relationship to help the donor discover their own reasons for making a transformational donation. Professor James starts with the “why” from research, theory, and
experience and then moves to the “how” of exactly what questions to ask, in what order, and for what purpose. You’ll get a deeper understanding of major gift decision processes and plenty of real-world “magic” questions to try out right away.
How to talk to people about wealth in ways that inspire major gifts of assets: The science and the sentences.
Wealth is not held in cash; it’s held in other assets like stocks, bonds, real estate, and RSPs. Research shows that shifting donors to giving from their wealth (assets), rather than just from their cash (disposable income) can lead to transformational donations. But how can we actually make this happen? Talking about someone else’s wealth can be scary! In this presentation, Professor James walks through the step-by-step process that makes these conversations simple, easy, and stress free. You don’t need to be a gift planning expert to inspire major gifts of assets. You just need to attend this workshop!
You’ll also learn: How examples can motivate generosity. Using social norms can be powerful in fundraising, but there are many ways to do it wrong. What is the best example gift? Example gift size? Example donor? What phrasing works best? How does this all this change for estate and planned gifts fundraising? This workshop shares real-world answers and practical strategies from academic research, statistics, and experiments. Come and learn what works for people like you.
Just $325.00 p.p. and includes Prof. Russell’s closing plenary keynote talk. Limited to 40 participants.
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Want to read more on this topic by Prof. James? See his article below.
Socratic Fundraising: Insider’s View
By Prof. Russell James
We start with theory. This isn’t just a penalty for reading something written by a professor. In the end, it’s quite practical. Yes, we’ll get to lists of tips and tricks. We’ll look at magic phrases and powerful questions. But first, it helps to know what we’re doing. It helps to know who we’re being. Once we get that, everything else fits. It fits the story. It fits the model. It fits the theory.
Delivering value
What does a charity offer that the donor wants? A charity can provide value to many people in many ways. But fundraising provides value to the donor in just one way – by delivering an enhanced identity. (read the full article).