AFP GREATER CLEVELAND HOSTS BOOT CAMP 2025
Written by: Melissa Elick
CLEVELAND, OHIO - The AFP Greater Cleveland Chapter brought together fundraising professionals, nonprofit leaders, and changemakers on Thursday, March 27th, for its Fundraising Bootcamp — a morning packed with inspiration, insights, and networking at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.
With two powerhouse sessions focused on relationship-based fundraising and legislative advocacy, attendees walked away with practical tools and fresh perspectives on how to take their fundraising game to the next level.
Session 1: Major Gifts & the Power of Relationships
Presenter: Theresa Tapocsi, Veritus Group
Theresa kicked off the morning by diving into one of the most critical (and often overlooked) elements of sustainable fundraising: authentic relationships. Her session centered around how building strong donor relationships is not only good practice but essential to long-term success—especially in major gifts.
💡 Key Takeaways:
Donor Retention Matters: Between 30-60% of donor value is lost due to attrition—largely because organizations focus too heavily on chasing new money instead of nurturing existing donors.
Relationship-Based Fundraising is a Long Game: It’s not about short-term wins; it’s about consistent, meaningful engagement that builds loyalty and trust.
Tailor Your Approach: As donors move through the giving pipeline, the way you interact with them should evolve, too. Treating all donors the same can stall growth.
Theresa’s message was clear: in major gifts, relationships are everything. If we want to retain value and deepen donor commitment, we need to lead with empathy, curiosity, and intention.
Session 2: Fundraising Meets Advocacy
Presenters: Julie Weagraff, Girl Scouts of NEO & AFP Board Member and Becky Watts, GRG Consulting
In this dynamic duo presentation, Julie and Becky tackled a topic that’s more important than ever: how nonprofits can tap into state and federal funding through legislative advocacy.
They reminded us that advocacy is fundraising—just with a different audience and process. And the good news? Anyone can do it.
🗣️ Grassroots Advocacy at the State Level Julie encouraged attendees to start local and think relational:
Attend events where government officials will be present.
Introduce yourself.
Begin to build rapport over time—just like you would with a donor.
🏛️ Securing Federal Funding Becky broke down the nuts and bolts of how federal funding works, noting that:
Funds are earmarked for specific recipients and can range from $50,000 to $5 million.
Success depends heavily on: Broad community support Alignment with congressional priorities A strong, authentic relationship with your member of Congress
📌 Final Takeaway: Whether you're cultivating a donor or a legislator, the same principle applies—relationship building is the cornerstone of success in both fundraising and advocacy. One of our AFP Members who attended the event says,
“One highlight/key insight that I took from attending the event is learning the difference between Transactional and Relational Fundraising. Not only was I able to detect some things that I do in my position, it helped me shed light on this with my organization. I also really appreciated the free book with more guidance and information on donors and fundraising.”
AFP Greater Cleveland is grateful to Theresa, Julie, and Becky for sharing their time, expertise, and actionable insights. We also thank the Greater Cleveland Food Bank for hosting and all attendees for contributing to an energizing and thoughtful morning.
Missed this event? Stay tuned for upcoming AFP Greater Cleveland programming, where we continue to support fundraisers at every stage of their careers. Together, we’re building a stronger, more connected nonprofit community.