Susan Fox , CFRE
Fundraising Consultant , Susan Fox Fundraising Consultant
      Susan Fox, CFRE has worked as an independent fundraising consultant to non-profit organizations since 1980 and has held the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive since 1995. She specializes in providing training for clients in major gifts, annual fund, capital and planned giving campaigns. She also provides services in grantwriting, appeal letter writing and general fundraising strategies. Recent clients include the Alameda County Healthcare Foundation, the Taproot Foundation, the Lions Center for the Visually Impaired of Diablo Valley and School-to-School International.
      Based in San Francisco, Susan frequently leads workshops on fundraising throughout the United States and Mexico and has been an instructor at UC Berkeley Extension, the University of San Francisco and the University of Montana. She is a regular instructor at CompassPoint Nonprofit Services and co-authored the curriculum for CompassPoint’s two-day course on “Writing Successful Grant Proposals.”
      Together with her colleague Cheryl A. Clarke, Susan organizes and moderates successful Reality Grantmaking workshops at several Bay Area conferences. The two have also written a book proposal writing. Grant Proposal Makeover: Transform Your Request from No to Yes was published released recently by Jossey-Bass.
      Susan is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, an international professional organization, and served on the board of its Golden Gate Chapter for two years including one year as Vice President-Education. She currently serves on the board of directors of Development Executives Roundtable.
      A fourth-generation native San Franciscan, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of San Francisco.

Cheryl Clarke
Fundraising Consultant , Cheryl Clarke Consulting
      Cheryl A. Clarke is a fundraising consultant, trainer and author. She is the author of Storytelling for Grantseekers: The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising (Jossey Bass, 2001) and co-author (with Susan Fox) of Grant Proposal Makeover: Transform Your Request from No to Yes (Jossey Bass, 2007). A self-described “recovering lawyer,” Clarke works with nonprofit organizations to improve their fundraising capacity. Clarke also teaches workshops in fundraising techniques and grantwriting both locally and nationally. She was a presenter at the 2006 AFP International Conference and the 2006 American Association of Grant Professionals Conference. An AFP member for 17 years, she served as Vice President for Education of the AFP-Golden Gate Chapter for two years and as a board member for three years. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Development Executives Roundtable. Clarke has a Bachelor of Science of Journalism from Northwestern University and a law degree from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

      What are the top ten flaws that grantmakers cite as their pet peeves when reviewing funding requests? This workshop will answer this important question and provide you with helpful hints for writing persuasive funding requests. The presenters base their findings on their recent survey of North American funders. Workshop participants will also have a chance to practice writing skills as they edit sample letters of inquiry (“LOIs”) and proposals to correct commonly-cited flaws.

Benefits and Learning Objectives

• Recognize the flaws in proposals that prevent your succes. Know how to correct your writing for more effective proposals.