2012 Assets Learning Conference
 

AFI Institute Agenda

September 19, 2012 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
 

Welcome Plenary                                                                                                   9:00 am – 10:30 am

  • Welcome and Opening Remarks

Networking Break                                                                                                   10:30 am – 10:45 am

Morning Breakout Sessions                                                                                10:45 am – 12:00 pm

  • New Grantee/Staff Session (mandatory for new grantees/staff):  Getting Started with AFI. (Presentation - PDF)  This session will provide an overview of AFI basics, including program rules, eligibility requirements, use of project reserve funds, etc .  
  • Using “Frames” for Powerful Messaging. (Presentation - PDF) Sharing the story of your IDA program and its accomplishments can help you enroll more savers, raise more money, and develop stronger partnerships.  Are you communicating effectively about your program’s successes?  Are you tailoring your message for different audiences? In this session, attendees will delve into a set of messaging “frames” designed specifically for helping you promote your IDA program to a range of stakeholders, and begin to craft powerful messages that you can begin to use right away.

Idea-Sharing Lunch Break                                                                                     12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

  •  Grantees choose an “affinity group” to sit with; guided questions will be provided and open dialogue encouraged

Afternoon Breakout Sessions I                                                                            1:30 pm – 2:45 pm

  • Fundraising 101.  Targeted toward grantees with little experience in fundraising, this session will offer an introduction on the “how-tos” of successful resource development – from prospect identification to making the ask.
  • “Managing and Using Data for Program Success”.  (Presentation - PDF) Collecting and managing data is a crucial element for running AFI programs with success.  Having the right data management tool for your needs and then utilizing the information it produces to make crucial decisions is an important – and often overlooked – aspect of successful AFI programs. It helps with easier reporting, more efficient use of staff, and capturing programmatic outcomes for use in messaging, fundraising, partnership development, and participant recruitment. This session will introduce the latest online data management tool available to AFI grantees and provide some case studies for how organizations effectively capture, manage, and utilize data in their everyday work. 
  • Outreach and Enrollment.  This session will focus on strategies to maximize program outreach, with examples of successful recruitment strategies and partnerships from the field and a discussion of how to apply these techniques to your program.

Networking Break                                                                                                      2:45 pm – 3:00 pm

Afternoon Breakout Sessions II                                                                             3:00 pm – 4:15 pm

  • Fundraising 201.  This session, targeted toward those who attended Fundraising 101 and/or those with more fundraising experience, will focus on fundraising tactics specific to AFI IDA programs.  The ICF document we will use is around messaging for fundraising.
  • Using Behavioral Strategies to Improve Program Outcomes.  This session will offer easy, cost-effective strategies for promoting positive program behaviors and tactics to encourage enrollment, increase savings and create a more efficient and effective IDA program.  Findings and a toolkit from the behavioral component of the Capacity Building contract will be shared.
  • IDAs that Build Savings and Credit.  Adding credit building to matched savings has been compared to an IDA on steroids! Credit building harnessed by IDA initiatives can reinforce on-time regular monthly savings behavior, coach savers to reduce expenses and guard savings, and support savers through life’s little financial emergencies with their IDA savings account intact. Come learn innovative credit building strategies for AFI grantees. Credit Builders Alliance (Presentation - PDF), Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) (Presentation - PDF) and the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association (KDVA) (Presentation - PDF) will share diverse IDA credit building innovations. Come with your questions and best practices!

Networking Break                                                                                                      4:15 pm – 4:30 pm

AFI Program Specialist and Grantee “Office Hours”                                        4:30 pm – 5:30 pm

 

 
 
 This Institute is sponsored by IDA sponsor, the Assets for Independence Program.