|
2025 Chapter Conference
Strength To Succeed
CONFERENCE DETAILS
The world of grants and nonprofit funding is changing. Grant professionals and nonprofit experts are the ones who will lead our organizations through it. Whether you are new to grants, a seasoned expert, or wear many hats, the Strength to Succeed conference is the place to connect and learn about the work between words that keep our organizations going. Information on the conference is included below:
Date: June 10, 2025
Time: 9:00am - 5:30pm
Location:
Des Moines Area Community College Ankeny Campus
2006 S. Ankeny Blvd., Building 5 (Student Center)
Ankeny, Iowa 50023
See DMACC Campus Map
- $85 for Standard Registration
- $75 for GPA Members (including local Central IA Chapter members), AFP Members, Students, & AmeriCorps Members
*Cancellations will be accepted through May 20, 2025 for a full refund (minus a $10 administration fee).
REGISTRATION CLOSES END-OF-DAY JUNE 3
LINK TO CONFERENCE MATERIALS COMING SOON
CONFERENCE SESSIONS
Keynote Address: “Fundraise Like a 5th Grader - Lessons in Fearless, Bold, and Resilient Fundraising” - Patrick Kirby
In this engaging and humorous keynote, Patrick Kirby—author of the Amazon Bestseller “Fundraise Like a 5th Grader”—takes a playful yet profound dive into the lessons we can learn from 5th graders to supercharge our fundraising efforts. From fearlessly asking big questions to harnessing creativity and bouncing back from rejection, this keynote will explore the core traits that every successful fundraiser needs. By blending real-life examples with the straightforward honesty of 5th graders, you'll gain a fresh perspective on how to build authentic relationships with donors, make bold asks, and cultivate long-term support for your cause.
Grant Leadership Sessions:
“Leadership in Funding: CLA Foundation” - Susan Carter & Dr. Brita Midness
CLA’s mission is “connecting diverse networks to create career opportunities through education, employment, and entrepreneurship." Their giving focus is on working collaboratively to solve problems and learning from each other to strengthen our communities. Hear from CLA staff about their journey to a more community-centered approach and how they integrate this philosophy into their community impact program today.
“Mindful Leadership: Staying Grounded in Challenging Times” - Kathleen Sprole
When our world feels unstable, it's easy to become overwhelmed and reactive. As a leader, these are the times it's crucial to stay steady and respond in value driven ways. Mindfulness is a practice in staying present, which increases our ability to stay connected to our values and make wise decisions. Mindfulness helps us stay in equanimity, an ability to connect to an internal sense of calm regardless of what stressors are happening outside. It can also be an act of radical self-care and your super power as a leader. By the end of this session you will not only understand why stress knocks us off kilter, but also how to instead stay cool, calm and connected to your values. Walk away with mindfulness based skills for calming the nervous system and taking responsive, value driven action.
“Navigating Change with Confidence: Leading Through Uncertainty in Grant and Nonprofit Work” - Angie Asa-Lovstad
This session offers a practical, engaging introduction to change management, built around the Beckhard Change Equation. Through storytelling and interactive tools like the TRIZ liberating structure, participants will explore ways to move from frustration to clarity when navigating funding disruptions, community resistance, or leadership transitions. We’ll draw directly from your experiences in the uncertain times of today within the world of grant writing and management, and build strategies to lead with vision, even from behind the scenes.
“Collaborative Leadership in Action: Tools for Advocacy, Partnership, and Ownership” - Angie Asa-Lovstad
In a time when burnout is high and funding is uncertain, the ability to build strong shared leadership is more important than ever. This session offers hands-on tools for assessing who is at the table—and who is not—and how to engage collaborators in meaningful, equity-driven ways. We'll introduce practical frameworks like the Circles of Involvement and the Collaboration Multiplier to support more strategic and inclusive partnerships. Participants will learn how to advocate for their own work, cultivate buy-in from stakeholders, and distribute leadership in ways that build collective power.
Grant Skills Sessions:
“NERDs for Need Statements” - Amanda Acton
Need statements are an essential part of any grant application. Learn how to write powerful need statements using the NERD framework. This includes framing your need so funders get it, understanding types of need, and using principles of rhetoric to make your case.
“Grant Program Plan Development” - Lindsay Henderson
In this workshop you will learn how to prepare and present a convincing program plan for your proposal, including utilizing logic models for visual representation.
“The Power of Data in Grant Writing” - Gary Krob
In this session, we will explore how to effectively leverage Census data in grant writing to strengthen proposals and secure funding. By understanding and utilizing key demographic, economic, and social data from the U.S. Census, grant writers can provide compelling evidence of need, target specific communities, and demonstrate project impact. Learn how to navigate the State Data Center website, extract relevant information, and incorporate this data to build a data-driven narrative that resonates with funders and increases your chances of success.
“Best Practices for Measuring the Performance of Grants” - Lance Noe
This presentation provides an overview of best practices for evaluating a grant project. To be discussed is the value of good grant design that entails working with well-conceived goals and well-understood evaluation strategies and technique. The discussion will touch on the purpose of evaluation, how to interpret data and the value of understanding the cultural aspects of quality evaluation.
NEARBY HOTELS
Home2 Suites
1230 SW District Drive
Ankeny, IA 50023
https://thedistrictpt.com/business/home2-suites/
Residence Inn
1515 SW Main Street
Ankeny, IA 50023
https://thedistrictpt.com/business/the-residence-inn-by-marriott/
Tru by Hilton
1230 SW District Drive
Ankeny, IA 50023
https://thedistrictpt.com/business/tru-by-hilton/
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Patrick Kirby is what happens when you mix equal parts fundraising expertise, caffeinated enthusiasm, and an unshakable belief that nonprofits deserve better than burnout and budget gaps. As the Founder of Do Good Better Consulting, Patrick has made it his life’s mission to help nonprofits fundraise smarter, build stronger donor relationships, and actually enjoy asking for money (yes, really). He’s the author of the Amazon bestsellers “Fundraise Awesomer! A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing Good” and “Fundraise Like a 5th Grader,” host of “The Official Do Good Better Podcast,” and loather of the phrase “we’ve always done it that way.” Patrick’s fundraising street cred comes from nearly two decades in the trenches, including his time as Senior Director of Development at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Chief Development Officer at the Anne Carlsen Center. He’s worked with organizations of every shape and size, helping them raise millions without losing their minds in the process.
Susan Carter is Executive Director of the CLA Foundation. Susan leads the foundation’s mission to connect CLA’s professional services with strategic investments that advance equity and opportunity in communities across the country. A skilled convener and thoughtful strategist, Susan is passionate about aligning purpose with impact, particularly in how philanthropic institutions evolve to meet emerging needs. Susan holds a deep belief in the power of community-centered solutions and is a frequent speaker on equity in grantmaking, trust-based philanthropy, and the changing role of funders. She is known for her collaborative leadership, values-driven approach, and dedication to fostering a more just and inclusive future.
Dr. Brita Midness serves as Senior Grant Administrator with the CLA Foundation where she manages grantmaking. Brita joined the CLA Foundation in 2024. Prior to joining the CLA Foundation, she worked for over ten years at the intersection of business development, marketing, philanthropy, and research.
Kathleen Sprole (Mindful Leadership) is a mental health therapist in private practice, specializing in trauma and disordered eating since 2008. She is also the owner of One Moment Center which provides mindfulness based events and courses for transformation and well-being. Kathleen is devoted to serving others on their personal journeys to improve their overall well-being and to connect with their authentic, inherently powerful selves.
Angie Asa-Lovstad (Navigating Change, Collaborative Leadership in Action) is a community facilitator, leadership coach, and former nonprofit grant writer who believes in the power of authentic engagement to spark lasting change. With over 20 years of experience in community-based work—including behavioral health and human services—Angie specializes in helping teams and coalitions navigate complexity, align around shared goals, and lead from every seat at the table. She is a Certified ToP Facilitation Trainer, a Prevention Specialist, and one of fewer than 60 ToP Mentor Trainers in the U.S. Her approach is grounded in psychological safety, inclusive participation, and practical tools that turn insight into action. Whether guiding coalitions through strategic planning or coaching leaders to foster cultures of accountability, Angie creates spaces where people feel seen, heard, and ready to lead. She operates under the mantra: Connect. Spark. Ignite.
Amanda Acton (NERDs for Need Statements) has been a professional grant writer since 2003 (although there was a brief side trip into the world of nonprofit marketing). She has presented at the national GPA Summit and for organizations across Iowa, as well as serving on the GPA Central Iowa board as Events and Education Chair. She is oddly passionate about Logic Models and data, but she also loves birds, cats, and random trivia.
Lindsay Henderson (Grant Program Plan Development) is a Community Development Specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. She delivers grant writing workshops statewide. Throughout her career in community development, Lindsay has managed federal grants, administered local grant programs, served on grant review committees, and written many grants for various community projects.
Gary Krob (The Power of Data in Grant Writing) is the coordinator of Iowa’s State Data Center, a federal-state cooperative program with the U.S. Census Bureau and the State Data Center is a division of the State Library of Iowa. Gary has been with the State Data Center since 2001. Gary works with the Census Bureau and its data extensively, and is widely quoted in the media. A native Iowan growing up near Cedar Rapids and graduate of Iowa State University, Gary is also the coordinator of the Federal-State Cooperative Program for Population Estimates (FSCPE) and the Federal-State Cooperative Program for Population Projections (FSCPP) as well as the Governor’s Liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau in the state of Iowa.
Lance Noe (Measuring the Performance of Grants) is an Associate Professor of Practice in Public Administration at Drake University. His areas of teaching, consulting, research and publications include public policy, public sector budgeting, grant writing, fundraising, human resources, state and local government, ethics and program evaluation. Lance also serves as the Director of the Center for Professional Studies, Zimpleman College of Business. In that role he develops specialized certificate and professional programming for public, nonprofit and private sector organizations. A featured program he leads is the Iowa Certified Public Manager program which is a nationally accredited professional designation for public sector leaders.
Please direct any questions to centraliowagpa@gmail.com.