Essentials of Development

Over three decades ago, the Murdock Trust assembled a group of small and emergent nonprofit organizations to teach them the basics of fundraising. Since then, hundreds of organizations have benefited from the Essentials of Development — valuable training that helps them both articulate their mission and create a development program that will sustain the organization for years to come.

This program is now recruiting for the 2026 cohort. See eligibility requirements, application process, and key dates below.

Program Basics #

Over a pair of two-day sessions, our team of development coaches present valuable materials and strategies designed to help small to mid-size organizations build a sustainable development structure. Material and strategies covered include methods for developing a case statement, special approaches to donors with major gift capacity, role-playing on how to make “the ask,” an overview of the board’s role in the development program, and more.

The Four Essentials #

Essentials of Development is named for its four essentials, which are directly tied to the program’s outcomes:

Essential #1: The Case Statement #

• An organization’s presentation piece for one-on-one interactions with prospective and continuing donors, the case statement is a key element of the Essentials program. It is written in conjunction with a philosophy of development describing how and why your organization seeks financial support from stakeholders, and what benefits or outcomes donors receive when they give. Each organization completes the Essentials of Development program with a polished case statement. To put the case statement into practice, at least two personal donor calls will be made and assessed by the Essentials faculty before the May session. (Log in to see the Case Statement Videos.)

Essential #2: The Annual Plan #

• A strong annual plan allows organizations to execute their mission and purpose through budgets and funding goals. This written strategy is prepared during one of the two-day trainings.

Essential #3: Segmented Donor List #

• Segmenting your donor list and having unique strategies for each segment — even to the level of individual donors — is a key value of the Essentials philosophy. Program participants will learn how to divide their roster of donors for maximum personalization and effectiveness. Each organization will leave with a segmented list of its donors, including a strategy for re-engaging lapsed donors.

Essential #4: Development Team #

• An important component of any development strategy is having a core group of organizational leaders involved in the cultivation and solicitation of major donors. Each organization will begin to establish its development team, beginning with those who attend the training (see #3 below under Expectations).

What to Expect #

Each organization is assigned a development coach to guide you through the training. All participants are expected to attend two in-person sessions, both 2 days long. In 2026, those trainings will take place on January 26-27, 2026, and May 18-19, 2026. These in-person sessions are at the Hilton in Vancouver, WA.

Program Expectations #

There are four primary expectations of organizations participating in the Essentials of Development program:

1. Prior to the trainings, each organization will complete a current survey that asks questions related to the organization’s finances, donor history, development strategies and more. Two additional surveys will build on the first survey. Completion of all surveys is a requirement of the Essentials program. The Trust uses this information to assess each organization’s progress and improve the Essentials program, and organizations will be given feedback regarding all survey results.
2. Organizations will be coached by an Essentials faculty member, who works with the organization from the survey prior to the first training through the remainder of the program, to assess and build the organization’s development process.
3. Because of the core value of development teams, each organization will bring three people to both training sessions: the head of your organization (e.g., Executive Director), and 2 board members, preferably including the board chair. If an organization has a paid development staff person, that individual is welcome to join as a fourth participant.
4. Each organization will complete its assigned work — specifically, the creation of the documents described above under Core Values and Outcomes. These documents will be evaluated by the Essentials faculty.

Assessment #

Real-time evaluation and feedback are provided during the Essentials of Development trainings and coaching sessions. Additionally, the Trust follows up with each participating organization to determine the program’s impact on the number of donor calls being made, board/director support, and the level of increase in giving revenue.

Participation Fee and Requirements #

There is a $900 fee per organization. This fee, paid upon registration in Fall 2025, will include hotel stay and meals for both sessions, all program materials, access to the Windshield fundraising software, 8 hours of virtual personalized coaching, and 8 hours of in-person personalized coaching. The Murdock Trust subsidizes the balance of the program cost, which is $17,000+ per organization.

Essentials IS for organizations that are…

1. Small to mid-sized that need help increasing the contributed income base of their revenue stream
   • With an annual/operating budget size of $250,000+
   • Currently raising between $5K and $1M in contributed income from individual donors
   • From the Pacific Northwest region (OR, WA, AK, MT, ID, BC) or national groups with a strong regional presence in our area
   • Although the Essentials program is not connected to our grantmaking, grantees working in the five sectors we serve (Artistic & Cultural Expression, Civic Engagement & Community Services, Health & Environmental Stewardship, Education & Leadership Development, and Scientific Research) will be given priority in consideration for this program.
2. Willing to exert the concerted effort to implement the four “Essentials” of development in their fundraising practice
3. Desiring to focus mostly on increasing their individual donor base, including major donors
4. Committed to including the Executive Director and two board members in both training sessions (Note: the same two board members should attend both sessions).

Essentials IS NOT for organizations…

1. Looking for help mostly in the area of foundations and grants
2. Seeking to get their foot further in the door with the Murdock Trust
3. Hoping for a “quick fix” for their contributed revenue need

How to Apply #

• Applications for 2026 are now live! Once you have reviewed the above eligibility criteria and believe this program is a fit for your organization, please apply using the button below.

• You can preview the entire application here. (NOTE: If you pause in filling out the application partway through, please be advised that the answers on any incomplete page may not save. However, answers you have entered on completed pages should remain intact.)
• For full consideration, please submit completed applications by the deadline of Friday, July 18. Due to limited capacity within our program, we are rarely able to accept late submissions.
• After the application window closes, submitted applications will be reviewed. Select applicants will be invited to interview in late July and August.
• Cohort decisions will be made and communicated no later than September 5, 2025.

If you have any questions about the program or the application process, please email Hannah Pick, Program Manager, at essentialsofdevelopment@murdocktrust.org.