Nonprofit fundraising professionals in Central Iowa have a new resource for advancing their education to benefit their organizations. 

The Des Moines Fundraising Institute is the brainchild of Eric Heininger and Cherian Koshy, two seasoned Des Moines fundraising professionals who recognized a gap in professional development opportunities in their field. Heininger is managing director of Eden Plus LLC, a fundraising consulting firm in the East Village; Koshy is director of development for Des Moines Performing Arts. 

On Wednesday, the institute conducted its inaugural training class, an introductory fundraising course attended by representatives from 10 Iowa nonprofits. Beginning this fall, the institute plans to begin offering a rotation of 24 classes offered over a two-year period. Initial topics this fall will include a course on donor retention and a refresher course for individuals seeking professional fundraising certification.

Their concept is to provide options for individuals to jump into specific niche courses in their area of fundraising, or to go through a full two-year program to become a certified fundraising professional. 

The institute “is a collaboration that’s meeting a need that we saw in the community for entry-level and midlevel professionals who are really trying to make fundraising a career,” Heininger said. “We believe that there is a tremendous amount of investment that can occur in this workforce to make Des Moines a strong community.” 

Collectively, Greater Des Moines’ nonprofit organizations have not done a good job of training their fundraising professionals, Koshy said. Consequently, nonprofits frequently hire away top fundraisers rather than developing their own. 

“We saw that a lot when we started to hire fundraisers,” he said. “We thought, what if we could solve this ‘tragedy of the commons’ by teaching more fundraisers and giving them the tools they need to move into those positions and fill senior-level roles, and continue to build that infrastructure?” 

In addition to courses led by Koshy and Heininger, the institute plans to schedule expert lecturers from both the national and local levels with experience in areas such as donor communications, major gifts, prospect research and other key topics, Koshy said. 

The initial courses being offered are underwritten by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, which is also the beneficiary of the course fees, Heininger said. 

The institute is presenting the course material on a pro-bono basis. The AFP courses run $400 per course, but the institute is aiming for a lower fee for non-AFP courses. The Iowa Medical Society is donating the classroom space in its East Village office suite as a sponsorship, and Eden Plus provides catering and logistical support. 

Heininger said the courses are easily scalable, and if there is significant demand for particular courses the institute would likely offer multiple sessions to maintain a relatively small adult-learning environment. 

Brianne Fitzgerald, communications and engagement officer with Volunteer Iowa, was among the initial attendees. She hopes to serve as a resource for the nonprofits she works with statewide as well as offering suggestions to the institute.  

“We host the Iowa Nonprofit Summit every other year, and when we listen to feedback from that, we hear that fundraising — all aspects of fundraising — are bits and pieces of information that nonprofits across the state are interested in learning more about,” she said. 

“So we’re looking to offer better-tailored sessions at the nonprofit summit, and looking at what other partners we should be bringing in and are there deeper dives we should be having within fundraising to really build this sector.” 

Having worked in fundraising for the better part of a decade, Fitzgerald also has a side gig in which she coaches nonprofits on improving their fundraising efforts. 

“There are a lot of really experienced people who could provide guidance and support to these nonprofits,” she said. “The whole goal is, how can we build our communities — and our nonprofits are the biggest champions and advocates for that.”