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Join the Great Lakes Economic Development Council (Great Lakes EDC) for the latest installment of our Be Greater! digital learning series.
In this session, Lakeshore Advantage VP of Engagement Beth Blanton and Convergent Project Director Kevin Donovan will offer easy-to-implement best practices to help development organizations of all sizes achieve success. These approaches help optimize the investor mix, validate the organization’s asking rights, refine the strategic plan, and cultivate prospective investors as a strong foundation for successful requests for support.
Using a best practice case study to structure the narrative, Beth and Kevin will share background on their recent successful fundraising campaign and the critical success factors behind it. Attendees will leave with clear ideas for assessing their funding mix, aligning campaigns with their mission, and building relationships that deliver results. Specifically, attendees will understand:
● Regional Branding. The importance of highlighting the unique assets and offerings of your region, whether related to the business environment, quality of life, institutional strength, or other compelling features.
● Feasibility Studies. The importance of feasibility studies to evaluate fundraising opportunities and organizational "asking rights" while giving potential investors a sense of ownership in the plan.
● Benchmarking. The ways in which benchmarking and supporting research can help an organization identify an optimal combination of private and public sector investors. This research provides guidance toward the proper balance of support across all prominent business sectors, while highlighting the private sector leadership role as a best practice for successful plan implementation.
● Collaborative Approach. The importance of long-term positive, constructive relationships among chambers and EDOs across the Great Lakes region based on the mutual benefits of broad economic growth and success region-wide.
● ROI Analysis. The post-Feasibility Study analysis, which provides a quantifiable, customized understanding for prospects of how their investment will deliver value back to them and their organization.
Our Presenters:
Beth Blanton
Vice President of Engagement
Lakeshore Advantage
Beth serves as Vice President of Engagement at Lakeshore Advantage, where she has led and executed the organization’s revenue growth strategy since 2017. She is a proven leader in revenue growth, investor relations, and organizational development with more than twenty years of experience driving impact through authentic connections and strategic partnerships.
Since those years, the organization’s operating budget has nearly quadrupled and the investor retention rate has remained at 95% or higher, a major accomplishment as the organization has navigated especially uncertain economic times since 2020. In 2025, she successfully led a $2.3 million capacity-building funding campaign significantly growing the organization’s reach, sustained support and long-term impact.
Beth spent her early years in Wheaton, IL and moved to West Michigan where she received her Bachelor of Arts in business and communications from Hope College. She resides in Zeeland, Michigan with her proudest accomplishment –her family.
K
evin Donovan
Capital Campaign Project Director
Convergent Nonprofit Solutions
Kevin is a senior fundraising consultant and former sports marketing professional. Within the last decade, he has managed several successful capital campaigns for economic development organizations and chambers of commerce as well as for traditional nonprofits. Most recently, he managed the successful Powering Our Future economic development campaign for Lakeshore Advantage. His work leading campaigns and feasibility studies for traditional nonprofits included management of Georgia’s Cherokee County History Center’s successful campaign to build a new $4 million facility. He has also developed strategic plans for Georgia City Solutions (the nonprofit arm of the Georgia Municipal Association) and the Project Chimps sanctuary in Blue Ridge, Georgia.
A master storyteller and author of two novels, Kevin has harnessed his passion for writing by creating compelling narratives on behalf of communities and non-profits to drive funding, engagement, and support for their missions.
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