Protecting Our Institutions: Due Diligence and Risk Management Trends and Insights

As philanthropy becomes increasingly complex, the importance of thorough scrutiny and risk management in accepting donations has never been more crucial. This includes nonprofits being ready to address reputation management challenges, legal compliance, high value global donations, and vulnerable donor populations. So BWF, PyroSolutions, and Xapien teamed up to address this critical topic in the market by distributing a comprehensive global survey to assess the strengths and vulnerabilities in the sector. During this presentation of results, we will review key trends, explore the nuance of a robust due diligence program, and provide insight into effective policies, crisis communications, and training.

Learning Objectives:

Attendees can benchmark their organization's due diligence program against global survey results
Attendees can build actionable strategies to protect their organization from philanthropic risk

Catherine Flaatten

AVP, Prospect Development

BWF

Catherine Flaatten, MPH, CFRE, is the associate vice president of prospect development at BWF, where she advises nonprofit clients on building and strengthening programs in prospect research, management, and analytics. Her consulting is grounded in past practitioner experience at The George Washington University, Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry, the National Psoriasis Foundation, and the BrightFocus Foundation.

Catherine serves on Apra International’s Board of Directors, Education and Professional Development Committee, and Fundamentals Committee and has held numerous volunteer leadership roles with Apra International, Apra Metro DC, and aasp. She is a frequent presenter and author in the field, and her expertise has been featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy. Her contributions aim to position prospect development as a strategic driver of fundraising success and strengthen the profession through knowledge-sharing and leadership.

She earned both her BA in International Affairs and her MPH in Maternal and Child Health from The George Washington University.

Beca Daniel

Account Executive

Xapien

Beca is an Account Executive at Xapien, having worked across customer success, sales and product development, all focused on the non profit and fundraising sector. She now leads on the higher education sector at Xapien.

During her time at Xapien, Beca has been involved in various aspects of developing the product to better serve universities and nonprofits, acting as a liaison between customers and the product team. Her work has often been focused on adapting the product to the changing world, including integrating fully up-to-date sanctions and watchlist data after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and adapting adverse media categories to align with the reputational risks universities and nonprofits face in a changing world.

Beca has a background in research and higher education, with a first class degree in English Literature and an MA in Literature, Criticism and Culture from the University of Cambridge.