Schedule and Sessions

If you were hoping to hear one person speak for an hour, prepare to be disappointed. Whether you’re a super-savvy marketer or a relative newbie, this interactive session will expand your marketing knowledge in a fun, gamified way!

We’ll assemble teams who will work together to answer trivia questions around relevant trends and devise strategies around mock scenarios.

A room full of passionate fundraisers sharing ideas, experiences and just a hint of competition - what else could you want? Prizes, you say? We’ll have those, too.

Discover what data backed benchmarks from more than 15,000 nonprofits reveal about donor behavior, campaign performance, and financial health. This session shows you how to turn sector trends into smarter decisions that boost revenue and strengthen donor loyalty. Expect clear insights, practical tools, and a sharper view of your fundraising.

Are you newer to the nonprofit fundraising sector? Not sure how to start building relationships in your community? Well, this session is for you! Executive Director, Alix Gasser, will lead you through some tried and true methods to build relationships in your community. This session is built for smaller nonprofit organizations in small to mid-sized communities, though there are ideas for all!

Ethical storytelling builds donor trust and helps you raise more money—without overhauling your processes. In this session, therapist-turned-fundraising strategist Kristin Sukraw shares a practical approach that builds donor trust and honors the dignity of your storytellers—without adding extra work. Featuring a case study with Homes For Our Troops, research from the Orangewood Foundation (which saw a 74% revenue increase using ethical storytelling), and interactive participation, you'll learn how protecting storyteller dignity leads to stronger relationships—and stronger fundraising results.

Ready to grow your major gifts pipeline? Learn how to use AI to spot high-potential new donors and build personalized journeys that turn first-time gifts into lasting relationships. This session offers practical tools, examples, and templates to help you streamline cultivation and unlock transformational giving—no tech background needed.

Transform your conference inspiration into tangible action and lasting impact. In this session, you’ll gain a practical, step-by-step framework to implement fresh ideas within your fundraising team or department. From securing leadership buy-in and establishing accountability partnerships to measuring progress and celebrating quick wins, you’ll learn how to break free from old patterns. Join us to ensure that the insights you take home don’t fade away—but instead spark meaningful, measurable change.

Join us to learn about top trends in AI and giving and how your organization build a strong AI strategy. A customer will share their insights around how to prepare.

It’s about time we have a much-needed conversation about the changing landscape of fundraising. Join us for a conversation exploring the transformative shift from donor-centric to community-centric fundraising practices. Our expert panelists will unpack the practical strategies, challenges, and successes in redefining philanthropic relationships to center community expertise and collective impact. Learn how to navigate this evolution while strengthening donor relationships and advancing social justice values in their fundraising approaches.

In this session, we'll look at Care2's benchmarking data showing millions of online interactions for charitable causes in 2024 to prove which types of interactive content engagements actually prompt list reactivation, more frequent donations, and increased new gifts from your community members.

This presentation includes an in-depth case study with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals International (SPCAI) demonstrating how interactive content boosted donations from active (and inactive) supporter cohorts, and also re-activated "lost" supporters on their file!

You'll leave with tactics you can apply to your own campaigns to improve your digital outreach.

Nonprofit fundraisers face increasingly complex donor objections shaped by emotions, values, and cultural narratives. This interactive session, grounded in the Fundraising Academy’s Cause Selling framework, equips professionals with practical language and strategies to navigate sensitive conversations, reframe objections, preserve trust, and deepen donor engagement while staying mission-focused.

Join the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP), AFP Foundation for Philanthropy, GivingTuesday, and frontline fundraisers for an interactive session exploring insights from the Q4 2025 FEP Report. We’ll break down key trends shaping donor behavior and fundraising performance, offering practical takeaways for your everyday work. You’ll also get a preview of what’s next for FEP, including new tools and expanded access to resources at fepreports.org. Real-time polling and open discussion will help connect the data to your own strategy. Whether you're looking for direction or inspiration, this session will help you plant the seeds for stronger fundraising ahead.

Explore the experiences of young Black professionals in fundraising through an interactive session on equity, empowerment, and leadership. Gain insights, share strategies, and walk away with tools to support a more inclusive and impactful philanthropic sector. Ideal for emerging fundraisers and leaders committed to change.

Whether you’re new to fundraising or hiring someone who is, this session offers essential guidance on building a strong ethical and professional foundation in the philanthropic sector. We'll explore how to introduce core values, model best practices, and support new fundraisers—whether recent graduates or mid-career professionals transitioning into the field. Participants will work together in small groups to analyze real-world ethical and training scenarios, then share insights with the full group. This collaborative format encourages peer learning and practical application, equipping attendees to foster a principled, mission-driven fundraising culture from day one.

Join Sonya Perez, holistic leadership coach and founder of Leadership Atlas™, for a dynamic session that will change how you approach fundraising. Sonya blends neuroscience, coaching, and somatic tools to help you move beyond anxiety and into embodied confidence. With over 20 years of nonprofit experience and a trauma-informed, culturally rooted lens, Sonya guides change agents to lead with joy and ease. Learn how to regulate your nervous system, shift limiting beliefs, and create authentic donor connections that raise more — without burning out. Walk away with practical tools to feel better and enjoy the ask.

A thriving fundraising board doesn’t grow by chance—it grows with care.

Too many boards are stuck in a rut. They’re fixated on the unimportant, disconnected from the deeper purpose of their service. The good news? You can change that!

This interactive session goes beyond theory. You will gain practical insight on how to integrate fundraising into board expectations using a customized individual philanthropic engagement plan you can implement immediately. You will also receive a board member field guide and journal—a tool designed to help board members make an emotional connection to their work and strengthen their impact over time.