Schedule and Sessions

What if alumni could tell us something much bigger—about why people give, why they don’t, and what trust looks like in modern philanthropy?

The National Alumni Survey is one of the largest longitudinal listening efforts of its kind, capturing insights from tens of thousands of voices across generations, identities, income levels, and lived experiences. Offering a rare, evidence-based window into how people decide whether institutions are worthy of their generosity.

This presentation explores questions many leaders are wrestling with:
• Why does belief increasingly outweigh loyalty in giving decisions?
• Why do transactional appeals underperform in values-driven environments?

Join fundraising and marketing leaders from San Diego State and Fresno State as they share their tips and tricks for launching your first virtual fundraisers. Human staff, on a panel will share how their AI virtual officers have expanded capacity to engage more donors, built stronger connections with alumni, and supported planned and annual giving. The impact (good and bad), IDEA gaps and ethical questions will also be addressed.

The next generation of donors is here—are you ready? Learn how to engage Gen X and Millennials through smart targeting, a diverse product and proposition mix, cut-through creative and more. Backed by real case studies, this session gives you a practical roadmap to grow through the intergenerational wealth transfer.

AI will not replace great gift officers. But it will expose the ones who were never truly doing the relationship work. This session names the five types, defends them, then shows what becomes possible when the right tools finally support the work you were hired to do.

Learn how fundraising leaders at HBCUs and small nonprofits scale their impact through strategic planning, innovative engagement, and board alignment. This panel offers candid insights, proven tactics, and real-world case studies to help you transform your development efforts—no matter the size of your team or budget.

Recurring giving isn’t a “nice-to-have” anymore - it’s the engine behind sustainable, predictable fundraising. In this session, Dana Snyder will unpack the latest 2026 benchmarks and what they’re telling us about donor behavior right now: including acquisition, what’s driving retention and upgrades, and where orgs are seeing the biggest momentum.

There are two main reasons why donors stop donating. The first reason involves a negative change in the donor's financial condition. The other reason, however, can be summarized as poor donor stewardship. Nonprofits with effective donor stewardship practices gain a significant advantage in developing long-term relationships with donors that can lead to larger charitable gifts. Participants will answer seven research-based questions to assess and then strengthen donor stewardship within their respective philanthropic organizations.

Project Street Vet didn’t launch with a formal fundraising strategy – they started by showing up. With a heartfelt mission, consistent social media presence, and the support of smart fundraising tools, they built a $2M+ fundraising engine rooted in trust and authenticity. In this fireside chat, hear how a small, scrappy team, led by CNN’s 2023 Hero of the Year, turned compassion into sustainable giving – without a full-time fundraiser. You'll leave inspired by their story and armed with practical takeaways you can implement right away, even with limited time or staff.

As burnout conversations grow louder in the fundraising sector, one critical lens is often missing: neurodiversity. Many non-profit professionals feel pressure to “mask” — adjusting communication styles, suppressing needs, or navigating environments not built for their brains. The hidden cost of masking, in turn, contributes further to a sector struggling to retain fundraising professionals.
Together, we will examine the emotional toll of masking, reflect on the norms and practices that make it necessary, and reimagine fundraising culture — exploring how we retain talent, honor neurodivergent strengths, and redesign systems that allow more people to thrive.

Learn how to manage the full grant lifecycle using monday.com CRM. This session demonstrates how to streamline grant management by tracking prospects, submissions, deadlines, and funder information in one place while improving alignment and visibility across your team.

AI tools are transforming fundraising—but ethical missteps can threaten donor trust. This essential session delivers three concrete principles for implementing AI ethically while still capturing its benefits. You'll learn practical approaches to transparency that donors appreciate, consent models that protect relationships, and oversight processes that prevent AI blunders. We'll share real examples of both ethical successes and cautionary tales from the nonprofit sector. Perfect for fundraisers at all technical levels, you'll leave with ready-to-use assessment tools and communication templates that help you innovate confidently while preserving the trust that drives giving.

Stop fearing the "Black Box." Join Dataro's Tim Paris, PhD for a 20-minute interactive sprint to demystify predictive AI. Build a live fundraising tool using "vibe coding"—personalized donor reports or instant stewardship workflows. No coding, no background needed. Walk out with a working, human-led AI tool that scales impact.

Retention and major gift growth are not only fundraising challenges. They are fundamentally donor experience challenges. Learn how fragmented touchpoints create friction that erodes trust, and how unified donor continuity strengthens stewardship, retention, and readiness to give again. Leave with a practical checklist to identify and fix hidden handoff gaps.

Discover how culture, identity, and innovation intersect in modern fundraising. Join Kevin Chi and Jennifer Li Dotson for an energizing session on inclusive strategies that honor diverse philanthropic traditions and build bridges.

Implementing a mid-level giving program is often challenging, especially in a small development shop! In this session, we'll look at how Transitions LifeCare (with a staff of 3) made the case to shift the philanthropy strategy - after 15 years of capital and special event fundraising - to focus and build annual, sustainable revenue for programmatic needs. Strategies we'll discuss include: donor/prospect identification, board/leadership volunteer buy-in, the case for support, solicitation materials, recognition levels, tracking gifts, and stewardship activities. Participants will come away with concrete steps to implement their own mid-level program - even in small shops!