It is time to put what you have learned into action. We will divide into groups and practice making an ask using several prepared scenarios.

I’m a donor relations professional—and so are you! Everyone in development has a part to play in fostering meaningful, enduring relationships with donors. During our time together, I’ll share guiding principles of donor relations and stewardship and give you an overview of the tools to develop and deploy to keep donors excited and inspired.

A robust pipeline might be one of the strongest indicators of current and future fundraising success. It ensures that your organization will always have the critical philanthropic support that is so needed. Attend this session to discuss the various areas within the pipeline, how to create robust pipeline activity and to measure its overall health.

It is time to put what you have learned into action. We will divide into groups and practice making an ask using several prepared scenarios.

Does being donor-centric mean giving a donor everything they want? How do you balance being donor-centric with achieving your organization’s needs? With pressure to meet attainment goals, fundraisers at times can close gifts that are extremely restrictive, not aligned with funding priorities, or worse, that 'eat' time and resources. It is possible, however, to be donor-centric and create win-win gift opportunities. Come ready to hone your negotiation skills and learn how to incorporate flexibility into gift conversations to achieve beneficial outcomes for both the donor and the organization.

The concept of a data-driven program can feel overwhelming or like you need a background in statistics. Not very many of us bring that to the table, and yet data is the lifeblood of any annual giving program. We use it to report on results, evaluate our success, build our plans, and improve performance. In this session, we’ll talk about how to effectively track your key performance indicators for each channel, segment, and project. Learn how to use data to help manage your decision-making and planning processes. Discover how to report results internally and externally effectively. And, because it’s fun, we’ll get nerdy with some equations (no math degree necessary).

Understanding donor behavior across generations is key to building effective fundraising strategies. This session explores research insights on how different age groups engage with technology, communication, and philanthropy. From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, we’ll examine how life aspirations, career attitudes, and giving preferences shape donor engagement—and how fundraisers can adapt their approaches to inspire generosity across generations.

What are planned gifts and why do donors make them? In this session, we’ll explore the benefits and the most common types of planned gifts: 1) gifts that help now; 2) gifts that help later; and, 3) gifts that pay income. Though planned giving may seem complex with its tax nuances and acronyms (CGA, CRUT, etc.), it doesn’t have to be. There are simple ways to identify your best planned giving donors, introduce the conversation, and facilitate meaningful gifts of a lifetime for your institution.

Today’s donors are sophisticated and smart. You need to be equally so by staying abreast of the facts and figures as well as the latest and greatest programs, people, and priorities of your institution AND world events that may influence the timing and amount of gifts.

It's all fun and games from the outside, but planning a giving day can be a daunting task. The most successful giving days are those with divisional buy-in from all teams. Whether you have one, plan to add one/drop one, or continue to be asked about it by leadership, donors, or colleagues, Giving Days have become a tradition at many institutions. In this session, we’ll review the history, benefits, struggles, planning process, and scalability of what is the most exciting day of our solicitation calendar!