2025 Conference Sessions

Keynote Speaker
Meshea L. Poore, Vice President, West Virginia University, Division of Campus Engagement and Compliance

Session 1 - 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM

Session 2 - 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Session 3 - 1:15 PM - 2:30 PM

Session 4 - 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Session Details

Breakout Session 1A: How to Revitalize Your Fundraising Efforts
Alyssa Cholodofsky, CFRE, & Danielle DeWitt

What happens when you know your fundraising potential isn’t fully realized—but you’re not sure where to start? Whether you can afford outside help or not, this session offers a roadmap to revitalizing your development work using real-world examples and adaptable tools.

Presented by Alyssa Cholodofsky, CFRE and CEO and Danielle DeWitt, VP of Advancement, at 412 Food Rescue, we’ll explore how their organization transformed its fundraising approach following an Advancement Assessment—and how any nonprofit can apply the same principles to grow strategically and sustainably.

This session will cover:
-How to conduct a DIY fundraising audit using internal and peer benchmarks
-What to expect (and ask for) if you do work with a consultant
-How to lead a change initiative without burning out your team
-Sample team structures and donor journey frameworks
-Regional funding resources to support capacity-building and planning

Participants will leave with actionable tools—like a sample restructuring roadmap, draft KPIs, and staffing scenarios—plus insights into local grant opportunities that can help fund your next step.

Breakout Session 1B: Gifts for Uncertain Times
Natalie Taylor

In an era marked by economic volatility and shifting personal priorities, charitable giving remains a powerful way to create lasting impact and now is not the time to stop asking for support. "Gifts for Uncertain Times" is a practical and insightful training session designed to help professionals and donors navigate charitable strategies that offer both flexibility and financial stability and the opportunity for donors to give now, even if writing a check seems daunting.

Session Goals: Participants will gain a clear understanding of key philanthropic tools that can be used to support charitable causes while also addressing personal financial goals—especially during uncertain or transitional periods. The session will explore how these giving vehicles can provide tax advantages, income stability, and legacy planning opportunities.

Topics Covered:
Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
Charitable Gift Annuities (CGAs)
Bequests and Legacy Gifts
Gifts of Appreciated Stock

Who Should Attend: This session is ideal for nonprofit development professionals, financial advisors, estate planners, and anyone interested in helping donors make meaningful gifts—even in times of uncertainty.

Breakout Session 1C: The DEI Disconnect: When Your Board, Staff, and Donors Aren't Aligned
Graham Fandrei

This session is designed to help nonprofit professionals and fundraisers navigate the complexities of implementing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) practices in environments where alignment across staff, board, and donors is inconsistent or resistant. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to build bridges across ideological divides, how to frame DEIA work in ways that resonate with different stakeholders, and how to maintain integrity while advancing equity-centered missions.

Topics Covered:
• Identifying and diagnosing DEIA disconnects within your organization
• Understanding the root causes of resistance from donors, boards, and leadership
• Strategies for engaging reluctant stakeholders without compromising values
• Tools for shifting boardroom and donor conversations toward shared values
• Equity-centered approaches to stewardship, appeals, events, and recognition
• Internal advocacy and culture-shifting tools for staff navigating isolation or burnout
• Case studies from Persad Center and Graham’s consulting work with nonprofits across the country

Materials Provided:
• A downloadable DEIA Alignment Audit Worksheet to assess organizational gaps
• A Conversation Framework Tool for engaging board/donor resistance constructively
• A Checklist for Equity in Fundraising Practices, including events, appeals, and donor relations
• Sample language swaps and reframing strategies for DEIA-forward messaging
This session is especially valuable for leaders who are often “the only” voice for DEIA in their role — whether you're leading from the development side, as a consultant, or within executive leadership. 

Breakout Session 1D: Prospecting Quicksand: How to Find Planned Giving Prospects in the Void
Rachel Zadnik

Presenting a case study in effort to find planned giving prospects who have fallen through the cracks of traditional marketing and outreach efforts. I plan to discuss how our planned giving marketing and prospecting was overhauled over the course of the last year to include segmentation for donors who have fallen off of our radar - either in respect to their annual giving or having gone silent after hand raising by way of planned giving marketing materials - and our efforts to win them back. This effort is a well-rounded approach: segmenting marketing efforts and data-mining our own CRM for individual donors for direct outreach. This includes a comprehensive outreach plan for individuals identified in our CRM as well as an 18-month rolling marketing strategy for our lapsed donors who have falling into the "quicksand."

Breakout Session 1E: Planned Giving and the Psychology of Well-Being
Paul Yeghiayan

This presentation explores the connection between psychological well-being and planned giving, emphasizing how emotional and psychological factors influence donor behavior. Psychological well-being, encompassing dimensions like purpose, self-acceptance, and social connection, plays a critical role in shaping donors’ motivations.

We will discuss the key drivers of planned giving, such as the desire for legacy, altruism, and a sense of control. By understanding these factors, fundraisers can build deeper connections with donors and align giving opportunities with their emotional needs.

The session will focus on practical strategies, including empathy-based communication to foster trust, storytelling to link donors’ values with giving opportunities, and addressing psychological barriers like concerns over financial security. These approaches empower donors to make meaningful contributions while enhancing their well-being.

By the end of the session, attendees will gain actionable insights into integrating psychological principles into their fundraising efforts, helping donors create impactful legacies and strengthening long-term relationships.

Breakout Session 1F: Digital Accessibility: Making Online Platforms Attainable for All
Rebekah Nesbitt

Learn about the world of online accessibility! You will discover ways to create accessible social media posts, word documents, and basic tips to increase your inclusivity for those across various disability types (low vision, low hearing, etc.) that interact with digital content. 

Breakout Session 2A: Building and Maintaining an Effective Planned Giving Pipeline
Dr. Z. Allen Abbott, CFRE, CFRM

Raising significant dollars is directly tied to the effectiveness of planned giving marketing. While planned giving can take many forms, the key is building strong, long-term relationships with individual donors. The technical details follow from those relationships. This session will look at the need to focus on the long-term. Building a pipeline of gifts over time provides a strong bottom line on a continuing basis.

Participants will gain an understanding of what works and what doesn’t work in creating an effective planned giving pipeline. It will also present specific gift strategies that can optimize the stewardship effort. The program will define best practices and strategies to encourage donor engagement in order to establish robust and ongoing planned giving success.

Realistic ideas will be discussed and field-tested materials will be shared with participants. Discussion will include how to successfully integrate planned giving into a substantial, long-term program. Audience feedback and discussion will be built into the program, as there are many ways to develop an effective stewardship program in tune with a specific community’s needs.

Breakout Session 2B: Demystifiying Development: It's Everyone's Job
Michael Bell

Fundraising isn’t just for fundraisers. This session explores how board members, nonprofit executives, and development staff can each play meaningful roles in a thriving philanthropy program. Learn how to build a culture of shared responsibility, increase comfort with fundraising, and use practical tools to engage your whole organization in development success.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the core components of a best-practice philanthropy program and explain how they align with organizational mission and strategy.
  • Differentiate the distinct and shared roles of board members, executive leadership, and development staff in advancing a culture of philanthropy.
  • Identify practical tactics to increase comfort, confidence, and engagement among non-development staff and board members in fundraising activities.
  • Apply at least one tool or exercise that supports shared ownership of fundraising efforts and encourages cross-organizational collaboration.
  • Challenge common myths and assumptions about fundraising that create resistance and reframe philanthropy as mission-driven relationship-building.

Breakout Session 2C: All by Myself: Fundraising as a Solo Superstar with the Grace of Celine Dion
Ryan Ferrebee

Don't wanna be all by yourself anymore? Using Celine Dion's inspirational lyrics as throughline, we will dive into the unique challenges and opportunities of managing a fundraising program as a department of one. From balancing a full workload while planning for growth, to engaging volunteers and responsibly incorporating AI, we will explore practical strategies to build an achievable, scalable fundraising program that won't leave you thinking "maybe I dream too much."

Near, far, wherever you are, the tools and insights shared in this session will all be coming back to you, when you want it the most...and that's the way it is!

Session Goals
-Equip solo fundraisers and small teams with best practices that can help them budget their time efficiently
-Identify data-backed growth opportunities and ways to streamline workflows that can help facilitate growth
-Discuss tools like automation, project management software, AI, process documentation, and volunteer management that maximize potential and help provide breathing room in a packed fundraising plan. 

Breakout Session 2D: Planned Giving for Executive Directors (and other reluctant fundraisers)
Greg Wilson

Planned giving is a critical component of any complete fundraising program. Yet, many executive directors and other fundraisers feel uncomfortable and underqualified to broach the subject with donors.

In this session, attendees will learn the technical basics of planned giving and donor motivations that can help with donor conversations the very next day. Participants will walk through a worksheet to begin developing their authentic planned giving voice. Samples of planned giving materials will also be provided.

Breakout Session 2E: I want to Fund a Purple Elephant- How to Inspire Donors to Think Beyond Restrictiving Giving
Angie Zambito Hill, CFRE

Examples of highly restricted gift scenarios that limited the NPO’s ability to spend down the funds. Data on unrestricted vs. restricted. Tactics to use: Relationships, communicating impact/value proposition (strong case for support that is communicated in materials), being able to describe how unrestricted dollars advance the mission, stewardship: being able to connect dollars to impact and communicate that connection. Ethical considerations: Donor Intent still Reigns. 

Breakout Session 2F: The Retention Games- May the Donors Be Ever in Your Favor
Erik Tomalis

How Personalization, Timing, and Human Touch Drive Giving

In a world where every click, stream, and scroll is personalized, donors expect more than a generic thank-you and a quarterly newsletter. They want to be seen, heard, and valued. But many nonprofits are unintentionally ghosting their own supporters.

This session reveals the surprising data behind donor retention—and what the top-performing organizations are doing differently. Spoiler: It’s not about flashy appeals or perfectly designed emails. It’s about treating donors like humans.

You’ll walk away with a clearer picture of how to retain more donors by improving your welcome experience, writing like a person (not a brand), and sending the right message at the right time—all based on real-world data from 91 organizations.

This isn’t theory. It’s a wake-up call to do the small things that actually make a big difference.

Breakout Session 3A: Data- Driven Fundraising: Unlocking Impact with the Fundrasing Effectiveness Project
Dave Tinker, CFRE, FAFP

In an era where nonprofit sustainability hinges on strategic decision-making, fundraising professionals need more than intuition—they need data. This breakout session introduces the Fundraising Effectiveness Project (FEP), a transformative initiative that provides timely, accessible, and actionable data to help nonprofits measure, compare, and improve their fundraising performance.

Whether you’re a development officer at a grassroots nonprofit or a senior leader at a national organization, FEP offers insights that empower you to track donor retention, acquisition, and revenue trends against industry benchmarks. During this session, you'll learn how to interpret FEP's quarterly reports and dashboards, apply key metrics to your fundraising strategies, and advocate for data-informed practices within your organization.

Attendees will walk away with:
• A solid understanding of the FEP’s mission, tools, and impact.
• Clarity on which fundraising metrics matter most—and how to use them to tell a compelling story to stakeholders, boards, and funders.
• Practical steps for integrating FEP data into your organization's planning cycles, goal setting, and performance evaluations.

Breakout Session 3B: 7 Steps to Turn Prospects into Relationships
Beth Brodovsky

Effective relationship building only works when you understand your audience and prioritize their needs. But trying to do that for everyone all the time is not only exhausting, it’s ineffective. If you’ve tried that and it’s draining your budget, overworking your team, and not creating the relationships you need, then getting audience-centric will help.

In this session you’ll learn a step-by-step strategy to help you identify the hidden gems on your list and inspire engagement. 

Breakout Session 3C: Leveraging AI in Grant Writing and Prospect Research
Rachel Griffo

This session will explore innovative approaches to grant writing and prospect research, emphasizing the strategic integration of affordable or free AI tools. Participants will gain insight into strategically prospect research, streamlining the grant-writing process, and successfully securing funding. The session will feature real examples and outcomes drawn from a Grant Writing for Educators course that takes place from May to July 2025.

Breakout Session 3D: Partners, Not Donors: Rethinking Corporate Relationships
Jimmy Smith

In today’s philanthropic landscape, companies are seeking more than logo placement—they want alignment, impact, and long-term partnerships. This session will explore how nonprofits can elevate their corporate relations programs beyond transactional sponsorships into authentic, mission-driven relationships that serve both parties.

I have been working in our Development office for three years now and created the Corporate Relations Program. I was able grow the program to where we now raise $1.5 million annually through these efforts.

Drawing from my real-world success in building a multi-faceted corporate giving program, this session will provide a roadmap for cultivating and retaining corporate partners through thoughtful engagement, clear communication, and strategic alignment. Whether you're starting a program from scratch or looking to refresh your current efforts, this session will offer tools, insights, and inspiration to take your corporate partnerships to the next level.

Topics to be covered:
-The pillars of a strong corporate relations program (e.g., sponsorships, employee engagement, tax credit programs, donor events)
-Prospecting and outreach strategies for corporate partnerships
-Customizing partnership opportunities to meet business objectives
-Stewardship and renewal: How to keep companies coming back
-Leveraging storytelling and impact reporting to show ROI
-Case study examples of successful partnerships (from your work at Cathedral Prep)

Breakout Session 3E: Moves Management for your Career
Holly Wolk

Adapting practices from donor cultivation and stewardship into your career journey.

Breakout Session 3F: Migrating from Charity to Philanthropy to Bolster Major Giving
Steve Higgins, CFRE & Nick Gigante

This session will be beneficial for Executive Directors, Directors of Development, Major Gift Officers and board members.

Breakout Session 4A: Making Sense of Donor Advised Funds: Strategy, Stewardships, and Smart Systems
Abigayle Tobia, MNM, CFRE

Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are one of the fastest-growing vehicles for charitable giving in the U.S.—but for many fundraisers, they represent a black box. Too often, DAFs feel like anonymous dollars with no clear path to donor engagement, leaving organizations uncertain about how to respond, recognize, or build lasting relationships. Making Sense of Donor-Advised Funds offers attendees a structured, practical framework to turn that uncertainty into opportunity. Grounded in current research and real-world practice, this session provides clear strategies to communicate with DAF donors, streamline internal operations, and better align fundraising efforts with how donors are actually giving. Key goals of the session include clarifying what DAFs are—and what they’re not; busting common myths with data-backed insights; sharing lesser-known IRS rulings that affect DAF stewardship; offering actionable strategies to identify, engage, and steward DAF donors; exploring how DAFs intersect with annual, major, and planned giving; and equipping fundraisers with tools and language to improve donor communication and internal processes.

Breakout Session 4B: The Fundraiser with Many Hats: How to Manage (and make the most of) Playing Multiple Roles in a Small Shop
Alex Abboud

If you're part of a small team, you might find yourself spending one day of the week writing grants, another managing your CRM and doing stewardship, and the rest of the week planning your next fundraising event, all trying to squeeze in donor visits and outreach in between. You might even have communications or volunteer management added to your portfolio. It can all be overwhelming, but it's also an opportunity to learn different skills, and figure out how to prioritize and identify the best use of your time to generate results. Drawing on his experience working as a solo fundraiser, and leading teams of 2-5 that were responsible for fundraising, communications, and events, Alex Abboud will go over the best practices for working as part of a small team, how to use it as a learning opportunity, and tips and tricks for making the most of limited resources and punching above your weight. This session is geared towards any member of a small fundraising team, with a focus on beginning and intermediate career level fundraisers. Attendees will have the opportunity to work through a scenario a small team might face, and take away key lessons and practices they can implement day-to-day. 

Breakout Session 4C: Thinking About a Capital Campaign? A Recipe for Success
MJ Meenen & Mary Ellen Austin

This session is appropriate for organizations considering a capital campaign. it will cover the people, processes and technology -by way of a local example. It will explore the relationship between volunteer board leaders and consultants.


The Friends of Pittsburgh Fisher House had limited fundraising experience--and most of it was reactive, not proactive. When they realized the new challenge in front of them-to build a new Fisher House, they adjusted quickly. The leadership team established new roles and methods that successfully raised 2.5M from individuals, corporations and foundations (existing and brand new). This was with just one PT staff and one consultant. 

We will discuss the process of formulating the Case for Support, identifying the campaign leadership team, finding current and new prospects and amplifying the message with expert "story telling" video content. A formula for "Awareness Parties" will be presented-which is equally applicable for operations funding. The board member/consultant roles will be explained. 

The session will provide encouragement, an analysis of how to assess your readiness, and then practical advice on executing a campaign, even with limited fundraising bandwidth. 

Participants will learn about prospect research and cultivation methods. They will have access to work samples including pledge cards, a Case for Support, and an outline for Awareness/Small Cultivation events. 

It will be interactive, with the audience encouraged to ask questions and describe what they see as the biggest challenges when considering whether or not to pursue a capital campaign in uncertain times. 

Breakout Session 4D: How to Design a Career in Development that you Love!
Mary Frances Dean & Cecilia Hughes

A career in Development is often fraught with challenges, uncertainty and circumstances outside of your control. Please join us to discuss how to navigate these challenges and discover tools and resources to take control of the direction of your career. Wherever you are in your career currently, we will explore how to utilize your education, experience and skill set to build the career in development that reflects your individual strengths, values and passion. Our goal is for you to leave this session with a better understanding of yourself and a tool kit to design a career path for you to move forward with purpose, intention and confidence. 

Breakout Session 4E: Power Partnerships: Maximiing Grant Success Through Collaboration
Christy Pietryga

Securing grants is a critical yet challenging aspect of nonprofit fundraising, and success often hinges on effective collaboration between organizations and their grant writers. This session will provide a behind-the-scenes look at how HEARTH, a nonprofit providing housing for women and children facing homelessness and domestic violence, works seamlessly with grant consultant Anna Holmquist of Holmquist Consulting to maximize funding opportunities.

Attendees will gain insights into:
  • The key elements of a strong working relationship between organizations and grant writers
  • Strategies for streamlining communication and aligning funding priorities
  • Best practices for data collection, storytelling, and compliance to strengthen proposals
  • How organizations of all sizes can leverage external expertise while maintaining internal ownership of their grant strategy

This interactive discussion will include real-world examples and practical takeaways for fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and grant professionals looking to improve their approach to grant-seeking. Whether you’re new to grant writing or looking to enhance your processes, this session will provide actionable insights to help you secure the funding your organization needs.

Breakout Session 4F: Board Engagement in Action
Kristin Brown

Sometimes, we don’t fully express to our Board of Directors expectations around engagement because we all may define it differently. Does engagement mean volunteering at an event or with those we serve? Making a financial gift? Participating in board meetings? Can it be following your nonprofit on social media and sharing content? Does it mean participating in an awareness campaign? In this session, the audience will learn how the leadership team and Board of Directors at Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh took a step back to fully define engagement, what steps were taken by the Board of Directors to become more active in the way they wanted to engage (and also helps the organization), and how we created a tool to measure board engagement that is meaningful. 

I will cover the various definitions of board engagement, the ways in which the WC&S Board of Directors created their own Board Volunteer Committee, and how to effectively measure board engagement. I will use a PowerPoint to visually take the audience through the various ways in which our Board of Directors defines engagement. I will also share a board commitment form and board engagement snapshot/measurement tool. 




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