TNPA Fundraising and Marketing Conference

Description

COVID-19 Update (March 19, 2020)

The Nonprofit Alliance Fundraising & Marketing Conference has been canceled.  Thank you to everyone involved in putting together what promised to be a fantastic first national event for TNPA.  We are considering alternatives and will provide more information to registered attendees, sponsors, and presenters.

With sold-out attendance, this was an opportunity to be together in Boston, seeing old friends and colleagues and meeting new ones.  In this abrupt period of social distancing, please keep reaching out to us and to each other to stay connected.

COVID-19 Update (March 11, 2020)

We have an impressive line-up of content and sessions put together by presenters and planning committee members, and we commit to doing everything possible to deliver the educational programming to everyone who registered for the conference.  We are constantly tracking the various announcements and guidance from federal agencies, including the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control, local agencies, as well as the Omni Parker House Hotel.  More information about our plans for the Fundraising & Marketing Conference is coming soon.

CONFERENCE AGENDA

Tue, April 21

12:30-6:00           Registration Open

1:00-4:30              Catholic Fundraising Forum: Managing Hurdles & Motivating Mission

In today’s challenging fundraising environment, how are Catholic organizations managing hurdles while staying true to our mission?  How can we separate our organizations from crisis-focused news headlines?  As congregations are turning to lay people for key staff positions, like development and finance, how do we maintain our Catholic authenticity?  Dive into the challenging topics of today with facilitated discussion.  This is a special program for Catholic organizations; attendance is limited to 50 people.  Corporate sponsors of the Catholic Development Council (CDC) events at this conference will also be invited to attend.

Speakers:

Sr. Susan Durkin, OSU, President, Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland 

James Kopp, Vice President and Managing Director of Nonprofit Programs, Cathedral Corporation

Nicholas T. Schafer, CFRE, Director of Mission Advancement, Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation

5:00-6:30              Opening General Session

Keynote Presentation: The Game Has Changed

Chris Herren, Founder, Herren Project

Creighton Drury, CEO, Center on Addiction

An exceptional basketball player, Chris Herren was a celebrated star in his native Fall River, MA before graduating high school. He went on to play at Boston College and Fresno State, two seasons in the NBA – including one with his hometown team, the Boston Celtics – and seven seasons overseas before losing it all to the disease of addiction.

His recovery journey has been well-documented in the bestselling memoir, “Basketball Junkie” and the Emmy-nominated ESPN Films documentary, “Unguarded." Chris has spoken to more than 1 million students and community members, sparking honest discussions about substance use disorder and wellness. In 2011, Chris grew his vision of support for others when he founded the nonprofit Herren Project. Most recently he founded Herren Wellness, a residential health and wellness program that helps guests lead healthy, substance-free lives with locations in Seekonk, MA and Warrenton, VA. His inspirational message and organizations have helped thousands of people.

Creighton Drury is CEO for Center on Addiction, a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming how our country addresses addiction.  A former Division I college basketball player in his own right, Creighton has dedicated his career to serving young people and families through leadership roles in several mission-focused organizations.  

Join Chris and Creighton as they discuss “how the game has changed,” for them personally, but also for the nation in its struggle with the devastating consequences of substance use and addiction. Chris will share his story and powerful message. Together, they will discuss why and how they partnered around Chris’s most recent film, “The First Day”. Through this collaboration, they are leveraging their respective strengths in pursuit of transforming the way individuals, families, and the country are addressing the addiction crisis.

6:30-7:30              Networking Reception

Wed, April 22

8:00-9:00             Rise & Shine! Continental Breakfast

9:00-10:15           Breakout Session 1 (see list of breakout sessions below)

10:15-10:30         Refreshment Break

10:30-11:45         Breakout Session 2

12:00-1:30           Networking Lunch

1:45-3:00             Breakout Session 3

3:00-3:30             Refreshment Break

3:30-4:45             Breakout Session 4

Thur, April 23

7:30-8:00              Sun’s Up, Let’s Go!  Continental Breakfast

8:00-9:00              General Session: Women Are Now Driving Philanthropy – Are You Prepared to Engage Them?

Kathleen Loehr, Senior Consultant, Aspen Leadership Group

Women's wealth is rising quickly -- as is their influence in both family philanthropic decisions and their own individual giving. Are you preparing for this next decade when women will become even more powerful philanthropists in our society, but giving in ways that are different than men? The keynote is designed to help you become aware of the research on gender differences in charitable giving behavior. You will hear several success stories from organizations which changed their approach to resonate more deeply with women and gained significant results. You will also hear many examples of how to translate the research into adapted fundraising behaviors to significantly grow the support from your female donors.

Kathleen’s women’s philanthropy expertise results from strategic designs to engage more women at universities (Cornell University, University of San Francisco, Duke University, The College of William Mary), nonprofits (American Red Cross, Women Moving Millions, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, the National Women’s History Museum), sororities (Alpha Chi Omega Foundation, the Alpha Phi Foundation) and girls’ schools (Louise S. McGehee School).  Kathleen translates the research on how women give into practical actions fundraisers can take in her book, Gender Matters: A Guide to Growing Women’s Philanthropy (2018).

9:15-10:30           Breakout Session 5

10:45-12:00         Breakout Session 6

12:00                   Departures

During the conference you'll be able to choose from a fantastic line-up of breakout sessions, including: 

M+R Online Benchmarks 2020: You vs. Everyone Else

Ever wonder how your email, web, social media, and digital advertising results stack up? Come get the baselines you need to drive your organization’s strategies, and get straight answers to your burning questions from some of the industry’s leading experts. The M+R Benchmarks Study is your in-depth annual review of what’s working, what’s trending, and what’s changing for online fundraising, advocacy, and marketing. This year (our 14th!), we have more details and data than ever from the public media sector to help you reach the front of the pack.

Will Valverde, Creative Director, M+R

Theresa Bugeaud, Director of Data Analytics, M+R

Gender Matters: A Practical Approach to Grow Women's Philanthropy

We now know that our deeply engrained “best practices” either turn off women or gain only minimal support from them when so much more is possible. We finally have deep and quantifiable research showing how women give differently, yet what are the practices, behaviors and processes to adapt so we engage women donors in ways that acknowledge their preferences?

This workshop with plenary will help leaders and fundraisers understand in greater depth the current fundraising behaviors that may not resonate with their women donors. They will hear many examples of how to translate the research into more effective approaches. Participants will then work on specific adaptations they can begin and leave the workshop with action steps to take upon returning to their offices. Space is limited; pre-registration required.

With Plenary Speaker Kathleen Loehr

Adapting to Legal Challenges in the New Data Privacy Environment

New privacy laws at the Federal and State Level such as The California Consumer Privacy Act are rapidly emerging. These laws designate the types of entities including Businesses, Services Providers and 3rd Parties and the new responsibilities they have regarding data management and privacy.  This will be a deep-dive discussion on understanding how to structure contracts and manage legal compliance in this new environment for fundraisers, marketing agencies and data providers.

Adam Treiser, JD, CEO, Arjuna Solutions

Bryn Weaver, General Counsel & Chief Data Ethics Officer, Wiland

What Are You Doing About Your Retention Problem?

We all know how easy it is to be distracted with the day to day business needs of your direct response fundraising program.  You have to get the mail/email out… get to the staff meeting…  update your budget to actuals reporting… 

A lot of us are sending a lot of mail (or email) and hoping for the best – we know we SHOULD be focused on retention, but what are you ACTUALLY doing about your retention problem? 

We promise, you aren’t alone…  Join us for this high energy, informative session that will leave you with no less than FIVE key takeaways that will truly have an impact on your retention!

Kim Postulart, Vice President, Direct Marketing & Intermediate Giving, Alzheimer’s Association

Valerie Vierengel, Account Director, K2D Strategies

Karin Kirchoff, President, K2D Strategies

Eliminate the Guesswork (and Wasted Investment) of Acquisition

Every organization wants to acquire more donors. Unfortunately, acquisition seems to be getting more difficult (and expensive) in today’s increasingly noisy world. The traditional tactics we’ve relied on for years aren’t as effective. So how can maximize your investment in acquisition by focusing on the right donors with the right message? That’s the question Pursuant and PAN Foundation set out to answer as they looked for the most effective way to build the foundation’s individual giving program.  This session will unpack how the foundation leveraged advanced analytics to identify which audiences, geographic markets, case for support messages, and communication channels would produce the greatest results before they began testing different campaigns.  If you want to eliminate the guesswork around acquisition & maximize the investment you make to acquire the right donors, you won’t want to miss this session.

Matthew Mielcarek, Vice President, Analytics & Insights Strategy, Pursuant

Creative Techniques for an Omni-Channel World

How do you authentically engage your donors when they connect with you across multiple channels? We’ll show you how to use different techniques to communicate information effectively and motivate your supporters to act and donate. We’ll share top performing formats and techniques by channel and some surprises along the way.

John Perell, Director of Strategy and Member Experience, Friends of Smithsonian

Daniel Vincent, Director of Membership, The Trustees

Allison Porter, President & Co-Founder, Avalon Consulting Group

Why Should Hispanics Give to You?

In this generation, the key to accelerate fundraising growth is to recognize the potential of diversity donors. But are nonprofits communicating effectively their causes to ethnic audiences? In our groundbreaking research "Why Should Hispanics Give to You?", we found most organizations struggle to articulate their value proposition to this influential demographic segment. The study looks at 57 leading nonprofits across six different verticals and scores the effectiveness of their message on the web, social, email, and phone based on a proven methodology developed by MECLABS. Among the nonprofits analyzed are The Nature Conservancy, Salvation Army, San Diego ZOO, St. Jude Hospital, and University of Miami. 

Ivan Leon, Chief Strategist, Kerux Group, Inc.

How to Create and Sustain the Best Major Gift Program Ever

Too many non-profits either don't have a major gift program or they're struggling with the one they do have. Worse yet, many non-profits think their major gift program is doing great, but when you actually look at the data, they are losing 40-60% of their revenue due to donor value attrition every year... even though their bottom-line numbers say they are growing!  What is the single greatest contributor to failing at major gifts?  What are the 7 things your major gift program MUST have to be successful?  Do you know what makes a great Major Gift Officer and why it's the toughest development job there is?  What are the pitfalls and the vipers you have to watch out for so your major gift program doesn't blow up?   Come get all the answers alongside great stories that will touch your heart and convince your soul that you have to get this Major Gift thing right. If you want to take your major gift program to a completely new level that puts your donors first, this is a MUST attend session for you.

Jeff Schreifels, Senior Partner, Veritus Group

Hot Topic Debate: Premiums in Fundraising

Which side will come out on top in this friendly staging of a debate on the topic many of us have supported or challenged: premiums or no premiums?  What audiences should receive premiums?  Do they “make sense” for acquisition … ongoing renewal … frontend vs. backend fulfillment?  How should lifetime value be applied?  Are you better off with the old successful standbys or is there something new that’s breaking through? 

Debate facilitated by: Scott Bell, VP Client Services, MarkeTeam

Debate participants: To be announced!

It’s All About Audience: Moving from Channel-First to Audience-First Acquisition

Acquisition: it’s a challenge we’re all facing – in fact it’s a challenge experienced by all marketers, commercial brands and fundraisers alike. What’s even more challenging? The changes in consumer behavior, and the broader evolution of the media landscape, have forced us to rethink how we approach acquisition. Today, it’s not about channel, it’s all about audience.     But what does this actually mean in real life fundraising? What does it take to migrate your organization from a channel-first to an audience-first approach? In this session, we’re sharing ideas to re-imagine your acquisition programs, looking at methods across a range of acquisition media, including: offline and programmatic DM, performance/lead gen partners, sponsored or hosted events, and refined or improved lists and audience strategies. Rather than looking at these channels individually, we’re going to explore what it means to take an integrated, audience-led approach. We’ll feature case studies and discussion with nonprofits seeing success with this shift in strategy.

Tara Ingram, National Director, Direct Response, Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Katy Jordan, VP of Integrated Media & Strategy, Nonprofit,ForwardPMX

The Future is Here: 2020’s Newest Trends in Digital Advertising

Digital advertising is the next frontier for many organizations and it’s getting... frontierier. Targeting is getting more sophisticated, creative is getting more personal, and there are whole new platforms to reach your supporters (Alexa! TikTok! Podcasts! Oh my!). No one person can possibly keep track of all the latest trends in advertising, so we’re compiling our nonprofit ads experience across organizations and bringing them to you. Come to this session and find out about hot new advertising strategies that are helping nonprofits reach more people, grow their supporter base, and do more good in the world.

John Abdulla, Web & Analytics Manager, Oxfam

Matt Derby, Senior Vice President, M+R

Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. 

The nonprofit sector has long been the voice of under-represented populations and marginalized people. Are we living up to our own advocacy?  What’s holding us back, and how do we break through our own barriers for authentic inclusion across all of our stakeholder constituencies: staff, board, volunteers, donors, beneficiaries?  Join this honest conversation with a social justice pioneer and claim your responsibility for change leadership in your organization.

Wesley Combs, Principal, Combs Advisory Services

Jennifer Valenzuela, Chief People & Equity Officer, Health Leads

Tycely Williams, Chief Development Officer, America's Promise Alliance

The TNPA Speed Dating Idea Exchange: Your Idea MULTIPLIES!

It’s a simple premise with a big time valuable return on investment: Take two minutes to present a cool acquisition success story that you have executed in the last year to another fundraising mover-shaker just like yourself, who then has two minutes to share theirs with you.  Then, when the bell goes off, take your idea and move on to another partner for another four-minute sharing session, and get another new idea to take home with you. And so on.  The price of admission? One good (and sharable) acquisition idea that showed promise in 2019. So, like any good fundraising offer, your one cool idea gets MULTIPLIED! Bring that one good idea to the session—and leave with multiple good ideas!  This is a rapid-fire, high-energy idea exchange that will leave you inspired—and well-stocked—with new approaches to turbo-charge your 2020 acquisition program, and beyond.

Samantha Jasnos, Senior Digital Strategist, TrueSense Marketing

David Torres, Creative Director, TrueSense Marketing

Stacy Joseph, Assistant Vice President, Annual Giving, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

You!

Face to Face in the Fishbowl

Face-to-face is the number one channel for acquiring sustainers three years running, with two-thirds of new directly acquired sustainers coming from door or street fundraising.  This a discussion of the good, the bad, and the ugly: launching a new channel, auditing a mature channel, managing organizational expectations, handling internal politics and other possible barriers, optimizing the donor journey, what to look for in your contract and vendor, and maximizing ROI in this growing channel.

Diane Clifford, Managing Director, Constituency Development, Share Our Strength | No Kid Hungry

Jill Miller, Associate Director, Sustainer Fundraising, The Nature Conservancy

Sarah Flis, Chief Operating Officer, Ascenta Group

Kelly England, CEO/Founder, Multiply Strategies

Kevin Schulman, Founder, DonorVoice

Remote Working – It Can Work for Your Organization! Learn How Now!

There are very few leaders today, that would argue with research and results that exist from having the most talented, and experienced employees available working for your organization.  Because when you have great people, married with a culture of trust and respect, your business’s is more sustainable, relevant and profitable. Yet so many organizations still value presence over performance, and require their employees to be physically present and accounted for five days a week.  Remote working is the answer to attracting the best talent available, retaining your employees, and improving overall wellbeing of morale and the organizations financial results.      In this session, led by long time industry veterans, who are practitioners and believers of the value and benefits of remote working – you will experience the two sides of the remote working coin, with real experiences and results.  This session will open your hearts and minds, to what is possible to improving your existing remote working culture or team performance, or looking to launch a pilot program of remote working in the coming days ahead.

Dorene Ocamb, Chief Development Officer, Armed Services YMCA National HQ

Ben Harris, President, Production Solutions, Inc.

Behavioral Science Case Studies & Live Audits

Which behavioral principles affect giving, and how? Our case studies will show you how these powerful principles could trigger giving behaviour. Equally applicable across channels, they will give you ideas that you can start implementing today.

Because the correct application of these principles is key to success, this session will end with a live demonstration of how to apply them to your communications. To participate, submit a pdf of a DM package, an email, a TM script, or even a landing page to kkoutmeridou@thedonorvoice.com. 

If you’d rather not share your material publicly, Kiki is also offering some limited, one-to-one live audit sessions at the conference. Email her with “TNPA live audit” as the subject line to schedule.

Dr. Kiki Koutremeridou, Chief Behavioral Scientist, DonorVoice

Laura Durington, Director of Annual Giving, Catholic Relief Services

Meet Me in the Middle: Bridging the Gap Between Low-Dollar and Major Donors

Go the extra mile to acquire and cultivate your mid-level donors—and it will be well worth the effort!  In this session, we’ll cover how to:  how to design multi-channel cultivation and education strategies that will compel these donors to step up their giving. We’ll share the creative techniques that resonate for donors who are ready to increase their support. Plus, we’ll show you how to get more from your data, while building a file of committed, higher-dollar donors and increasing your return on investment.

John Perell, Director of Strategy & Member Experience, Friends of Smithsonian

Kerri Kerr, Chief Operating Officer, Avalon Consulting Group

Personalization in the Age of Automation

The Fundraising Effectiveness Project has continued to report bad news.  From the Q2 2019 report:  Overall revenue dropped 7.3% compared to the halfway point in 2018; The total number of donors is down 5.8%; The number of new donors dropped 9.5%; Mid-level (3.5%) and major donors (8.2%) both decreased.  As a result, nonprofits must find new and innovative ways to connect through the use of personalization.  This session will demystify personalization and showcase how two organization have used variable content in web experiences to drive higher acquisition volume at lower costs.

Jane McGrath, Sr. Manager Digital Giving and Engagement, American Bible Society

Justin McCord, Vice President, SMarketing, RKD Group

Be the Change: Encouraging Your Leadership Team to Embrace Innovation to Grow for the Future

As nonprofit professionals, we know the truth. The way we’ve done business in the past won’t likely be the way we are able to promote growth and success in the future. The times, they are a-changin’ – and we need to be ready to adapt and change, too. Maybe you have already hit some kind of a wall inside your organization. You had a brilliant idea for a strategy that you know will recruit more supporters and donors, raise more money, or chart a new course for your organization. The problem? It hasn’t yet been tested, it isn’t free – and you need to get organizational buy-in all the way to the top to make it happen. Maybe you aren’t even sure how to get started bringing folks on board to test. Perhaps you do all the leg work, and in the end it’s deemed too risky, watered down, or tabled “for now.” Maybe you are freaking out because you’re not even sure if you have any new ideas you want to promote internally!  Here’s the deal. We believe in you, and see how smart you are – so let’s start creating some cultures of innovation the drive the impact of our organizations.  In this roundtable session, we’ll enlist of team of nonprofit leaders to share how they have done exactly that. This isn’t your regular old Power Point and Q&A. Instead, we’ll hear a few case studies for how these leaders get things done and embrace new challenges. Then, we’ll talk it out, really unpacking the challenges we face and brainstorming solutions.

Michelle Epstein, Deputy Chief Advancement Officer, Sierra Club

John Wilburn, Director, Direct Response Marketing, National Park Foundation

Jamie Natelson, Senior Vice President, Marketing, The Humane Society of the United States

Chrissy Hyre, Principal and Senior Vice President, Chapman Cubine and Hussey 

Neuro-Fundraising: A Glimpse Inside Your Donor’s Mind

Neuromarketing has been around for decades, but the art of applying the science to fundraising is still relatively new. One reason the nonprofit industry has been slower to adopt neuromarketing is the perception that the cost associated with testing campaigns puts the tool out of reach for many organizations. The truth is that any organization that can afford focus group testing, can afford Neuro-Fundraising services. But even organizations that can’t afford to test campaigns can utilize the principles of neuromarketing to improve the effectiveness of their fundraising. This session will help you understand the value of testing campaigns before going to market.

Daniel E. Karp, SVP, Integrated Direct Marketing, Covenant House

Geoff Peters, President of the Board, Moore DM Group

Steve Agauas, Ph.D., Lab Director, Moore Neuro-Fundraising Lab

Does Our Donate Now Button Require Charitable Registration?  Fundraising Compliance in the Digital Age 

Brush up on state charitable and corporate compliance requirements for nonprofits, and in particular the implications of cyber age fundraising activities -- online, email, social media, mobile, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, etc. -- as it relates to state charitable solicitation registration, disclosure and compliance requirements.  Are pending legislative and regulatory changes going to catch you off guard?  If you are responsible for fundraising compliance or if you advise nonprofits on compliance issues, you won’t want to miss this program.

Ronald J. Barrett, VP, Nonprofit Services, COGENCY GLOBAL, INC.

Robert Tigner, General Counsel, The Nonprofit Alliance

Keeping Up with the Social Norms: Instagram & Facebook

Social networking platforms are constantly changing their algorithms, products and formats as people are using the channels differently. Take, for instance, Instagram audiences --  younger, skew more urban, and often include people from traditionally marginalized communities -- incorporating Instagram Stories into their daily lives in fun and engaging ways. How can nonprofit organizations, especially in the small to mid-sized range keep up and break through with compelling content that will engage their audiences, build deeper relationships, and inspire people to take action? In this session, we’re providing insight about how to analyze your current strategy to understand what’s working, and how to plan or pivot for upcoming platform changes. From Facebook Fundraisers to gifs and quizzes, we’ll provide tips and strategies to ensure your social presence is working harder for you.

Preeti Desai, Director, Social Media & Storytelling, National Audubon Society

Cara Holland, Director of Paid Media & Audience Growth, Nonprofit, ForwardPMX

Change the Channel & Lock It Down!  Integrated Monthly Giving Strategies to Get Sustainers Committed for the Long Haul

Monthly giving is a crucial element of your organization’s donor universe, helping to boost donor lifetime value, improve retention, and provide a steady source of revenue.  You need to be committed to keeping them engaged. Join us to learn how to grow your sustainer program with cross-channel strategies for recruitment, retention, stewardship, and upgrades. We’ll show how efforts across channels can reap unexpected benefits to the program overall. We’ll send you home with lots of great ideas.  You will leave with a toolbox of techniques to implement for your monthly giving program, large or small, spanning email, online advertising, social media, direct mail, telemarketing and mobile.  Join us for key points to make the case for support internally -- and likely have some laughs along the way. 

Aimie Paris-Jones, Assistant Director, Membership, ACLU

Liz Quick-Corral, Director of Development, World Animal Protection

Jonathan Locy, Senior Account Executive, Mal Warwick Donordigital

Amy Pawluk, Executive Vice President, Blakely Inc.

We look forward to seeing you in Boston for a wicked good conference and networking event!

Code of Conduct: The Nonprofit Alliance (TNPA) exists to foster the development and growth of nonprofit organizations and to protect the donors, members, partners, and volunteers that support them.  At all educational offerings and conferences, we commit to fostering an environment free from physical, emotional, and psychological harm. We will not tolerate harassment, discrimination, and intimidation of any form. All individuals must exhibit professionalism, must demonstrate respect for others, must act with civility, and must refrain from inappropriate and unwelcomed physical contact, sexual references and aggressive advances. Anyone who experiences or witnesses a violation to these standards, should immediately contact TNPA CEO Shannon McCracken.  Anyone found in violation of the TNPA Code of Conduct by any means may receive a warning, have membership suspended, registration forfeited, or experience escalation to legal authorities.