We’ll have more than 30 sessions, so check back for additional sessions, session descriptions and the complete schedule. Speakers are unlikely to change – but they might.
An Introduction to Annual Giving and the Northeast Annual Giving Conference
(Monday Morning Pre-Conference Workshop)
Bob Burdenski and Skylar Beaver
There’s a special FREE preconference workshop on Monday morning featuring CASE Laureate and CASE Innovations in Annual Giving author Bob Burdenski, along with CASE Crystal Apple Speaker Skylar Beaver, teaching a special “Introduction to Annual Giving… and NEAGC” workshop. This pre-conference program is FREE, but is a bonus session only for those attendees coming in-person to NEAGC in Providence. We’ll talk about the evolving goals, methods, channels, messages, metrics — and the very idea of “annual giving” itself. Perfect for your newbies (or your “oldbies” in need of a refresh)!
Annual Giving Branding and Identity – The RhodyNow Story
John Garcia, and Austen Farrell, University of Rhode Island (URI) Foundation
Session description to follow.
Annual Giving is Where it Starts – Proactively Building Major and Planned Giving Pipelines Through Amazing Annual Donor Experiences
Chris Adams, Givzey
Annual Giving is where it all starts before the majority of donors are inspired to commit major and planned gifts to your organization. Establishing amazing donor experiences and connecting your annual donors to the long term vision and mission is critical to making these outcomes happen. That’s why Givzey is back with more learnings, data, and strategies to help you better cultivate your annual donors and proactively build your future major and planned giving pipelines. So how can development professionals scale processes, create a world-class donor experience, and increase bookable revenue in a rapidly changing philanthropic landscape? In this session, Chris Adams of Givzey will discuss how emerging technologies are revolutionizing the way nonprofits build and maintain planned gift and major gift pipelines. You’ll come away equipped to build deeper relationships with donors by escaping the manual cycle of (re)solicitation.
Learning Objectives:
● Learn the latest donor behavior and giving research
● Understand what new tools and technology are available
● Learn how to introduce and secure multi-year giving
● Become fluent with “the art of the double ask”
● Understand how to document donor intent in the moment
● Learn strategies for breaking the solicitation/cultivation trap
An Annual Giving Directors’ Forum: Participation, Pipelines, and Pivots
Jake Strang, University of Pittsburgh with Christine Riendeau, College of the Holy Cross, Teal Butterworth, Brown University, Kyle Storms, The Taft School and Nora Marzocchi, Bryant University
From participation, to pipeline? From socks, to more sustained stewardship? From alumni, to other audiences? And what of AI? We’ll talk about CASE’s Alumni Engagement Metrics, the continuing value of a broad base of giving (including capital campaign participation goals), and what it all means for a variety of educational institutions.
The Brown Model: Pathways to Inclusion and Belonging 5 Years in the Making
Alyssia Coates, Ph.D., Brown University
A retrospective view on Brown University’s journey in the identification, development and growth of affinity scholarships and fundraising. Dr. Coates will review strategies for increasing engagement and philanthropy among donors of colour at Brown as well as review what steps the University took to work collaboratively, nurture engagement and philanthropy among donors of colour and promote DEI initiatives to the wider donor community.
A Digital Fundraising Forum
Jon Gregory, Cornell University and co-Moderators TBA
Join Annual Giving Leaders in a discussion about the current non-negotiables for your digital fundraising strategies, and what is just around the corner by way of digital tools and tactics that will perhaps change the way our shops operate in the future. Our discussion will include a dive into those emerging trends and how to navigate scarcity in resources to create a digital forward fundraising operation.
Direct Mail: 5 Things You Should be Testing
Sara Pond and Matt Sulzer, MCR
Testing, testing 1, 2, 3… Are you testing your direct mail approach? Join MCR to learn 5 things you should test, how to perform a quality test, and lessons learned from client results – plus, view a smorgasbord of direct mail samples! Implementing these elements into your upcoming campaign will reveal insights about your audience, identify donor patterns and help you develop a sound fundraising strategy.
Donor Journeys : Green Lights, Cross Roads and Stop Signs
Rachel Spencer, VanillaSoft
An understanding of where a given prospect sits on their individual journey of awareness, interest and desire to take action, should be at the core of our outbound engagement strategies; as well as the way we think about sustainable pipeline development. From the Engagement Center, to DXO and Leadership Gift programs, we need to pay close attention to the various signs and signals of “readiness to progress” (or – perhaps – a lack thereof!!!) So, what signs should we look out for? And what should we do when we encounter them?!!
Email Fundraising, Communications and Digital Analytics Bootcamp
Beth Hatcher, Beth Interactive
How can you take your email communications to the next level? This interactive workshop is all about email fundraising and engagement best practices—and how to leverage post-campaign data to drive greater giving. We’ll walk through fundamental email marketing best practices, advanced analytics and A/B testing, as well as navigating the impact of AI and machine opens/clicks on email. We’ll also present case studies on how emails can drive a donor pipeline, target engaged prospects, and build major and planned giving portfolios. Finally, we’ll provide practical tools like an email send checklist and library of samples, so you can begin implementing new ideas right away. Participants can even get live feedback on their email campaigns—with guidance on copy, design and fundraising strategy—by sending their email samples to us in advance! Join us for this instructive bootcamp and walk away full of actionable, practical next steps to see real results with your next email campaign.
From 0 to 43 Student Organizations:
Building Your Crowdfunding Campaign From the Ground Up!
Shannon Wood, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
In October 2024, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth launched a brand new initiative – the inaugural Registered Student Organization Crowdfunding Campaign. In collaboration with the Office of Student Affairs, this campaign was a remarkable accomplishment with 43 student organizations participating. Aside from total donors and dollars raised, the effort was successful in many unexpected ways; engaging students in philanthropy, gathering updated contact information and bolstering on campus relationships. Join Shannon Wood, Director of Annual Giving at UMass Dartmouth as she shares her story and best practices on building a student crowdfunding campaign from the ground up by securing campus partnerships and supporters, setting expectations, communicating clearly with students, and thinking creatively in soliciting alumni, friends, community members and more. This session is perfect for schools new to crowdfunding, or those looking to expand on their successes!
Generative AI: What Does It Mean for Fundraising… and For Me?
Sean Devendorf, Tufts University and Mike Nagel, Evertrue
Generative AI — the technology that powers platforms like ChatGPT, CoPilot, and Gemini — is experiencing explosive growth. And it’s projected to grow even more (10x by 2030). For many, this new technology designed to create content is their first hands-on experience with AI. And it’s their first time encountering how AI will transform how we live, work, and fundraise. In this interactive workshop, we’ll talk about the rise of AI, help attendees understand generative AI and large language models, and discuss data protection and privacy. We’ll then spend time in an interactive prompt engineering workshop, showing how generative AI can increase efficiency, generate ideas, and become a part of your daily work. Every participant will walk away with the skills and knowledge to use these platforms in their work and personal lives.
A Giving Day Forum
Amanda Tsapatsaris, Endicott College, Jen Shea, College of the Holy Cross and Meg Cummins, Bryant University
A trio of giving day experts join forces for a catch-all giving day Q&A. Bring your successes, challenges, trends and ideas for the future as Amanda, Jen, and Meg lead a final giving day conversation.
The Hot Gos on P2P: What’s In, What’s Out, and What You Need to Know”
Tori Middlebrooks, GetThru
P2P texting is still one of the hottest tools in fundraising, but the landscape is changing—fast. In this session, we’re spilling the tea on what’s working, what’s not, and what fundraisers need to know to stay ahead. From compliance updates to engagement strategies, we’ll cover the do’s, the don’ts, and the must-tries for 2025. Whether you’re a texting pro or just getting started, you’ll leave with the latest best practices and real-world examples to elevate your P2P program.
Increasing ROI Through Data Modeling, Direct Mail, and Digital Marketing
Ryan Talbert and Allison Shore, Excalibur Direct Marketing
This interactive discussion will focus on developing a deeper understanding of your data to help impact your Annual Giving campaigns. It will include a review of the benefits of Data Modeling, and how to directly target your most likely donor matches from your current lists.
Independent School Favorites From the
25 Years of the Annual Giving Appeal and Idea Exchange
Bob Burdenski, Robert Burdenski Annual Giving
For 25 years, Bob Burdenski has hosted an annual exchange where hundreds of institutions share thousands of annual giving innovations, ideas and success stories. Awesome appeals, terrific technologies, dynamic discoveries and marvelous messages. It was a great year of pushing the envelope in direct mail, digital and beyond. Come and see CASE Innovations in Annual Giving author Bob Burdenski dump out his bag of BOB (Best of the Bunch) favorites with a special collection of all-independent-school favorites.
An Independent Schools Forum
Skylar Beaver, The Lawrenceville School and Katie Grant, The Peddie School
Join Skylar and Katie for a forum session devoted to independent schools. Bring your questions, answers, challenges and solutions to this open discussion session.
Is It Time to Move Your Giving Day? How Strategic Timing Can Unlock More Donors
Michael Ganchegui, Kent School, and Holman Gao, Boost My School
Your Giving Day might be working—but could it be working better? Kent School recently revamped its Giving Day strategy, and the results were staggering: over $1M raised, participation above expectations, and a major boost to long-term major gifts pipeline. But the real takeaway isn’t just about moving a date—it’s about how the right timing, structure, and engagement tactics can supercharge your Giving Day’s impact. In this session, Michael Ganchegui, Director of the Alumni Fund at Kent School, and Holman Gao, CEO of Boost My School, will share data-driven insights on what makes a Giving Day successful. Attendees will learn how to assess whether their current Giving Day timing is maximizing donor engagement, how to structure challenges and affinity-based appeals for stronger participation, and how to sustain Giving Day momentum long after the event. Whether you’re seeing diminishing returns or simply want to take your Giving Day to the next level, this session will provide actionable strategies to unlock more donors, drive participation, and build a stronger foundation for long-term annual giving success.
Let’s Get Digital: Introducing & Capitalizing on Digital Fundraising Strategies
Daniel Burgner, The George Washington University
This practical session is designed for fundraising professionals ready to take their digital efforts to the next level. Presented by the Assistant Vice President of Annual Giving at George Washington University, this session draws from GW’s hands-on experience in implementing and refining digital strategies that engage and retain donors. Attendees will explore a powerful toolkit of tactics—from organic and paid social media ads to targeted video content, dynamic email segmentation, and personalized online giving pages—that turn digital communication into a full donor journey. Whether you’re looking to boost your online presence, maximize ad budgets, or create meaningful post-gift touchpoints, this session will provide actionable insights and real-world examples to help you build a sustainable, digital-forward fundraising model. Join us to learn, strategize, and get inspired by the future of digital fundraising!
Leveraging Loyalty and Leadership: A Look into Five Giving Society Programs
Dominique Marcial-Clark, The Lawrenceville School
How are we celebrating, recognizing, and retaining our dedicated donors? Join The Lawrenceville School’s Associate Director of The Lawrenceville Fund to discuss how they group and interact with donors based on their giving behaviors. From participation to major gifts to women in philanthropy, The Lawrenceville School wants to ensure it is meeting donors where they are to foster long standing relationships through giving society recognition.
Managing a Volunteer Peer-to-Peer Leadership Giving Society
Yoni Sunshine and Nadia Baum, Brown University
Peer-to-Peer outreach is one of the most powerful methods to inspire Leadership Level giving. This is more true than ever as the world becomes louder and more organizations compete for our supporters’ attention. In this session, we will review the Brown Annual Fund Young Leadership Council and Leadership Council from soup to nuts, with a focus on practical tips and tools that you can apply to your org and your volunteers.
Partnering With Athletics: Easy and Effective Ways to WIN With Your Athletics Department
Jon Gregory, Cornell University
Historically, the spirit and camaraderie that athletics lends to an alumni community is often built around something like a Homecoming football game or a major basketball rivalry game. These traditions are often deep rooted in unique subcultures. However, in the new college athletics and sports landscape there are a variety of proven, new, and exciting ways to integrate the efforts of athletics and your institution to inspire the masses to engage and give—regardless of a direct affiliation with athletics! Come learn more about the different ways to carry the ball across the goal-line to create shared success for donor engagement by partnering with your athletics department!
Perk Up Your Annual Appeals with Personalization Strategies
Theresa Aide, and Kate Cominsky, Suttle-Straus
Data can be used to personalize your appeal campaigns using many variables. Let’s explore how you can use personalization to improve your fundraising results. Get 11 examples of personalized mail in this session!
Principles of Ethically Influencing Annual Giving
Clark Gafke, LEAD Philanthropy
Discover the science behind donor motivation in this engaging and insightful session! Principles of Ethically Influencing Annual Giving will equip you with eight proven principles—Authority, Consistency, Contrast, Liking, Reciprocity, Scarcity, Social Proof, and Unity—that inspire donors to make meaningful gifts to their university. Rooted in the groundbreaking research of the Cialdini Institute, these principles provide a framework for authentic and ethical donor engagement. Clark Gafke, a Cialdini Certified Professional and Ethical Influence Practitioner, will guide you through the subtle yet powerful elements of everyday communication that drive generosity. With practical examples and actionable takeaways, this session will empower you to build stronger connections with donors and achieve sustainable results in annual giving. Whether you’re a seasoned fundraiser or new to the field, this session will improve the way you approach donor engagement!
Raise the Sails: Jumpstarting Your Student Philanthropy Program
Letitia Evans, Elizabeth City State University
“Raise the Sails: Jumpstarting Your Student Philanthropy Program” will guide you through launching a successful student philanthropy program at your institution. Learn how to engage students, implement effective marketing strategies, and measure the impact of your efforts. Join us to inspire the next generation of donors and make a lasting impact on your campus community.
The Reunion Giving Playbook – A Class-Based Fundraising Forum
Heather Gelardi, College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross has a highly effective class-based fundraising and reunion giving program. Hear from Heather about how it’s all managed. Should you be looking into class-based fundraising at your institution? Are their methods and strategies scalable to your shop? Do you have any of your own success stories to share? Bring your question and solutions, successes and challenges to this forum on reunion and class-based fundraising.
Sexualized Violence in Philanthropy – How Did We Get Here and How Do We Fix It?
Venna Penney, Dalhousie University
Sexualized violence is a reality in fundraising and philanthropy. Recent data from nation-wide studies supported by AFP show that up to 80% of fundraisers experience sexualized violence on the job. Dalhousie University’s Office of Advancement began approaching this issue over two years ago, and with significant support across campus and from external experts, subsequently developed eight recommendations provided to their leadership team that were approved and have begun to be enacted. Follow our story and learn about what we’ve been able to achieve within the past few years to support our staff and change the narrative on this topic.
Three learning objectives include:
● Sharing a case study from “real life” – including successes and failures on the road to building safe and inviting workspaces when it comes to sexualized violence prevention and response;
● Providing tangible examples of work that can be done to move towards a safe working environment;
● Creating an open dialogue about this topic in philanthropy, specifically in publicly funded institutions across the country.
A Small Shop Forum
Christopher Chambers, SUNY Canton and Ellen Walbrun, Rhode Island School of Design
Are you a one-person annual giving shop? Are you <1? Join Chis and Ellen for a little therapy and a lot of shared ideas on how to leverage your work, scale the solutions, work with third-party resources and accomplish annual giving goals when the “team” is you.
Sustaining the Spark: Reinvigorating and Growing Giving Days for Long-Term Success
Nora Marzocchi and Meg Cummins, Bryant University
At Bryant University, Giving Days have become pivotal moments to unite the community, inspire generosity, and celebrate a shared mission. But staying relevant and impactful year after year requires innovation and strategic growth. In this session, Nora and Meg will share insights drawn from their experiences at Bryant, highlighting the strategies they’ve used to keep a campaign fresh and effective. From expanding participation and increasing annual donations to fostering deeper major donor connections, you’ll learn actionable steps and creative ideas to ensure your Giving Day not only thrives but grows stronger each year.
Talk the Talk: Training Your Team Through Every Part of the Gift Cycle
Amanda Talbot, Brown University
In this session, hear about the process in which Brown University has piloted a training program for their front-line Annual Fund fundraisers. Want to try it out yourself? Experience hands-on practice qualifying, soliciting or stewarding your peers.
Unlocking Potential: Leveraging Alumni Engagement Metrics
for Prospect Identification and Donor Acquisition
Kira Mudd and Gina Simonelli, University of Rhode Island
Annual giving programs are harnessing the power of alumni engagement data to identify and acquire new prospects and donors. This session will explore how the University of Rhode Island is in the beginning stages of utilizing engagement metrics—from event participation and volunteerism to digital interactions and communications—to sharpen prospect identification strategies and boost donor acquisition efforts. Join us to be part of the discussion on how best to integrate engagement data into your annual giving pipeline and collaborate with Alumni Engagement to align engagement and giving strategies.
Why is AI All Up In Your Business?
Wally Fisher, GiveCampus
AI is everywhere, in every industry, and it’s actually been a part of our daily lives for years. Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Face ID, Netflix’s movie recommendations, and Gmail’s spam filter all use AI to–at least in theory–make our lives easier and better. But what does it mean for you as an advancement professional? After all, cultivating an authentic, personal relationship is key to getting someone to give, so how exactly can AI help? Discover how to leverage this emerging technology while preserving and enhancing the most important aspect of the work you do—meaningful human-to-human engagement.
In this session, participants will learn:
● Why advancement teams should care about Artificial Intelligence
● The opportunities and challenges of this technology in the fundraising space
● Practical ways to start leveraging AI in order to reclaim your most precious resource—time.
Join Wally as he discusses the opportunities and challenges posed by AI and how to effectively leverage this powerful tool today.
What We’ve Learned From Fully Autonomous AI Fundraising & Where We’re Going Next
Renee Quinn, Version2.ai and Amanda Glann, St. John Fisher University
It’s been almost a year since the world’s first fully autonomous fundraiser interacted with its first assigned donor. It started with a cohort of 13 organizations, led by 11 higher education institutions, who joined together as the first cohort to engage donors with an AI-powered Virtual Engagement Officer (VEO), but more importantly research, develop, and accelerate the deployment of autonomous fundraising for our entire industry. Since then, two additional cohorts have brought a total of 40 organizations the opportunity to add a digital workforce to complement their human fundraising teams and address a labor shortage preventing them from managing more of their donors in 1:1 engagements. In this session, Amanda Glann will introduce participants to St. John Fisher’s Virtual Engagement Officer, Quinn, share the areas of opportunity that Quinn is working to address with its portfolio of 1,000 donors, and how digital labor supports the work of their frontline fundraising team. She’ll also provide insight into the unique opportunities that the VEO has to amplify the work of the Fisher Fund. Renee Quinn will share overall results across autonomous fundraising – donors engaged, dollars raised, and pipeline built – in addition to use cases, successes, and where course corrections were needed, and how we navigated AI in a field defined by relationships. We’ll share all of our findings including portfolios for autonomous fundraisers, sourcing engagement content independently, and the future of digital labor in advancement. Finally, we’ll conclude by looking at where we are going in 2025, what we can continue to learn, how we can continue to further personalize donor journeys led by donor engagement data, how to push the outer limits of technology, and more. Learning objectives will include:
● See firsthand results as well as the future of a digital workforce to enhance human fundraising efforts.
● Understand what autonomous fundraising is and where it fits into donor engagement and overall fundraising strategy.
● Evaluate key lessons from the deployment of AI-powered Virtual Engagement Officers, including successes, challenges, and necessary course corrections in AI-driven donor management.