2:00-4:30 p.m.
There’s a special FREE preconference workshop on Tuesday afternoon, March 17th, featuring Theresa Lee, Chief Development Officer at the New England Botanic Garden. She will teach a special “Introduction to Annual Giving… and NEAGC” workshop.
THIS WORKSHOP IS FREE, BUT PLEASE
REGISTER SEPARATELY HERE.
Annual Giving is both an art and a science, requiring strong fundamentals, smart use of data, and intentional relationship-building to succeed. This session offers a practical, end-to-end look at how to build, manage, and grow an effective Annual Giving program. Theresa Lee will cover Annual Giving essentials, including goal setting and benchmarking, marketing demographics and campaign planning, segmentation and personalization strategies, and the anatomy of a compelling appeal. Participants will also explore how data analytics can inform decision-making, strengthen donor retention, and support thoughtful upgrading, leadership annual giving, and loyalty recognition programs. The session will conclude with a focus on stewardship as the connective tissue that transforms one-time gifts into long-term commitment. Attendees will leave with actionable tools and frameworks to strengthen participation, increase revenue, and build lasting donor relationships.
Theresa Lee is the Chief Development Officer at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, where she leads fundraising and membership. Over the past 33 years, she has held senior advancement roles at MIT, Boston College, Holy Cross, WPI, and UMass Lowell, and has also worked as a fundraising consultant. A longtime instructor in Boston University’s professional fundraising program and frequent speaker for professional associations, Theresa specializes in annual giving, support services, and management and accountability, with a strong belief in relationship-building and meaningful stewardship. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maine and an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Bowling Green State University.
This pre-conference program is FREE, but is a bonus session only for those attendees coming in-person to NEAGC at Endicott College. We’ll talk about the evolving goals, methods, channels, messages, metrics — and the very idea of “annual giving” itself. Pack up your newbies (or your “oldbies” in need of a refresh) and join us early in Baltimore!
The workshop will run from 2:00-4:30 p.m. and is free. Please register for the workshop on the conference registration page here.
5:30-8:00 p.m.
St. Patrick’s Day Meet-Up in Beverly!
lf you’re in Beverly Tuesday night and want to enjoy a wee bit of St. Patrick’s Day, meet a group of NEAGC attendees at The Indo. It’s open seating, it has a highly-recommended menu, and it will be crowded. But let’s give it a try. Plan B? Also recommended are the Hale Street Tavern and Fibber McGee’s.
