2019 ANA Chicago Nonprofit Conference

NONPROFIT EXECUTIVE ROUND TABLE (by invitation only)

Join this invitation only event, where nonprofit fundraising leaders like you openly discuss the latest trends, explore issues, and share insights that are being realized from organizations across the nonprofit community. Facilitated by Angie Moore, Chief Individual Fundraising Officer at CARE. This exclusive, nonprofit only, discussion will allow industry executives to network with each other on a personal, intimate level never seen before at an ANA Nonprofit Federation Conference.

If you’re interested in attending the round table, please complete the linked form. You must be approved to participate in the discussion.

THE CULTURE CLUB – THE CONNECTION BETWEEN CULTURE AND OUR ABILITY TO THRIVE IN FUNDRAISING!

Track: Professional Development

This panel will discuss organizational culture and its impact on our ability to raise money and positively support our teams to do great work. So many fundraisers face real challenges in making change and persevering in the face of difficult organizational cultures. Through a lively conversation, our experienced panel will provide insights on their personal experiences with culture and help people who have a desire to build and facilitate great cultures and navigate through the process. Our panel will provide real life examples of how culture can enable people to do their best work, raise the most money and grow as individuals despite challenges and obstacles. 

Our experienced fundraisers will also look at how organizational cultures are enabling people to do more than survive – and actually thrive and provide participants with real advice on making a difference in their own organizations or in their own careers going forward.

Kimberley Blease

Executive Vice President, Client Relationships Blakely

LEAD FROM THE HEART TO UNLEASH YOUR TEAM’S POTENTIAL

Track: Professional Development

In a world that is exponentially more challenging and difficult each day, creating a culture that fosters the right mindset and “heartset”, with the most effective leadership behaviors to support the safety, empowerment, and trust in your people is a cornerstone for any organization’s viability and sustained success.

Through review of the latest scientific research and corporate success stories, this session will explore ways for all leaders, managers, and team members to effectively increase employee engagement. Learn how to drive organizational prosperity and profitability by making your people a priority and meeting their individual needs, as a leader and organization.  Examples will provide key takeaways and best practices you can begin using in your job and at your organization right away.

You’ll leave this session inspired recognizing how a caring culture, led by caring leaders and team members is an effective way to motivate people to excel and thrive.

Ben Harris (@ProdSolutionsDM)

President Production Solutions

THE JOURNEY TO LEADERSHIP

Track: Professional Development

Becoming a leader in your organization is truly a journey. Learn from industry icons what path they took to achieve success within the nonprofit sector. You will be surprised to learn that it is not always the right decisions that propelled them forward, but sometimes learnings from the wrong ones that helped shape them into the leaders they are today. This fast paced session will feature the most recent Max Hart Nonprofit Achievement Award winner, Angel Aloma and the current Nonprofit Federation Rising Leader Award winner, Adrian White Slagle. Tom Harrison, a previous Max Hart winner, will moderate.    

Angel Aloma

Executive Director Food For The Poor

FIRST TIME ATTENDEE SESSION

Come to the short 30-minutes session and learn great tips to navigate to conference!

• Meet other first-time attendees so that you’ll have some friendly faces throughout your session
• Review the educational tracks to help focus your session selections
• Gain some quick and easy group event networking skills
• Hear from industry veterans on what has worked for them to add skills and build a resourceful network
• Build a 5-Step conference ‘to do’ list

Megan Den Herder

Director, Direct Response National Audubon Society

Who: Anyone looking to run around town. All levels welcome.
What: An early morning run around downtown Chicago to look at beautiful architecture!
Headed up by: Polly Papsadore, PMG Direct 
Bring: Running shoes, workout clothes, and a good attitude.

This is a rain or shine event. Dress for the weather. Have fun and get in a good run!

Jeff Nickel

Chief Client Development Officer Moore DM Group

Bill Tucker

Group Executive Vice President ANA

THE POWER OF PURPOSE

Brands have long held the power to shape perceptions, influence behaviors and create lasting value.  But in this age of radical transformation, brands are challenged to do even more – to imbue meaning that transcends the value of the goods and services they represent.  They must expose beliefs and establish an expectation for the way the organization will make an impact on issues of public interest and social relevance.

Against that background comes the age of the purpose-led brand.  And no segment of the world’s market is better positioned to drive purpose than the nonprofit sector.  As agents of good in the world, our DNA can be shared in authentic and meaningful ways to help other brands find and communicate their own meaning and values. 

In this session, we will explore ways that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is unlocking the power of purpose in its mission, and how others in the nonprofit community can apply these insights as a pathway for their own growth and sustainability.

Emily Callahan

Chief Marketing and Experience Officer ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

EFFECTIVELY LEVERAGING CO-OPERATIVE DATABASES

Track: Classic Direct Response

Nonprofits face a number of challenges in finding and targeting reliable sources of leads for donor acquisition.  Due to decreasing file sizes, lower retention rates on exchange files and the difficulty of finding prospects in commercial list sources, Boys Town decided to join several cooperative databases in an attempt to find new sources of prospects, improve acquisition results and reactivate lapsed donors by leveraging the transaction information within the coops and their respective modeling capabilities. In this session, Boys Town will share results and discuss how it utilized transactional data and modeling to improve results and gain insight from Wiland and Infogroup as to how other organizations are leveraging their cooperative databases. This session will provide ideas, best practices and results covering:

• Advantages of Cooperative Databases
• Reactivation of Lapsed Donors
• Acquisition and Multi-buyers
• Emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in modeling

Mike Vcelik

Senior Director, Development Boys Town

WHAT HAPPENED IN DECEMBER 2018, AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

Track: Digital

Overall giving dropped -2.3 percent, and online giving dropped -4.4 percent. Theories have been discussed and debated among nonprofit marketers. Many included estimations of the economy, tax law changes, impacts caused by #GivingTuesday, or changes in the giving landscape.

While these could all have been influential factors, these theories are the result of marketers surveying marketers. RKD and research partner McQueen, Mackin & Associates co-commissioned a study to understand the perspective of donors.

The study digs deep on threads like:

• Would donors self-report giving less in December 2018?
• What drove a change in giving?
• How are donors prioritizing the organizations they support?

This session will explore finding of the research project and highlight how nonprofits can prioritize connection, relevance and authenticity in marketing strategy to help solve for December woes.

Justin McCord

Vice President, Marketing RKD Group

IS YOUR PLANNED GIVING PIPELINE AIRTIGHT?

Track: Mid-Level Giving

For decades, planned gift marketing had been a challenge for most organizations because generating highly qualified leads was very expensive and time-consuming. Most strategies and tactics involved ineffective, inefficient ‘spray and pray’ methods that yielded poor returns on investment.  Learn how to leverage technology to generate the most highly qualified leads for planned gifts at the lowest cost.

Valerie Vierengel

Director, Donor Retention ASPCA

IMPOSSIBLE GROWTH NUMBERS: TRANSFORMATIONAL PROGRAM CHANGES

Track: Transformational

We’ll look at real life examples of when organizations were faced with growth challenges and had to make transformational program shifts. This panel discussion includes four industry and nonprofit leaders who will answer questions that they’ve heard from their own Board and CEOs that required shifts within their programs, so you can prepare how you’d answer something similar when you want to make a transformational shift. Like the television game show “Around the Horn” this moderated discussion will award panelists with points for good arguments for or against various industry topics.

Daniel Karp

Senior Vice President, Integrated Direct Marketing Covenant House

WHO IS THAT “ANONYMOUS DONOR,” ANYWAY?

Track: Classic Direct Response

We’ve seen it hundreds of times: the unnamed donor, or donors, who “mysteriously” provide a gift that will “match” the gifts of your individual donors. But while this fundraising strategy can represent a much-needed boost for your fundraising program, if executed poorly, it can come across confusing, disingenuous, or even untrustworthy to your donor base. Learn how you can maximize your matching gift offer in a way that instills trust and excitement with your donors, from fundraising experts who have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly in execution. Not sure how to even approach the idea of securing a matching gift? Learn how numerous nonprofits have secured LEGITIMATE matches in a way that flattered the donor and see real-life examples of how to convey the impact of the matching gift campaign after it has been executed.

Chelsea Leonard

Director, Development Marines Memorial Association and Foundation

SEND LESS, RAISE MORE: RETHINKING EMAIL SEGMENTATION

Track: Digital

A case study of a large nonprofit's woes about the "burn and churn" of sending too much email and the surprising gains of adapting a paradigm-shifting communication strategy. What happens when you move beyond traditional donor status segmentation and begin listening to donor behavior and matching cadence to engagement?

Kimberly Bersin

Director, Integrated Fundraising and Digital International Fellowship of Christians and Jews

SHOW THEM THE WAY: HOW TO UPGRADE DONORS TO MID-LEVEL GIVING

Track: Mid-Level Giving

Your low-dollar donor pool is a great source from which to build your mid-level giving circles. But what are the best practices to welcoming, stewarding, and engaging your donors so that they upgrade their giving? In this session, hear from organizations that growing their mid-level programs year-over-year. They will share strategies you can deploy that will help you bring in the right kind of donors, how and when to ask them to increase their giving, and how to ensure they continue to give at higher levels.

Margot O’Leary (@AvalonFYI)

Vice President Avalon Consulting

EVOLUTION VS. INNOVATION

Track: Transformational

This is an interactive session full of opportunity to reflect, discuss with your peers and plan for action. Our daily core activities continue to be an important cornerstone that drive significant funds. We are also hearing that consumer/donor behaviors are shifting and technology continues to change. What does it mean to evolve in this environment? Is this something that is worthy of your time, attention and action?

Adrian White Slagle

Director, New Business and Account Management One & All

The Nonprofit Organization of the Year Award, presented annually at the Chicago Nonprofit Conference, recognizes outstanding accomplishments by a nonprofit organization using data-driven marketing to advance its mission. The recipient is determined based on the following criteria:

• Sustained achievement in fundraising through data-driven marketing and consistently successful financial performance
• Recognized leadership with a reputation for excellence within the nonprofit and data-driven marketing communities, as well as with the public at large
• High ethical standards and compliance with generally accepted standards for management and public disclosure

Christy Radke

Vice President, Data Solutions Epsilon

FACE-TO-FACE: WE’VE GOT THE WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE AND HOW. WE NEED WHY!

Track: Classic Direct Response

Three leading nonprofits with face-2-face programs of varying sizes (small, medium, and large) will discuss their face-2-face program. The organizations will start with “why” they initially engaged with the Face-2-Face channel, and then will engage in a moderated discussion on how that “why” has guided them from start to now in making strategic decisions and both short and long-term plans as they continue in the Face-2-Face space.

Megan Den Herder

Director, Direct Response National Audubon Society

GREAT STORY. NOW WHAT? WHY IT PAYS TO BE ALL IN ON SOCIAL

Track: Digital

Social media is a powerful forum for connecting people to your cause. From generating awareness of your brand, to driving acquisition, activating supporters and generating donations, having a cohesive social media strategy is a quintessential step to fundraising and marketing success in the digital age. But today, having a “social media strategy” isn’t just one thing. It’s not “direct response OR organic”, and it’s not just having a donate button available on your Facebook page. A true social strategy sees the value of social media for every aspect of your nonprofit.

In this session, we’re talking about what it means to be “all in” on social, as it relates to your organic storytelling strategy, to your paid amplification, to making sure all the tools are there for your constituents to support, donate, share and engage meaningfully with you.

Katie Hood

Senior Strategist, Social Media and Content ForwardPMX

MID-LEVEL GIVING BY THE NUMBERS

Track: Mid-Level Giving

Mid-level giving programs are growing across nonprofits of every size and sector. But do you know how yours stacks up? What measures are you using to track your success? Are you investing in the right resources? Using data from a variety of nonprofit sectors, we’ll uncover donor and revenue trends for this growing population of valuable contributors. We’ll also hear from industry leaders who are managing growing programs about their best practice recommendations and pitfalls to avoid.

Carol Rhine

Principal Fundraising Analyst Blackbaud

TURNING THE SHIP: A PROGRAM STABILIZATION 'HOW TO' GUIDE

Track: Transformational

Donors down? Revenue soft? Retention struggling? You are not alone. Many organizations have struggled in recent years to navigate troubling fundraising waters. This informative session will provide attendees with a step by step 'how to' guide for program stabilization to reverse the course of downward trends. You will learn how to identify root causes of declining performance, create a thoughtful strategy to address the challenges identified and how to evaluate success toward stabilization goals.

Erica O'Brien

Managing Partner, Co-Owner MINDset direct

A 97% OPEN RATE?! IT’S POSSIBLE...WITH TEXTING

The way people use their phones to communicate is changing. But at its core, it still fosters a two way, personal conversation. And great news: your donors and supporters are already there. (Legit, 90% of Americans keep their phone within reach 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.) That means phone engagements reap big rewards for organizing, advocacy, and, yes, even fundraising.

It can be overwhelming to know where to start or how to grow. Our panel of experts are here to share case studies, offer tips, and share lessons learned. And, of course, there will be time for lively discussion and questions and answers.

See how many organizations have started to implement texting as an essential element of their fundraising.

Vicky Barrett-Putnam

Senior Director, Donor Development & Acquisition Strategies Sierra Club

KEEPING YELLOWSTONE FOREVER: HOW TREND-SPOTTING SAVED EOY

Track: Digital

When Yellowstone Forever first built their audience in 2016, their donors were a core group of highly invested hand-raisers: park visitors and those deeply rooted in the mission of preserving the nation’s first national park. Needless to say, after over a year of acquiring new names to the list, the days of low-hanging fruit were over – and in early 2018, the team identified a need to rely closely on data, pivot its strategic approach, and ensure an increase in the total number of gifts could offset a lowered average gift amount, all ahead of the fast-approaching crucial moment of year-end.

In this session, the team at Anne Lewis Strategies and Yellowstone Forever will guide you through the innovations and digital experiences that helped bring Yellowstone to the backyards – and hearts – of their entire audience, securing a 50% increase year-over-year gifts, and a stronger end-of-year in 2018 than ever before.

Maureen McNally

Senior Vice President and Director, Accounts Anne Lewis Strategies

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF HIGH-TOUCH, MID-LEVEL GIVING

Track: Mid-Level Giving

How Planned Parenthood increased revenue retention and ROI within its mid-level program using data analytics, segmentation, and strategic cultivation: Every program has donors that give below their potential. The challenge is how to effectively identify, target, retain and upgrade these donors. Blending the use of direct marketing and strategic stewardship and engagement strategies, Planned Parenthood is working to create a mid-level fundraising program that raises more money while enhancing the donor experience and increasing loyalty.

Sara Nakano

Senior Account Director O'Brien Garrett

BRAND PURPOSE - HOW CHARITIES WORK WITH BRANDS TO RAISE FUNDS AND AWARENESS

Track: Transformational

Across the generations, people give to charities in new ways and seek to purchase from reputable brands that partner with causes they believe in. As organizations and brands look to ensure they partner and engage properly, it is important to learn about such alliances and how they have even larger impact and raise awareness about your organization to raise more funds!

Starting a Movement

Attend to learn about what Nationwide Children’s Hospital has done to create a new national movement and cause platform, On Our Sleeves™. This platform was developed to transform mental health outcomes for children and young adults through: advocacy focused on ending stigmas and misconceptions around behavioral health, access to educational tools and resources, and funding and research to advance care. We will showcase highlights and results for the first year of the program and campaign launch, as well as demonstrate how the hospital successfully integrated two of their important strategic brand partners – Nationwide and Big Lots – into the campaign.

GroundTruth and No Kid Hungry

No child should go hungry in America. But 1 in 6 kids will face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is ending childhood hunger through effective programs that provide kids with the food they need. This session will delve into how No Kid Hungry and location technology company GroundTruth came together to devise a pro-bono mobile strategy for the annual Dine for No Kid Hungry fundraiser, which unites the restaurant industry and its guests to raise funds to end childhood hunger. Together they raised awareness, drove action and generated donations by partnering with participating restaurants The Habit Burger Grill, Jack in the Box, On The Border, and QDOBA. The discussion will take attendees through the strategy and tactics that led to the campaign’s success and share key takeaways on the Quick Service Restaurant industry, brand partnerships and how nonprofits can leverage different types of technology to accelerate their efforts.

Senny Boone

SVP, Nonprofit Federation, Email Experience Council and Accountability ANA

MEETING THE NEXT GENERATION WHERE THEY ARE

Research tells us that Gen Z and Gen Alpha are energized and focused on “doing good” in the world in unprecedented ways. They prefer to engage with brands that make social good an authentic part of their ethos and expect cause-driven organizations to engage with them on their terms. Rather than asking them to take a seat at their table we should be prepared to take a seat at theirs. In order for nonprofits to thrive — we need to meet gen Z and those that come after them, where they are. Key for success in cultivating the next generation of advocates, donors, volunteers and partners will be re-envisioning compelling opportunities for engagement to solve society’s problems.

In this session we explore how girls are setting the pace for some of the most important innovations at Girls Scouts of the USA that are unleashing the go-getters, innovators, risk-takers and leaders who will create a better future.

Lynn Godfrey

Chief Brand Marketing and Communications Officer Girl Scouts USA

Because it’s not just what you know. It’s who you know. In addition to a strong education conference that provides the knowledge you need to advance you and your organization to the next step, this event is an opportunity to meet people who help you get there. Take advantage of the reception to expand your professional network by joining us for drinks and appetizers with prominent industry leaders and peers and continue your discussions started in the session rooms. What a great way to kick off your evening activities!

UNITED WAY 132 YEARS YOUNG...AND COUNTING

How do you take a 132-year-old brand and make it relevant to today’s (and tomorrow’s) citizen-philanthropists? During this session, United Way Worldwide Chief Marketing Office Lisa Bowman will take the audience through the organization’s three-year brand transformation journey. From rebuilding trust and increasing awareness of the brand, to galvanizing engagement of donors, advocates and volunteers, to asserting the relevance of the 132-year-old organization, Lisa has taken the brand on a journey. She will discuss the challenges that faced United Way Worldwide when she joined in 2015 and the strategy she executed to research, develop and execute a new face of the organization. The session will include data from United Way’s 2018 National Brand Tracker and Edelman’s 2019 Trust Barometer, outlining the results of the brand transformation and challenges faced by similar institutions.

Lisa Bowman (@LisaBowmanUWW)

Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer United Way Worldwide

IS 2019 TOO LATE TO START A DIRECT MAIL PROGRAM?

Track: Classic Direct Response

A lot of newer organizations have their start-up and roots primarily in the digital space.  Is there room for mail in their marketing program?  How can you best use the mail channel?  And what should be the decision points that define parameters around your direct mail program.

Teresa Weaver

Vice President, Client Strategies O'Brien Garrett

GEN X- THE FORGOTTEN GENERATION

Track: Digital

Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. Trapped between baby boomers and millennials, gen Xers tend to be the forgotten middle child. However, in the next 30 years, we will experience the biggest transfer of wealth from one generation to another — estimates range between $30-48 Trillion dollars will be handed down to the generation that grew up on Sesame Street and saw the wall come down. Will you be ready? Don’t you forget about them.

Paige Kelbe

Account Director Epsilon

LOCK IT DOWN! GET SUSTAINERS COMMITTED FOR THE LONG HAUL

Track: Monthly Giving

Sustainers are critical to revenue growth for your organization, so you need to be committed to keeping them engaged. See how two very different organizations in terms of sustainer program size and maturity approach acquisition and retention. Learn how you can employ these strategies today along with best practices around them for success. You will leave with a toolbox of techniques to implement, along with a plan to make the case for support internally and likely have some laughs along the way.

This session will make sure you are ready to get committed to your sustainers and ensure that you are ready to get them engaged to you for the long term!

Michelle Ehrhardt

Deputy Director, Membership ACLU

MAXIMIZING SUPPORTER VALUE THROUGH ADVANCED ANALYTICS

Track: Program Analytics

Join Sierra Club and MarkeTeam to discover how Sierra Club utilizes data mining and long-term value (LTV) analyses to make strategic investment decisions that allow the organization to diversify its donor pool, grow its sustainer program, and better target its large activist file for conversion.  Applying advanced analytics pre and post testing allows Sierra Club to leverage the plethora of investment options at its disposal including Facebook Messenger, Peer-to-Peer, and various internet forums, not to mention the old standbys of email, direct mail and telemarketing.  Additionally, because of the many different options for supporters, Sierra Club must constantly monitor activity through these various channels.  Find out how this bastion of environmental justice establishes their framework for engaging with their growing database of supporters.

Drew Seman

Director of Product Management Cro Metrics

TESTING FOR IMPACT

Track: Classic Direct Response

Tired of testing month after month with little to show for it? Looking to increase your bottom line impact and save costs? In this session, you’ll hear from organizations who are bucking the trend on testing by favoring smart testing over testing for testing’s sake. They test deliberately and for impact to move the dial, not just the needle. We’ll share testing results, how to ensure you are testing for statistical validity, and how to incorporate this kind of testing into your program.

Laura Connors

Vice President, Membership National Parks Conservation Association

YOUR DIGITAL MEDIA BUDGET: BUILD IT AND GET IT APPROVED

Track: Digital

Learn from the digital experts about their process, strategies, attribution analysis and tactics used to develop and sell their digital media budgets to the keeper of the purse strings!  In addition, this session will present surprising findings from a national survey on Digital Media Spending in the nonprofit marketplace — or more specifically, the media spending across search, email, social, and display advertising. You’ll be able to benchmark how you compare!

Roger Hiyama

Senior Vice President, Client Services Wiland

MAKING THE MOST OF THE BREAK-UP – HOW TO WIN BACK SUSTAINERS

Track: Monthly Giving

You’ve spent countless dollars and time acquiring new sustainers, but have you spent time digging into attrition and reviewing your efforts to win them back? We will look at examples of sustainer programs that have set-up warning mechanisms to get ahead of attrition and have processes in place to win them back.

Michelle Faber

Associate Director, Sponsorship Retention Marketing Save the Children

SIMPLE ATTRIBUTION TECHNIQUES FOR A COMPLEX FUNDRAISING WORLD

Track: Program Analytics

If you are a smart fundraiser today, you are acquiring and cultivating new donors in a number of different ways.  The expansion of channels for donor acquisition, cultivation and retention has opened up exciting possibilities for nonprofit organizations to reach out to diverse communities for support and advocacy. But it has also created a new challenge — how can you measure the return on investment for any given channel when a donor may have had multiple touches before giving to your organization? In this session, we will provide you with simple tools you can use to evaluate the return on investment of your acquisition efforts in a complex, multichannel world. We will show you how you can measure the impact of each channel independently and in concert with your overall fundraising strategy — while avoiding complex and arbitrary attribution formulas. And, most importantly, we will discuss how you can use simple attribution techniques to break away from channel specific investment strategies — creating a donor-focused acquisition strategy for your organization that takes full advantage of the new opportunities in our current fundraising environment.

Peter Schoewe (@mwdagency)

Vice President and Director, Analytics Mal Warwick Donordigital

Privacy legislation at the state and federal level threaten nonprofit organizations in new ways — from potentially limiting donor data sources to adding new compliance burdens for charities and organizations. Whether you are a company working for a charity, or an organization seeking new donors, you need to know the latest! Come to a “fireside chat” to learn the developments in data privacy challenges, ANA’s actions to develop sound privacy policy at the federal level and much more!

Senny Boone

SVP, Nonprofit Federation, Email Experience Council and Accountability ANA

BREAK DOWN ORG SILOS, PRIORITIZE YOUR SUPPORTERS' EXPERIENCE

Track: Classic Direct Response

Good fundraising programs are the result of good organizations. And good organizations are supporter-centric, prioritize supporter engagement and are collaborative across teams, enabling them to deliver inspiring, integrated, and individualized content to their community.

In this session, we’ll use experiences from JDRF and other nonprofits to discuss how to break down the organization's walls that get in the way of creating the best possible experience for your supporters. 

We’ll draw from the experience of marketers trying to bring change to decades old nonprofits and working to collaborate with development, mission and IT teams in the process. This session will breakdown the five factors stopping organizations from achieving a digital breakthrough: investment, technology, governance, creative and delivery of service.

Stephen Muller (@bluestate)

Managing Director Blue State

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION TO YOUR GOOGLE ANALYTICS?

Track: Digital

Google Analytics is a treasure trove of data for direct marketers, but are you using it? Does your org have it set up correctly?

In this session we will dive deeper into the data and measurement tools that Google has to offer that can help us understand attribution, paths to conversion and the how the behavior of your audience can inform channel and messaging choices. How can we ensure that our GA implementation is correct to track conversions, attribution, owned and earned strategies so that we can properly optimize against our objective of converting site traffic into donors?

Bigger picture, GA can be intimidating, so what are the key pieces a direct marketer data should you be monitoring and how to get at that data simply and efficiently?

Jeff Ostiguy (@thdinc)

Vice President, Marketing THD

DIVERSIFY TO WIN: BALANCING ONE TIME & MONTHLY GIVING

Track: Monthly Giving

Balancing one time & monthly giving strategies can be challenging as it often requires vigilance in balancing immediate and future outcomes. However, committing to investments in both programs will ultimately have the greatest long term payoff for the organization. Attendees will benefit from examples showcasing how the case for investments, across a diverse channel mix, are made by organizations. In addition, attendees will see specific creative used, audience targeted and outcomes generated.

Letal Zidkony

Senior Vice President, Fundraising Strategies MINDset direct

THIS IS HOW DIRECT MAIL & DIGITAL CAN REALLY PLAY TOGETHER!

Track: Program Analytics

It’s 2019. Are you still having the big, scary, philosophical debates about channel integration? If the answer is, “yes”, here’s some other questions for you. Did you ever stop to think about what makes these conversations so big and scary, and why? And are they resulting in any meaningful new plans, strategies, or results?

We have some advice: Stop thinking about channel integration and start thinking about the easy wins that can come from getting direct mail and digital working together. In this session, we’re going to be talking about the clear proof points your teams need to make investment changes, look at your file differently and get online and offline channels working together to achieve shared goals. (No complex integration lingo here!) Before you get to your next steps toward innovating your program, have these conversations about the bread and butter integration pieces you might be missing!

Mark McLean

Director, Direct Mail Client Services ForwardPMX

DOES YOUR DM NEED A STICK OF DYNAMITE OR A KICK IN THE ASK?

Track: Classic Direct Response

Join Sierra Club, Oblate Missions, and MarkeTeam to discover how these nonprofits approach testing and how they balance risk with the reward. Learn six key testing approaches that anyone can implement to balance risk/reward. These innovative lessons transformed the Sierra Club’s program, while the Oblate Missions have revolutionized their approach to stopping their donors from lapsing, reactivating lapsed donors, and acquiring more donors.

In this session, learn proven strategies that can make your direct mail program more effective by showing you how to approach testing by balancing risk and reward with analytics that can drive your fundraising program more efficiently.

Marisela Guillen

Acquisitions Campaigns Manager Oblate Missions

PEER-TO-PEER FUNDRAISERS: HOW TO MAXIMIZE THAT FREE MONEY

Track: Digital

You might love this new crowdsourcing trend for the money it brings in without you lifting a finger. But you might also be wondering if you’re leaving money on the table by not proactively participating in the strategic process, especially with Facebook fundraisers. Or, you may not be sure you’re ready to dip your toe in this pool at all. Trust us: It’s worth the leap! In this session, you’ll learn from the experts at Anne Lewis Strategies and the USO about how some of the most successful nonprofits are leaning in and seizing this opportunity to maximize results – and how to bring skeptical teams from wary to wowed. 

Aaron Teskey

Vice President Anne Lewis Strategies

RETAINING YOUR SUSTAINING DONORS

Track: Monthly Giving

Retention is where the value of sustaining donors is made or lost.  Traditional variables like age of donor, acquisition channel, or your campaign copy won’t fix sustainer retention.  The most important variables are about quality: quality of the donor experience and quality of the donor herself.  Organizations will show you how they are collecting this data and using it to manage their fundraisers, change the donor experience, and get massive improvement in retention.

Kevin Schulman

Founder and Managing Partner DonorVoice

BEYOND BUZZWORDS: HOW DATA SCIENCE CAN ATTRACT NEW AUDIENCES

Track: Program Analytics

Nonprofit organizations need to be engaging new supporters every day, including new audiences who traditionally haven’t been included — whether that’s young people, certain geographic regions, or people of color. A lot goes into engaging new audiences — including an organization-wide commitment, an authentic voice that resonates with these new groups, and relationships in the community. Data science can also be a powerful tool to help organizations engage new audiences. In this session, NRDC will share how the organization is leveraging analytics to develop a data-driven outreach and engagement strategy, including how NRDC has used:

• Data to move beyond intuition to understand its existing supporter base and establish realistic growth goals
• Predictive modeling to identify who to reach out to
• Testing to understand which issues and messaging are most effective with which audiences
• Cross-department analytics to align teams on organization-wide goals

Scarlett Swerdlow

Director, Applied Data Science Civis Analytics