Breakout Session Information

The Vibrant Index Initiative, a collaboration between Vibrant Pittsburgh and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. It drives diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) changes across industry and sector. The Vibrant Index identifies areas of success as well as what critical actions are needed to improve the practices, policies, and cultures of organizations in the Pittsburgh region.  The Vibrant Index Diagnostic evaluates companies in ten impact areas, identifying areas of responsibility, DE&I strengths, and opportunities to make change within an organization.   Participants will gain:  an understanding of the region's need for diversity, equity, and inclusion acceleration; -the role of organizations in perpetuating or dismantling systemic oppressions;  -current promising practices that organizations are being asked to adopt via the Vibrant Index  

Individual donors contribute nearly 70% of the $400+ billion given to charities each year. This makes individual donor giving a priority and major area of opportunity for most nonprofits. The truth is, today’s donors are tough to engage. Their attention is fractured. They are daily berated by thousands of messages, and retreat to personal feeds and friend recommendations when choosing causes to connect with.  Even if you earn their attention, there’s a 75% chance they'll never give to your nonprofit again. This landscape has upped the ante for growing donor loyalty and requires nonprofits to be intentionally focused on each lever to drive lasting engagement.

Bio coming soon

                  Session Info coming soon

Dr. Kevin Kearns is Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management in the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs (GSPIA), University of Pittsburgh. He is also the founder and Director of the Johnson Institute for Responsible Leadership, a program that promotes ethical leadership in public and nonprofit institutions. 

 We will explore how to get back to normal when planning and implementing special events

Cryptocurrency and other new forms of blockchain technology are making headlines around the world. As philanthropists show increasing interest in crypto-based donations, this session will help you to learn the basics of this investment vehicle, understand the tax implications, hear how top nonprofits are approaching cryptocurrency donations, and consider how to help your own organization to get involved.

Jennifer Belliveau is a Vice President with CCS Fundraising. Working with CCS in New York City, London, and now in her hometown of Pittsburgh, she has helped organizations around the world to develop strategic approaches to fundraising and philanthropy.

Dr. Moody will build on his best-selling book, Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors Are Revolutionizing Philanthropy, to reveal what we can expect from the next generation of big donors—the Gen X and Millennial philanthropists who will eventually be the most significant donors ever. He will offer specific best practices for how fundraisers can best engage these eager yet challenging donors, and guide a group discussion around takeaways for your own work with the next gen.

Michael Moody is the Frey Foundation Chair for Family Philanthropy at the Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University. In this role, he works to expand both the practice and the public understanding of family philanthropy. Trained as a cultural sociologist, with a Ph.D. from Princeton, Dr. Moody is co-author of the books Understanding Philanthropy: Its Meaning and Mission, The Philanthropy Reader, and Generation Impact: How Next Gen Donors Are Revolutionizing Giving. He is a frequent speaker and sought-after commentator on philanthropic trends whose work has been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes, Chronicle of Philanthropy, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and many others.

We give in the charitable sector. We give our money, time, and energy, sometimes to the point of feeling absolutely spent. But if we don't take care of ourselves, how can we continue to be change-makers in the world? A Japanese concept called ikigai, or “life's purpose”, may hold some of the answers. In this session, we will explore how to define your life vision, assess where you are now, develop an action plan that allows you to move more toward ikigai, and prioritize yourself in your already busy life. The session will be delivered in three parts: 1) defining ikigai; 2) defining your vision and assessing yourself now; and 3) creating a plan of action to move toward ikigai.

If you truly want to raise big gifts, you need to think beyond cash. Assets are often used to make major gifts and should be incorporated into your major gift strategy. Join fundraising expert and CEO of the Capital Campaign Toolkit, Amy Eisenstein, to learn how to raise the biggest gift.

Even experienced Board Members can be intimidated by fundraising. During this session, we will be discussing how to set expectations, Board education resources, creative ways to utilize Board Members in the entire donor cycle, and pathways to ultimately engaging them in your major gifts strategy.

Abigayle is a nonprofit management and fundraising consultant. Most recently, Abigayle led the North Allegheny Foundation (NAF) as Executive Director. In that role, she quadrupled funds raised, developed North Allegheny's first alumni engagement program, implemented a comprehensive fundraising strategy, and established a board of trustees reflective of the North Allegheny community. Her leadership in fundraising at NAF led to exponential growth in all fundraising strategies, including EITC, major gifts, annual fund, crowdfunding, and alumni appeals.

Abigayle is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and one of few professionals in the field to also holds a master's degree in nonprofit management from Regis University. Prior to Regis, Abigayle attended the University of Iowa, where she received a bachelor's in social work. From 2009 to 2018, Abigayle also held the national Grant Professional Certified designation.

Abigayle is a Faculty Training Academy Master Trainer for AFP and is certified to teach both the Fundraising Fundamentals curriculum and the CFRE review course. 

Successful fundraising requires discipline and the endurance to complete innumerable repeating tasks. With limited resources, now more than ever, we must consider how using existing technologies can help us focus on the strategies which have the most impact. Marketing Automation technology is underutilized in the nonprofit sector. When used effectively, organizations can do more with less and significantly increase fundraising effectiveness.
In this session we will focus on:
1. Understanding the new paradigm of Marketing Automation
2. Learning practical fundraising applications within a nonprofit organization
3. How to plan, staff, and make the case for funding Marketing Automation

issues related to diversity in fundraising such as hiring practices, attracting a diverse donor base, and ensuring that we communicate with our constituents in an inclusive manner.