presentations AND WORKSHOPS

More than 90% of America’s wealth is held in assets and NOT cash. Does your organization say “no” to gifts of non-cash assets? Do you encourage your donors to consider non-cash gifts? While it’s easier in many ways to focus on gifts of cash, charities that encourage and accept gifts of non-cash assets raise more money. This fact has created a wave of interest in charitable gifts of non-cash assets. The latest tax law changes (effective in 2026) have also added to this interest as donors consider philanthropic opportunities and strategies. Both charities and donors can enjoy the benefits of a non-cash asset program that includes gifts of real estate, business interests, cryptocurrency, and more. In this session, you will hear about some unusual recent gifts, learn more about the steps you can take to build and manage a robust non-cash assets program, and position your organization to say “Yes!” to these gifts.

Nonprofit organizations have amazing stories to share – stories of perseverance, fortitude, profound impact, and generosity. Stories are at the core of why nonprofit organizations exist. Scientific research confirms good storytelling is one of the most powerful ways to communicate, to engage stakeholders, and to influence behavior. It’s especially important for effective fundraising. But what makes a good story? With the right recipe, storytelling can be the secret sauce of your fundraising success. What ingredients engage the audience and have an impact? Some ingredients are essential. You just can’t make a good sauce (or gravy as some call it) without tomatoes. In this interactive session based on Lynn’s recently published book on Storytelling: The Secret Sauce of Fundraising Success, you’ll hear about what it takes to become a storytelling gourmet and refine your own storytelling recipes.

There have been many tax changes in the last few years - including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the SECURE Act, the CARES Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act. Most recently, we have seen significant changes triggered by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (also known as OBBBA or OB3). How will your donors be impacted by the changes? Will we see a shift (or reduction) in charitable gifts? What conversations can we have with donors about strategic philanthropy and giving in the smartest way possible? This session will provide an overview – and can be tailored for fundraisers and affiliated professionals, donors, and board members.

Perhaps the biggest myth in gift planning: We must understand and promote sophisticated gift vehicles to be successful. Yet even at top fundraising organizations with mature gift planning programs, bequests represent most planned gifts – particularly when you include beneficiary designations, which have become just as (if not more) important. So, what prevents your organization from building a successful gift planning program? In this session, we’ll take a look at some of the myths and hurdles that might be holding you back – and the tools you can use to “bust” those myths, clear those hurdles, and bring on the gifts!

Why focus on gifts of retirement assets? The results for your organization and your donors can be simple, smart and significant. We encourage donors to have a Will, but the unfortunate truth is most won’t. Sadly, this is sometimes true even when a donor expressed a charitable bequest intention. A beneficiary designation gift is a SIMPLE solution to this problem. In addition, the tax advantages of gifts of retirement assets (during lifetime or at death) make these SMART gifts. Focusing on gifts of retirement assets can have SIGNIFICANT impact for your organization because retirement assets represent a very deep “pocket” for gifts. In this session, we’ll review the ways to gift retirement assets (outright and deferred), the tax advantages of these gifts, and the potential impact for your organization.

In this session, we will focus on strategies for effectively incorporating gift planning into your campaign - and more broadly into your development program. As we consider the ever growing size and frequency of campaigns, the case for gift planning has never been stronger. Campaigns increasingly require greater strategic planning, fiscal integrity, and performance metrics. What gifts count and how do you count them? How do you make gift planning more collaborative? Can gift planning generate current gifts? We will address these issues, talk about what has worked well in past campaigns, and highlight what might work for you and your organization.

You might think gift planning is just deferred gifts - gifts that are long term. While many planned gifts are indeed bequests and beneficiary designations (such as life insurance or retirement accounts) there are planned gifts that can have an immediate impact. This seminar covers some of these current gifts - including gifts of assets such as real estate, collectibles, and complex financial assets. We will also talk about Donor Advised Funds, Charitable Lead Trusts, and the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) - also known as the Charitable IRA Rollover. These are gifts that have can impact now.