Dive into the essential strategies for boosting donor retention and engaging your supporters through peer-to-peer fundraising. Our experts will share practical tips on how to effectively engage participants, create impactful fundraising pages, and implement thank-you processes that resonate with donors. Whether you're new to peer-to-peer fundraising or looking to refine your approach, this presentation offers actionable steps to enhance donor engagement and retention

Faculty: James Goader, Bloomerang

Delve into the fundamentals of United Way's core operations, including its rich history, mission, vision, strategy, and organizational structure. Gain insights into the broader United Way Network and discover your role within your local United Way, empowering you to contribute effectively to the organization's mission and impact.

Faculty: Annie Davies, United Way Worldwide

In this session, we will explore how nonprofits can elevate volunteerism from mere task management to a core activation tool for building deeper, long-term relationships. Using AI-guided technology, organizations can tailor volunteer experiences to align with individual identities, passions, and skills. This creates more meaningful interactions that not only fulfill immediate needs but also form the foundation for lifelong engagement.

By capturing valuable data from every volunteer interaction, nonprofits can turn volunteers into lifelong advocates and donors, driving higher retention rates and engagement. Moving beyond managing shifts, this presentation focuses on using volunteerism as the gateway to deeper donor relationships. We will showcase how nonprofits can leverage tools like the Community Volunteer Center (CVC) to gather insights, create personalized experiences, and foster deeper connections with their supporters.

Faculty: StratusLIVE Staff

Discover how to harness 211 to support the business strategy of your United Way.  In this session, we will discuss the many ways 211 can be leveraged as a critical asset to your United Way business strategy to increase revenue, inform your impact strategy, guide advocacy efforts, build relationships, and increase brand recognition.   Gain practical insights and establish your United Way as a valuable community partner by tuning into the true needs of your community through a better understanding of the impact of 211 and the powerful data available through 211.

Faculty: James Collins, United Way Worldwide

Come explore the many ways public policy can be used as a tool for resource development and revenue diversification.  This session will take you through building foundations for expansion of partnership and revenue while you learn from the experience of local United Ways on how they were able to leverage policy to tap into state resources for key community impact issues in their community and state.  Join Blake Pang, CEO of United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierras and Naomi Lett, Senior Director of State Policy and Advocacy for this interactive learning session where you will walk away with a 12-month (manageable) to-do list that is helpful to get you on the path to revenue diversification through policy.

Faculty: Blake Pang, United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierras

This session for new UW fundraisers explores how United Way's unique identity impacts fundraising approaches and examines United Way’s philanthropic revenue streams and  fundraising approaches.

Faculty: Crashonda Andrew, United Way Worldwide

Join your colleagues from across Michigan to meet and learn from each other, make connections, discuss state level initiatives and more!

Facilitator: Bobby Dorigo Jones, Michigan Association of United Ways

This session seeks to share the value of employing individuals with lived experience and how it can positively impact the consumer experience as well as foster growth in connection between the organization and community members.  

Faculty: Rebecca Paulsen, United Way of Door County

This presentation covers strategies for collaborative grant proposals with nonprofits and internal grant management best practices. Attendees will learn how to build partnerships,  identify opportunities, and align goals for success. The session also addresses managing grants internally, including tracking deliverables and ensuring compliance. Whether you're new or experienced in grant writing, you'll gain valuable insights on maximizing funding through collaboration and effective management.

Faculty: Autumn Grooms, Great Rivers United Way | Mary Kay Wolf, Great Rivers United Way

How can we effectively communicate the transformative work of United Way to inspire donors and increase support? This session will focus on crafting compelling messages that highlight community impact and align with donor values. Learn strategies for leveraging data, stories, and visuals to demonstrate the tangible outcomes of your work. Hear how local United Way leaders have successfully used storytelling to strengthen donor relationships and boost fundraising efforts. Leave with actionable ideas to refine your messaging and engage your community in new and meaningful ways. Attendees will walk away with an example they can use with their team and donors.

Faculty: Jennifer Newell, United Way of Champaign County

Learn how one United Way has harnessed the power of data to drive impactful decisions and foster collective change. We'll explore innovative strategies for data integration, enabling you to transform insights into action. Through interactive discussions and real-world examples, you'll learn how to align your goals with community needs. Bring your curiosity and leave inspired, equipped with actionable tools to elevate your organization's impact. Let's unlock the potential of data together!

Faculty: Amy Trombley, United Way of Central Minnesota - Partner for Student Success | Clarinda Solberg, United Way of Central Minnesota

Cause marketing is taking off at United Way, and you won’t want to miss out! It’s one of the most sought-after ways for individuals to connect with nonprofit organizations, and it serves as a powerful tool to generate unrestricted revenue while enhancing awareness of United Way’s mission. Don’t miss your chance to learn from a recognized industry leaders in the field, as they guide you on how to unlock the potential of this valuable partnership opportunity, an untapped facet of multi-faceted partnerships critical for revenue diversification.

Faculty: Chad Royal-Pascoe, United Way Worldwide

Do you ever feel like you are constantly generating marketing and fundraising content but it's not engaging donors in the way you want? If you are looking for a marketing framework to help focus and streamline your efforts while deepening engagement and helping your community understand what United Way really does, join us for this session. We’ll cover how to tie your marketing process to the donor commitment continuum and volunteer-to-donor journey and provide a roadmap for measuring your success.

Faculty: Melanie Negrin, Indiana United Ways

ALICE@Work is an innovative program that engages companies in playing a pivotal role to support ALICE workers, fostering stability in the workplace while enhancing productivity and profitability. We'll discuss the rationale for the interactive program that includes data assessments, course instruction, best practices & action plan development. ALICE@Work includes  new fundraising strategies & tools that create impactful revenue generating opportunities to engage corporations.

Faculty: Michelle Roers, United Way of Northern New Jersey | Cary Dawson, United Way of Northern New Jersey | Natalie O'Hagan, United Way of South Central Michigan

United Way's traditional community investment model allocates campaign funds raised the previous year to an existing roster of agencies based on historical funding patterns. Increasingly United Ways are moving to strategic investment approaches based on community goals, priorities, and evolving needs - including addressing gaps and disparities. This approach holds promise for increasing long-term impact and diversifying revenue. This session will highlight approaches, offer guidance, and include United Way examples of shifting from traditional resource allocation to more strategic investment. Participants will learn about approaches taken by leaders at the United Ways of Bartholomew and Steele Counties to move to strategic, impact-oriented investments.

Faculty: Ayeola Fortune, United Way Worldwide | Mark Stewart, United Way of Bartholomew County | Annette Duncan, United Way of Steele County

Discover how AI can revolutionize your United Way's impact. We'll demystify AI technology and reveal practical, game-changing tools that are transforming  United Ways. From automating routine tasks to personalizing donor outreach, you'll learn how to start small and scale up your AI integration. Perfect for novices and seasoned professionals, this session will equip you with strategies to enhance fundraising, streamline operations, and boost community engagement. 

Faculty: Keri Olson, United Way of Whiteside County | Matthew Lenox, Dixon Digital Solutions

Jason believes listening should be a core competency, as it improves communication, collaboration, and team dynamics. Effective listening aligns leaders and employees with the needs of colleagues and stakeholders. By making it a measurable skill, organizations can increase engagement, improve outcomes, and create a "best place to work" culture. In this session, Jason will demonstrate how prioritizing listening can transform workplace culture, fostering greater belonging and productivity.

Faculty: Jason Daniels, JAYRAMON

Utilizing the United In Care model, we'll examine opportunities for strengthening the strained landscape of childcare by uplifting the home-based sector. Our focus is on building sustainable, high-quality services while increasing affordability & accessibility for ALICE families.  We'll discuss how to build networks that leverage resources to inspire growth, build educational & business leadership, enhance quality and build capacity, while working to advocate for systemic improvement. 

Faculty: Michelle Roers, United Way of Northern New Jersey | Sarah Inman, Brown County United Way | Amanda Krause DiScala, United Way of Northern New Jersey

Do you want to diversify your income beyond the traditional workplace campaign?  We will explore direct mail, grant writing, individual giving, government partnerships, and more.  These approaches can lead to increased staffing and increased community relevancy for your organization.

Faculty: Amy Kohnle, United Way of Door County | Annie Davies, United Way Worldwide

The housing crisis affects communities from urban cities to rural counties. The community land trust model addresses this crisis with a strategy that is centered in community & provides both affordability & sustainability. This workshop is a primer in the CLT model that provides home ownership for middle & low income families. The workshop delves into the history of the CLT movement, the nuts & bolts of how the model works, and practical guidance for how to start a CLT in your own community.

Faculty: James Honig, United Way of Door County

Join us for an engaging session where we explore how one United Way leverages innovative strategies to align StriveTogether and the new Thriving United Way model! Discover how collaboration can amplify collective impact within Youth Opportunities, and other areas within United Ways, while tackling community challenges. Through interactive discussions and real-world examples, you'll gain insights to enhance your programs, partnerships and overall impact.

Faculty: Steve Jones, United Way of Central Minnesota - Partner for Student Success | Amy Trombley, United Way of Central Minnesota - Partner for Student Success | Michael Mozina, StriveTogether

This session is intended for United Ways already running the Imagination Library program, not those new to it.

Join us for a three-part session exploring the evaluation and expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. First, learn how we partnered with the College of Wooster to develop a cost-effective toolkit for measuring the program’s impact—an accessible resource for any United Way looking to assess effectiveness on a budget. Then, discover how United Way of Central Minnesota is ambitiously working to enroll 2,000 additional children by 2025. We’ll then dive into fundraising and marketing efforts driving this expansion as well as strategic partnerships with local organizations to reach underserved communities.

Faculty: Kayley Cox, United Way of Wayne & Holmes Counties | Katie Koglman, United Way of Wayne & Holmes Counties | Sam Switzer, United Way of Central Minnesota | Stefanie Rothstein, United Way of Central Minnesota

A healthy, thriving major gifts pipeline is core to your United Way's ability to nurture donors at every level to be a part of the collective progress of our mission. Yet, most organizations struggle to effectively move workplace donors through the donor pipeline and into major gifts. Mid-level leadership donors are a vital part of this strategy and are often overlooked because of their vast numbers and unique differences. This session will explore the importance of the individual pipeline and teach you ways to utilize your team to activate leadership and your Tocqueville Society to enhance your fundraising efforts and increase community impact.

Faculty: Crashonda Andrew, United Way Worldwide

Women's Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are growing across corporate America, promoting inclusion, support, and career advancement. Women United at Work, a women's ERG network, enables current and prospective corporate partners to engage their female workforce through Women United programming. This network supports ERG leaders in growing and developing their groups while attracting new United Way ambassadors, fostering year-round donor engagement, and creating opportunities for new revenue.

Faculty: Molly Schumacher, United Way of Dane County | Leah Larson, United Way of Dane County

No matter your size, there's a bridge to creating transformational fundraising. This powerful session spells out what you MUST have, DO, and FIX to inspire MAJOR gifts. Find the winning balance to build strong donor relationships, orchestrate successful events and put the right pieces into place. Learn what a small United Way implemented to create more giving success - addressing mindset, board engagement, staff changes, using a 3-sentence asking tool, creating vibrant options, and more to grow giving success. 

Faculty: Marcy Heim, The Artful Asker | Julie Bosma, United Way of Rock River Valley

Data is a foundational lever for creating equity and is a critical element supporting effective impact strategies overall. This session will describe how United Ways can use disaggregated data and the perspectives of those with lived experience to improve existing and develop effective new impact goals, strategies, and programs. Also explored in the session will be examples of United Ways that have used data to better understand issues and advance narratives that focus on the systemic causes of current disparities. Participants will learn about how United Way of Racine County has utilized multiple types of community data to understand the root cause develop strategies, invest resources, and build nonprofit capacity.

Faculty: Ayeola Fortune, United Way Worldwide | Katie Tuttle, United Way of Racine County

Is your old strategic plan longer than a CVS receipt? Do you want to put it on a bookshelf and forget about it? We can relate. Learn how we prepared for the Thriving United Way Self-Assessment and then used the framework and results to craft an easy-to-understand, actionable strategic plan. 

Faculty: Alexa Haigh, United Way of Racine County | Jessica Safransky Schacht, United Way of Racine County | Lexi Savage, United Way Worldwide

In this session we will talk about how using data to drive decision making is an important step for the foundation of United Way. We will discuss how we got to forming a cross departmental data team in order to drive more collaboration between departments and to utilize the data team as the central hub for data collection, distribution and presentation of data, which drives United Ways strategic plan. 

Faculty: Dawn Helmrich, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County | Veronica Mundt, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County | Brook Ihde, United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County