Nonprofits thrive on collaboration and the pursuit of optimistic change. Nonprofit conferences function an important platform professionals from varied organizations to return collectively, share insights, and strategize on reaching each collective and particular person objectives..
Attending a nonprofit convention is among the finest methods to develop professionally, make highly effective private {and professional} connections, and keep forward of the curve with the newest fundraising methods and instruments.
On this information, we’ll discover the advantages of attending nonprofit conferences and supply our high suggestions for must-attend occasions. Right here’s what you’ll be able to count on:
When selecting which conferences to attend, it’s important to think about each your nonprofit’s targets and your private growth objectives. As an illustration, are you aiming to boost your methods for company giving, leverage nonprofit expertise, or have interaction extra successfully with main donors? Preserve these objectives in thoughts as you browse the conferences on this listing to search out alternatives that align along with your pursuits and desires.
The Fundamentals of Nonprofit Conferences
Use the solutions to those steadily requested questions to assist information your seek for the perfect nonprofit conferences.
What are nonprofit conferences?
Nonprofit conferences function important gatherings the place nonprofit professionals come collectively to be taught, collaborate, and share finest practices. These occasions present a platform for networking and knowledge-sharing, empowering organizations to boost their impression and strengthen their connections inside the sector.
Moreover, nonprofit conferences elevate consciousness and assist for varied causes by showcasing the work of nonprofits. They entice potential donors, sponsors, and volunteers, fostering private and organizational progress. Finally, these conferences allow nonprofits to raised serve their communities and fulfill their missions.
Why are nonprofit conferences necessary?
Attending a nonprofit convention requires an preliminary funding of your group’s time and sources. For instance, you’ll have to dam out a piece day to take part, pay a registration price, and journey to the convention location (if it isn’t a digital occasion). Contemplating all of these necessities, is attending a nonprofit convention actually value it for you and your group?
To assist reply this query, contemplate a these advantages of attending a nonprofit convention:
- Keep updated with tendencies and improvements. Focused promoting, synthetic intelligence, social media tendencies, and livestreaming are only a few of the revolutionary technological issues that nonprofit professionals are speaking about now. By attending nonprofit conferences, you’ll be able to keep on the leading edge of those new applied sciences and tendencies to make sure your group is utilizing expertise to its full potential.
- Community with fellow nonprofit professionals. The networking side of most nonprofit conferences permits you to make skilled connections that may assist your group down the highway. You possibly can study different organizations’ successes and failures and ask questions on how different nonprofits have tackled particular points that you just’re additionally dealing with. The relationships you construct with different nonprofit professionals may help your group effectively into the long run as you proceed collaborating and sharing sources.
- Study fundraising finest practices. Whether or not the convention subjects embody the advantages of company philanthropy for companies and nonprofits, revolutionary advertising methods, or insightful tips about partaking with totally different generations of donors, you’re certain to go away with new data in your pocket. You possibly can apply what you be taught to your group’s ongoing actions, packages, initiatives, and outreach methods.
Many nonprofit professionals discover that the worth of attending conferences usually makes up for the time and sources required to attend. However, be sure you rigorously contemplate whether or not convention attendance is one thing that you could match into your group’s price range.
The Finest Nonprofit Conferences in 2025
Nonprofit conferences occur all year long at totally different places throughout the nation (and just about). Some occasions happen yearly, so in case you’ve missed one you had been on this yr, don’t fear! Test the host’s web site to see in the event that they’ll have it once more subsequent yr.
Listed below are 12 of the perfect conferences to think about including to your 2025 calendars:
Double the Donation’s 2025 Office Fundraising + Volunteering Summit
About this convention:
Office giving is an unbelievable but usually untapped supply of fundraising assist for nonprofits, universities, and different fundraising organizations. In accordance with latest statistics, firms donate $2-3 billion yearly by means of matching present packages alone, however an estimated $4-$7 billion is left unclaimed.
Double the Donation’s purpose is to help organizations in securing the matching present and different office giving income out there to them. This consists of by means of sources offered in our Office Fundraising + Volunteering Summit, matching present automation platform, and extra.
Particularly, the upcoming Summit is devoted to sharing matching present finest practices, sources, success tales, and extra to assist nonprofits and colleges handle this fundraising channel extra successfully. Attendees will study forming robust enterprise partnerships and incomes invaluable company sponsorships to assist their initiatives, occasions, packages, and extra.
Date: April 2nd + third, 2025
Location: Digital
Registration: https://summit.doublethedonation.com/c/42241715/workplacefundraising
Can’t wait? Try Double the Donation’s on-line Matching Reward Academy to discover highly effective matching present insights within the meantime.
What Fundraisers Are Saying:
“Double the Donation’s Matching Reward Summit is invaluable for company philanthropy professionals. I might suggest this occasion to anybody who’s fascinated by rising their matching present fundraising. The Summit has served as an extremely useful useful resource for our workforce as we’ve got carried out insights and learnings from the occasion into our matching present fundraising technique.”
— Ariana Romanelli, Lead Affiliate, Company Partnerships at Save the Kids
Nonprofit Advertising and marketing Summit
About this nonprofit convention:
There are a number of advertising conferences on this listing, and for good motive. Digital instruments and methods evolve always, making it crucial for nonprofit professionals to remain up to date on the newest tendencies.
That’s the place the Nonprofit Advertising and marketing Summit is available in. This digital convention brings collectively 30,000+ nonprofit advertising professionals that includes 75+ Excessive Impression Periods about new digital advertising methods. You’ll hear immediately from essentially the most influential thought leaders within the house. Though this occasion is digital, there are many networking alternatives to benefit from, together with getting related on social media and becoming a member of a textual content group.
Date: March 4-Sixth, 2025
Location: Digital
Collaborative
About this nonprofit convention:
Collaborative is a digital and in-person convention run by Elegant, a web-based fundraising software program platform. The convention is concentrated on serving to nonprofit professionals perceive fundraising finest practices and easy methods to leverage nonprofit expertise successfully.
Because the convention’s title suggests, the occasion is concentrated on bringing nonprofit professionals collectively in collaborative classes and workshops. The purpose is to problem your pondering, discover the way forward for fundraising, and keep on the chopping fringe of expertise. You’ll go away with new concepts to lift extra to your trigger.
Plus, audio system embody leaders from a number of the most outstanding nonprofit organizations throughout the nation, connecting attendees immediately with skilled leaders and influencers.
Date: Might 15-Sixteenth, 2025
Location: Chicago, IL
Nonprofit Know-how Convention
About this nonprofit convention:
From matching present software program to constituent relationship administration programs (CRMs), nonprofit expertise is what retains the nonprofit sector in movement.
The Nonprofit Know-how Convention (NTC) is an annual gathering hosted by NTEN, a corporation that unites nonprofit professionals to debate utilizing expertise for social good. This convention educates attendees on nonprofit tech finest practices and easy methods to use expertise to advertise change in your group.
Attendees embody everybody from nonprofit employees members and volunteers to board members, consultants, and tech distributors. By attending, you’ll have the chance to take part in breakout classes, share sources with fellow attendees, and make long-lasting connections. Plus, the NTC is devoted to fostering an inclusive and accessible atmosphere, with racial affinity areas, a dedication to accessibility for all, and extra.
Date: April 16–18, 2025
Location: Baltimore, MD and digital
AFP ICON
About this nonprofit convention:
AFP ICON is commonly thought of the most important fundraising convention on this planet. Hosted by the Affiliation of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), ICON options dozens of audio system protecting a variety of subjects. Previous classes embody subjects like utilizing donor knowledge to enhance future fundraising efforts and ending psychological well being stigma within the nonprofit office.
Attending AFP ICON may help you set your self and your group as much as successfully sort out the largest fundraising challenges and alternatives for the yr forward.
Date: April 27-Twenty ninth, 2025
Location: Seattle
Trigger Camp
About this nonprofit convention:
Designated a “must-attend” nonprofit convention by Forbes, Trigger Camp is an annual gathering of nonprofit leaders, professionals, and business specialists to share sources and talk about each side of the nonprofit sector. Trigger Camp’s breakout classes transcend easy discussions to equip attendees with actionable insights and coaching supplies.
Moreover, contributors can browse a complete exhibit corridor to attach with distributors and be taught extra about different nonprofit organizations in attendance. Plus, the convention’s enjoyable night gatherings permit attendees to get to know each other in a extra relaxed atmosphere.
Date: TBD, 2025
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Interact for Good
About this nonprofit convention:
Interact for Good hyperlinks nonprofit professionals with leaders from the company world whose organizations are devoted to furthering optimistic social change. Attendees can take part in focused workshops and networking classes that deliver collectively people who face related points or give attention to related matter areas.
As a nonprofit skilled, attending this convention will allow you to grasp company philanthropy from a enterprise perspective and make connections with potential company companions. Then, you’ll be able to return to your group with deeper insights that may optimize your company partnership technique.
Date: April 22-Twenty fourth, 2025
Location: Palm Springs, CA
Upswell Summit
About this nonprofit convention:
The Upswell Summit is an annual occasion for group changemakers who’re targeted on making their communities stronger and extra equitable. Organized by Unbiased Sector, the occasion connects professionals from varied sectors to deal with urgent social points and drive optimistic change. Extra data on audio system and panel subjects is to return, so keep watch over the Upswell web site.
Date: October 27-Twenty ninth, 2025
Location: Atlanta, GA
The Nonprofit Innovation & Optimization Summit
About this nonprofit convention:
The Nonprofit Innovation & Optimization Summit (NIO) is an annual convention targeted on equipping nonprofit organizations with the newest methods, instruments, and methods for digital fundraising and advertising. Audio system embody the main specialists in fundraising and advertising innovation, that means attendees can obtain insights into cutting-edge outreach methods to raised have interaction their audiences.
As well as, nonprofit leaders can browse new expertise options in a sales-free atmosphere to see which instruments may work finest for his or her organizations.
Date: September thirtieth – October 2nd, 2025
Location: Kansas Metropolis, MO
Nonprofit Storytelling Convention
About this nonprofit convention:
The inspiration of any highly effective fundraising or advertising initiative is compelling storytelling. A narrative may help construct a powerful emotional connection along with your nonprofit’s supporters, inspiring them to assist and assist your trigger.
The Nonprofit Storytelling Convention is designed to assist nonprofit professionals inform higher tales to lift extra donations. The convention affords three sorts of classes:
The “Fundamental Stage Periods” are designed to reimagine the way in which you join with donors by sharing groundbreaking methods and mind-bending ideas. The “Deep Dive Intensives” are 2.5-hour intensive workshops supposed to provide you a framework for main donor, unsolicited mail, occasion, and artistic fundraising campaigns. “Implementation Workshops” are 60-minute classes with small teams, and every workshop teaches a brand new storytelling and fundraising talent. Attendees will obtain customized assist making use of every new talent to their group.
Date: November 13-Fifteenth, 2025
Location: San Diego, CA
Good Tech Fest
About this nonprofit convention:
Good Tech Fest focuses on easy methods to use expertise and knowledge to make a optimistic distinction on this planet. Periods are led by knowledge scientists, product managers, and fundraising and tech professionals. Attendees have the chance to study all the pieces from machine studying instruments and fairness points within the tech world to crypto philanthropy.
This yr, Good Tech Fest might be internet hosting three conferences on separate dates and in separate places.
Dates: April 28-Might 1, 2025; Might 20-21, 2025
Places: Utah (April 2025); Digital (Might 2025)
Bridge Convention
About this nonprofit convention:
The Bridge to Built-in Advertising and marketing & Fundraising Convention, also called the Bridge Convention, is an annual gathering of nonprofit fundraising professionals, leaders, consultants, companies, and different advertising professionals. The convention covers each revolutionary fundraising and advertising methods together with frequent points nonprofits have historically confronted, comparable to easy methods to maintain donors engaged and rework them into recurring givers.
Date: July thirtieth – August 1, 2025
Location: TBD
Suggestions for Making the Most of Your Convention Attendance
Your convention preparation shouldn’t finish after you full the registration type. Conferences are concentrated, action-packed occasions that appear to fly by when you’re there. That’s why it’s necessary to go in with a plan of who you wish to communicate with and what you wish to do whereas on the convention.
Listed below are just a few suggestions for profiting from your convention attendance:
- Do your analysis beforehand. Who might be on the convention? Who do you completely wish to discuss to earlier than the occasion concludes? How are you going to begin a pure dialog with these people that builds on issues you might have in frequent? Make an inventory of people you’d like to attach with and some info you already find out about them.
- Resolve who will attend the convention. Ought to a gaggle of employees members out of your nonprofit attend the convention or only one or two people? Decide who would be the finest representatives to your trigger and profit essentially the most from attending.
- Take part in all the pieces you’ll be able to. You most likely received’t be capable of attend each single session or panel. Nevertheless, make an effort to attend a wide selection of shows and discussions primarily based on the subjects that curiosity you essentially the most or that you just assume might be most useful to your group. This lets you get essentially the most worth out of the occasion.
- Search out shows which can be exterior of your purview. Take into account attending one or two classes or panels that don’t immediately relate to what you do every day. These classes might find yourself being essentially the most invaluable, as a result of they present you a distinct perspective or share details about one thing that you just aren’t very conversant in.
- Gather enterprise playing cards. Collect enterprise playing cards for organizations and people that you just work together with and observe up with them after the nonprofit convention. In these messages, thank them for his or her dialog or presentation and ask any follow-up questions you’ll have considered since. If the person lives close by, see in case you can schedule an in-person assembly or lunch with them to keep up the connection you’ve constructed.
- Share the knowledge you’ve discovered along with your workforce. Create a brief presentation to your nonprofit’s different workforce members who didn’t attend the convention. Summarize the important thing takeaways you acquired from the convention and any modifications or methods you assume the workforce ought to implement going ahead. Let workforce members chime in with their ideas and suggestions on any proposed modifications.
We additionally suggest carrying a folder and pocket book with you through the convention to take notes and retailer enterprise playing cards, handouts, and different printed supplies.
A Ultimate Notice About Nonprofit Conferences
When signing up for any nonprofit conferences, bear in mind to method these occasions with an open thoughts and a willingness to be taught. Be ready to interact in significant conversations, share your individual experiences, and be taught from others who’re equally captivated with creating optimistic change.
For extra details about nonprofit conferences, bookmark the Double the Donation and NXUnite web sites. These websites supply ongoing updates on nonprofit webinars, panels, and conferences that any nonprofit skilled can be part of to broaden their talent set and fundraising data.
