Conference Program

Tuesday, February 25:

9:00 am - 12:00 pm   Pre-Conference Workshops (Separate fee applies)

  • Event Sponsorship Sales
  • Managing DIY Fundraising
  • P2P Analytics for Non-Math Majors
  • P2P Myths Holding Your Program Back

11:00 am - 1:00 pm   One-on-One ConsultingGet some instant analysis and advice from an industry expert on a problem you are grappling with. Space in these 25-minute sessions is limited. Pre-registration required.

1:10 pm - 2:30 pm   Conference Kick OffFirst, Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council’s David Hessekiel explains why and how this year’s conference will be different from any you’ve attended before. Next, Katrina Van Huss, of Turnkey Promotions, describes our new peer group process. Then, sitting with your P2P Peer Group, people who share your level of experience and concerns, you’ll dive into a discussion that will powerfully expand your network and set the table for an extraordinary day and a half.

2:45 pm - 5:45 pm   Program SummitsSpend three hours with “your people” – peers who understand the challenges involved in your kind of P2P fundraising and experts with insights to share. Choose from the:

  • Endurance Fundraising Summit
  • Local/Regional Program Summit
  • National Series Summit
  • Cycling Summit

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm   Opening Reception

7:00 pm - 8:30 pm   Cash, Sweat & Tears Dinner, sponsored by Blackbaud - Join us as we honor the year’s most inspiring volunteer fundraiser

8: 30 pm until…   After-Dinner Hospitality, sponsored by Blackbaud

Wednesday, February 26:

7:30 am - 8:00 am   Exhibit Hall Breakfast  

8:00 am - 8:15 am   Run Walk Ride Thirty PremiereBe the first to learn who was up and who was down in 2013 from Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council’s David Hessekiel – and take home an in-depth benchmarking report.

8:15 am - 9:00 am   Behind the Numbers -  You won’t want to miss a word as peer-to-peer fundraising guru Jeff Shuck of Plenty interviews Run Walk Ride Thirty program leaders about trends and best practices you can tap to move the needle for your program.

9:00 am - 9:30 am   The Brainiac’s Guide to Social ChangeBy getting how people think, you can get them to do. Network for Good’s Kate Olsen explores brain research and behavioral economics to show you how to craft campaign messages that win more hearts, minds and dollars.

9:30 am - 10:00 am   Break

10:00 am - 10:45 am   Adapting to Thrive in 2014 and BeyondEconomic turmoil. Changing consumer dynamics.  New competition. Organizational crises. Numerous factors have development leaders reassessing their programs. Annemarie Rickes Schindler director of events at the LIVESTRONG Foundation, and Craig Fordham, head of challenge events at the UK’s Macmillan Cancer Support, reveal how they are re-thinking P2P.

11:00 am - 12:00 pm   Breakouts

  • Crisis Communications: Talking to Your People and the PressYour reaction to a disaster or the death of a participant can bring your community closer together – or create big problems. Get a road map to good outcomes from crisis communications expert David Kalson and our nonprofit panelists.
  • Hands-on Learning: What Would You Do? Recruiting -  Attracting the right number and types of participants is key to success, but easier said then done. You’ll grapple with a recruitment case study shared by Blackbaud’s Deepa Karani then hear how a panel of nonprofit pros would attack the problem.
  • P2P Skill Building: Recruitment - You Built it and They Didn’t Come?Struggling to attract enough fundraisers?   Connected Nonprofit’s Mandy O’Neill will show you how to reach your ideal participants and move loads of them to participate in your events.

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm   Exhibit Hall Reception

12:30 pm - 1:30 pm   View from the Top: Pelotonia CEO Tom Lennox Armed with seed funding and a dream, former Abercrombie & Fitch executive and cancer survivor Tom Lennox took Pelotonia’s fundraising for Columbus, Ohio’s cancer research center from zero to $60 million in five years.  Learn how obsessive attention to branding contributed to this cycling phenomenon’s rapid growth – and what it could do for your program. 

1:45 pm - 2:45 pm Breakouts

  • It’s Working for Us, Could It Work For You?In this session, two innovators share efforts that have paid big dividends for their organizations.  Learn from Greg Borkowski how Ronald McDonald House Charities has raised millions at minimal cost by empowering corporate partners to produce virtual fundraising events.   Then hear how digital discipline helped breathe new life into American Diabetes Association programs from Shana Masterson
  • Hands-on Learning: What Would You Do? FundraisingWe all want to move the needle on fundraising performance, but with limited resources it’s hard to know what to focus on.   First HJC’s Michael Johnston will share a fundraising case study that you’ll grapple with in small groups.  Then hear how Johnston and our nonprofit panelists would attack the problem.
  • P2P Skill Building: Essential P2P EngagementGet a crash course in setting fundraising strategy and tactics from Plenty’s Jeff Shuck, Kari BodellSuzanne Mooney and Laurie Schaecher.

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm   Alternative Events: Lessons to be Learned Novelty runs and obstacle races have exploded in popularity over the last few years. What are the implications for charity programs?  Eventbrite’s Chris Aker dives into the topic with panelists including Alex Patterson from Tough Mudder,  Chad Leathers of the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s Cupid’s Undie Run and Gary Wohlfeill of CrowdRise.

3:30 pm - 4:15 pm   Check-in with “Your” People Reunite with your peer group to explore how you can turn the lessons of RWR14 into personal and organizational progress in the months ahead.

4:15 pm - 4:30 pm   The Grand Finale We’ve got a few surprises up our sleeve and some big prizes – don’t miss the exciting conclusion!