2026 One Day Conference
October 9, 2026
9:00 AM - 3:45 PM
TCEA Conference Center
(3100 Alvin Devane Blvd, Building B, Austin, TX 78741)
About the Event:
Now more than ever, nonprofit professionals must adapt, innovate, and lead through a rapidly evolving philanthropic landscape. The 2026 AFP Greater Austin One Day Conference will bring together up to 200 nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, executives, board members, communications professionals, program staff, and community partners from across Central Texas for a day of learning, connection, and inspiration.
Designed to strengthen the nonprofit sector as a whole, the conference will feature practical strategies, emerging trends, and actionable insights that help organizations build sustainable revenue, deepen community impact, and navigate today's challenges with confidence. Through engaging sessions and meaningful networking opportunities, attendees will leave equipped with new ideas, valuable connections, and renewed energy to advance their missions and strengthen the communities they serve.
As the largest gathering of fundraising and nonprofit professionals in Greater Austin, the One Day Conference provides a unique opportunity to connect with peers, share best practices, and invest in the future of the sector.
The Sessions:
SESSION BLOCK 1
10:25 AM - 11:15 AM
From One-Time Gift to Lifelong Growth: How to Cultivate Event Guests into Loyal Donors
Facilitated by: Claire Murad | Marty Murad | Claila Marentes | Ann McNair
Fundraising events can spark powerful first connections—but how do you turn those moments into lasting donor relationships? In this session, Murad Auctions, Conspirare, and Central Texas Food Bank will share practical strategies for cultivating event guests before, during, and after your fundraiser. You’ll learn how to use event management tools, intentional engagement opportunities, and donor‑centered gratitude practices to strengthen relationships and increase long‑term support. Participants will leave with actionable steps to enhance guest experience, improve stewardship, and build a more sustainable pipeline of committed donors.
Legacy Giving Simplified: A System Any Fundraiser Can Activate
Planned giving success does not happen by accident. It grows through intentional structure, disciplined donor engagement, and is actively evaluated throughout the year. This engaging and interactive session is designed for practitioners who new to the planned giving field, those that already have a foundational development background and senior professionals that are ready to strengthen and scale legacy giving efforts. Together we will explore the 10 core components of an effective planned giving program and practice real donor qualification and gift conversation scenarios to sharpen skills in real time.
Participants will learn how to identify the right legacy prospects inside their current donor file, how to translate loyalty and affinity into documented gift intentions, and how to elevate outreach using mail, email, and phone strategies. Participants will leave with practical templates, messaging examples, and a repeatable structure that they can bring back to their organization to advance planned gift commitments, measure progress, and deepen legacy relationships that last.
Use What You've Got: Real Relationships, Real Stories, and a Sustainable Individual Giving Program
Individual giving is the most durable revenue a nonprofit can build, especially with institutional and government funding feeling shakier by the year. But most organizations grow it by assuming who their donor is, instead of building real relationships with who's actually invested.
For years, American Youthworks grew individual giving around one high-ticket event — until it became the whole strategy instead of one piece of it. This session follows AYW's real, in-progress work to diversify without adding headcount: an annual fund, a monthly giving program with actual teeth, and a reimagined signature event. AYW is the case study, but the framework works regardless of where you're starting — mapping who's actually invested using the ""village"" framework, and building storytelling that sounds like you instead of a grant application. Leave with a one-page framework and something you can use before year-end.
From Capitol to Your Cause: Why Policy Matters to Fundraisers
What happens at the Texas Capitol has real consequences for the communities nonprofits serve. Decisions about public education, health care, housing and affordability, workforce development, infrastructure, public safety, and the state budget can change community needs, affect nonprofit programs, and ultimately shape the case fundraisers are making to donors.
With a the midterm elections and another Texas legislative session ahead, this conversation will help fundraisers make sense of the policy environment—not as political insiders, but as nonprofit and community leaders.
We’ll explore some of the major issues facing Texas, how policy decisions can ripple through the nonprofit sector, and why fundraisers should understand what is happening beyond their own organizations. We’ll also talk about the role fundraisers can play in civic engagement: building relationships with elected officials and their staff, helping policymakers understand community needs, bringing donors and community partners into the conversation, and positioning their organizations as trusted resources.
The big question: If fundraisers are in the business of connecting people and resources to community needs, shouldn’t we also understand the policy decisions shaping those needs?
SESSION BLOCK 2
11:25 AM - 12:15 PM
Essential Fundraising Tools for Growing Nonprofits
Strong fundraising is not built on templates alone; it is built on clear systems, informed decision-making, and disciplined execution. While many tools are available online, knowing which tools to use, how to customize them, and when to apply them strategically is what drives results. This session moves beyond surface-level resources to help organizations assess their current fundraising structure, identify gaps, and strengthen internal systems that support sustainable growth. Participants will work through practical frameworks to evaluate fundraising performance, learn how to align activities with revenue goals, and create greater accountability across staff and board leadership. Whether an organization is stabilizing, scaling, or refining mature fundraising efforts, this session provides structured guidance and strategic insight that helps nonprofits operate more intentionally and effectively. Participants will leave not only with tools, but with a clearer fundraising roadmap and the confidence to implement it.
The State of Nonprofit Fundraising in 2026: From Static Reports to Real-Time Strategy
Most nonprofit teams are still making decisions based on outdated or survey-based benchmarks. By the time those insights arrive, the opportunity to act has already passed. This session introduces a fundamentally different approach: benchmarking as a living, operational tool—not a historical report.
Attendees will explore how real-time, continuously updated benchmarks can reveal emerging trends, identify performance gaps, and guide smarter decisions while there is still time to influence results. We will examine how organizations can move beyond static comparisons and use current data to strengthen fundraising strategy, donor engagement, forecasting, and team accountability. Practical examples will demonstrate how dynamic benchmarking helps leaders understand not only where they stand, but what actions to take next. Participants will leave with a framework for evaluating benchmark quality, integrating timely insights into everyday workflows, and building a more responsive, confident, and data-informed culture across their organization.
From Strategic Plan to Fundraising Success: Creating an Aligned Development Plan
Development plans too often sit on a shelf instead of serving as practical tools for growth. In this session, Holly Wissmann and Claire Mathias will share a strategic approach to development planning that aligns fundraising goals, tactics, and metrics with an organization's broader strategic plan. Participants will learn how to conduct an individual giving audit, assess the health of their fundraising program, identify opportunities for growth, and build a development plan that is clear, actionable, and measurable. We will discuss how to translate organizational priorities into fundraising objectives, establish meaningful performance indicators, and create accountability for implementation. This session will provide practical frameworks, examples, and take-home tools that attendees can immediately apply to strengthen fundraising performance, improve donor engagement, and create greater organizational alignment.
Partners in Philanthropy: Demystifying the Role of the Philanthropic Advisor
Philanthropic advisors are influential partners in charitable giving, yet many fundraisers have limited insight into their roles—or how to engage with them effectively. Hear directly from a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy, a Managing Director at a philanthropic consulting firm, and a Senior Director of Advancement at the Austin Community Foundation as they demystify their roles in facilitating philanthropy, share what they’re looking for when recommending or connecting organizations with donors and funders, and offer practical guidance on building productive relationships. You’ll leave with a better understanding of how to thoughtfully engage the people who help facilitate giving across different sectors of philanthropy—and how to tailor your prospecting, discovery, and cultivation strategies accordingly.
SESSION BLOCK 3
1:55 PM - 2:45 PM
Major Gifts Start at the Gala
A great fundraising event doesn't just raise money on the night of—it opens the door for major, long-term gifts. In this interactive session, learn how to seamlessly bridge the gap between event execution and major gift strategy.
Discover how to transform your galas into powerful tools for donor discovery, cultivation, and stewardship.
Open Intelligence for Fundraising: Build Your Own Weekly AI Funding Scout
Most nonprofits do not need another generic list of grant opportunities. They need a repeatable way to identify funding that aligns with their mission, programs, geography, priorities, and capacity. In this interactive session, participants will create a Funding Intelligence Profile and use it to adapt the free Civic IQ Grant/Funding Scout within their own ChatGPT account. They will define funding priorities, eligibility requirements, exclusions, readiness indicators, and scoring criteria, then establish a weekly workflow for identifying and evaluating grants and other funding opportunities. The session also introduces Civic IQ’s Open Intelligence model, which provides adaptable tools free of charge so organizations can build internal capacity rather than depend on another subscription platform. Participants will explore practical data-stewardship principles and leave with a customized scout brief, opportunity-scoring framework, and repeatable weekly funding-intelligence process.
Beyond the Youth Advisory Board: Engaging Young People as Fundraisers, Donors, and Decision-Makers
Young people are often included in nonprofits as beneficiaries, volunteers, ambassadors, or storytellers—but much less often as meaningful partners in fundraising, donor engagement, and organizational decision-making.
This session explores what changes when nonprofits move beyond simply “including youth” and begin building real pathways for young people to contribute to sustaining the organization. Drawing on firsthand experience building and leading a youth-led nonprofit, the session will examine where youth engagement becomes tokenistic, how organizations can give young people meaningful responsibility without placing inappropriate expectations on them, and how younger supporters can become long-term advocates, fundraisers, donors, and philanthropic partners.
Attendees will leave with practical ways to map how young people currently interact with their organization, identify where deeper engagement is being lost, and design more reciprocal next-generation fundraising and leadership pathways.
The New Dev Ops Team: How AI Is Helping Development Operations Drive Greater Fundraising Response
Spend less time pulling lists and building reports, and get more from the donor data you already have. This session will help you identify where AI and automation can make development operations more efficient and improve fundraising response.
Learn how to build donor segments that stay current, spot opportunities to bring back lapsed donors or encourage another gift, and get the right audiences into your fundraising campaigns with less manual work. You’ll leave with practical ideas for choosing a starting point, working with your fundraising colleagues, and measuring whether your changes are saving time and improving results.
The session draws on Kevin Peters’ experience in fundraising research and technology at Avid AI, alongside Reid Deger’s perspective as Manager of Data and Prospect Strategy at The SAFE Alliance in Austin. Together, they bring experience building fundraising technology and managing the daily demands of nonprofit data and prospect strategy.
SESSION BLOCK 4
2:55 PM - 3:45 PM
Before the Ask: How Public Relations Builds Visibility, Credibility, and Momentum
Local nonprofits are making a significant impact across Central Texas, but making sure the right people know about that work remains a challenge. In this session, public relations strategist Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz will explore how strong storytelling and earned media can complement fundraising strategy by building visibility, credibility, and momentum before the ask. Drawing from real nonprofit examples, Fabiana will share how organizations can identify media-worthy stories, communicate their impact more clearly, and use media coverage to strengthen the top of the donor pipeline. Attendees will also learn what public relations can and cannot accomplish, what makes a story relevant to journalists, and how earned media can support broader fundraising and organizational goals.
Your Next Donor Is Already Volunteering Somewhere: Recruitment as Donor Acquisition
Your next major donor is currently folding shirts in somebody else's supply closet.
Most volunteer programs run on five people and a group text. The ask goes out to a list that never grows, and every October somebody says we should really do more outreach.
This session treats volunteer recruitment the way you'd treat donor acquisition, because the mechanics are identical. Unclear audience, unclear ask, and no visibility where the right people already spend time.
You'll build a volunteer avatar, rewrite a role description and the ask that person would say yes to, and figure out where to put it. About half of volunteers get involved because a specific human asked them, so we'll write that referral script too, including the one your board should be using.
Bring a role you can't fill. You'll leave with it rewritten.
The Strong Families Tax Credit: Reflections from Year One of Texas's Newest Corporate Giving Tool
Corporate giving is getting harder. Budgets are tightening, CSR priorities shift constantly, and fundraisers are competing for a shrinking pool of discretionary corporate dollars. The Strong Families Tax Credit changes that equation. It isn't a gift out of a limited giving budget. It's a redirection of taxes a company already owes, at essentially no net cost to them.
In 2026, its very first year, Foundation Communities became one of the first organizations certified and built a corporate partnership pipeline around this new opportunity. This session shares what we learned: what the credit is, why it's a fundamentally different value proposition for corporate partners, why different sectors respond in different ways, and where this emerging tool is headed. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of the credit and a strategic framework for thinking about tax-credit-driven corporate giving as it takes shape in Texas.
The 80/50 Problem: Why the Fundraising Ask Isn't Enough for Your Board
We know donor relationships require intentional stewardship—but what happens when we apply that same lens to board members? TNP's original research reveals an 80/50 gap: while 80% of board members understood their fundraising expectations, only 50% felt confident acting on them. This session explores what nonprofits can learn about recruiting, stewarding, equipping, and retaining board members as effective fundraising partners.
2026 One Day Conference CFRE Tracking
Full participation in the 2026 AFP Greater Austin One Day Conference was applicable for 6.0 points at the Intermediate level in Category 1.B -Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.
Click Here to access a CFRE tracking document for your records.
Morning Keynote:
Michelle Flores Vryn
Michelle Flores Vryn, CFRE is a marketing and fundraising expert with 15+ years dedicated to missions of environmental conservation, education, and civic engagement. As Founder of Nonprofit Futures Consulting and a board member for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Global, she is passionate about strengthening nonprofit systems that keep communities secure and thriving. She holds a master's degree in cultural anthropology and is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). Michelle is also a co-founder of the Social Impact Staff Retention (SISR) project, which measures annual staff engagement and retention.
Lunch Keynote:
Jason R.L. Wallace
Jason R.L. Wallace is the founder of Blue Goose Solutions, a full service marketing agency specializing in donor acquisition. His team helps nonprofits and mission-driven organizations attract and retain donors through digital marketing, events, community engagement, design, and communications.
Jason brings more than 18 years of public service to that work. He served three White House Administrations, traveling with President George W. Bush, President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, President Joe Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, and has advised nine presidential families, more than 50 foreign leaders, cabinet secretaries, members of Congress, governors, and CEOs. He was Director of Advance and strategic adviser to HUD Secretaries Shaun Donovan and Julián Castro.
In Washington, DC, Jason served on Mayor Muriel Bowser's Cabinet as Executive Director of the Mayor's Office on Fathers, Men, and Boys and the My Brother's Keeper Initiative DC, where he led partnerships with Facebook, Google, and the community. During the pandemic, the Mayor appointed him to chair the Re-Open DC Advisory Committee on Open Spaces and Recreation. He also led Volunteer Engagement and Community Supports at Martha's Table, overseeing 18,000 volunteers and emergency programming that provided over 425,000 meals a year.
A Howard University graduate and Key to the City recipient from his hometown of San Bernardino, CA, Jason lives in the Washington, DC area with his wife and three children.
2026 Sponsorship Opportunities:
Investing in the AFP Greater Austin One Day Conference is an opportunity to demonstrate your commitment to strengthening the nonprofit sector while connecting with up to 200 nonprofit professionals from across Central Texas. Sponsorship opportunities include a variety of unique benefits designed to elevate your organization's visibility and engagement with nonprofit leaders, fundraisers, and decision-makers.
Click the button below to explore all available sponsorship opportunities and find the partnership level that best aligns with your goals.
All proceeds from the One Day Conference directly support AFP Greater Austin's year-round educational programming and professional development scholarships, helping local fundraising professionals access the training, resources, and connections they need to advance their careers and increase their impact in our community.
Thank you to our 2026 Sponsors!
PRESENTING
BREAKFAST KEYNOTE
Beacon Nonprofit Consulting, LLC, founded in 2010 by Mollie O’Hara Leach, CFRE, CFRM, CNEL, is recognized for expert counsel in nonprofit governance and fundraising.
Beacon works with clients to bring clarity and direction in implementing strong, sustainable fundraising strategies and campaigns. In hiring Beacon, you gain a team of fundraising professionals, highly respected among their peers and by donors in the philanthropic community. Beacon’s counsel is based on years of front-line experience and tangible fundraising results.
You can rely on the Beacon team to be a pillar of strength and light at every step of the way. Mollie O’Hara Leach, Lisa Lee, Dori Flores, and Shelley Hardeman develop long-lasting, deeply personal relationships with their clients, serving as trusted advisors, guides and friends. The path forward is not always clear, but with creative problem solving and a client-centered approach, Beacon works alongside the entire organization to guide success.
Beacon is committed to bettering the community. Their clients’ success is critical to that goal. Beacon encourages you to contact nonprofits whom they’ve assisted in the past to learn more about their genuine commitment to each client served.
LUNCH KEYNOTE
REBECCA AND PHIL POWERS
SESSION
Giant Squid Group is a woman-led social impact consulting agency that partners with nonprofits nationally to strengthen their leadership, fundraising, and infrastructure so they can boldly and sustainably work toward systemic change. All of their work- from how they partner with clients to how they operate as a team- is grounded in intersectional feminism and antiracism. The team consists of expert writers, fundraisers, coaches, and leaders who bring their own lived experiences to each project and each client, with the goal of co-creating a joyful, curious, and abundant community of values-driven nonprofits uplifting each other on the path to collective liberation.
Giant Squid Group's model focuses on real sustainability: providing fractional support while building infrastructure that outlasts client engagement. They create systems that reduce burden, not add to it, operating from the belief that sustainable fundraising comes from authentic connection and solid foundations- not performative metrics or exhausting hustle.
Avid is the fundraising agent—in your program around the clock, finding what needs attention, building the response, ready the moment you say go. You stay on the mission. Avid handles the rest.
Murad Auctions has empowered nonprofits to achieve more profitable fundraising events since 2000, raising $69 million for its clients in 2025 alone.
Expert Charity Auctioneers & Event Specialists
Murad Auctions' professional charity auctioneers strategically engineer live auctions. They introduce innovative procedures, enhance efficiency, and provide education on new technologies and creative revenue-generating strategies, ensuring sustained donor engagement. Their licensed charity auctioneers who hold the "Benefit Auction Specialist" designation, infuse events with excitement and energy, significantly boosting fundraising income. The company expertly manages diverse events, including golf tournaments, luncheons, formal galas, clay shoots, and more.
Silent Auction Software & Support Services
Murad Auctions organizes and streamlines your event through user-friendly software platforms designed for flexible, year-round fundraising and the management of multiple events if needed. Experienced software consultants assist clients in selecting the ideal platform to meet specific organizational needs.
Consultants also provide pre-event software training and support, to streamline event-night processes, item procurement, and optimize silent auctions. Their professional auction team manages all fundraising aspects of your event from check-in to checkout, to provide a complete, stress-free production. They handle your event-day fundraising logistics, staffing, and equipment so you can focus entirely on connecting with your guests.
CARMINE SALVUCCI HEATHER HENRY
TAKEAWAY BAG
For nearly 80 years, CCS Fundraising has empowered nonprofit organizations to advance their missions through strategic fundraising counsel and hands-on implementation support. As a leading fundraising consulting firm, we partner with organizations across sectors, from local community organizations to global institutions, to develop and execute customized fundraising strategies aligned with each client’s goals, timeline, and internal capacity. Today, CCS supports nearly 800 organizations annually across more than 250 cities worldwide. In Texas, CCS has partnered with more than 230 organizations, helping clients raise billions of dollars in support of transformative initiatives and reflecting the depth and breadth of our work across the state and across sectors. Our consultants bring deep expertise in strategic planning, campaign strategy, development counsel, research, planned giving, and on-site support, providing the perspective, structure, and hands-on partnership needed at every stage of the fundraising journey. Whether an organization is building fundraising capacity, developing a roadmap for sustainable growth, preparing for a campaign, or navigating a pivotal fundraising opportunity, CCS helps clients move from vision to execution and achieve lasting impact.
BREAKFAST AND LUNCH
More than a retailer, H-E-B is deeply committed to its customers and communities through passionate public service. Each year, H-E-B donates five percent of pre-tax earnings to charitable organizations. Regularly named a top employer and retailer, H-E-B's more than 175,000 Partners (employees), who are owners in the company, are at the heart of its success. Guided by its Helping Here philosophy, H-E-B serves all Texans with humility, care, and pride.
ACCESSIBILITY
BetterUnite is an all-in-one fundraising and donor management platform built exclusively for nonprofits of every size. Founded in 2017 by Leya Simmons and Tunç Samiloglu, it grew out of Leya’s years working alongside nonprofits that were stuck with high fees, limited tools and little support. Our mission is simple: help and empower the helpers.
Instead of juggling separate systems, organizations run everything in one place: events, ticketing and seating, silent, live and mobile auctions, donation pages and recurring giving, peer-to-peer campaigns, memberships, volunteer management, grants, email marketing and text-to-give. Every guest, bidder, donor, member and volunteer lives in a single, shared CRM, so teams see each supporter’s full history without reconciling spreadsheets. Built-in reporting, moves management and Better.AI help small teams spend less time on admin and more time on their mission.
BetterUnite connects with the tools nonprofits already rely on, including Salesforce, Virtuous, Blackbaud, Tessitura and QuickBooks. Pricing is modular, so organizations pay only for what they use, with unlimited users, no setup fees and free data migration. Behind the software is a team of nonprofit veterans offering hands-on, human support from the first conversation through every event, recognized by G2 for Best Support. Better events. Better fundraising. BetterUnite.
SCHOLARSHIP MATCH
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