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 does not have to be complicated. Learn a practical 10-step framework to identify prospects, deepen stewardship, and secure legacy commitments through phone, mail, and email. Explore a case that documented $4.6 million in five months, then build confidence through realistic donor scenarios.
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, but most organizations grow it by assuming who their donor is. This session uses American Youthworks' real diversification work as a case study for a framework that works no matter where you're starting, without adding staff.
From Capitol to Your Cause: Why Policy Matters to Fundraisers
What happens at the Texas Capitol has real consequences for the communities nonprofits serve. With the midterm elections and another Texas legislative session ahead, this conversation will help fundraisers make sense of the policy environment, explore how policy decisions ripple through the nonprofit sector, and understand their role in civic engagement and community needs.
SESSION BLOCK 2
11:25 AM - 12:15 PM
Essential Fundraising Tools for Growing Nonprofits
Strong fundraising requires more than templates. Learn how to select, customize, and strategically use essential fundraising tools to strengthen systems, improve accountability, align activities with revenue goals, and build a sustainable fundraising program. Leave with practical resources and a clear roadmap you can implement immediately.
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.
From Strategic Plan to Fundraising Success: Creating an Aligned Development Plan
A strong development plan is more than a fundraising calendar. Discover how to assess your giving program, identify strengths and gaps, and build a development plan that aligns with your organization's strategic goals. Leave with practical frameworks and tools you can immediately apply.
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 from leaders at a philanthropic consulting firm and Austin Community Foundation as they demystify their roles, share what they look for when connecting organizations with donors, and offer practical guidance.
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 gifts. Learn to bridge the gap between event execution and long-term fundraising strategy, and discover how to transform galas into powerful tools for donor discovery, cultivation, and stewardship.
Open Intelligence for Fundraising: Build Your Own Weekly AI Funding Scout
Build a weekly funding-intelligence workflow using the free Civic IQ Grant/Funding Scout. Participants will define their organization’s funding priorities, adapt the Scout within their own ChatGPT account, evaluate opportunities using clear scoring criteria, and apply practical data-stewardship principles while building internal fundraising capacity.
Beyond the Youth Advisory Board: Engaging Young People as Fundraisers, Donors, and Decision-Makers
How can nonprofits move beyond treating young people as beneficiaries or storytellers and engage them as fundraisers, advocates, donors, and decision-makers? This session offers practical strategies for building authentic youth partnerships, strengthening next-generation donor pipelines, and creating organizational roles young people actually want to invest their time, ideas, and relationships in.
The New Dev Ops Team: How AI Is Helping Development Operations Drive Greater Fundraising Response
Learn how AI and automation can reduce list building, improve donor segmentation, and help fundraisers act on their data. Drawing on Kevin Peters’ fundraising technology experience at Avid AI, and Reid Deger’s data and prospect strategy work at The SAFE Alliance, leave with practical ideas to improve fundraising response.
SESSION BLOCK 4
2:55 PM - 3:45 PM
Before the Ask: How Public Relations Builds Visibility, Credibility, and Momentum
Public relations can help nonprofits build visibility and credibility before the ask. Fabiana Meléndez Ruiz will share how strong storytelling and earned media can support fundraising strategy, help organizations reach new audiences, and strengthen the top of the donor pipeline.
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. Treat volunteer recruitment like donor acquisition: identify the right people, craft an ask they’ll say yes to, and meet them where they are. Build a volunteer avatar, rewrite the role and referral ask, and leave with a recruitment plan.
The Strong Families Tax Credit: Reflections from Year One of Texas's Newest Corporate Giving Tool
The Strong Families Tax Credit lets companies support nonprofits by redirecting taxes they already owe, at virtually no net cost. Having just been through its first year, Foundation Communities shares what we learned about this new tool and why it may reshape corporate giving in Texas.
The 80/50 Problem: Why the Fundraising Ask Isn't Enough for Your Board
We spend months recruiting the right board members—then wonder why they don’t fundraise. TNP’s new research reveals a 30-point gap between understanding fundraising expectations and feeling confident acting on them. This session challenges fundraisers to rethink board engagement as a stewardship journey, not a recruitment outcome.
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
SCHOLARSHIP MATCH
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.
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