Fundraising Day Wisconsin

Planned Giving: From Now to Perpetuity

Challenge campaign to grow a legacy society? Worked on it.

What exactly is a legacy society and do we need a catchy name? Had that conversation.

An estate plan including an outright gift creating a permanent endowment with two additional deferred life-income gifts for their children? You betcha!!

Whether you're building a planned giving program from scratch or managing sophisticated deferred gift arrangements, this workshop is for you. From creating a gift acceptance policy to documenting complicated multi-vehicle estate plans, we’ll cover how gifts through a will, trust, or other deferred methods can support your work (and some costly mistakes that can happen by avoiding these conversations with donors now). No matter where you are in your journey, you’ll walk away with practical strategies on how to improve your organization's ability to gather key information, document donor intentions and, most importantly, align donor values and thank them during their lifetime for these amazing, often transformational, gifts.

Help shape the session: Complete this two-question survey about your or your organization's planned giving experience before September 7th to help me tailor the workshop to attendees' needs: https://forms.gle/FdrD8pC3KMQjVycg7

Duncan Schultz, PhD, CFRE 

Duncan Schultz has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience, with the past decade focused on fundraising. Currently a Director of Development in the Office of Gift Planning at the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, he has worked across nearly every level of the development profession: from processing gifts and managing donor records to leading annual giving and major donor strategies.
Through authentic, relationship-driven outreach, Duncan connects hundreds of donors with their dream philanthropic impact each year. His approach emphasizes simplicity, trust and data-informed decision-making to build meaningful relationships at scale.
Duncan is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). He holds a PhD in Music Theory from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a MM from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a BA from California State University, Fullerton. When he's not geeking out over gift planning strategies, Duncan enjoys reading, hiking and playing overly complicated board games.

Mission, Money & Meaning: Moving Beyond Transactions to Transformation

Nonprofits today face increasing pressure to raise more money with fewer resources, changing donor behaviors, and growing community needs. This session challenges traditional fundraising models and explores how organizations can move beyond event dependency and transactional fundraising to build sustainable, relationship-centered revenue strategies. Participants will explore the evolving fundraising landscape, the role of leadership, boards, and development teams, and practical strategies for building stronger, more resilient organizations.

Letesha Nelson

Letesha Nelson is a nonprofit executive with more than 20 years of experience leading mission-driven organizations and strengthening communities. Currently serving as CEO of Family Service of Northeast Wisconsin, she holds a bachelor's degree in business and is a certified Psychological Safety Practitioner, bringing a strategic, people-centered approach to leadership.

A Milwaukee native, Letesha returned to Wisconsin in 2021 after holding leadership roles across the country, including 17 years with the Girl Scouts and serving as Executive Director of a Memphis nonprofit focused on early childhood development and family mental health. At Goodman Community Center, she helped advance the organization's Living Wage Initiative, reinforcing its commitment to investing in employees as a foundation for community impact.

Letesha is a strong advocate for trust-based philanthropy, believing that meaningful community change happens when funders partner with nonprofits through trust, flexibility, and shared accountability. She is passionate about empowering people, strengthening organizations, and helping communities thrive. Outside of work, she enjoys travel, period films, and spending time with her four children and nine grandchildren. Her work is grounded in faith, family, and service.

Finally Get Your Board Fundraising: The Tools and Training You Need Now!

Tired of board members who "don't do fundraising"? This high-energy workshop cuts through the wishful thinking and delivers what actually works. In 60 minutes, you'll confront the three board "woes" killing your fundraising momentum, get battle-tested solutions from someone who's raised $150M+, and walk away with ready-to-use tools you can implement Monday morning. No theory. No fluff. Just honest talk about why boards resist fundraising—and practical systems to turn resistance into results. Bring your toughest board challenges; leave with your action plan.

The container for this session - a brave space where personal stories are essential and vulnerability is welcome! Presentation will incorporate ongoing conversation, in addition to some time for small group consultation and peer exchange. 

Hannah F. Berger, MPA, CFRE

Hannah Berger is a leadership coach, fundraising consultant, executive advisor and former chief development officer. She has spent the last 20 years working alongside institutional funders, individual philanthropists, and corporate partners to mobilize resources for social good. In that time, Hannah has proudly solicited or supported dozens of organizations in raising more than $150 million...and counting. Currently, Hannah serves as Interim VP of Philanthropy for Housing Partnership Network.

Founder of The Philanthropy Coach LLC and a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Hannah is known for building authentic, lasting relationships with donors at every level and for translating organizational mission into compelling, strategic fundraising. She is a recognized master facilitator, a Leader of Influence in the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sectors (LA Business Journal), and a Past President of the AFP Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter.

Hannah holds a Master's in Public Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Sector Management from California State University, Northridge, and a Bachelor's in Psychology from UC Irvine. Her most cherished designations are Auntie Extraordinaire, Favorite Sister, Entrepreneur, Angeleno and Co-Conspirator. Hannah is based in her beloved hometown of Los Angeles, but loves to explore both domestically and abroad.

Dr. Holly Hull Miori: Session Description Coming Soon!

From Burned Out to Lit Up: Reclaiming Joy, Power & Purpose in Fundraising

Who's ready for some radical honesty?
If you've been struggling to maintain your professional passion in the face of unprecedented external threats to our sector, you're not alone. This session is a rallying cry for fundraisers and nonprofit leaders who want to lead with integrity, build community power, and reconnect to what lights them up.

As an empowerment coach who’s been in the trenches as a front-line fundraiser, nonprofit executive, board member and consultant, Hannah Berger, will share coaching tools to help you shift your mindset, tap into your personal power, and step into the kind of joy-filled action that magnetizes money, drives impact, and empowers you and your team.

This will be an intense hour of professional development that requires focus, introspection and a willingness to laugh (at ourselves and our shared reality)!

Hannah F. Berger, MPA, CFRE

Hannah Berger is a leadership coach, fundraising consultant, executive advisor and former chief development officer. She has spent the last 20 years working alongside institutional funders, individual philanthropists, and corporate partners to mobilize resources for social good. In that time, Hannah has proudly solicited or supported dozens of organizations in raising more than $150 million...and counting. Currently, Hannah serves as Interim VP of Philanthropy for Housing Partnership Network.

Founder of The Philanthropy Coach LLC and a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Hannah is known for building authentic, lasting relationships with donors at every level and for translating organizational mission into compelling, strategic fundraising. She is a recognized master facilitator, a Leader of Influence in the Nonprofit and Philanthropic Sectors (LA Business Journal), and a Past President of the AFP Greater Los Angeles Area Chapter.

Hannah holds a Master's in Public Administration with an emphasis in Nonprofit Sector Management from California State University, Northridge, and a Bachelor's in Psychology from UC Irvine. Her most cherished designations are Auntie Extraordinaire, Favorite Sister, Entrepreneur, Angeleno and Co-Conspirator. Hannah is based in her beloved hometown of Los Angeles, but loves to explore both domestically and abroad.

Making the Invisible Compelling: How Solving the "Intermediary Problem" Upgrades Storytelling for Every Fundraiser

Every fundraiser knows the classic direct-service storytelling formula: “Meet Jane. Jane faced a crisis. Our donor stepped in and we were able to help Jane. Now Jane’s life is transformed.” But what happens when your work doesn’t fit into a neat, linear box?

If your organization is an "intermediary" or “service provider to other nonprofits,” storytelling is often one of your highest hurdles. But this isn't just an issue for those organizations. Today, even direct-service providers struggle to move donors past superficial, individual stories toward funding the complex, long-term, systemic work that actually moves the needle.

Solving the "intermediary problem" is a critical hurdle for all fundraisers. When you learn how to make invisible, technical, or highly confidential work emotionally resonant, your entire fundraising toolkit elevates.

Drawing from real-world successes and challenges across organizations that support and work across the nonprofit sector in areas such as data tech, legal advocacy, and workforce development, this interactive session will tear down the wall between direct service and systems change.

Lauren Gray

Lauren Gray is the Founder and CEO of Gray2BlueSkies, a consulting firm that partners with mission-driven organizations to build sustainable fundraising strategies, strengthen donor relationships, and scale impact. With over 20 years of experience, Lauren has led multi-million-dollar development portfolios and high-performing teams at organizations like Welcome. US, where she served as Chief Development Officer, and the International Rescue Committee, where she directed both corporate and foundation partnerships over 14 years, resulting in multi-million-dollar growth. She brings deep expertise in strategy, systems-building, and cross-sector collaboration, with a track record of helping nonprofits and social ventures accelerate growth and achieve results.

Succession Planning is Your Best Major Gift Strategy: Why Donor Retention Starts With Normalizing That People Leave

Most organizations treat leadership transitions like they treat a flat tire—emergency management, instead of proactive strategy. Meanwhile, your major donors are watching, your development team is holding its breath, and important institutional knowledge is one departure away from walking out the door.

This session flips the script: Succession planning isn't a risk management checkbox, it's your most powerful donor retention strategy.

Naomi Hattaway, President and Lead Advisor of 8th & Home | Leaving Well, brings the lived expertise of perspective from multiple views: board chair, consultant, interim leader, and funder. She'll share the framework she uses to help nonprofits build proactive succession systems—systems that protect donor relationships, stabilize fundraising pipelines, and create resilient teams that aren't dependent on one person.

You'll walk away with language to advocate for succession planning at your executive leadership or board table, a practical framework to implement it, and a hard-truth case study about what happens when organizations don't.

Naomi Hattaway

Naomi Hattaway is a speaker, facilitator, and the founder of Leaving Well, a practice that helps organizations reimagine leadership transitions as relational turning points, not just operational events. With deep experience in the nonprofit and values-driven sectors, she supports boards, leadership teams, and interim leaders in approaching succession with care, clarity, and cultural maturity.

Her work challenges the default tendency to rush, avoid, or sanitize endings—offering instead a pathway that centers dignity, continuity, and trust. Whether through succession planning, executive offboarding, or performance review design, she helps teams build the relational muscles needed to metabolize change without losing themselves.

Leaving Well is not about scaling. It’s about rooting transitions in story, relationship, and the belief that the way someone leaves a role can shape the culture for years to come.

It's Not Pestering: Practicing Effective Multi-Modal Outreach

As a Leadership Annual Giving Officer, I contacted over 1,000 donors a year through multi-touch cadences. These cadences included emails, phone calls, text messages and handwritten cards. I’ve heard remarks at times like “So you’re pestering donors?” But the reality is this consistent, intentional outreach has sparked over 100 genuine donor relationships in just the past year with remarkably few negative responses.

In this session, I’ll share real examples and data that demonstrate how persistence, when rooted in clarity and authenticity, can scale your efforts and deepen donor engagement. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to build more connections, and—just as importantly—ways to avoid burnout.

One phrase I hear often from donors? “Thank you for your professional persistence.

Duncan Schultz, PhD, CFRE 

Duncan Schultz has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience, with the past decade focused on fundraising. Currently a Director of Development in the Office of Gift Planning at the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, he has worked across nearly every level of the development profession: from processing gifts and managing donor records to leading annual giving and major donor strategies.

Through authentic, relationship-driven outreach, Duncan connects hundreds of donors with their dream philanthropic impact each year. His approach emphasizes simplicity, trust and data-informed decision-making to build meaningful relationships at scale.

Duncan is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE). He holds a PhD in Music Theory from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a MM from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and a BA from California State University, Fullerton. When he's not geeking out over gift planning strategies, Duncan enjoys reading, hiking and playing overly complicated board games.