Webinars and Events

BWF shares its fundraising and philanthropic expertise through in-person events, conferences, trainings, and virtual webinars. Join us for a learning opportunity.

BWF shares its fundraising and philanthropic expertise through in-person events, conferences, trainings, and virtual webinars. Join us for a learning opportunity.

Healthcare Campaign Events: A Prescription for Campaign Success or in Need of a Remedy?

Whether you are considering launching a campaign, in the planning phases, or ready for the public kickoff,  you are likely considering if events hold the importance that they once did in overall campaign success. In a post-pandemic world, are organizations utilizing events as much as before? You’ll hear the answers to all these questions—and more—at this engaging webinar designed for healthcare fundraising leaders, development staff, and event professionals alike.  

The Future of Fundraising: Exclusive Sneak Peak at Innovative Dashboard Designs

This webinar is not just a demonstration but a gateway to empowering your nonprofit organization with the tools to navigate the complexities of fundraising in the digital age. Whether you're looking to enhance your current strategies or revolutionize your approach to fundraising, our exclusive sneak peek into the future of dashboard designs is the first step towards unlocking your nonprofit's potential.

Protecting Our Institutions: International Due Diligence Survey Results

Join us for this webinar where we’ll present the findings and reflect on current and future industry norms around due diligence in the philanthropy sector.

Past Webinars

Strategic Planning Success Blueprint for Nonprofits

This session is designed to empower nonprofit leaders, managers, and visionaries, offering insightful strategies and practical tips to revolutionize your approach to planning.

Introducing the New Gift Officer Portfolio Management Portal for Slate

Join us for an engaging session with our expert speakers Amy Lampi and Gina Mandros, associate vice presidents at BWF. They will guide you through the practical applications of the Slate for Advancement Gift Officer Portfolio Management portal, developed in collaboration with Technolutions, a BWF partner. This portal isn’t just a tool; it’s a strategic asset, tailored to enhance the capabilities of your advancement team.

2023 Year in Review and Insights for 2024

Join BWF’s CEO and Chair of the Giving USA Foundation Josh Birkholz for a webinar on January 9th! Josh will recap 2023 learnings and provide insights for adapting fundraising approaches in 2024. 

Unlock the Hidden Potential of Your Data: A No-Nonsense Guide to Business Intelligence

BWF’s Reed Tyler and Kaitlin Dunn Mickelson will cut through the jargon to explain what Business Intelligence (BI) is and why it's essential for your organization's success. Discover how to assess your current capabilities and identify areas for improvement, all in a language that's easy to understand.

The Current State of Healthcare Donors: New Research

Join us as we share the results of our latest survey, which asked donors about the impact of the pandemic on their giving, their giving priorities, their future event attendance, as well as other factors that impact their contributions to healthcare.

Achieving Sustainable Success with Systems and Operations

How do you scale and grow responsibly to continue to meet growing fundraising goals year after year? Join us as we discuss leveraging modern systems and automating routine processes to maximize your resources and in turn your impact!

Alumni Participation Beyond US News Rankings

Join BWF’s Mark Marshall, James Barnard, and Michelle Green to learn how industry leaders are reassessing their alumni engagement strategies following US News’ decision to remove alumni giving metrics from consideration for their 2024 college rankings and putting the focus where it belongs.

Education Session: Giving USA Report + Workshop

On June 20, Josh Birkholz, BWF's CEO and Chair of Giving USA, will present on the 2023 Giving USA report. Learn how these stats and details can inform your nonprofit strategy and help you gain insight into unique trends. As a bonus, there will be an in-person workshop after the report presentation.

AI in Fundraising: A Look Back, at Today, and Into the Future

Join BWF's CEO Josh Birkholz and Senior Vice President of Decision Science Alex Oftelie for this webinar to which will cover a comprehensive “catch up” for those new to this area and provide a sense of what might lie ahead.

Building Bridges to Better Healthcare: Engaging Philanthropic Donors in the Mission of Academic Medical Centers

This webinar, hosted by BWF’s Kara Wagner and Elizabeth Dollhopf-Brown, will provide insights and tools on how to overcome these challenges when cultivating philanthropic donors and help you harness the power and innovation of an academic medical center.

Making Data Inclusivity CLICK

In an unparalleled time of global change and awareness, many nonprofit organizations are searching for innovative and demonstrable ways to lead and create positive change through the discipline of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Are You Ready to Launch? The Campaign Communications Countdown.

Join the BWF Strategic Communications team as they take you from T-Minus Two Years all the way to Main Engine Ignition and every step in between.

Building a Digital-First Annual Giving Program

Join us to explore ideas that you can put into action in your own annual giving programs.

2022 Year in Review and Insights for 2023

Join BWF’s CEO and Chair of the Giving USA Foundation Josh Birkholz for a webinar on January 19th! Josh will recap 2022 learnings and share predictions for what to expect in fundraising in 2023.

Designing an Economy-Proof Fundraising Program

How can you best prepare to overcome a recession? Does your program have the necessary resiliency? Join BWF team members and client partners for an in-depth discussion that will address contingency planning, tackling challenges, managing opportunities, and the necessity of flexibility.

Yours, Mine and Ours: Shared Technology Management in Advancement

An open discussion on collaboration between business owners and technology managers.

When Things Go Wrong: Communicating with Donors in Times of Crises

This webinar will guide you through the crisis communication process and the steps you should take to ensure that your most valued supporters are not left out in the cold.

The New Data Frontier

It’s Not About Predicting What People Will Do, but Instead About Predicting How People Feel. This webinar will guide you through engagement science and machine learning – understand how your organization can capture and predict the core drivers of philanthropy: pride, passion, awareness, and engagement.

Giving Days: What Are They Good For? Absolutely...Come Find Out!

With Giving Tuesday quickly approaching, it is important to question our investment in “tried and true” strategies and evaluate their impact on our overall success. Join the BWF Annual Giving and Digital Marketing team as we discuss how to identify the unique value proposition that a giving day can bring to your base-level giving program.

Set Yourself Up for Success with Business Intelligence

This webinar will offer strategies to advocate for BI effectively while managing expectations, what tools may be the best for your situation, and what to expect when implementing BI processes at your organization.

2022 Giving USA Report

Join AFP Minnesota as Joshua Birkholz, CEO of BWF, presents the 2022 Giving USA Report.

Planning Strategically for Your Next Campaign

Campaign planning has surged in recent months among nonprofit organizations as the pandemic wanes and organizations consider how best to meet the growing resource demands to fulfill their mission.

The Power of Perception: Great Campaigns Start with Great Ideas

Join BWF’s SVP for Strategic Communications Jay Wilson and the University at Buffalo’s Vice President for University Advancement Rod Grabowski as they discuss how communications drives successful campaigns.

Innovation and Impact Podcast Series Recap

Join Kathryn Van Sickle, host of the Development Debrief podcast, and BWF’s James Barnard as they recap the spring Innovation and Impact series. Together they will discuss series highlights, emerging […]

How to Make Your Annual Giving Program a Pipeline Powerhouse

Join us for a webinar to discuss creating an annual giving strategy with objectives and metrics, developing lead generation and scoring models, creating donor journeys and prospect warming campaigns, and designing the infrastructure to make it all work.

2021 Year in Review and 2022 Predictions

Join BWF's CEO Josh Birkholz, as he recaps 2021 learnings and shares predictions for what to expect in fundraising in 2022.

Next Gen Annual Giving Series

The focus of this “Next Gen Annual Giving” webinar series will be placed on modernizing annual giving to reverse the trend in donor decline many nonprofits have faced over the past decade.

Your supporters are more than just actions: developing 360° constituent perspectives to drive untapped donor growth

Organizations that adopt the model “who you are and what you do must represent how you feel” often fail to see the unmet potential or to identify areas of opportunity.

Business Intelligence Through the Lens of Leadership

Are you looking to use data to inform significant decisions in areas such as staffing alignment, achieving fundraising goals, or productivity analysis? Decision makers must fully understand the capabilities of business intelligence. This webinar will offer case studies and approaches to align your organization’s data with the decisions you need to make.

Due Diligence Survey Results

Join BWF and Pyro Talks to review the results of the Due Diligence Survey and gain insights into how you can incorporate these findings in your own organization.

Student Stories Case Study

UC San Diego, an early adopter of {{firstname}}’s Student Engagement Team (SET) program more than doubled the donors and dollars raised through the recently retired phone program… and at a fraction of the cost.

The Current State of Healthcare Donors: New Research on the Impact of COVID and Other Trends

Join us as we share the results of our latest survey, which asked donors about the impact of the pandemic on their giving, their giving priorities, their future event attendance, as well as other factors that impact their contributions to healthcare. 

Understanding Business Intelligence

When your check engine light comes on, the dashboard shows you exactly what the problem is, how much it will cost to fix, and the locations of the most reliable auto shops in your area. Business intelligence makes that more sophisticated approach a reality for your fundraising operation.

Defining Organizational ROI While Facing Budget Constraints

As your organization reevaluates its budget for the post-pandemic future, how can you prepare for conversations regarding return on investment for operations staff and frontline fundraisers?

Planning for Philanthropic Success in the New World of Disruption

This webinar discusses making the case for your institutional budget, clarifying priorities for the short and long term, and creating the right level of institutional engagement to impact your mission.

Strategic Donor Engagement in the Short Term for Long-Term Success

Stewardship, retention, and engagement now need to involve two-way communication. What are we hearing from our donors? How do we respond? And how do we stay on message?

Managing Your Prospect Pipeline—Strategies During Times of Disruption

This webinar shares practical techniques for effective remote communication between staff members, with or without a dedicated prospect development team.

Managing Your Talent in Times of Economic and Societal Disruption

How do you sustain motivation and collaboration in a distributed workforce? In some ways, this is not new. Join us to figure out how to navigate this shift, when to do it, and what really works.

Creating Special Event Solutions in Challenging Times

This webinar will help you find creative and practical techniques for hosting your special event virtually as well as other digital solutions that can be adopted instead of hosting a virtual fundraising event.

Understanding Your Engagement Index—Priming Your Organization for Current and Future State

In this webinar, Alex Oftelie outlines methods and the impact of understanding your constituents engagement today while empowering insight and agility in philanthropic and outreach activity in the coming weeks and months.

Reviewing Philanthropic Priorities in Alignment with the Current Marketplace

This webinar offers tips for reviewing and repositioning the case for support to your organization’s valued stakeholders.

Sustaining Optimal Board Leadership in Times of Crisis

In this webinar, you’ll hear from seasoned experts about how to ensure your boards stay engaged on your institution’s behalf, with courage, calm, confidence, and commitment to your cause.

The Remote Development Office–Maintaining the Mission

This webinar will discuss the challenges you may be facing as a leader of a remote team as well as how you can ensure your own success at maintaining the mission of your nonprofit organization.

Positioning Information Strategy Teams During Mandatory Remote Work

A strategic evaluation of current projects and a thoughtful shifting of priorities for your operational teams will position them to better face the new philanthropic environment.

Remote Donor Engagement During Physical Distancing

Not having face-to-face events doesn’t mean you can’t have important interactions. Join us for some active tips to keep engaged virtually.

Donor Messaging in Times of Uncertainty

During times of uncertainty, it’s vital to demonstrate that you care about your stakeholders and remind them they are valued members of your larger community.