As I packed my bags to head to Nashville for Raise 2024, hosted by OneCause, I found myself looking forward to two things: fundraising strategy & hot chicken. 

And let me tell you, neither disappointed me.

As I walked into Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, I could feel the energy from the other attendees. Everyone was genuinely excited to be there and eager to capture insights from the experts. Over just two days, I learned a mountain of information. Today, I am looking forward to sharing what I learned with our MemoryFox storytellers, and beyond! 

Here are some of my key learnings from Raise 2024, broken down by session:

How to Recruit the Next Generation of Volunteers & Donors

Geng Wang, CEO & Co-founder of Civic Champs, took a deep dive into recruiting Gen Z volunteers and offered key tips to convert those volunteers into donors. In particular, his findings in regards to WHERE Gen Z donates (checkouts and events) as opposed to where organizations think Gen Z is donating (social media) were eye-opening.

I was also surprised to hear that Gen Z cares about impact statistics AND stories. Lastly, I really enjoyed Geng’s exercise in language-market fit, which essentially equated to a fancy way to say you should interview your new volunteers to see what attracted them to your organization.

How to Get CEOs and Boards to Embrace AI & Digital Fundraising 

Christal M. Cherry, The Board Pro, and Taylor Shanklin, Barlele, gave out great advice for those looking to get their board “on board” with artificial intelligence (AI). Christal provided great strategies for organizations to mobilize their board members, such as a $1k fundraising challenge or a weekly recruitment challenge. She also suggested bringing on a board member with AI expertise to help guide the organization as it utilizes AI. 

Then, Taylor presented practical tips for organizations looking to use AI in their daily operations. I appreciated her outlining her AI “no-nos” to prevent organizations from falling in complicated waters with AI. For anyone looking to use AI at their nonprofit, this session was a must-watch!

The Monthly Giving Mastermind – Tactical Lessons to Build, Grow & Sustain Subscriptions for Good 

This mastermind session might have been one of my favorite sessions of the conference. It’s mind-blowing how much information Abby Jarvis, Neon One, and Dana Snyder, Positive Equation, fit into this session. My highlights from this session include Abby’s revelation that monthly giving’s 127% increase from 2018 to 2022 in actuality meant, on average, going from 11 recurring donors to 25. Those numbers sound much more attainable to nonprofits. I also thoroughly appreciated that Dana then provided some realistic and easy steps to put in place for any nonprofit to start their monthly giving program. Everyone left feeling empowered and ready to focus on monthly giving!

How to Create a Long-Term Social Media Strategy in a Short-Term World 

This session had my favorite lesson of the conference – use the Tim Curry approach to social media! Instead of having a one size fits all approach for every platform, Julia Campbell, J Campbell Social Marketing, and Josh Hirsch, Soukup Strategic Solutions, advocated for being selective about which social media platform your organization uses and to really customize the content for each of those platforms. Just as no two Tim Curry appearances are the same, the same can be said for social media platforms.

Ahead of the Curve: Navigating Future Fundraising Trends

This panel was so good my pen almost ran out of ink! Every panelist offered key insights into their field for the future of fundraising. Some highlights from this session included the focus on retaining donors instead of acquiring new ones, the scary trend that by 2034 only ⅓ of Americans will give to nonprofits as compared to roughly ½ currently, and how storytelling will be crucial as more and more people want authentic stories. 

Thank you to this incredible panel of experts: Nathan Chappell of DonorSearch, Samantha Swaim of Swaim Strategies, Matt Bitzegaio of DonorDock, Sabrina Walker Hernandez of Supporting World Hope, Cherian Koshy of Kindsight, and Shawn Olds of boodleAI.

Crafting with Conscience: Ethical Storytelling in the Social Good Sector

Obviously a session that was close to my heart, I found this panel so educational. I know people can get caught up in ethical storytelling and often wonder: Am I doing it “right”? But, one of the best takeaways from this session dealt with being able to admit when you made a mistake and what can someone do to avoid making the same mistake in the future. I found it inspiring that a lot of the topics covered in the panel are things we are implementing in the MemoryFox platform. 

Thank you to the inspirational panelists who were willing to be vulnerable, share their experiences and provide insights: Rachel D’Souza of Gladiator Consulting, Derria Ford of Martha O’ Bryan Center, Diana Farias Heinrich of Habrá Marketing, Demetria Lightfoot of Youth In Need and Chris Miano of MemoryFox.

Winning the Hearts of Millennial and Gen Z Donors

This session hosted by Capin Alexander, Vice President of Nonprofit at The Lukens Company, was such a fun experience. She had an interactive session where everyone in the room played “Generational Bingo” and participated in a mini trivia game about Millennial and Gen Z giving habits. The most shocking insight from this session – Gen Zers love getting mail!

These highlights don’t even include the two keynote speakers who were absolutely amazing. Overall, this was one of the best conferences I have had the privilege to attend. All the speakers provided practical tips for nonprofit organizations, and it was wonderful to see so many nonprofit professionals just itching to get back to their organizations and begin implementing these new ideas. 

And between you and me, the hot chicken deserves the hype! 

Now, if I can just convince our Marketing Director to add me to the invite list for next year…