AFP NWI Fall Workshop: Five Sessions, Table Topics, [5] CFRE Points

On Thursday, October 8th, the Hammond campus of Purdue University Northwest becomes the classroom for the region’s nonprofit sector. Doors open at 8:00 a.m. Sessions run 8:30 to 4:00. You pick a lane in the morning and go deep in it all day.

This is not a keynote and a boxed lunch. It is a working day with two people who have done this at a scale most of us only read about.

Every hour of instruction earns a CFRE continuing education point. This day is worth [6.5] points. If you are recertifying, that is a serious share of your requirement handled in one Thursday, without a flight, a hotel, or a national conference badge.

Led by Brian H. Abernathy, General Manager, Convergent Nonprofit Solutions. Brian has supervised and managed capital campaigns that have raised more than $500 million. He has launched local chapters for international organizations, stood up new nonprofits from scratch, and built cross sector partnerships for community development. He now leads Convergent’s team of fundraising professionals and speaks to national and regional audiences on fundraising strategy and trends.

His premise is one most of us feel and few of us have solved: every nonprofit has an important mission, but not many can quantify and communicate the value of the impact they intend to create. This track is about closing that gap.

Led by Erin Stinner, Owner and CEO, A to Z Communications. Erin has more than 25 years of experience spanning the White House, national media, and Fortune 500s. She directed communications, press, and the website for First Lady Laura Bush, led communications for the chairman of a federal regulatory agency, and managed constituent relations on Capitol Hill for Indiana Senator Richard Lugar. She is a former college chief marketing officer and now owns a creative agency founded in 1988 serving nonprofit, higher education, healthcare, and corporate clients.

Her premise: before donors invest, they have to believe. She is called in when the mission is powerful but hard to explain, when leadership and board members tell different versions of the story, when donor materials inform but do not inspire, and when marketing activity is not clearly supporting fundraising outcomes. If you read that list and winced, this track is for you.

• Development directors carrying a goal they have not figured out how to hit yet

• Executive directors who are also, functionally, the development department

• Marketing and communications staff tired of finding out about the campaign after it launched

• Board members who want to help and are not sure how

• Anyone about to start, or quietly dreading, a capital campaign

The best use of this day is two staff from one organization, one in each track, comparing notes on the drive home. Fundraising and marketing fail together or succeed together. This is the rare day you can fix the seam between them for the cost of two tickets and one Thursday.

• Full day access to your chosen track, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

• 6 CFRE continuing education points, one per hour of instruction. Certificate provided at the close of the day.

• Breakfast, lunch and drinks included

• Free parking on the Purdue Northwest Hammond campus

• Session materials and speaker slides after the event

Info: Introductions of all speakers and participants and a welcome from our NWI AFP Board.

Info: Donors are showing less loyalty, and the competition for dollars is getting more fierce by the day. Increasingly, the factor that will set nonprofits apart from their peers is the ability to clearly convey impact or outcome value to their primary constituents. Understanding funder motivations and shaping solicitation appeals and regular communications to position this value can transform the way funders think about your organization and the way they invest in your work.

Info: Stepping into a major funding campaign of any type (capital, endowment, comprehensive, etc.) is a significant move that can present great value as well as great risk. Properly aligning your vision, your team, and your campaign objectives before launching a campaign can make the difference between success and failure. Feasibility studies and development audits, common steps for campaign preparation, can provide critical value to nonprofits preparing to undertake major funding projects.
Attendees will gain a clear understanding of how to prepare for a successful campaign, as well as risks a campaign can present and how to avoid them.

Info: Many organizations tell compelling stories, but not all stories inspire philanthropy. This session will show how to develop clear, donor-centered narratives and integrated communications strategies that move beyond awareness and drive meaningful engagement and giving.
Attendees will gain a framework for translating institutional impact into messages that motivate investment.

Info: Campaigns are complex efforts that demand structure and focus. For many nonprofits senior leadership and development staff are already stretched thin, the right framework for campaign structure and execution is critical to avoiding fatigue and achieving funding goals quickly.
Attendees will learn the variations of campaign, as well as structural components critical to campaign success.

Info: Events can build visibility and engagement, but they do not always translate into sustainable philanthropy. This session examines how to evaluate event ROI, strengthen donor pathways, and align fundraising activities with a broader, strategic advancement and marketing approach.
Attendees will leave with a clearer strategy for turning event participation into long-term donor relationships.

Info: Building upon various recent reports addressing changing dynamics from Baby Boomers to Gen Z, this session will unpack the varied decision-making factors and communication preferences of each generation to help inform the nonprofit leader in managing engagement and messaging efforts to drive stronger connection to current and future funders.

Info: Major gifts are rarely driven by logic alone. This session explores the psychology behind donor decision-making—trust, urgency, identity, and emotional resonance—and how institutions can align their messaging, leadership engagement, and donor experience with cultivation and solicitation strategies to increase major gift success.
Attendees will leave with practical ways to strengthen the conditions that make major giving more likely.

Event venue & nearby stays

Purdue University Northwest - Hammond Campus, 2200 169th Street, Hammond, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.

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