2026 Virginia Fund Raising Institute: Full Schedule

3:15pm EDT

Climbing with Intention: Essential Tools for Fundraising Leadership and Success

Wednesday July 22, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm EDT

What does it take to succeed and lead? Technical fundraising skills alone are no longer enough to move into leadership roles. Today’s successful fundraising professionals must combine strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, ethical judgment, and organizational awareness with strong fundraising fundamentals. This session is designed for fundraising professionals at all career stages who want to intentionally grow into leadership roles. Drawing on real-world experience and practical examples from the nonprofit sector, this session will help attendees identify the skills they need to develop now to prepare for future opportunities.

Speakers

Virginia Thumm

President, Virginia Fundraising Consultants

Virginia Thumm is the Founder and President of Virginia Fundraising Consultants, where she has been responsible for designing and implementing dozens of successful, multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns for nonprofit organizations across the region.Prior to launching her firm... Read More →

Wednesday July 22, 2026 3:15pm - 4:15pm EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session I

Audience Mid Career
Area Career Growth/HR

4:30pm EDT

Jedi in Practice (Not a Far-Off Galaxy)

Wednesday July 22, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT

DonorPerfect Room

JEDI in Practice (Not a Far-Off Galaxy!) is an interactive workshop that explores how Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion show up in our everyday work and communities. Participants will build shared understanding, reflect on lived experiences, and identify practical actions to foster more equitable and inclusive environments.

Speakers

Stephanie Glenn

Investor Relations and Development Director, RUNWAY Roots

Stephanie Lorraine Glenn, MPA Award-Winning Philanthropic Executive | Fundraising Strategist | Community Development Leader | Board Advisor Stephanie Lorraine Glenn is an award-winning philanthropic executive and nationally respected fundraising strategist whose career has been defined... Read More →

Wednesday July 22, 2026 4:30pm - 5:30pm EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session II

Audience All
Area DEI/JEDI

9:00am EDT

Building Board Champions: Where Power Skills Become Daily Practice

Thursday July 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT

DonorPerfect Room

Many nonprofit boards are made up of deeply committed people—but commitment alone doesn’t produce traction. Boards often struggle with inconsistent engagement, unclear expectations, “rubber-stamp” decision-making, board/ED tension, and fundraising that stays stuck as a wish instead of a shared responsibility. This session addresses the real gap: the difference between boards that support the mission in theory and boards that activate the mission in practice.

Speakers

Wendy F. Adams

Strategic Leadership Coach, Cultivate for Good

Wendy F. Adams is the Founder and Strategic Leadership Coach of Cultivate for Good—a coaching and consulting agency for leaders who are done dragging the mission up the hill by themselves. She equips executive leaders with practical, culture-shifting tools to lead healthy, effective... Read More →

Thursday July 23, 2026 9:00am - 10:00am EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session III

Audience All
Area Board Relations/Engagement

10:30am EDT

Transform Sponsors into Partners: A Guide to Achieving Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Goals

Thursday July 23, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am EDT

DonorPerfect Room

Major employers and corporations look to nonprofit partners to live out their values and engagement goals, and they want to do this with meaning and depth. While featuring national trends and changes in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sponsorship relations, presenting leaders from SHARE Greater Lynchburg and their national platform partner Share Good will illuminate examples across their network of communities where corporate engagement and long-lasting partnerships have been maximized. Whether through assisting with volunteer time off (VTO) benefits or providing recognition and engagement at key events and with aligned programs – nonprofit development leaders can leverage their unique position of community enrichment with like-passioned institutions. Examples will illuminate how a convening partner like a SHARE community organizer can assist with connections to corporate leaders. Attendees will glean great lessons from the experiences such organizers have carried out and witnessed for CSR success.

Speakers

Marjorie Maas

CEO, Share Good

I believe we all have a purpose and GOOD that is uniquely ours to do. I live this out with my work leading the national Share Good network.

Whether as a marketer, fund developer, or executive, Marjorie Maas has helped both startup and established initiatives and organizations for over 20 years. She served as the founding executive director of SHARE Omaha since its 2018 inception and, more recently, has taken on the organization's... Read More →

Megan Huffman

Director of Community Outreach & SHARE Greater Lynchburg, Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation

Megan Huffman has 21 years of nonprofit experience both as a professional and volunteer. With expertise in marketing and sales, fundraising, corporate social responsibility, nonprofit management, and event planning she is committed to breaking down silos and building partnerships... Read More →

Thursday July 23, 2026 10:30am - 11:30am EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session IV

Audience All
Area Fdns/Corp/Grants

1:00pm EDT

Enhancing Your Event Through Intentional Engagement

Thursday July 23, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT

DonorPerfect Room

During this session you will building confidence in your committees, relationships and event execution. You will learn how to recruit and drive your committees to a common goal. You will understand how to take your event to the next level with intentional asset opportunities that deepen your partnership with your sponsors. You will leave inspired to cultivate beyond your sponsorship benefits to expand your fundraising impact in the room.

Speakers

Rachael Schrinel

President & CEO, Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia

Rachael Schrinel is President and CEO of Make‑A‑Wish® Greater Virginia, where she leads the organization’s mission to bring hope, strength, and joy to children with critical illnesses and their families across the Commonwealth. A respected nonprofit executive, Rachael is known... Read More →

Thursday July 23, 2026 1:00pm - 2:00pm EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session V

Audience All
Area Individual Giving

2:15pm EDT

Getting The Word Out: Working With The Media

Thursday July 23, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm EDT

DonorPerfect Room

How do you get the word out and earn media attention? Emmy Award-winning journalist and public relations professional Amy Lacey will lead this session to give you the tools and knowledge you need to connect with media to get the word out about your work. Amy will cover how to build relationships with the media, how to craft a compelling and relevant pitch, what to do when you get the call, and more.

Speakers

Emily Toalson

Emily Rippy

Amy Lacey

Director of Local Programming & Host, WTVR-TV

Amy Lacey is an Emmy award–winning journalist with nearly three decades of experience in television, digital media, radio, and public relations LinkedIn. She is currently the Director of Local Programming at WTVR-TV CBS6 in Richmond, Virginia, where she co-hosts the local lifestyle... Read More →

Carol Anne Lajoie

Chief Advancement Officer, Richmond SPCA

Carol Anne Lajoie serves as the chief advancement officer for the Richmond SPCA, overseeing fundraising, marketing, communications, and humane education activities for Central Virginia’s largest progressive animal welfare organization. In her 25 years of fundraising experience in... Read More →

Thursday July 23, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session VI

Audience All
Area Development Operations

3:45pm EDT

Building Authentic Relationships with Grantmakers

Thursday July 23, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm EDT

DonorPerfect Room

This workshop provides practical, step-by-step guidance for building effective, authentic relationships with foundation and corporate grantmakers in today’s constrained and competitive funding environment. Participants will learn how to find the right contact for their grant, initiate outreach that gets responses, and structure conversations that advance trust without overselling. The session will break down real-world tactics for introduction, follow-up, documentation, and stewardship—what to say, when to say it, and when to stop talking. With real-world insight from a Senior Program Officer who has given millions of dollars in grants, this workshop will balance strategy with reality and demystify funder engagement…all while acknowledging that even seasoned fundraisers get intimidated by the people who make decisions about grants (and yes, that’s normal).

Speakers

Dan Peters

Interim Director, Development Policy and Finance, Gates Foundation

Dan Peters has spent the last 10 years at the Gates Foundation, where he coordinates foundation investment priorities with the World Bank and other multilateral development institutions. Over his 30-year career, Dan's leadership experience at Gates, the World Bank, the US Treasury... Read More →

Niki Wanner

CEO, Wanner Impact Strategies

Niki is a former Director of Development and Grants Specialist who understands the entire fundraising life cycle. Over her career, she has won grants from 12 US government agencies and hundreds of grantmaking entities. Her consulting business focuses on All Things Grants, Services... Read More →

Thursday July 23, 2026 3:45pm - 4:45pm EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session VII

Audience Mid Career
Area Fdns/Corp/Grants

11:00am EDT

Fundraising as a Spiritual Practice

Friday July 24, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT

DonorPerfect Room

This workshop is for people who believe deeply in the mission of their work, and are curious about the potential for fundraising to be a catalyst for spiritual growth. We define a ‘spiritual practice’ as a way of showing up for oneself to tend to one’s spirit and the spirit of one’s community. We will offer a way of practicing fundraising through a mindful and relational orientation to inviting financial support, rooted in self-honesty, generosity and gratitude. Participants will be invited to reflect on their relationship to money, scarcity, and abundance, as well as where they find their sense of security. This will lay the groundwork for participants to consider how they could practice fundraising as spirit-tending and invitational in their own context, whatever their spiritual or religious background.

Speakers

Lindsey Franklin

Director of Development, Richmond Hill

Rev. Lindsey Franklin is the Director of Development at Richmond Hill, an urban monastery in Richmond, Virginia praying for the spirit of the city. She began her career in San Francisco at the intersection of technology, philanthropy and social justice before an unexpected call to... Read More →

Kelsey Hawisher-Faul

Development Coordinator, Richmond Hill

I am the Development Coordinator at Richmond Hill, an urban monastery in Richmond, VA that is open to all. Trained at Princeton Theological Seminary, I spent five years in congregational ministry before committing to the Rule of Life at Richmond Hill and joining the residential community... Read More →

Friday July 24, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm EDT
DonorPerfect Room

Workshop, Workshop Session VIII

Audience Mid Career
Area Individual Giving

3:15pm EDT

4:30pm EDT

9:00am EDT

10:30am EDT

1:00pm EDT

2:15pm EDT

3:45pm EDT

11:00am EDT

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