Virtual Conference: Nonprofit and Cause Marketing

Opening Keynote: Re-Affirming Relevancy During Changing Times

Today, amid COVID-19, social unrest, and an uncertain economic climate, brands can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines and continue business as usual. There is unprecedented opportunity for organizations to learn, forge stronger connections with diverse communities, and bring mission and purpose to the marketplace. Join Artis Stevens, chief marketing officer at National 4-H Council, and 2018 AMA Nonprofit Marketer of the Year, for a conversation that’s happening on conference calls across the country today: What can we do to re-affirm our relevancy during changing times?

Artis Stevens

Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, National 4-H Marketing & Communications

Necessity Is the Mother of Invention: Digital Improvisations in the Era of COVID-19

The COVID-19 global pandemic unexpectedly forced nonprofit organizations of all sizes to quickly pivot to a digital-only approach across all constituent touchpoints and donor communication channels. For most nonprofits, this meant discontinuing in-person events and face-to-face engagement in favor of a completely virtual experience.

There’s no doubt the pandemic upended 2020 plans that had been strategically set in motion just a few months prior. Almost overnight, nonprofit organizations providing health, social, and legal services, as well as arts organizations, schools, and cultural institutions across the country, faced a common challenge: throw away the 2020 playbook and devise new strategies and modalities to remain connected with donors and stakeholders. And do so in a completely digital format.

While working within very limited promotional and advertising budgets is certainly not a new concept for nonprofit marketers, the COVID-19 crisis added another layer of urgency to the challenge. The need to generate brand awareness, demonstrate relevance, and provide worthwhile experiences to donors and stakeholders didn’t disappear because of COVID-19; if anything, this requirement became even more acute. What we witnessed from nonprofits under pressure was an impressive wave of innovation and experimentation.

In this session, Lipman Hearne will share examples of how nonprofits creatively pivoted from traditional in-person interactions to exclusively virtual experiences, while driving audience engagement. And we’ll share best practices and engagement tactics your organization can use as the world continues to take a digital-only approach.

Key Takeaways:

• Audience engagement tactics you can use right away with your current platforms such as social media and emails
• Simple ways you can transform your in-person content into digital-only experiences

Michi Gupta

Senior Digital Strategist, Lipman Hearne

Colleen O'Grady

Senior Philanthropic Strategist, Lipman Hearne

Beyond the Explainer: Telling Powerful and Emotional Stories with Animation

During this era of distancing, it’s harder than ever to reach out and make an emotional connection. Good video can bridge that gap, but what if you can’t break out the cameras for a standard documentary shoot? With over 10 years of experience creating powerful animated videos for non-profits, Alex will share advice for using animation to go beyond the “explainer video” and connect with audiences on an emotional level.

Alex Herder

Co-Founder, Duke & Duck

Keynote: PBS Passport

PBS Passport launched in 2015 and has since been adopted by nearly all PBS member stations. Due in part to Passport, Public Media has become less siloed and more adaptable and innovative. The success of a stations’ Passport program hinges on the entire organization buying in. But Public Media’s work has just begun. As we continue to focus our resources and strategies, PBS is taking a hard look at Passport. Key areas PBS is exploring include reaching new audiences through a multi-platform approach to marketing, content and product, creating fundraising opportunities for stations at scale, and leveraging data to make informed decisions. Join Jennifer as she walks through the stages of development and learn how to use these lessons in your own organization.

Jennifer Hinders

Senior Director of Digital Video Strategy, PBS

Keynote: Nonprofit Marketing in the New Normal

Nonprofits often face fulfilling their marketing and communications objectives with little to no budget and minimal staff. Through this session, Felicia Davis, President and CEO of Chicago Foundation for Women, will share best practices and tips to leverage the tools nonprofit marketers already employ, thinking creatively to maximize reach and increase conversions in a way that aligns with the organizations’ mission.

Felicia Davis

President & CEO, Chicago Foundation for Women

The Ins and Outs of Data-Driven Storytelling 

As marketers, we know that stories are a means to a powerful, human connection with our brands. At the same time, it’s often data that drives action–a story without data can feel forced and fail to inspire. In this session, we’ll cover 360 degrees of bringing your data to life, including overcoming barriers to reporting, steps to creating a better process, and finding the main characters, themes, and narrative threads among your numbers and charts. We’ll include specific success stories we’ve seen ourselves and with our customers, as well as demo how it can all be easily achieved in Submittable.

Natalya DeRobertis-Theye

Product Marketing Manager, Submittable

Sarah Aswell

Content Marketing Manager, Submittable

5 Tips to Grow Your Nonprofit Brand During & After a Crisis

As a nonprofit organization, your brand isn’t just a logo or text: it’s also a symbol and a feeling. It resembles hope, inspiration and kindness, particularly during challenging times.

To that end, branding is most effective when it is authentic — regardless of whether your nonprofit is well-established or green. By building a brand, you extend your capacity and influence. But, how do you do that when you’re already strapped for resources and time?

Join us as we discuss tangible tips to maintain and elevate your nonprofit brand during (and after) a pandemic.

Andrea Rosenbaum

Director of Advancement, YMCA of Northwest Florida

Larissa Roe

Customer Success Manager for Nonprofit, Lucidpress

4 Ways Nonprofit Marketers are Re-Imagining the Constituent Experience

Supporter needs and expectations have changed and are continuing to change faster than ever. We surveyed 6,000 marketing leaders around the world to understand what’s top of mind and learn how nonprofit marketers are responding to these changes in new and sometimes unexpected ways. We’ll share specific success stories from your peers and practical tips you too can take to navigate our new normal.

Key Takeaways :

•  Learn where your peers are prioritizing their marketing efforts
• Hear how they’re driving success
• Discover practical tips to improve supporter engagement

Tiffany Tooley

Senior Director of Product Marketing, Salesforce

Keynote: Agility in Times of Crisis

Join us for an informative panel with the winners of the AMA Nonprofit Marketer of the Year Award as they share their perspectives on pivoting with purpose, company culture and how they’re adjusting to the current market. Editor-in-Chief Molly Soat will lead this discussion that will provide attendees with key takeaways on how their award-winning work can be applied to any organization.

Lisa Sherman (National Recipient)

President & CEO, The Ad Council

Molly Soat

Editor in Chief, American Marketing Association

Justine Burke (Regional Recipient)

Vice President of Marketing, Metropolitan Ministries ; President, AMA Tampa Bay Chapter 2020-2021

Understanding Today’s Donor: How To Design Systems That Build Lasting Donor Relationships At Scale

Today’s donor is distracted. Hyper-connectivity, micro-consumption, fractured attention, and fierce competition are namesakes in our connected economy. This is now compounded due to the upheaval the 2020 global health and economic crisis sparked with no clear end in sight. Amidst uncertainty and shifting donor expectations, how can you ensure your organization is prepared for these changes, and able to scale deeper, more personalized donor experiences?

In this session, Gabe Cooper, CEO and founder of Virtuous, will address these challenges head-on and share how you can deepen and personalize your donor relationships at scale in the midst of today’s landscape. He’ll also share a fundraising system that modern nonprofits are using to raise mission-critical funding and build a foundation of flexibility, resilience, and responsiveness to help you thrive in 2020 and beyond.

You’ll learn:

• An understanding of shifting donor preferences and what this means for you in 2020 and beyond. 
• A reimagined playbook designed to help you build lasting relationships with all your donors, and grow impact.
• Six (6) responsive fundraising strategies that you can use immediately to raise retention rates and grow giving.

Gabe Cooper

Founder & CEO, Virtuous

The Mystical Secret for Turning Free Content into Valuable Donors

Most fundraisers still look to direct mail and other “traditional” channels for acquiring new donors. But the combination of rising direct mail costs and the inability to use traditional events in the midst of a global pandemic means we need to find a new path forward.

But how on earth do you acquire valuable donors online?

More importantly, how do you make sure you’re not spinning your wheels and wasting your budget while figuring out what actually works to acquire online donors?

The good news is that there is a repeatable online donor acquisition model that we’ve been testing, proving, and optimizing for the past 5 years – and in this session, you’ll learn exactly how to apply this methodology to your fundraising program.

In this fast-paced and down-to-earth session, you’ll discover the 4-step model to acquire online donors and learn practical ideas and tactics to make it work for your organization.

Learning Outcomes:

• Attendees will know how to acquire new donors online by reviewing a proven, 4-step acquisition methodology.
• Attendees will be equipped to grow their email file by learning what makes for an effective free content offer.
• Attendees will know how to create a high-converting page for their free content offers by reviewing a/b tests and case-studies.
• Attendees will know how to convert new subscribers into new donors immediately by learning how to implement an “instant donation page”.

Nathan Hill

Marketing Director, NextAfter

How to Produce a Remotely Recorded Video that Drives Your Audience to Action

Mike Sukraw

Founder & CEO, Reliant Studios

Kristin Sukraw

Co-Owner & President, Reliant Studios

Bonus Session: Persuasive, Passionate Storytelling that Converts

As a nonprofit, you know that sharing stories of your impact and how you are changing lives is the key to connecting with your supporters, especially your donors. We’ll walk you through constructing a story that is told with passion, persuasion, and works for your website/campaign. You’ll walk away with a content worksheet and checklist. It will help you solidify a content strategy filled with stories that sell.

This bonus session will be available to view and download within our AMA Booth in the conference platform.

Julia McDowell

CEO & Co-Founder, Five Ones

Virtual Happy Hour

Join us for the Virtual Happy Hour where you will have a chance to connect further with fellow attendees and discuss your favorite topics from the conference!