The 2025 Lehigh Valley Philanthropy Institute Keynote Speaker
Stephanie Gripne, Ph.D., Founder and CEO, Impact Finance Center
As Founder and CEO of Impact Finance Center (IFC), Stephanie is the creative force behind several social enterprises designed to accelerate the impact investing movement and move $1T in investment capital into social ventures that do well by doing good: CO Impact Days, Impact Investing Institute, and Rocky Mountain Who’s Who & Impact Investing. Lauded by Forbes as “the Steve Jobs of impact investing”, Stephanie is continuously innovating IFC’s model, which serves as an accelerator for asset owners by identifying, educating, and activating philanthropists and investors who want to become impact investors. In just five years, Stephanie has positioned the State of Colorado as the leader in impact investing and the successful pilot for a National Impact Investing Marketplace. Early evaluation efforts of IFC’s work indicate that 260 direct impact investments totaling $260M have been completed.
Learn more here.
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Session Speakers/Topics
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Keynote: Dr. Stephanie Gripne
Impact Investing
Chad Barger, ACFRE
Cutting Through the Noise - What’s Working NOW to Spur Donor Engagement
Megan Beste, Donna Taggart
Ethics in Fundraising (and Government, and Business, and Life)
Lisa Brand
Less Time, More Impact: Automating Donor Stewardship for Greater Engagement
Kate Cohen
The Allentown Warming Station: A Case Study in Centering Community Solutions to Leveraging Diverse Dollars
Paul D'Alessandro
Balance Sheet Philanthropy: Tax-Efficient Giving Strategies to Meet Donor Needs and Maximize Impact
Molly Driscoll, Greg Wilson
Plannual Giving - A Planned Giving Program for Everyone
Matthew Easterwood
Culturally Queer: Create an Inclusive Culture of Philanthropy for LGBTQIA+ Donors
Elizabeth Hefner, Kelly Gratan
Deepening Donor Relationships: New Strategies to Make Meaningful Connections
Tisha Hyter, Meghan Baker
Financial Storytelling: Four Chapters to Make You a Best Seller
Katie Iorio
Communicate with Confidence and Conviction to Build Our Network
Doug Keith
Market Research Fundamentals for Philanthropic Organizations
Stephen Link, Marissa Zondag, David Hammer, Lorraine Wiedorn, Angelo Oste
Building A Healthy & Sustainable CGA Program Panel Discussion
Linda Lysakowski, ACFRE
How to Advance in Your Fundraising Career
Panel: Carrie Nedick, Winston Alozie, Raymond Santiago, Michael Fischer, Marc Rittle
The Power of Partnership: Nonprofits and DAF Donors in Action
Brenda Riehl
Know Your Donor Better: Understanding Financial Trauma
Rebecca "Beka" Shea
Creating an Epic Team: The Science of People
Greg Wilson
Stick Figure Capital Campaigns: Understanding the Components of a Successful Capital Campaign
Julie Zumas, Christina Schoemaker, MBA, CFRE
Navigating the EITC Program: Applying for and Managing Educational Improvement Organization Designation
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CFRE Credits: 6
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Full participation in LVPI 2025 is applicable for 6 points in Category 1.B -Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.
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