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8:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Registration & Breakfast
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Welcome / Opening Session
9:15 AM – 10:15 AM
Keynote
Speaker: Art Taylor & Mike Buckley
"The State and Future of Fundraising: A Fireside Conversation with Art Taylor"
Description:
Fundraising is changing. Donor expectations are evolving, technology is reshaping how we connect with supporters, and economic and social forces continue to influence generosity. At the same time, fundraising professionals are being asked to raise more, build stronger relationships, demonstrate greater impact, and help lead their organizations through increasingly complex environments.
Join Art Taylor, President & CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and Mike Buckley, CFRE, longtime Hudson-Mohawk Chapter leader and member of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy Governing Board, for a candid fireside conversation about the state of fundraising—and where our profession goes from here.
10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Speaker: Bo Goliber
"Connecting Passion to Purpose: Honest Lessons on Taking the Leap, Building Trust, and Leading Change "
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Speaker: Kate Better
"Beyond Fundraising: Building an Integrated External Affairs Strategy"
Description:
This session will explore the "three-legged stool" of external affairs—development, communications, and government relations—and how these functions work together to strengthen mission impact, financial sustainability, and organizational resilience. Participants will examine common organizational gaps and leave with practical tools to assess their own external affairs capacity and opportunities for alignment.
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Plenary
Speakers: Laurie Ballard & Lisa Temoshok
"Fundraising is Human: A Conversation about the Emotional Work of Fundraising"
Description:
Fundraising asks us to connect deeply with people, hear difficult stories, carry others’ hopes, and often ask for support during moments of real need. But who takes care of the fundraiser? Join Laurie Ballard, President of LMB Development Consulting, for a candid conversation about the emotional demands of our work along with practical ways fundraisers can recognize their own stress, establish healthy boundaries, manage what they carry home, and care for themselves while continuing to show up with empathy and compassion. Joining Laurie in the discussion will be Lisa Temoshok, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, who recently spoke at AFP ICON in April of this year.
Laurie Ballard - a lifelong, hard-core nonprofit leader, advocate, problem-solver, and champion for the organizations doing good in the world. After 25+ years working inside nonprofits, Laurie is now in her 10th year as a business owner, partnering with organizations to tackle the gaps that get in the way of growth - from leadership and strategy to infrastructure, boards, communications, and fund development. She brings equal parts of experience, practicality, and “let’s figure this out” energy to the work.
Lisa Temoshok - a LMHC who provides holistic counseling services, focused on evidence-based, trauma-informed therapies to adults in her practice in Ballston Lake. She has been a regular speaker for AFP, more recently facilitating a critical conversation, "Fundraisers as Helping Professionals: A Guide to the Benefits of Trauma-Informed Fundraising," at AFP ICON in April of this year.
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Tours of Evermore Hall
Cocktails & Networking at The Illium