8:00-9:00 a.m. Breakfast Roundtables and Networking
Continental breakfast and networking in the Sponsor Lounge.
9:00-10:00 a.m. Breakout Sessions
Loyal Giving & Recurring Giving: Rebooting CMC’s Crown Society
Kerry Brooke Steere, Claremont McKenna College
Auditorium Room
Session description to follow.
Impact Storytelling, the Sequel – The Video
Lauren Eckherdt, Gwyn Martin and Adam Montague, USC
Mountain Vista Room
Lauren, Gwyn and Adam will present a session on effective storytelling in fundraising – particularly “through the lens” of video.
Records Management – A Panel Discussion
Karen Latora, Moderator, with Zac Spurlin, University of the Pacific, Chelsey Morrison Harvey Mudd College, and Alexandra Blasy, Loma Linda University
Valley Vista Room
Please join our group of industry experts prepared to discuss your records management concerns and conundrums! They will encourage audience participation as you are the experts, too! They will come prepared to discuss topics including data governance, deceasing best practices, common data entry errors, when – and when not – to create a spousal/partner record, matching gift company management, daily and weekly data integrity edits, and whether you really need to create a new record when you receive a gift from an existing donor’s estate. While they will be happy to discuss these topics with you, the panel also want to review what is most important to you! They will add your suggestions to their list at the session’s opening.
Paid Digital Advertising Basics for Fundraising:
Ryan Woroniecki, Feathr
Campus Vista Room
Paid digital advertising is the future, and the future is now. Some of the most successful fundraising campaigns and appeals are performed via paid digital advertising where organizations follow their donors online sharing impact and inviting support. If you’ve never dipped your toe in paid digital fundraising this session is for you. We’ll break down some of the basics:
• Key terms and definitions in paid digital advertising
• Tracking metrics and ROI
• Donation abandonment campaigns – the most effective ROI
10:00-10:15 a.m. Break in the Sponsor Lounge
Continental breakfast and networking in the Sponsor Lounge.
10:15-11:15 a.m. Breakout Sessions
Favorites From the 26th Annual Giving Appeal and Idea Exchange
Bob Burdenski
Auditorium Room
For 26 years, Bob Burdenski has hosted an annual exchange where hundreds of institutions share thousands of annual giving innovations, ideas and success stories. Awesome appeals, terrific technologies, dynamic discoveries and marvelous messages. It was a great year of pushing the envelope in direct mail, digital and beyond. Come and see 3-time CASE Innovations in Annual Giving author Bob Burdenski dump out his bag of BOB (Best of the Bunch) favorites with some specially-selected fundraising ideas.
Students and The Student Philanthropy Reframe:
How Students Become Partners in Institutional Impact
Justina Cerra, UCLA Anderson School and Haven Watts, Claremont McKenna College
Mountain Vista Room
Student philanthropy does not begin with the graduating class gift campaign. Instead, it is cultivated through intentional engagement, shared ownership, and a clear connection between giving and impact throughout the student lifecycle. This session explores how UCLA Anderson and Claremont McKenna College frame student giving as an integral part of the student experience, starting at matriculation and continuing beyond graduation. Attendees will learn how Anderson has adopted early introduction of students to philanthropy, helping them see themselves as partners in the school’s mission, even through tumultuous times. The session will examine how campaign engagement builds on this foundation by empowering student leaders, reinforcing community impact, and emphasizing participation over dollar amount. Participants will leave with practical ideas for aligning student engagement and alumni relations, fostering a lasting culture of philanthropy on their campuses.
Legal and IRS Topics That Keep Us Up at Night
John Taylor, John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
Valley Vista Room
The session will review legal issues related to charitable gift solicitation, acceptance, recording, and receipting. Topics will be selected from the FundSvcs archives email exchanges to identify the most common questions from the past year. The session will start off with a review of State registration requirements—something every nonprofit must do in each state that mandates it if they accept online donations. There will also be a review of IRS Publications that no practitioner’s library should be without. After that, time will be devoted to the 2026 quid pro quo rules, including related DAF rules (and bifurcation). Other topics include IRA distributions, corporate sponsorships, “mandatory” internships, charity auctions, and games of chance. Finally, the session will open up to address any related questions attendees have in mind!
Behind the Scenes of a CRM Transformation: Insights from Decision to Implementation
Caroline Chang, Kindsight with Juli Nguyen and Rodger Devine, Pomona College
Campus Vista Room
What does it really take to select and implement a new CRM—and keep iterating year after year? Get the inside scoop from both the executive who greenlit the project and the experts who are rolling up their sleeves to make it shine. Join Caroline Chang, Vice President at Kindsight, as she moderates a candid Q&A with Rodger Devine, Chief of Staff and Operations for Advancement at Pomona College, and Juli Nguyen, Senior Director of Prospect Operations and Data Strategy at Pomona College. Rodger will share the big-picture perspective: what drove the decision to invest in a new CRM, how the case was made, and what it took to prepare the institution for such a significant change. Then, Juli will dive into the day-to-day realities of putting that decision into action, offering a firsthand look at how Pomona is leveraging their modern CRM to transform data strategy, streamline operations, and empower their team. This session is a must-attend for anyone curious about the full lifecycle of a CRM transformation—from the boardroom to the frontlines. Expect honest insights, practical advice, and plenty of lessons learned from those who have been in the trenches.
12:00-12:30 p.m. Closing Session
Closing Session – Minds Met: Favorite Take-Aways, Moments of Inspiration… and Predictions for the Next MOTM
Bob Burdenski and John Taylor with Ray Watts, CSUSB, Andrew Carrillo, Claremont McKenna College and Laura Wensley, Pomona College
Auditorium Room
Before we head out for our In-N-Out double-doubles, we’ll award sponsor bingo prizes and reflect on the most important take-aways we’ve heard over the past three days at the 2025 Meeting of the Minds. We’ll also ask a final panel of experts what they see for philanthropy and our profession in the year ahead. Join us with your own closing thoughts and your favorite “a-ha!” moments from the conference.