Hosted by FreeWill and Charity Navigator
The most important event of the (end of) year
September 10, 2026
11:30am–6:00pm ET
7,000+
nonprofit leaders registered
26
expert speakers
20
focused learning sessions with actionable takeaways
6.5
hours of learning and networking
Built for your best end-of-year yet.
The Giving Season Summit may be over, but the strategies aren't going anywhere.
Revisit any of the sessions below and put this year's tactics to work at year-end and throughout 2027.
Giving season strategy
Attendees learned how to build the perfect year-end calendar, a strategy for maximizing monthly giving, and a plan for high-impact moments like GivingTuesday.
Major & planned giving
Sessions covered how peers are turning Q4 giving into momentum for ongoing legacy and major gift conversations.
Data from the biggest names in fundraising
Experts shared what donor behavior looks like in Q4 across the industry, and how to apply those insights to your own planning.
Session recordings at a glance
Three tracks
Leading the way
Strategy and planning
In the trenches
Campaign execution
On the front line
1:1 donor cultivation
Leading the Way
In the Trenches
On the Front Line
The state of year-end giving in 2026
Patrick Schmitt, FreeWill
From oversight to ownership: Activate your board for year-end smart giving
Christal M. Cherry, The Board Pro
Maximize your Charity Navigator score before Giving Season (and why this matters so much)
Laura Andes, Charity Navigator
Finding untapped major giving potential within your existing donor base
Desirnai' Hicks, FreeWill | Atashi Chakravarty, SF-Marin Food Bank
4 steps to reverse the small-dollar donor decline
Kyle Gardner, Charity Navigator
The types of gifts that matter most in 2026
Michael Thatcher, Charity Navigator Patrick Schmitt, FreeWill | Woodrow Rosenbaum, GivingTuesday
The ideal year-end playbook for organizations of different sizes
Kathryn Mastandrea, Connecticut Foodshare | Emily Dubay, Lutheran Services Carolinas
World-class stewardship for your December donors
Lauren Winther-Hansen, FreeWill
Keys to winning donor attention in an election year
Patrick Schmitt, FreeWill
The perfect GivingTuesday campaign blueprint
Shreyaa Venkat, GivingTuesday
Year-End Fundraising: Using your data to build an AI-powered plan
Nathan Hill, Avid
Crystallize your impact story before year-end
Lea Prince, Charity Navigator
How to turn December donors into year-round supporters through monthly giving
Dana Snyder, Positive Equation
How blended gifts can become your very largest donations
Nicole Walton, FreeWill | Meg Bonham, Lake County Forest Preserves
How to unlock wealth-based giving at year-end
Russell James, J.D., Ph.D., CFP, Texas Tech University
Year-End Email Blueprint: Every message you need to send before Dec 31
Nicole Walton, FreeWill | Sarah K. Masterson, Donor Communications Consultant & Copywriter
Year-end mailed appeals your donors can't ignore
Josh Alcorn, Nonprofit Storytelling Conference
Must-use practices for conversations with major donors at end-of-year
Mallory Erickson, Practivated
The DAF Opportunity: Winning Donor-Advised Fund gifts at year-end
H. Daniel Heist, Ph.D., DAF Research Collaborative | Lisa Barr, CAP®, National Philanthropic Trust | Trish Davis, Susan G. Komen
Key takeaways + next steps
Some of the world-class experts featured
Dr. Russell James, J.D., Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor, Texas Tech
Michael Thatcher
President and CEO, Charity Navigator
Patrick Schmitt
Co-Founder and Co-CEO, FreeWill
Woodrow Rosenbaum
Chief Data Officer, GivingTuesday
Mallory Erickson
CEO, Practivated
Lisa Barr, CAP®
VP Development-West, National Philanthropic Trust
Laura Andes
Chief Program and Operating Officer, Charity Navigator
Dana Snyder
Founder and CEO, Positive Equation
Josh Alcorn
Co-Producer, Nonprofit Storytelling Conference
Shreyaa Venkat
Partnerships Manager - US + Canada, GivingTuesday
Trish Davis
VP of Strategic Philanthropy, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation
H. Daniel Heist, Ph.D.
Co-Founder, DAF Research Collective
Kathryn Mastandrea
Senior Director of Strategic Giving, Connecticut Foodshare
Nathan Hill
VP of Marketing, Avid
Christal M. Cherry
Founder, The Board Pro
Atashi Chakravarty
Senior Development Campaign Manager, SF-Marin Food Bank
Sarah K. Masterson
Donor Communications Consultant & Copywriter
Margaret “Meg” Bonham
Major Gifts Manager, Lake County Forest Preserves
Nicole Walton
Senior Director of Major & Planned Giving Strategy, FreeWill
Lauren Winther-Hansen
Nonprofit Training Lead, FreeWill
Lea Prince
VP of Ratings and Methodology, Charity Navigator
Kyle Gardner
Senior VP of Development, Charity Navigator
Desirnai' Hicks
Principal Strategist, FreeWill
Catie Martino
Principal Strategist, FreeWill
Built for development pros at every level.
Whether you're a one-person shop or running a team of 20, you can revisit the track built around your reality.
Leading the Way
For those who set the year-end strategy
Executive directors, VPs, CDOs, Board-level decision makers, and other leaders.
In the Trenches
For those who run the campaigns
Development directors, annual giving managers, campaign managers, direct response, and marketing and comms.
On the Front Line
For those who cultivate donors 1:1
Gift officers, development associates, and frontline fundraisers meeting with donors 1:1.
Co-presented by
Presenting sponsor
What nonprofits say about conferences produced by FreeWill.
Questions, answered.
Are all recordings free to access?
Yes. All sessions from the September 10 main event are now recorded and available to stream on-demand on YouTube. You can access the links from this page.
Is this a sales pitch?
No. The summit is produced by FreeWill and co-sponsored by Charity Navigator. The majority of speakers are development practitioners, not vendors. All of the content is educational and intended to be immediately actionable, whether you are a customer of one of the sponsors or not.
Are CFRE credits available?
CFRE credits are available for sessions that were attended live on September 10, 2026. This applies to all sessions except "Key takeaways + next steps" -- CFRE credits are not available for this session.
Who is this content for?
Any nonprofit development professional—from VPs and planned giving directors to individual contributors managing campaigns or donor stewardship. Whether you're new to fundraising strategy, deepening your expertise in a specific area, or looking for fresh perspectives on donor engagement, there are sessions for every level.
Will there be another Giving Season Summit in 2027?
While we haven’t solidified plans for a future summit yet, you can sign up to receive updates on future events by completing the form at the bottom of this page.
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