Big Plans: Fundraising Strategies for 2024

Jeff is no stranger to fundraising events, having participated in them for over 25 years. He ran his first fundraiser in 2005 and has managed over 50 auction events and fundraisers for his own charities, not to mention hundreds more with Handbid. Jeff has been involved in technical product and software development since 1996 and has built and managed mobile app solutions since 2008. When it became clear that he and his wife, Kari Porter, needed a better solution for their fundraisers, developing a mobile bidding app was a no-brainer. The result? Jeff and his wife Kari developed and launched Handbid in 2011. The rest is what they call “history”.

Grace Green is a Partnership Success Specialist at Double the Donation, the leading automated matching gift software provider for nonprofits and educational institutions. Through Double the Donation's partnership program, Grace is able to work with other nonprofit technology leaders to empower organizations and help drive donations through employer matching gift programs.
Grace and team are committed to closing the billion dollar fundraising gap that exists between fundraising organizations and corporate giving programs to help organizations do more good.

Lauren is the Nonprofit Training lead at FreeWill. She creates highly lovable, best-in-class trainings and resources that help their 1,200 nonprofit partners drive fundraising success with the FreeWill tools, create connections among the nonprofit community, and make complex concepts simple and easy to understand. Lauren leads cross-functional collaboration across their Partner Success and Marketing teams to develop thought leadership for development professionals at nonprofit prospects and partners, disseminate valuable learnings and research to the nonprofit market, and teach FreeWill partners to adopt best practices in using FreeWill's tools and strategy to drive non-cash donations at scale.

Sean brings more than two decades of fundraising success and experience in achieving outstanding results for capital campaigns and other major development initiatives. As a non-profit professional, Sean has dedicated his career to creating impact on the world. Throughout his career, Sean has developed and closed successful capital campaigns, including a $30 million campaign for the Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute. He has also increased annual revenue by over 60% in 2 years at the Parkinson’s Foundation while upholding an extensive background in volunteer and board development and management. Equally, he increased revenue at the Diabetes Research Institute over 100% in 2 years during the pandemic.