Finding New Friends: Sourcing New Supporters for Your Nonprofit in 2023

I'm a non-profit coach that empowers the new and existing generation of passionate non-profit founders with the tools to amplify their mission through transformative donor experiences and community-centric strategies. Melissa has over 10 years of experience in building relationships through higher education and fundraising. She currently is the Director of Annual Giving at Prisma Health Midlands Foundation while continuing to serve community nonprofits within her state and beyond. When she is not building donor engagement programs, she is spending time with her family in Lexington, SC .

Ellen Bristol is the President of Bristol Strategy Group. Ellen Bristol considers herself a performance-management nerd and a geek for metrics. Or maybe the other way around. Her mission is to improve the success of nonprofit fundraising by adapting the most beneficial practices of high-performing sales team and their managers, to improve the performance of fundraising teams, including volunteers. She's known for her Leaky Bucket Assessment for Effective Fundraising, the only popular study of fundraising-team productivity in the sector.

Dana joined the Grants Plus team in 2013 and assumed the role of CEO in 2022 as the firm marked 15 years of service and $300 million in grant funding for its nonprofit clients. During her tenure, she has innovated services, developed the Grants Plus standards of excellence for grant writing and equitable language, and served as a trusted advisor to hundreds of nonprofits, foundations, and partners. Prior to joining Grants Plus, Dana raised millions of dollars as a fund development leader for organizations including the ACLU of Northern California, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. To further equity and access in the philanthropic sector, Dana serves on the DEI Taskforce of The Giving Institute, the national association that produces the Giving USA Report.

Brian Lacy is a Data Consultant at NPO Info and is the principal of Brian Lacy and Associates, a fundraising and data services firm with more than 30 years of experience that provides leading industry resources and veteran talent to maximize opportunities across the giving spectrum. With Expertise in the North American market and connections across the philanthropic landscape, he and his team have worked from higher education to health care to religious and community charities and has created fundraising programs regardless of the size of team or budget. From annual giving solutions to major and principal giving strategies, they have helped more than 400 non-profits raise more than $1 Billion in philanthropic support.