The AFP Genesee Valley Chapter invites you to spice up your fundraising journey at our Annual Regional Conference on Tuesday, May 21, 2024.

This year, we're serving up a delectable theme: Ingredients for Impact: What's in Your Secret Sauce?

Get ready to blend creativity with strategy as we whip up a fundraising experience that transcends the ordinary—because in this kitchen, we're creating the recipe for a flavorful and impactful future.

Sink your teeth into insights from local nonprofit leaders who have mastered the art of fundraising adaptability in our ever-changing nonprofit kitchen. Engage in tantalizing discussions, savor the flavors of collaboration with local vendors and sponsors, and let the aroma of networking with fundraising connoisseurs fill the air. This is an experience that will be sure to leave your fundraising taste buds tingling. 

Who Should Attend?

This conference is ideal for those in fundraising, including board members, volunteers and executives who work in resource development. Anyone who is interested in learning more about fundraising best practices and expanding their professional network would also benefit.

Here's why you can’t miss this year’s conference:

• Immediate Impact Strategies & Actionable Takeaways: Gain practical tools and strategies tailored to Rochester's nonprofit landscape, offering immediate applicability to your fundraising efforts.
  

• Local Expertise: Sessions led by successful fundraising professionals within our community addressing the unique challenges faced in Rochester's nonprofit sector.
  

• Networking: Engage with fundraising professionals, local vendors, and sponsors to cultivate lasting relationships and impactful collaborations.

Cost To Attend

 *Scholarships are available (see below for more details)!

Click to See Who's Coming

Keynote 

Kevin Allan
CEO, Changing Our World

Kevin Allan is Chief Executive Officer at Changing Our World. Kevin has spent his entire career in social impact, as both a practitioner and a consultant.  

Kevin assumed his current role in 2023, one year after returning to the firm where he had previously spent a decade establishing our West Coast presence and leading our global health and development practice. He led Changing Our World’s work with The Global Fund during its 2010 $13 billion replenishment as well as multiple engagements with UNICEF and several of its national committees. Kevin has counseled CEOs and fundraising leaders, led studies, campaigns, and strategic planning efforts, and supported board development and engagement for clients including California State Parks Foundation, Stand Up 2 Cancer, the U.S. Green Building Council, Texas Children’s Hospital, the National 4H Council, and YMCA of Greater New York.   

Kevin has headed vibrant development and private sector engagement programs at organizations as diverse as those he has counseled – The Culinary Institute of America, Children’s Aid, and Americares, where he oversaw all private support, including more than $575 million in annual product donations from pharmaceutical and medical supply manufacturers.  

A San Francisco native, Kevin holds an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from The New School and later taught in the program. Prior to his first tenure at Changing Our World, he was the Development Director at a community foundation, supported the charitable activities of a family office, and worked with Project Concern International in India, an experience that ignited his passion for helping organizations do more for vulnerable populations. He is the Chair of Dutchess Tourism, Dutchess County’s official destination marketing organization, and is an avid, if amateur, cook and gardener. 

Who Should Attend?

This conference is ideal for those in fundraising, including board members, volunteers and executives who work in resource development. Anyone who is interested in learning more about fundraising best practices and expanding their professional network would also benefit.

Here's why you can’t miss this year’s conference:

• Immediate Impact Strategies & Actionable Takeaways: Gain practical tools and strategies tailored to Rochester's nonprofit landscape, offering immediate applicability to your fundraising efforts.
  

• Local Expertise: Sessions led by successful fundraising professionals within our community addressing the unique challenges faced in Rochester's nonprofit sector.
  

• Networking: Engage with fundraising professionals, local vendors, and sponsors to cultivate lasting relationships and impactful collaborations.

Scholarships Available

Please consider applying for one of five generous Meyers Scholarships, which cover the full cost of the conference and are made possible through the generosity of past AFPGV President and longtime Rochester advancement leader, Dan Meyers. Click Here for More Information and to Apply

Sponsorship Opportunities

Our conference is made possible in part by the support of our generous sponsors. Want to become a sponsor and partner with us on our conference? Click Here to Learn More

Call for Speakers

Let us know your recipe for successful fundraising! With so many ingredients out there – AI, planned giving, social media, consultants – what’s working for you?  What isn’t working for you?

We’re looking for 2 or 3 speakers for the main sessions of the conference (35 min in length with 10 min for Q&A.) and 10-12 facilitators to lead the table topics session. (45 min in length.) 

Send us your proposal by March 1, 2024 by filling out the Call for Speakers application here. 

Pre-Conference Session

This session will be facilitated by Alexandra Bailey, Development Manager at St. John's Home Foundation, and Alison MacKenzie, Development Officer with Rochester Regional Health Foundations, of the AFPGV Membership Committee.  The Pre-Conference Session is intended for those who are new to AFP and/or fundraising, or interested in learning more about our chapter and the benefits of membership.

A presentation will be given followed by a panel discussion with seasoned AFPGV members and fundraising professionals, including AFPGV President Danielle Pierleoni, MPA, Advancement Officer at Heritage Christian Services, Charles Levengood, Director of Development at the Seneca Park Zoo, and Felicia Garcia-Hartstein, Executive Director, Campaign Management and Special Initiatives at University of Rochester.  Attendees will hear about each panel speaker’s career journey and be able to ask questions of them related to navigating and advancing your fundraising career.

Coffee and light refreshments will be provided.