Events
Upcoming CCF Global, Chapter, and Affiliated Events
CCF Greater L.A. Real World: Using the Principles in Your Organization, Virtual, August 12
Most of us work inside organizations that weren’t built around CCF — and the gap between the principles we believe in and the systems we operate in can feel wide. This session is a space to explore what it actually looks like to integrate CCF values into day-to-day fundraising practice. Our speaker, Esther Saehyun Lee, MA — former CCF Global Council member, current CCF Emeritus Council member, and founder of Elevate Philanthropy Consulting — brings both lived experience and practical expertise to this question.
Come ready to share: bring something that’s working, a small win, a shift you’ve made, or an example you’ve seen. And bring your real questions — the thorny ones about donor relationships, internal resistance, or where you’re just not sure what CCF-aligned looks like in practice. The goal is an honest, grounded conversation.
Speaker:
Esther Saehyun Lee, MA (she/her) is the founder of Elevate Philanthropy Consulting, a fundraising and strategy practice that works with small and mid-sized nonprofits across Canada and the United States. She is a Trauma of Money™ certified fundraiser, storyteller, and advocate whose work centres on mobilizing resources to communities that have been deliberately divested from.
She partners with nonprofit leaders to build fundraising capacity and ground their organizations in equity-aligned practice. Her approach is shaped by Community-Centric Fundraising values and a belief that how we raise money is as important as how much we raise.
She brings this commitment into the broader sector through her roles as a CCF Emeritus Council member and co-lead of the Asian Fundraisers in Canada Collective, where she works to create space for fundraisers of colour and challenge the structures that concentrate power in the sector. Outside of her consulting work, Esther is an amateur banjo player and a devoted cat mom.
Wednesday, August 12, 12-1 pm Pacific Time. Register to join.
CCF Denver Virtual Troika Consulting Sesh, August 19
Gather in community with other community-centric fundraisers from the Denver area online to problem-solve with each other!
CCF Denver is taking a break from our regularly scheduled meetings for the summer. But, this summer, in June, July, and August, CCF Denver will have virtual sessions on the third Wednesday of the month from 2-3 pm. We’re going to use the Troika Consulting format which has been used successfully by CCF Texas for years!
Troika Consulting is a peer coaching practice where you bring a real challenge, get fresh perspective from two colleagues, and return the favor. It’s fast, generative, and a great way to tap the collective wisdom in the room. Come ready to share something you’re actually working through and to listen deeply to other’s challenges.
Wednesday, August 19, 2-3 pm Mountain Time. Register to join.
CCF WA Ignite! Waterfront Summer Social, Tacoma, August 20
Join Community-Centric Fundraising WA Ignite! Chapter for a fun waterfront summer social happy hour!
Thursday, August 20, 4-6 pm Pacific Time. Register to join.
CCF Denver Social at Town Hall Collaborative’s Board Game Social, Denver, August 25
It’s a socialception! Join CCF Denver for their Chapter Social on Tuesday, August 25 from 6:00-10:00 pm at the Town Hall Collaborative’s free Board Game Social! And you are welcome and encouraged to bring your partners, datemates, and/or friends (21+) to this CCF Denver social!
About Town Hall Collaborative’s Free Board Game Social:
There will be board games and drinks (alcoholic and non). This is free and welcoming to all ages 21+.
Whether you’re a seasoned strategist, a casual gamer, or someone who just wants to meet new people in a relaxed setting, this event is for you. They’ll have a selection of games available, and you’re also encouraged to bring your own favorites to share with the group.
Some regular crowd-pleasers include Ticket to Ride, Codenames, Camel Up, and Hues & Clues. If there’s interest, they may also fire up some Jackbox games on the projector screen.
🕕 Game play begins at 6:30 PM, so plan to arrive a little early to grab a drink, find the other CCFers in the crowd, socialize, and decide which game you’d like to join.
Tuesday, August 25, 6-10 pm Mountain Time. Register to join.
CCF Denver Monthly Meet Up, Multiple Dates and Locations
Are you a Community-Centric Fundraiser? Interested in learning more about what that means or going deeper in your learning to address inequity and injustice in the philanthropy sector? Gather with others to discuss topics relevant for your work and how we can all work towards meaningful change in our sector!
Come prepared to reconnect (or connect for the first time), discuss things relevant to your work and the state of the world, and gather with others to continue this Community-Centric Fundraising movement in Denver and Colorado!
We are limiting attendance to 30 people. Please RSVP to reserve your spot, and if you can no longer attend for any reason, please cancel your spot to free it up to someone else.
Sessions:
Denver, Wednesday, September 16, 1:00-3:00 pm Mountain. Register to join.
Virtual, Wednesday, October 21, 2:00-3:00 pm Mountain. Register to join.
CCF WA Ignite! Lunch & Learn, Tacoma, Multiple Dates
Monthly offering to talk about Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF), the principles, and get to know each other. Western WA has started our own Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) Chapter! So come join us for this meet up as we work to establish a network of CCF folks in Western Washington. There’s no better time than this moment for us to come together in community, build solidarity, and strategize on how to keep the work moving.
Where: YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties Association Office, 4717 S 19th St, Ste 201, Tacoma, WA
Sessions:
Thursday, September 17, 12:00-1:00 pm, Register to join.
Thursday, October 15, 12:00-1:00 pm, Register to join.
CCF Grief Circle, Nests as Sanctuary: Creating Moments to Feel in Times of Deep Grief and Transition, Virtual, September 17
In a time when we feel the weight and deep, prolonged pain within our personal and outer worlds, it can feel as if there is no space for us to truly grieve. In this 1.5hr session, join Goddess of Sun Seed Community LLC in creating a nest of sanctuary to feel into our own bodies, hearts, and minds.
This space is meant to be filled with your own experience and energy. You are welcome to adapt our time together however you see fit, and come back to the nest you made whenever you need to post session.
About Our Facilitator: Goddess
Goddess (they/them) is the Proud MoMo of Sun Seed Community; a platform for the practice of collective healing. Creating Goddess’ tools of liberation took a whole community of support, and they hope their village’s stories can resonate with others. They graduated from the Healing Arts Institute of Massage in October of 2018 and continue to explore conflict care, therapeutic and spiritual practices, while facilitating org and community workshops. You can usually find them in the “pagan” section of the bookstore, sitting in the back of a concert, caressing crystals at your local metaphysical shop, or binge-watching old sci-fi movies while cooking.
NOTE: This session is open to BIPOC individuals only. Please respect the intention of this space and only register if you are BIPOC, defined as people who are descendants of: Africa, Asia, Indigenous/First Nations, Latine people of color, and SWANA (Southwest Asia and North African) people of color, or anyone of mixed racial or ethnic heritage including one or more of the above.
If you are white, we respectfully ask you to skip this session. Disrespecting this boundary violates our safety and healing.
Where: Virtual, on Zoom
When: Thursday, September 17, 12:00-1:00 pm Mountain Time, Register to join.
CCF Family Reunion, San Diego, April 10, 2027
Join us for the CCF Family Reunion on Saturday, April 10 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA!
The CCF Family Reunion will provide an opportunity for CCFers to connect and come together as a community, build meaningful relationships with one another, and take part in sessions that interest us, and ones that are typically missing from other conferences.
When: Saturday, April 10, 2027
Where: TBD, Baltimore, MD
Learn more and Register to join to take advantage of the early bird discount!
Past Events with Public Recordings
CCF + Social Change Ecosystem
Community-Centric Fundraising’s Rachel D’Souza talked with Building Movement Project’s Deepa Iyer, creator of the Social Change Ecosystem about how to determine your role in the Social Change Ecosystem and what we can all do to meet the challenges our sector currently faces.
A Conversation About Giving in Different Contexts and Countries
In January 2025, Carol Ng’ang’a wrote an article for CCF’s Content Hub titled “‘Poor people’ don’t ‘give back.’ They just give.” In it, she discusses the concept of modern-day philanthropy — where businesses make ridiculous profits on the backs of labourers and consumers, and then “give back” the the communities from which they just extracted.
In Kenya — a country that has consistently been ranked among the most generous countries in the world, and is also part of the Global Majority, Global South, and lower middle-income countries of the world —they don’t “give back,” they just give.
During this conversation between Carol Ng’ang’a (Kenya) and Martha Lidia Oxi Chuy (Guatemala), Carol shared why she wrote the article and the feedback she received. Carol and Lidia reflected on the article and what is similar given their different contexts.
Rooted & Rising: A Community-Centric Conference for Fundraisers
As a movement that prioritizes community over individual, fosters belonging and interdependence, and encourages mutual support, we are proud to create this virtual space for meaningful connection and transformative learning. Here are some of the sessions from that virtual event:
Asians in CCF Instagram Live
In honor of Asian American Heritage Month, Global Council members Rachel D’Souza and Esther Saehyun Lee hosted an Instagram Live on May 14, 2025 to share their stories, obstacles, and aspirations to ease other’s journey and provide fertile ground for the long road to liberation ahead. The conversation began with their article, “Navigating justice as the ‘model’ minority: Asian solidarity and allyship in BIPOC movements.“
Instagram Live: Liberation and Language, ft. April Walker
An online event held on August 15, 2024. Global Council member Kelly Phipps interviewed April Walker, founder and CEO of Philanthropy for the People and multiple essayist in The CCF Content Hub, on liberatory language in fundraising.
Navigating Policy and Advocacy: Essential Skills for CCF Practitioners
An online event held on July 22, 2024. Rachel D’Souza, CCF Global Council Member and Founder of Gladiator Consulting shared insights designed to empower non-profit organizations with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the complex world of policy. This session explored the critical role that policy plays in shaping the landscape of our work in communities and how non-profits can effectively advocate for policies that support their missions.
Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) and Nonprofit Leadership
An online event held on June 20, 2024. What does the Community Centric Fundraising (CCF) movement mean to nonprofit leaders who are not fundraisers? What does it mean to be a community-centric institution? How are organizational leaders living and breathing CCF? How has CCF informed your nonprofit leadership? Also, if you’re trying to move your organization towards CCF principles, how can you influence leadership to take action? Sommer Dawson and Rickesh Lakhani, as nonprofit executive directors use their knowledge of CCF principles to lead their organizations. Hear their responses to these questions and more!
CCF en Español-Invitación a la Primera Presentación de los Principios de CCF
Un evento en línea celebrado el 26 de abril, 2024. Nuestra primera presentación en español de los principios de CCF y descubre cómo puedes ser parte de este movimiento global!
Africa Rising: A Virtual Meet Up
An online event held on March 14, 2024. This gathering was all celebrating the incredible talent, innovation, and potential of Africa. With engaging discussions and networking opportunities, this event was a must-attend for anyone passionate about Africa’s growth and development.
Instagram Live: What does it mean to be a disrupter in an institution?
An online event held on February 21, 2024. Several members of the CCF Global Council hold AFP roles. Let’s talk about what that means in the social change movement ecosystem. What does it mean to be a disrupter in an institution? How do we make sure that we are curious about how people are being helped by institutions — regardless of if we’re a burn it all down advocate, a reformer, or an incremental changer? Hear from Esther Lee, Rachel D’Souza, and Sommer Dawson of the CCF Global Council are using their roles in AFP and pushing forward new visions of the future.
CCF One-Year Anniversary Celebration
An online event held on August 25, 2021. Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF) celebrated one year of movement building. We heard updates from co-chairs, Andrea Arenas and Michelle Muri, and were in community through dialogue and fun games.
Data says: What BIPOC fundraisers have known for years!
An online event held on July 24, 2020. “Data Says! What BIPOC fundraisers have known for years — and what the rest of us are only now catching onto’ is an opportunity to explore what white and BIPOC professionals think about fundraising practices in the nonprofit sector — how they agree and where they differ.
Let’s make fundraising less racist. A 2020 CCF launch event
An online event held on July 13, 2020. A Community-Centric Fundraising launch event, an opportunity to explore a world beyond capitalism and the nonprofit industrial complex.