CCF Family Reunion

Session Descriptions

Family Reunion Session Descriptions

This year, we will have sessions in English and sessions in Spanish! All sessions will be listed here in alphabetical order until we have a schedule of when they will be presented.

Stay tuned! More sessions coming!

But what do I specifically do? CCF and fundraising tactics

A panel on specific tactics you can take to increase your equity game, led by facilitator: Marcus Cunningham.

Panelists: April Walker, Kelly Phipps, Lucas Land, Nate Levin-Aspenson

Who should attend: Folks who are ready to move beyond theory and into practice!

Presenters: April Walker (she/her), CEO of Philanthropy for the People™; Kelly Phipps (she/her), a doting auntie, book nerd, and dog-cuddles enthusiast; Lucas Land, CFRE (they/them), Director of Development at The Dolores Project; and Nate Levin-Aspenson (he/him), a writer, fundraiser, and consultant based in Denton, Texas

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CCF en Español — Presentación de los Principios de CCF

En esta sesión crearemos un espacio para que las personas hispanohablantes de la comunidad de Community-Centric Fundraising podamos encontrarnos y conectarnos.

Exploraremos los 10 principios de CCF en un espacio participativo donde las personas podrán compartir cómo están presentes en nuestra labor diaria. Saldrás con ejemplos prácticos y nuevas conexiones con otras personas del movimiento.

Quien deberia de venir: Las personas que son nuevas en el movimiento.

Presenter: Jenny Brandt (she/her/ella), directora de operaciones de Community-Centric Fundraising

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Community-Centric Fundraising Isn’t a Dropdown Field: What Our Data Systems Teach Us About Power and Participation

Community-Centric Fundraising is a movement rooted in equity, justice, and shared abundance, but the systems we rely on every day in our philanthropic work can either bring those values to life or unintentionally undermine them. Behind every campaign, report query, and dashboard lies a power dynamic that determines whose generosity is recognized, whose time is valued, and whose relationship to the organization is elevated or erased.

This session endeavors to examine how data practices, CRM structures, AI powered automation, and digital tools shape outcomes long before a fundraiser ever makes an ask. Participants will interrogate common practices such as donor segmentation, engagement scoring, and gift attribution, through a lens rooted in transparency, belonging, and collective benefit.

Grounded in real-world DevOps scenarios and practitioner experience, this participatory session moves beyond surface-level efficiency toward values-aligned systems design. Attendees will explore how to reduce extractive labor without reducing people to anonymous data points, and how to build operational practices that honor consent, context, and care.

Who should attend: Folks who are data driven and interested in systems or work flows.

Presenter: Jennifer Li Dotson 李麗玲 (she/her) is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® and Strategic Advisor for AI in Fundraising, and Dwight Frederick (he/him), Cofounder of Gratyd

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Creativity as Medicine: Ancestral Wisdom, Health, and Building a New World

Creativity is not a luxury, it is a necessary tool in times of climate crisis, collective burnout, and social fragmentation. This session explores the intersection of creativity, health, and climate change, drawing on ancestral and land-based wisdom as vital tools for healing, nervous system regulation, and imagining new futures. Using LiberArte Inc. as a case example, participants will learn how creativity can be cultivated as both a personal and community practice for building resilience and transformative climate action.

Who should attend: Folks who work in climate justice or climate change work, folks who work directly with climate or environmental change donors, and fundraisers looking for real-world examples of power-shifting with a climate or environmental justice case study.

Presenter: Alexandra Peek (she/her), Herbalist & Sovereign Community Development Specialist, LiberArte Board Member

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The Donor Convo We've Been Afraid To Have (And Why We Need To Have It Now)

You know that conversation – the one where we stop making the donor the hero and start talking real about our community’s challenges without reducing them to sad caricatures in need of rescue? Especially now, when the communities we work with are facing increased attacks and our work itself is under scrutiny, this session tackles the fears we’ve been carrying about having vulnerable conversations with donors and offers practical strategies to build genuine connections that center community expertise, navigate power dynamics with honesty, and position donors as contributors to collective movements led by community wisdom.

Who should attend: Folks who work directly with donors and staff who work in donor-centric organizations

Presenter: Frank Velásquez Jr. (he/his/el), Founder of 4 Da Hood

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Facing Feedback: Adventures in Emotional Capacity

Calling all changemakers! Get ready to dive into feedback as a practice. This session is all about turning those sometimes cringe-worthy feedback moments into opportunities for growth and connection – and having some laughs along the way!

Listen, from human to fellow human, I know feedback can sometimes feel like a rollercoaster – but it IS possible to enjoy the ride. We’ll talk about feedback frameworks, no confusing corporate jargon – just real talk about how to give and receive feedback that helps everyone thrive, and explore various models and techniques, making them accessible and relevant to your unique experiences and challenges.

Let’s build that emotional discipline! It’s challenging sometimes to stay cool, calm, and collected when feedback comes your way (especially when it feels like it’s coming in hot). By focusing on resilience and empathy, our time together will explore how introspection can help us handle feedback positively and productively, turning potentially stressful moments into opportunities for personal growth.

Explore how to make feedback a cornerstone of your community work. Because let’s be real, communities grow stronger when we’re open, honest, and supportive. You’ll learn how to integrate feedback into your practice, enhancing engagement and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.

We’ll mix in some humor, share stories, and maybe even throw in a little friendly venting session. By the end, you’ll leave with practical tools, a lighter heart, and a deeper appreciation for the power of feedback. Join us for a session that’s as uplifting as it is informative. Embrace the adventure of emotional capacity and transform feedback into your new superpower!

Who should attend: Everyone and everyone who needs some help giving and receiving feedback.

Presenter: Dāna James (she/her), a key member of Berklee’s Alumni Affairs team and formerly the Community Architect for Community-Centric Fundraising (CCF)

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From extraction to reciprocation: How communities can reclaim capital flow and redefine funder engagement

Since the beginning of gilded age philanthropy and the Gospel of Wealth, fundraising and philanthropy have been shaped by extractive norms: funders hold power, communities are positioned as beneficiaries rather than decision-makers, and success is measured by compliance rather than community well-being. The Community-Centric Fundraising movement challenges these dynamics by asking a deeper question: What would it look like if communities governed capital instead of chasing it?

This session explores how community-led capital design can transform funder engagement from transactional to relational, and from charity to shared responsibility. Drawing from Indigenous economic frameworks, gifting economies, and the lived practice of Turtle Island Community Capital, the session offers a concrete look at how capital can circulate in ways that strengthen trust, accountability, and long-term resilience.

Participants will engage with real-world examples of community-governed funds, blended capital strategies, and funder partnerships that move decision-making power closer to the people most impacted. The session will examine how Indigenous values: reciprocity, responsibility, relational accountability, and collective care, can be translated into practical fundraising and capital-flow strategies that align with CCF’s call to reject scarcity narratives, saviorism, and extractive practices.

Rather than presenting a single “model,” this session invites participants into a shared inquiry: how fundraisers, funders, and movement leaders can redesign the relationships around money. Through case examples, guided reflection, and peer exchange, attendees will leave with language, frameworks, and concrete practices they can adapt within their own organizations and funding relationships.

Who should attend: This session is designed for fundraisers, nonprofit leaders, and funders who are ready to move beyond critique and into practice—building capital systems that are accountable to community, rooted in trust, and aligned with movement values.

Presenter: Alexander “Brave Journey” Sterling (he/they) is the Co-Founder and CEO of Turtle Island Community Capital and Cecelia Caspram (she/her), a social worker, professional fundraiser, mystical priest, teacher, coach, and more.

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From Silos to Solidarity through Action, Community, and Learning with CCF San Diego

This session shares the story and evolution of Community-Centric Fundraising San Diego—a growing community of more than 100 members and co-stewards practicing shared leadership and collective care. Grounded in our pillars of Action, Community, and Learning, we’ll reflect on how being a values-aligned community of practice has shaped our people, our work,
and our ability to move through challenge with intention. We’ll also explore the emergence of the San Diego Solidarity Network as an invitation to pull up more chairs, activate new relationships, and grow collective power together.

Who should attend: Folks who want to build their own CCF Chapter or grow collective power.

Presenters: Dan Mueller (they/she), Director of Strategy & Impact at Hammond Climate Solutions Foundation, Elise Baker (she/her), Director of Regional Philanthropy at GRID Alternatives, and Shantel Suaréz Ávila (she/her/ella), Founder & Principal Strategist at Más Allá Consulting

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Ignite your donor ground game: How to fire up your community-powered giving, the Mamdani way

Is your team still relying on old-school fundraising tactics and using one-size-fits-all donor messaging? Y’all… people are bored of the boilerplate! It’s time to update the dusty playbook and watch your affiliate’s donor ground game explode. Join Golden Thread for a session focused on infusing your fundraising strategy with bold authenticity, joyful engagement, and modern hyper-localized comms (no stale scripts allowed!) to meet the moment and energize small-dollar donors to raise big funds. We’ll use Zohran Mamdani’s winning campaign for Mayor of NYC as a case study for how to successfully build an impeccable community-centric fundraising engine that proves people-power trumps deep pockets in 2026 and beyond.

Whether you’re a development team of 1 or 15+, you’ll leave with fresh ideas to help break through the noise and supercharge giving across your broadest (and most eager to be engaged) donor pool.

Who should attend: Fundraisers aiming to expand small-donor engagement, development staff who want to implement authentic and dynamic donor comms strategies, and anyone who wants to mobilize their full supporter base, not just major donors.

Presenter: Grace Weil (she/her), Golden Thread Consulting, CEO & Founder

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It's Dangerous to Go Alone, Take This: Building Coalitions to Secure and Protect Institutional Funding

2025 saw what I am required by law and good standards to call “unprecedented attacks” on the nonprofit sector, from massive federal cuts to all-time low trust in nonprofits. A few institutional funders have stepped up to bring additional emergency funding to the table, but most seem to be waiting to fund whichever organizations survive the culling.

It is a bad time to try to go it alone.

Fortunately, the same tool can help win funding, build trust, and protect your work from outside attacks, and it also happens to be one of the most powerful tools in the world: cooperation.

In this session, we will learn more about how to cultivate multilateral coalitions to win institutional funding, strengthen community ties, and prepare to defend your work and the community you serve from bad faith outside actors.

Who should attend: Folks who want to learn how to community build and cooperate within the communities you build.

Presenter: Nate Levin-Aspenson (he/him), a writer, fundraiser, and consultant based in Denton, Texas

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La rebelión está en nuestra cultura: Cómo el sector de las artes y la cultura es el corazón de nuestro movimiento

El sector sin fines de lucro es enorme y cada una de sus partes son vitales para las comunidades a las que sirven. CCF sirve como un movimiento que aspira a ese mundo mejor que la filantropía siempre ha prometido, pero que aún no ha logrado crear. En este sentido, CCF ha sido percibida como la chispa de una guerra cultural dentro del campo filantrópico.

Esta sesión ilustra el impacto que ejerce el sector de las artes y la cultura dentro del ámbito sin fines de lucro, y muestra cómo esto puede contribuir a encender y reimaginar los principios de CCF en su propios trabajos y mentalidad. Vengan a descubrir cómo, y a través de las artes, los artistas y profesionales de este sector se rebelan contra los sistemas y por qué el sector es importante para nuestra lucha.

Quien deberia de venir:
Personas que trabajan o han trabajado en el sector de las artes y la cultura; personas que no han trabajado en dicho sector; personas que necesitan un recordatorio de esperanza, alegría y creatividad en este mundo; profesionales de la recaudación de fondos que tal vez se sientan un tanto cansados de nuestro campo; y cualquiera que desee echarse una o dos risas.

Presenter: Carlos García León (él/elle) es una persona Queer/Cuir, no-binarie, latine, mexicane-estadounidense y un pequeño revolucionario.

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Pluralidad sin neutralidad: Practicando la recaudación de fondos a través de la diferencia y el poder

El trabajo en la recaudación de fondos está lleno de tensiones ya sea entre valores y recursos, entre relaciones y poder, o entre verdades complejas. Esta sesión invita a quienes trabajan en la recaudación de fondos a practicar la pluralidad como una forma relacional y consciente de actuar en medio de diferencias, desigualdades de poder. Desde un enfoque práctico, basado en los principios de CCF y inspirado en el Mythic Plurality Project, exploramos cómo los relatos de heroísmo han moldeado nuestros movimientos y la filantropía, mostrando tanto su capacidad de movilizar como de silenciar.. A través de conversación, reflexión y práctica, trabajaremos formas concretas de construir pertenencia y sostener el cuidado del pueblo: usando el lenguaje con intención, atravesando el conflicto para construir algo más justo y movilizando recursos sin reproducir daño ni fragmentación.

Quien deberia de venir:
Personas que trabajan en la recaudación de fondos y buscan una práctica más relacional y integral; profesionales que navegan tensiones entre valores, poder y recursos. Quienes se sienten cansados de los enfoques tradicionales y quieren nuevas formas de hacer este trabajo. También es para cualquier persona interesada en construir pertenencia con su pueblo y comunidad.

Presenter: Naya Diaz (ella/she/her) es hija de campesinos inmigrantes y la creadora del Mythic Plurality Project.

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We have to talk about AI, so here it is

A panel about AI, led by facilitator: Abigail Oduol.

Panelists: Carlos García León, Jennifer Li Dotson, and Lucas Land.

Who should attend: Folks who are concerned about the impacts of AI, folks who want to learn how to use AI in an ethical way (if it can be), and everyone inbetween.

Presenter: Carlos García León (he/they; él/elle) is a queer, non-binary, Latine, Mexican-Statesian, and cute little revolutionist, Jennifer Li Dotson 李麗玲 (she/her) is a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy® and Strategic Advisor for AI in Fundraising; and Lucas Land, CFRE (they/them), Director of Development at The Dolores Project.

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Who Benefits? A Borderland Case Study in Community-Led Climate Justice

From environmental justice to climate justice, much of today’s climate work still reproduces nature injustice by prioritizing top-down solutions that never meaningfully reach communities. Grounded in a case study of El Paso, Texas, this session highlights the gap between climate policy and grassroots climate action happening at the city and neighborhood level. The conversation will explore how power-shifting and community-centric fundraising can resource locally led, circular economies that reverse climate harm while strengthening community health and self-determination and the Earth.