Lautman Maska Neill and Company

The Nonprofit Alliance: Essential Leadership Lab
2025-01-01 - 2025-12-31 | Virtual
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The TNPA Leadership Steering Committee is thrilled to launch Essential Leadership Lab as the program marks its fifth year. This initiative, a crucial resource for nonprofit leaders, offers virtual cohorts, skill development, and a robust support network. Over the course of a year, the program includes twelve monthly virtual sessions addressing critical nonprofit sector issues. Participants have the flexibility to choose and engage in nine out of the twelve sessions aligned with their interests.

January 2025 | Essential Leadership Lab Reunion
All past, current, and registered-for-the-future Lab participants are INVITED and WELCOME! The Lab Reunion will be a time to learn, network, and celebrate the leaders of our sector.
February 2025 | Leading in a Polarized World
Our world feels more polarized every day. As leaders, we need to be able to navigate this reality to ensure that our teams work together respectfully, regardless of personal opinions. We are responsible for maintaining the integrity of our missions, for ourselves and for our many constituencies. When do we open discussions, when do we set them aside, and how do we guide ourselves, our teams, and our organizations through these polarized times?
March 2025 | Women in Leadership (Not Just for Women!)
Studies show that women often do not feel supported in the workplace. Although nonprofit staffing is more than 75% female, fewer than half of the C-level leadership positions are held by women in nonprofits. Together, we will explore how that lack of support manifests in our teams and organizations, what better support and development could look like, and what we can do it about – both as women and as allies.
April 2025 | HOT TOPIC
What is the most perplexing, vexing, or critical topic you must grapple with right now? Lab participants have input and one HOT TOPIC will be selected for the focus for April.
May 2025 | Creating Culture in a Remote World: What have we learned?
We will be 5 years away from the start of the pandemic and hybrid and remote work have become the norm. This session will be a chance to step back, assess best practices, and consider how our colleagues have tackled some of the challenges.
June 2025 | Ethical Storytelling
Telling the story of missions has evolved radically over the past few years, impacted by the pandemic, the rising awareness of ongoing inequities in our society, and the role that storytelling can play in furthering our organizations’ missions and creating a more responsible world. Join us to learn the most up-to-date state of ethical storytelling, including the ethical use of AI in generating those stories.
July 2025 | Motivating a Workforce
We have got our eyes on the prize, stretching to meet our goals. We expect a lot from our staff, and we cannot do it without each of them. How can you motivate a diverse team of individuals to keep them productive, efficient, and committed to the work? This session will explore current shifts in workforce motivation theory, with real-world discussion of what other organizations and agencies find effective.
August 2025 | HOT TOPIC
What is the most perplexing, vexing, or critical topic you must grapple with right now? Lab participants have input, and one HOT TOPIC will be selected as the focus for August.
September 2025 | Navigating Change
Do you feel like the rate of new approaches to our work has accelerated? Are you facing a shift in your personal work or in the structure of your team or organization? Change is inevitable, but how you manage that change will determine your (and your team’s or organization’s) future success. Learn cutting-edge concepts of change management and how to guide teams through change. Work with your Lab cohort to determine how these ideas apply to your current work.
October 2025 | Leadership Pipeline and the Next Generation of Leaders
As leaders, it is our job to regularly step back from the day-to-day and envision our work—and our teams—in the future. Are you identifying your next generation of leaders? What can we do now to ensure there are top-notch people ready to lead our organizations five, ten, or even twenty years from now?
November 2025 | Breaking Down Silos
We all know how successful a campaign can be with buy-in from more than one department. Our own team’s work can be stronger with support from other teams. In this session, we will explore success stories of work “across silos,” the factors that made it possible, and the results. We will identify places in our own work that would benefit from the input or support of someone outside our department and steps to overcome the perceived barriers.
December 2025 | Providing Challenging Feedback
It’s only human to avoid giving difficult feedback. Yet, it is crucial to deliver that feedback to help your staff grow, deliver, and be the best contributors they can be. In this session, we will consider recent research on best practices in giving feedback, and each develop our own style for giving feedback that feels authentic – and do-able.

AFP Fundraising Day in New York
2025-06-13 | New York, NY
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Friday, June 13, 2025
Fundraising Day in New York stands as the largest one-day conference focused on philanthropy. Attendees will engage in a diverse range of sessions, exploring everything from current trends to emerging strategies in fundraising. Led by renowned leaders and seasoned experts in the field, these sessions offer valuable insights and opportunities to forge impactful connections.

2025 Bridge Conference
2025-07-30 - 2025-08-01
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Wednesday, July 30, 2025
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Copywriting Clinic for Direct Response Fundraisers
Great fundraising copy is both an art and a science. In this pre-conference workshop, you’ll learn to craft, edit, and direct winning copy. We’ll cover successful on and offline copy elements, effective review and editing, and ethical guidelines. Small groups will practice real-time editing. We’ll also focus on specialized copy for renewals, planned giving, monthly giving, and capital campaigns. The second part of the day will focus on collaborating with fundraising partners, including working with copywriters and improving nonprofit-agency relationships. Gain skills to immediately boost your direct-response fundraising effectiveness.

Learning Objectives

Understand what makes strong fundraising copy for both on and offline direct response efforts and how to review and edit copy successfully.
Discern how to craft messages for different types of fundraising appeals including renewals, planned giving, capital campaigns, and monthly giving.
Discover how to work effectively with copywriters, agencies, and organizations to craft winning fundraising copy together.

Speakers

Amy Sukol, CFRE
Principal
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.

Rayna Clarke
Senior Account Manager
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.
Vicki Viera
Vice President
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.

Thursday, July 31, 2025
11:35 AM – 12:35 PM
Ready When It Counts: Optimizing your Program to Maximize Big Moments
Is your direct response program ready to seize the moment when a fundraising opportunity strikes? In this session, you’ll hear from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on how they proactively optimized their direct response acquisition program to improve efficiency, cost to acquire, and overall file performance before a big moment hit. By having a nimble and thoughtful program in place, they were able to capture the full potential of a surge moment. You’ll learn proven techniques to evaluate and strengthen your own acquisition program, strategically reduce costs without hurting performance, and re-focus resources to drive rapid decision-making. Our goal is to provide attendees with tactics for looking at their program with fresh eyes to improve performance at any time, so they can be ready to maximize their next big fundraising opportunity.

Learning Objectives

Identify key areas to evaluate and optimize to reduce costs while maintaining or improving performance
Apply proven tactics to refine creative, audience, and process with fresh eyes to maximize their ROI
Develop a proactive strategy to prepare their program for big fundraising moments

Speakers

Angela Nothdurft
Account Director
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.

Madeleine Durante
Associate Director, Donor Acquisition & Reinstatement
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Thursday, July 31, 2025
2:30 – 3:30 PM
Email Deliverability: How to Avoid Landing in the Junk Folder and Rebuild If You Do!
Get a front-row seat to Reading Is Fundamental’s experience in Gmail’s junk folder. Take a look at what data was used to discover the deliverability problem, the negative impact on revenue, and marketing efforts. Watch as RIF unites to implement an inter-departmental AND inter-agency reputation rebuilding strategy to rebuild trust with email service providers across the board, re-activate their email file with engaging email content, and find the inbox again, stronger than before!

Learning Objectives

Learn how to get key stakeholders at your organization to take deliverability & digital reputation seriously.
Develop and implement a complicated, segmented email strategy designed to increase digital reputation and keep you out of the junk folder.
Get ideas for evergreen email engagement content that will increase opens and clicks to help build (or re-build) your org’s email reputation.

Speakers

Lindsey Twombly
Digital Production Director
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.

Laura Rahman
Vice President, Individual Giving
Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)

Thursday, July 31, 2025
2:30 – 3:30 PM

Friday, August 1, 2025
9:10 – 10:10 AM

Troubleshooting a Crisis in Direct Mail Production
It’s 8:45 AM. You’ve just settled in with your coffee and a full to-do list when the call comes in: Something has gone sideways in your direct mail production schedule, and your attention is urgently needed. Sound familiar?
Crises in direct mail production are never fun, but how you troubleshoot can make or break the success of your campaign. Whether you’re a client or a production partner, navigating these unexpected twists requires quick thinking, clear communication, and a solid toolkit of real-world experience.
In this interactive session, industry pros Christiana Trenum and Cindy Barham will walk you through three real-life crisis scenarios drawn from years in the trenches. They’ll share lessons learned, practical vocabulary to use with printers and mailshops, and insider tips to help you identify the right solutions fast. You’ll also participate in a hands-on troubleshooting activity to apply what you’ve learned and crowdsource ideas from fellow attendees.
Walk away with new skills, a stronger troubleshooting mindset, and the confidence to keep your campaigns on track no matter what curveballs come your way.

Learning Objectives

Strengthen communication techniques to facilitate fast, effective issue resolution
Analyze real-world direct mail crisis scenarios, and apply key takeaways to your own work
Learn essential terminology for navigating production, printing, and postal challenges in both standard and complex mail formats

Speakers

Mike DeFlavia
Vice President
Lautman Maska Neill & Company

Christiana Trenum
Director, Business Development
Planet Direct
Cindy Barham
Vice President, Client Services
RWT Production

Thursday, July 31, 2025
4:10 – 5:10 PM
30 Wow! Ideas
Feeling like you’ve seen it all when it comes to fundraising? Think there are no new ideas left? Think again! In this fast-paced, high-energy session, three industry veterans from independent fundraising agencies are back with a fresh edition on a fan-favorite format. With decades of experience between them, they’ve reviewed countless fundraising emails, direct mail campaigns, online ads, text messages, phone scripts, and street canvassing efforts.
This time, they’ll unveil 30 new and impressive campaigns from the past few years that will inspire and energize your next fundraising efforts. These three “friendly competitors” and lifelong friends are a reminder of the incredible community that makes fundraising so rewarding. Don’t miss this dynamic, uplifting session!

Learning Objectives

How to apply fresh, innovative ideas to revitalize their fundraising strategies across multiple channels.
Key insights from experienced professionals on what makes recent fundraising campaigns successful.
How collaboration and creativity within the fundraising community can inspire new approaches to donor engagement.

Speakers

Tiffany Neill, CFRE (she/her/hers)
Partner and Owner
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.

Allison Porter
President
Avalon Consulting

Mwosi Swenson (she/her/hers)
President & CEO
Mal Warwick Donordigital

Thursday, July 31, 2025
4:10 – 5:10 PM
Grow Your Gains: Keys to Retaining a Typical One-and-Done Donor

How do you keep recently-converted prospects who came to your nonprofit through sweepstakes, contests, premium offers or emergencies engaged and coming back for more?
Join us as we take you through a behind the scenes tour with insight into our strategy, what the data shows, and how we continue to grow campaigns like these.
In this session, you will hear first-hand how we turned a sweepstakes offer into 20,000 new donors, the communication plan we built to keep these names engaged, and most importantly turned them into repeat donors.
You will also learn how HRC uses premiums to acquire monthly donors at a low amount and how through regular upgrades ask through Email and SMS continue to increase the long-term value of these donors.

Learning Objectives

By attending this session, participants will learn what drives the types of donors that respond to special campaigns (sweepstakes, contests, premiums, emergencies, etc.) and how to get them to give again.
By attending this session, participants will learn how to build a communication plan that keeps these donors engaged.
By attending this session, participants will learn other tips and tricks to engage any kind of 1 and done donor.

Speakers

Sean Wagman
Digital Account Manager
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.

Lori Held
Senior Director, Annual Fund
National Park Foundation

2025 MAXI Awards Luncheon
2025-10-03 11:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Washington, DC
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October 3, 2025
The 2025 MAXI Awards are back, bringing an afternoon of inspiration and celebration. Hosted by DMAW, this premier annual event honors the best in direct marketing. New this year, attendees will experience live voting during the luncheon for three exciting new Creative Awards.
The event will highlight the vision, talent, and results behind the industry’s most effective campaigns, including the debut of the Digital Dynamo, Stamp of Excellence, and Omni WOW Awards.
We can’t wait to see you there!

DMAW Best of Direct 2025
2025-12-03 16:30 - 19:30 | Washington, DC
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Wednesday, December 3, 2025
4:30 – 7:30 PM
DMAW Best of Direct 2025
This annual event celebrates excellence and innovation in direct marketing, bringing together professionals from across the industry to honor standout campaigns and creative achievements. It’s an inspiring opportunity to connect with peers, see incredible work on display, and spark new ideas shaping the future of direct response and fundraising.

2026 Meals on Wheels Conference & Expo
2026-02-15 - 2026-02-18
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February 15-18, 2026
We are excited to be attending the Meals on Wheels Annual Conference & Expo! This incredible event provides a unique opportunity to connect with one another, enrich yourselves professionally, and gain actionable insights and skills that will not only advance and support your organizations but also increase your community impact. Since 1974, Meals on Wheels America has been bringing together leaders for an annual gathering like no other. Don’t miss out!

2026 Nonprofit Technology Conference
2026-03-10 - 2026-03-13
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Wednesday, March 11, 2026
2:00 – 3:00 pm ET
A-list Engagement: Building a Thriving SMS program
Tired of fighting for attention in crowded inboxes? Bread for the World was too. They needed a fresh way to connect with their supporters — one that would deepen relationships, inspire action, and drive sustained support. In this interactive workshop, you’ll go beyond the case study and roll up your sleeves. Together, we’ll walk through how Bread for the World, with Engaging Networks and Lautman, Maska, Neill & Company, built a thriving SMS program — from making the internal case, to setting up processes, growing the list, developing strategy, and measuring results. We’ll work through the entire process together, from making the internal case for SMS to setting up processes and a growth strategy. You’ll leave with practical tools and templates you can use right away!
Learning Objectives

Why SMS is a key channel to amplify your existing communication priorities.
How to get buy-in from key internal stakeholders to invest in this channel.
Discover how to work effectively with copywriters, agencies, and organizations to craft winning fundraising copy together.

Speakers

SEAN WAGMAN
Digital Account Director
Lautman Maska Neill & Co.

SUSANNA BEAN-JONES
Deputy Director for Membership Giving
Bread for the World
SEAN DOTSON
Account Manager
Engaging Networks

2026 Meals on Wheels California Conference
2026-03-23 - 2026-03-25 | San Diego, CA
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Monday, March 23, 2026
11:00 AM
30 Ideas in 60 Minutes: Your Hour of Creative Power
Looking for fresh, actionable ideas to elevate your fundraising? This fast-paced, high-energy session delivers 30 proven strategies in just 60 minutes from leading experts in direct marketing. You’ll leave with practical tips you can implement immediately to boost revenue, increase donor retention, and reduce costs – all without sacrificing impact.
Presented by:

Lautman Meals on Wheels Fundraising Co-op

2026 Nonprofit Fundraisers Symposium
2026-03-25 - 2026-03-27 | Washington, DC
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March 25, 2026 – March 27, 2026
Get ready for an exhilarating experience! Unlock possibilities by exploring innovative strategies and emerging trends to elevate your organization’s fundraising potential. Build meaningful partnerships with nonprofit leaders and service providers to foster collaboration and sector-wide impact. Drive progress with actionable insights and best practices designed to address challenges and ensure sustainable growth. Exclusively tailored for professionals with 10+ years of experience, this transformative event is your chance to unlock new opportunities, forge impactful connections, and confidently shape the future of our sector. Don’t miss out—join us and secure your spot today!

2026 Mid-Level Giving Benchmarking Summit
2026-04-14 - 2026-04-15
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April 14-15, 2026
We’re excited to share that we’ll be attending this year’s Mid-Level Giving Summit, a dynamic gathering that brings together more than 45 organizations and 90+ peers who are shaping the future of mid-level programs. With two full days of workshops, hands-on problem solving, and big-picture insights, the Summit is packed with opportunities to learn, connect, and spark new ideas. We’re looking forward to diving into the data, joining thoughtful conversations, and bringing back fresh strategies to strengthen the mid-level donor experience. It’s going to be an inspiring couple of days, and we can’t wait to be part of it!
