2025 Bridge Conference
July 30 - August 1
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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
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
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 1-and-Done Donor
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.
Mo Gallo
Associate Director, Digital Engagement
National Park Foundation
James Severino
Director
Human Rights Campaign
