As we reflect on everything we learned at this year’s Bridge Conference, there is one thing that stands out:

We are part of a powerful community of fundraisers and marketers who can find the best solutions to meet the challenges we face. Together, we will raise the money that will propel our missions forward. 

We are so grateful we had the opportunity to learn with you!

If you missed one of our sessions (there were so many great presentations to choose from!) we wanted to make it easy for you to access the great content we presented. And, if you like what you see while you are on our website, we hope you’ll sign up to continue receiving the cutting-edge fundraising information we share throughout the year.

The theme of our first presentation (by Angela Nothdurft, an Account Director here, along with Madeleine Durante, the Associate Director, Donor Acquisition & Reinstatement at the ACLU) was about being ready in critical moments. “Ready when it Counts: Optimizing your Program to Maximize Big Moments” is a powerful case study of how the ACLU prepared for whatever was to happen after the 2024 elections and how that preparation paid off!

But, you can’t take advantage of those big moments if your donors aren’t receiving your emails. That was the theme of “Email Deliverability: How to Avoid Landing in the Junk Folder and Rebuild if You Do!” that Lindsey Twombly, our Digital Production Director, presented with Laura Rahman, Vice President of Individual Giving at Reading Is Fundamental (RIF). You’ll learn from everything they did right!

Once you know the email delivered, and the person makes a gift, Sean Wagman, Digital Account Director here at Lautman and Lori Held, Senior Director, Annual Fund at the National Park Foundation shared some vital intel on how to keep the donor! In “Grow your Gains: Keys to Retaining a Typical One-and-Done Donor,“ you can find great approaches to ensuring that every new donor becomes a life-long supporter.

If you were hanging out in the Solutions Showcase you may have overheard some critical advice on “Troubleshooting a Crisis in Direct Mail Production,” but if you missed it, check it out — it may save you angst at a future date. Vice President Mike DeFlavia shared the stage with Christiana Trenum, Director of Business Development at Planet Direct and Cindy Barham, Vice President of Client Services at RWT Production. These seasoned pros have pretty much seen it all!

Speaking of people who have seen it all — did you catch the session Tiffany Neill did with Mwosi Swenson, President & CEO of Mal Warwick Donordigital and Allison Porter, President of Avalon Consulting? Each of these women has been in this business for more than 25 years. So, needless to say, it takes a lot to “WOW” this group of veteran fundraisers, which is why it’s always a treat to hear the “30 Minutes of WOW!” ideas they put together every year. The goal with their session is to give you at least one idea to steal — we hope you find it here!