by Isabel Shea

I am grateful to the DMFA and their Professional Development Fund, which allowed me to attend the 2024 Bridge to Integrated Marketing & Fundraising Conference.  I have attended the conference several times in the past and always found it to be valuable to my fundraising work. What’s more is that the conference is a great place to network with peers. As a fundraising professional in between jobs, staying current on best practices and industry trends is essential to remain a competitive job candidate. Attending this year offered me the chance to learn about potential job opportunities and to connect with new people in the industry.

Regarding the conference sessions, my goal was to make the most of my two days. This is a new era of philanthropy where fewer individuals are donating to nonprofits and for-profit businesses are now competing in the same space. Because of this, hearing about successful efforts to acquire new donors was a primary goal of mine this year at Bridge. Thanks to the DMFA’s Professional Development Fund, I was able to learn how the American Lung Association transformed its sustainer program by investing in a canvassing program during one session. Another session related to acquisition centered one of my personal favorite tactics: matching gift campaigns.   The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada shared the split test results of several direct mail campaigns where matches proved to increase response rates, especially among young donors and wealthy male donors. Lastly, I focused on sessions related to paid media and found value in the rapid response marketing playbook from Doctors Without Borders that included when and how they deploy paid social and search ads when there is a disaster. Having categories that range from no media spend to top-level media spend agreed upon ahead of unforeseen events like disasters helps their team invest wisely without delaying launching timely ads.

I always leave the Bridge Conference energized and eager to dive into my work and this year was no exception. Thank you very much to the generosity of the DMFA and their dedication to investing in the careers and growth of fundraisers through their Professional Development Fund.