Development Day Conference

Development Day Conference 2026

Planned giving and other sources of development continue to evolve and, if used correctly, can make a positive difference to organizations and donors. To be successful, you need access to: * New Trends *Perspective *Best Practices

Invest one day and get a year's worth of the insight and advice you need to create your plan for success. You'll hear from top national and regional experts about "what works" and how that will benefit your organization, your donors/clients, and your career. You and your staff will not want to miss this!!

Location: VisTaTech Center, Schoolcraft College, 18600 Haggerty Rd, Livonia, MI

Call for Presentations and Sponsorship Opportunities

Conference Goal: Educating. Inspiring. Connecting. Building Community.

Your Audience
On June 3rd, 150+ Development Officers, Executive Directors, Board Members, Major Gift Officers, Attorneys, Accountants, Consultants, Financial Planners, and Trust Officers will come together for training and networking opportunities at the VisTaTech Center.
●    Years of Experience: 0 - 10+ years
●    Type of Organizations: advocacy, environmental, education, fine arts, foundations, healthcare, social service, and allied professions such as –accountants, attorneys, financial planners, fundraising consultants, insurance brokers, and trust officers.
●    Office size and resources: one-person on a shoestring budget to large shops with many employees and large budgets

Your Topic
We invite you to share your expertise, experience, successes and the trends you see in the fields of Planned Giving and Major Gifts. The conference is organized around three separate “tracks”: Administering the Gifts, Diving Deep, and Leadership & Careers.

Administering the Gifts: These sessions may be best for those who need the planned giving basics or those who want to hear it again and learn it better. Sessions about case studies, specific gift types and techniques for soliciting them, and how planned gifts may fit into the broader development picture at an attendee’s organization.

Diving Deep: These sessions may be best for those seeking technical information and legal/financial education, and for those wanting to tackle some of the big issues in estate planning. Likely best fit for planned gift professionals whose roles focus solely on legacy and estate giving, or for attendees from legal or financial advisory roles.

Leadership & Careers: These sessions focus on professional development, personal growth, cross-departmental collaboration, or career paths in and outside of planned giving. Sessions may also provide content for those attendees working with annual or major donors but wanting to practice planned gift solicitation skills and should be helpful to anyone who wants to hone conversation, relationship building, and listening skills.

Development Day welcomes attendees at all skill and experience levels in fundraising. Therefore, all presenters are asked to identify which level your presentation may be the most appropriate:
Beginner Fundraiser with 1-3 years of experience (also appropriate for attendees in fundraiser-adjacent roles such as development office staff, Executive Directors, and financial advisors)
Mid-career Professional with 4-9 years’ experience in the field.
Expert with 10+ years of fundraising experience, or those in dedicated planned giving roles.

If you are interested in presenting, we encourage you to submit the title of your topic along with an outline, and a short biography by January 30th. Be sure to indicate which track your topic is best suited, and which level of experience it will be most appropriate for.

Conference attendees enjoy receiving handouts (i.e. templates, samples, outlines) and opportunities to share their own ideas. All sessions are 60 minutes and PowerPoint is supported. Presentations may not be self-promoting or sell any products. All speakers receive free conference registration, which includes breakfast and lunch. Curriculum selections will be announced in February.

Schedule
Submission Deadline:     January 30, 2026
Notification:             February 28, 2026
Conference:             June 3, 2026

Email submissions to: pgrtsem@gmail.com

A Note to Vendors and Consultants:
The Planned Giving Roundtable welcomes participation by vendors and sponsors who represent expertise in all aspects of fundraising and planned giving. However, our attendees dislike workshops that sell specific products or services, and as a result, we discourage those at the conference.

We truly value vendors and consultants as exhibitors at the conference and encourage attendees to visit and interact with them throughout the day. If you’d like to promote your specific products and services please use this link: Sponsorship Opportunities

Questions? Contact Lori Brauer (810) 375-2180 or pgrtsem@gmail.com.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you soon!