CGP Conference 2026 is designed to help you reach your goals, explore new strategies and go deeper into the areas you need to grow. Sessions are organized into seven conference tracks designed to encourage attendees to select sessions across topics, experience levels and formats. 

Rather than a predetermined path, attendees create a journey tailored to their expertise and career goals. Follow one track or move between tracks based on annual goals, areas for improvement or complex gift structures

Every program eventually navigates the same problem, just from a different direction. For some, it’s difficult creating a sustainable donor-centric culture while other offices are navigating the processes to maximize the impact of each gift. The Building Capacity track focuses on establishing a team and environment to generate more gifts, while the Administering Gifts track reviews the policies and procedures to bring the donor’s wishes to fruition. 

Most attendees start wherever their need is more urgent and build the remainder of their schedule from there. Continue reading for details on these tracks to help you create an agenda that best suits your career goals.  

Administering Gifts: From Commitment to Impact

Administering Gifts is for professionals who navigate the best practices, policies and procedures for gifts. From Capitol Hill to the Great Wealth Transfer, sharpen and refine your skills to navigate the unprecedented and ever-changing landscape. 

This track is suited for:

• Charitable gift planners who want to understand current trends and implement new strategies to navigate shifts in the industry.

• Estate administrators who want to close the gap between well-intentioned gifts and a complicated process.

• Program managers looking to modernize their organization's policies.

Sessions in this track include:

Ethical Risks When Nonprofits Fund a Donor's Estate Planning with Shannon Dykstra and Adam Zuwerink
Gain practical guidance on identifying high-risk practices and implementing safeguards to protect both the donor’s intent and the organization’s reputation. 

Avoiding and Navigating Post-Death Bequest Litigation for Charitable Beneficiaries with Jack Kilpatrick and Jade Bristol
Using real life and common examples, find the confidence to act for the benefit of their organizations in resolving conflict in and out of the courtroom

Life Income Gifts: Best Practices to Streamline, Safeguard, and Succeed with Nicole Medeiros
This highly interactive session will guide participants through common—and occasionally unexpected—life income gift administration scenarios that can create risk, confusion, or unnecessary frustration if not handled thoughtfully.  

Let’s Get Fiscal: The Charitable Set-Aside Deduction Explained with Shelly Hurwitz and Stacie Nelson
Understand the “substantially set aside” deduction to protect a charitable bequest and ensure that assets pass to the nonprofit—rather than being unnecessarily diminished by taxes.

Too Comfortable in the Big Easy - Undue Influence Case Studies with Mary Ann Esber, JD. and John Woods, JD
Explore how charitable decisions may appear to be shaped by excessive pressure, manipulation, or power imbalances—and why even the perception of undue influence can create significant ethical, legal, and reputational risks for charity

Managing Revocable and Irrevocable Gifts in the Modern Campaign with Jill Rode and Danese Bardot
Learn to articulate the nuances of irrevocable and revocable gifts to donors in a way that builds trust and increases your organization's capacity to accept complex assets.

Evaluate the best practices and latest policies to sustain donor relationships and further organizational impact with the Administering Gifts track. 

Building Capacity: Strengthen your Program

Building Capacity provides the tools needed to create an effective fundraising team and donor-centric culture. Better understand today’s trends to immediately implement new strategies to shift workplace culture.  

This track is best for:

• Program managers seeking the language and evidence for leadership buy-in.

• Leaders who want a practical framework for donor-centric conversations 

• Practitioners and small teams looking to leverage their program.

Sessions in this track include:

Leaders Who Lead: Turning Your Board into Your Greatest Planned Giving Champions with Max DeLott and Carolyn Fernandez
Explore how gift planners, development directors, and executive leadership can develop tools that will enable board members to become central players in successful planned giving.

From Hesitation to Integration: Embedding Planned Giving Across the Fundraising Team with Jessica Nottingham and Melissa Adamson
Learn how to implement foundational planned giving training within frontline onboarding, recognize key indicators of deferred gift potential, structure effective joint donor meetings, clarify co-management and gift credit practices, and create seamless handoffs between frontline and planned giving teams.

Collaborative Stewardship of Realized Estates: A Path to Building Relationships with Sarah Szabo Alyssa Slyter and Christy Cheever
Discover a collaborative stewardship approach for realized estates across often siloed planned and major gifts teams can create opportunities to engage current and future donors utilizing resources you already have at your disposal.

Creating Consistency: A Centralized Gift Planning Training Model with Jamie Mager
Understand how a year-round, multi-format training structure—combining virtual instruction, in-person workshops, on-demand resources, and strategic external partnerships—creates consistency while still accommodating varied campus needs and experience levels.

The Power of Partnership: Collaborating for Long-Term Philanthropy with Renee Atkinson and Julia Boerth
Explore how a unified approach allows donors to achieve their philanthropic goals without choosing between today’s needs and tomorrow’s dreams.

Explore these sessions to generate more gifts by refreshing your program culture with necessary frameworks and to engage leadership and support alignment across departments.

CGP Conference 2026

Build your agenda based on their current challenges, career goals or professional expertise. Reference the CGP Track Series for guidance on selecting the sessions that will transform your career.   

Explore CGP Conference 2026 website below to register and explore the agenda, sessions, track descriptions and more.

Early-bird registration closes on August 28. Map your agenda and lock in your rate before it's too late.

CGP CONFERENCE 2026