Full participation in the Evolve your donor journey workflows with storyboarding exercises program is applicable for 1 point in Category 1.B-Education of the CFRE Internatioal application for initial certification and/or recertification.

Program Description

Join Tara Petersen, a veteran fundraiser and Nonprofit Relationship Manager at DonorPerfect to learn more about donor journeys, and how you can create specific and meaningful journeys to drive your mission forward. Sample journeys include donor acquisition, donor retention and upgrades, and lapsed donor reactivation. Walk away with a storyboard exercise you can bring back to flesh out fully with your team.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• What a donor journey is and how to create one
• How to create a donor journey that is specific to your organizatio
• How to outline a donor journey by storyboarding
• How to start implementing your donor journeys

SPEAKER

Tara Petersen

Tara Petersen is a career fundraiser with 20 years of experience helping nonprofits of all sizes secure the resources needed to advance their missions. She holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management, but the core of her work has always been a belief in the power of relationships to activate generosity and change the world.

After a career on the front lines of fundraising, Tara now serves the sector in a new way as Nonprofit Relationship Manager at DonorPerfect. In this role, she builds strategic partnerships and leverages her insights to help nonprofits strengthen fundraising strategies, build meaningful donor relationships, and leverage technology that is delightfully easy to use.

Having firsthand experience with limited staff capacity, competing priorities, and the constant pressure to do more with less, Tara brings a grounded, authentic perspective to her work. Her goal is simple: to make it easier for nonprofits to do more good by spending less time wrestling with systems and more time focused on what matters most: advancing their mission.

National Philanthropy Day 2026

2026 Honorees

Emerging Leader
Max Constanzo, Harry Chapin Food Bank

Outstanding Fundraising Executive
Kelly Krupp, Guadalupe Center

Outstanding Philanthropist
The Golisano Foundation

Outstanding Philanthropic Organization
London Bay Homes

Unsung Hero
Daniel Martinez, Guadalupe Center

Outstanding Philanthropic Youth
Darren Nieves, Lee Health/Charity for Change
Sol Reyes, Guadalupe Center
Klea Kocani, Champions for Learning

2026 Distinguished Volunteers

Joan Bajek - Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW)
Gloria Beissinger - Guadalupe Center
Lynn Beseth Yon - St. Matthew's House
Nicole Carignan - Harry Chapin Food Bank
Karen Colgain - The Shelter for Abused Women & Children
Nancy De Furio - Naples Therapeutic Riding Center
Barbie Kellam - STARability
Harrison S. Knight - Collaboratory
Marilyn Mecca - Lee Health
Russ Mills - Champions For Learning, The Education Foundation of Collier County
Alan Penick - Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance
Laureen Romano - Children's Advocacy Center of SWFL
Loyce Snyder - Patty Baker Humane Society Naples
Elizabeth Star - Youth Haven
Cesar Taveras - Grace Place
Ann Taylor - Naples Comprehensive Health (NCH)
Ramona Ustian - Pathways Early Education Center of Immokalee

Thank You To Our 2026 Sponsors