We’re kicking off the Donor Experience Summit in true New York style. Join us on the rooftop terrace of Soho House overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge for cocktails, substantial bites and incredible views. This is your first chance to meet with fellow DXS attendees, soak in the skyline, and set the tone for an inspiring week ahead. Once you’ve checked in at the Ace Hotel, head to the lobby to meet your DXS Host and catch one of these departing shuttles to the Welcome Party.

Shuttle Departure Schedule 
Ace Hotel Brooklyn to Dumbo House (55 Water St, Brooklyn, NY 11201)

• • Departure: 5:15pm 
• • Departure: 5:35pm
• • Departure: 6:00pm  
• • Departure: 6:30pm 
• • Departure: 7:00pm (last shuttle!)

Tuesday departures from Ace to Industry City are:

• 8:30AM
• 8:45AM
• 9:00AM

Carly Ciarrocchi is an Emmy-nominated host, performer, and creative powerhouse who has captivated audiences on screens and stages around the world. Carly believes play is an essential tool for creativity, collaboration, and aliveness. Her experiences in live children’s television, learning design, and clown theatre led her to a philosophy she calls Bounce. Bounce is the rhythm of play that exists in all of us. This session invites participants to (re)locate their most authentic state of play, and reimagine play as a skill worth cultivating at any age. 

Drawing on BBC StoryWorks’ experience creating stories for audiences around the world, this session will explore the craft behind compelling storytelling: how to find the story inside a complex issue, create an emotional connection without losing authenticity, and turn information into narratives that stay with people. A storytelling masterclass presented by Dionne Farley, Creative Producer of BBC StoryWorks and Annavittoria Leteo Cameli, Global Series Lead in Programme Partnerships.

The future isn’t arriving as flying cars. It’s arriving through AI, clean energy, quantum computing, and biotechnology. Cheryl Contee, bestselling author and nationally recognized voice on innovation and social impact, explores what this technological revolution means for nonprofit leaders, the challenges it creates, and the opportunity for the social sector to help shape what comes next with imagination and responsibility.

AI isn't neutral. Understand who and what is shaping it so you can make better choices.

Catch up on emails, network with guests, or schedule 1:1 time with the Fundraise Up team or our Partner’s for a personalized Power Hour coaching session.

How can finance and fundraising become true strategic partners? This all-women CFO panel explores how nonprofits can navigate funding uncertainty, capacity, risk and growth together. Hosted by Ilana Esterrich (CFO, former PPFA), the conversation features Kristin Shumack (CFO, USO), Bianca Domally (CFO, NAACP), Janice Stucke (CFO, Council for Professional Recognition) and Val Gonzalez (CFO, Climate Reality Project).

A logo swap isn’t a partnership. The best collaborations create something neither organization could build alone: a new audience, a cultural moment, or an entirely new way to participate. Brand and nonprofit leaders unpack the unexpected partnerships that have broken through, and what it actually takes to make them work.

What if the impossible wasn’t so impossible? We'll close out Day 1 with Jason Suran, one of America’s most sought-after mentalists, for a performance designed to make you believe in what’s possible. 

“If I could do what Jason does, I could have ruled the world.” ~Jack Devine, Former Acting Director of the CIA

Join event guests for dinner at one of Brooklyn’s standout restaurants. Continue the day’s conversations, exchange ideas with peers, and connect in a more intimate setting ahead of Day 2.
 

Wednesday departures from Ace to Industry are:

• 9:00AM
• 9:10AM
• 9:20AM

Jason Suran shares the memory systems workshop behind his mind-bending performances, turning them into practical techniques you can use immediately. A New York Times “artist to watch,” Suran has performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall to the Pentagon.

Five years of giving data across more than 500 U.S. nonprofits reveals that year-end is not one big fundraising moment, but a sequence of distinct donor-intent moments. In conversation with Yana Gutierrez, Head of Platforms, Customer Success at Stripe, we’ll unpack when donors give, which channels drive the most impact, and the donor experience levers that can increase conversion, retention, and long-term value. 

Trust is foundational, but is it enough? Charity Navigator will unpack recent industry shifts alongside new donor research to explore what’s shaping trust today, and why relevance, connection, and a stronger understanding of donor expectations increasingly determine whether relationships endure.

As AI becomes part of every nonprofit conversation, responsible adoption requires more than technology. Leaders from education, healthcare and tech explore how organizations can embrace AI while navigating trust, privacy, governance and ethics, and where humans must remain firmly in the loop. Because seeing what’s possible requires trust, not just technology.

Catch up on emails, network with guests, or schedule 1:1 time with the Fundraise Up team or our Partner’s for a personalized Power Hour coaching session.

 

The nonprofit org chart is changing. AI, funding pressure, new donor expectations and evolving ways of working are reshaping roles, leadership teams and boards. This fireside conversation explores what’s changing across executive search and asks: if you were designing your organization for the future, what would you build differently?

Many of the world's highest-performing fundraising organizations continue to invest heavily in channels that have existed for decades: face-to-face, direct mail, and telephone. Perhaps the strongest fundraising strategies aren't built on choosing between old and new but on designing better donor experience that brings them together?

 

Collating and reflecting on learnings from two days of programming, an inspiring and exciting take on how the cycle of behavioral strategy, insights, design, and impact evaluation will help us build programs and services that change behavior for the long term.

Close out DXS at our rooftop sunset celebration at Brooklyn Grange. Enjoy skyline views, curated cocktails, and one last chance to connect with fellow nonprofit leaders as we toast to everything we’ve learned, the ideas we’ll take with us, and what’s possible from here.