Building Community and Strengthening Connections: Expanding and Maximizing Partnerships through FRDNY 2025
Chapter Leadership Brief 8.8.25
by Adam Glick and Lucretia Gilbert
FRDNY 2025 Program Committee Co-Chairs
Fundraising Day New York offers an opportunity for nonprofit professionals at all stages of their careers to come together, learn from colleagues longstanding and new and explore the most important issues facing our sector. The program for FRDNY 2025 – workshops, roundtables, flash coaching sessions, panel discussions, and more – was as dynamic as the day’s 1000+ attendees. Organized by a dedicated team of volunteers who plan for eight months leading up to the big day, FRDNY aims to build and scale in ways both quantitative and qualitative each year. After all, if the best fundraising is a balanced mix of art and science, FRDNY should reflect that!
We had the opportunity to serve as Co-Chairs of FRDNY’s 2025 Program Committee and invite leaders from across the sector to join the planning team. We were honored to have the collaboration of Kennedy Bennett, PK Drago, Lori Kranczer, Abril Peña, Caroline Ver Planck, Carmel Napolitano, Diana Rodriquez, and Susan Sharer in designing a robust and inspiring day. Any successful teamwork is predicated on mutual respect, trust, understanding, and open communication, and it was because of the work we all do and, moreover, how we work together, that joining forces to shape and organize the program for FRDNY 2025 was a natural fit. As the adage goes, “if you want something done, ask a busy person!” With that, and since we knew each of us was just busy enough to say we could support the other, we set out to make FRDNY’s 2025 program the best one yet along with the help and innovative ideas of our stellar Program Committee members.
Throughout the course of reviewing and deliberating session submissions, thinking how to guide prospective participants, and ensuring FRDNY’s program made adequate space for in-house fundraisers, external consultants, senior leaders, vendors, coaches, and other nonprofit professionals, we learned that many people wanted to work even more closely with their current or new consulting partners and vendors. We also were particularly mindful to develop more intentionally a track for senior leaders to ensure their commitment to AFP and FRDNY was matched with programming from which they would benefit.
We repeatedly heard that maximizing consulting engagements to allow for in-the-weeds work while still offering fresh, objective perspectives was important to frontline fundraisers, CDOs, CEOs, and their team members. We were asked to consider sessions dedicated to working with consultants as part of one’s team more effectively and comprehensively; how the traditional consulting model had changed; and how making the case to CEOs and boards for partnering with consultants often proved as difficult as it was necessary, especially for those faced with hiring and full-time employee retention challenges. We also noted that the topic of how to get the most out of a consulting partnership touched on nearly all other aspects of FRDNY’s program: from data mining and AI to frontline fundraising support, HR, and attracting, retaining, and advancing top talent – the list continued.
For us, this also highlighted the ever-evolving nature of fundraising (and work culture generally), with many of us still operating remotely and not in a traditional office setting – a change celebrated by some and lamented by others since the great work-from-home shift coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. With traditional structures relaxing and alternatives to being in an office from 9 to 5 with “your” team five days a week increasingly acceptable, the question then became what additional value, insights, and perspectives could an organization gain from consultants and vendors since these advisors and augmentative team members often engage with their clients as remote full-time employees do.
Since no AFP article is complete without a checklist, below are a few recommendations for how to think about how you can get more out of your vendor relationships and consulting partnerships (and have fun doing it):
1. Remember that your vendors and consulting partners are your colleagues: whether it’s a short-term/project-specific engagement or a longer-term multi-layered partnership, they are there in support of your efforts and success, and their success is your success.
2. Clearly define and agree upon what elements of a vendor or consultant’s work are quantifiable and which are not. For example, if a consultant is supporting major donor prospects and pipeline development, determine what success looks like: how many donors, projected revenue probability, fundraising timeline, etc. Remain in regular conversation about progress and updating it as you work together to achieve your goals.
3. As you think about how a vendor or consultant could potentially provide additional support and what, if anything, would need to be prioritized differently to achieve this, ask them! Stay in active conversation with your external partner to think of new and additional ways they can help drive your work and organization forward.
4. Maximize consulting and vendor relationships by leveraging their knowledge from working with a variety of nonprofits across the sector that will benefit your organization as you approach direct mail, CRM migration, year-end fundraising appeals, and more. Their perspectives on and understanding of how many organizations work can help shape and drive your own work faster and more effectively.
Of course, some of the most important parts of FRDNY are grounded in established and emerging leaders coming together to share knowledge, network, and learn best practices. We look forward to seeing you at FRDNY 2026 next year on Friday, June 12, 2026, as we continue to build community and strengthen connections across the nonprofit sector -- for those of in and out of house!
Lucretia Gilbert is the Chief Philanthropy Officer of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Adam Glick is a Vice President at Orr Group. Among their many common interests is a love of handwritten notes – sending and receiving.
Adam Glick is Vice President at Orr Group, where he develops and implements innovative strategies from strategic planning to securing major gifts across individual, institutional, corporate, and campaign-specific sources. Previously, Adam served as Director of Individual Giving and Special Projects at Hudson River Park Friends, the philanthropic partner of the Hudson River Park Trust, where he oversaw the growth of the Park’s annual fund, secured new and increased multi-year support from its major donors, and directed the organization’s capital and membership campaigns. He also served as the inaugural Curator of Mad. Sq. Art, the public art program of the Madison Square Park Conservancy. He has lectured at the Stern School of Business and Steinhardt School of Education (NYU), the Hite Art Institute (University of Louisville), and elsewhere. Adam has also participated in numerous panel discussion sessions hosted by the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He has been featured in publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Robb Report, and the New York Observer. Adam is the co-author of Object Impermanence: Ethics, Endowments, and Deaccessioning (MuseumsEtc., April 2021).
Lucretia Gilbert is the Chief Philanthropy Officer for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, which has launched a transformational $125 million campaign to redouble the global fight against AIDS. Lucretia is a seasoned development professional and innovative leader with over 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. She concomitantly serves as the Principal & Founder of The Philanthropy Advantage, a high-impact philanthropy consulting firm that provides strategy and implementation support for nonprofits, private foundations, individuals, and corporations. Previously, Lucretia was the Chief Philanthropy Officer for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), where she managed the development and events department, raising more than $500. Previously, she served as the Executive Director for The Pink Agenda, the Associate Director of Major Gifts at Gilda's Club Worldwide, and Director of Special Events at the ALS Association Greater New York Chapter. Lucretia is a graduate of the Executive Education Exponential Fundraising Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School and holds a Master’s in Public Administration. She is currently on the Board of Directors for the New York City Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and is serving as the Program Co-Chair for Fundraising Day in New York 2025.