2026 Fundraising Day Recap
Let’s dive into the 2026 Fundraising Day event recap as I bring you on a virtual tour of the day. I am taking a page out of Tony Martignetti’s (one of our amazing 2026 Fundraising Day facilitators) presentation and having some fun with this. Tony had a slide on how to get started with charitable bequests and each line’s first letter spelled “GRUNIN FOUND.”
Credit: Tony Martignetti
Check out the first letter of each word below: what does it spell? (Spoiler alert: FUNDRAISING!)
Fun
Unique
New
Dorothy said, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.”
Retirement, estate, and other planned giving
A whole lot of herbs
Ice pops
Strategies for successful nonprofit events
Inclusive
No, it’s not November.
Gratitude
Now let’s break it all down!
Fun – we always include moments of joy in our events from giveaways and exciting snacks to games and themes. Fundraising Day was no exception and we’re going to go into all the details on the FUN below! Also, fun is in the word FUNdraising so we had to make it fun.
Unique – This will be reiterated many times – we strive to bring joy to our work and events, and we thought a little nostalgia would do the trick. Who remembers book fairs when we were kids? 🙋🏻♀️ That was the most exciting day of the school year! We wanted to bring that excitement back, so we had a mini book fair at Fundraising Day. Attendees could bring a new or previously loved book(s) of any genre to leave on the book fair table and could also take any book(s) they wanted. So many participated by bringing a book for a new owner to love. And a HUGE shout out to OceanFirst Bank and OceanFirst Foundation for delivering boxes and boxes of books for our book fair.
We also had fun little book fair trinkets like bookmarks, fidgets, sticky notes, pads of paper, stickers, interactive keychains that let you cross off to-do lists – all in the theme of fruits and veggies to go with the Patterson Family Barn vibe.
New – We tried something new with printing this time. When participants registered for Fundraising Day, they could choose whether or not they wanted printed or digital slides. Based on their choice, they received either QR codes or printed packets when they arrived on site. We’re trying to save a tree or two and be as efficient as possible. We think it worked really well and will continue doing this at future events.
Dorothy said, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” – Usually, it’s the winter events that cause weather-related anxiety. This summer has proven to be mighty unpredictable with pop-up storms, flash floods, and in this case, a tornado watch/warning – WHAT? Does that even happen in New Jersey? Luckily, the event went on from beginning to end without a grand appearance of a funnel cloud and we all made it home safely without having to shout for Auntie Em!
Retirement, estate, and other planned giving – Tony, Tony, Tony! When Tony Martignetti started to speak, we were all surprised that not only were we getting an expert in planned giving, we were getting a stand-up comedian – for real! Tony made his presentation fun, engaging, and full of laughter. He talked about the “what and why” of planned giving, best prospects, how to get started, marketing tips, continuing education, and answered questions along the way. As his bio says, “Tony is a lawyer, but he doesn't talk like one. He weaves in his backgrounds in stand-up comedy and improv, to bring Planned Giving within reach for small- and mid-size nonprofits.” We can vouch that this is 100% true and Tony is AWESOME. You can catch Tony's vibe by visiting his website and listening to his podcast.
Also, if you attended last year's Fundraising Day, you may remember our facilitator, Rhea Wong. She recently had a conversation with Tony about what Tony calls the six nasty myths of planned giving. Click here to read about this conversation and for links to Tony's podcast.
A whole lot of herbs – Centerpieces are another little area of joy we bring to each event, and they all fit the theme of the day. This time our centerpieces were big pots of mixed, fresh herbs. One lucky winner (we went old school with a game of rock, paper, scissors) from each table went home with their centerpiece (but let’s be real, we are ALL winners). And that person received a lifetime (unless you’re like me and can’t keep plants alive) of cooking herbs!
Ice Pops - We’re hitting a lot of joy here and this is another part of it: we had ICE POPS as a snack. Not just any ice pops – the kind that make you think of summers as a kid, the ones without a stick that you have to push up to eat (and be careful not to cut your lip on the plastic). We made it even more comfortable with ice pop sleeves. What’s an ice pop sleeve? See below – how cool is that? You can click on the photo to see where we ordered or if the creative mood strikes, you can make your own with these DIY instructions.
Credit: Temu
Strategies for successful nonprofit events – Our afternoon session facilitators, Amanda Nover and Hannah Zollman, were the dynamic duo who talked about Strategies for Successful Nonprofit Events. They presented in perfect harmony on clarifying the purpose and goals of events, choosing the right event for your organization, engaging staff and volunteers effectively, designing a guest experience that advances your mission, and developing an effective follow-up strategy. Hannah and Amanda gave not only strategic guidance but also broke down effective ways to “do the work,” which is a delicate balance. There was LOTS of audience participation with this topic! You can learn more about Hannah and Amanda here: https://missiondrivenconsulting.com/ourteam
Credit: Mission Driven Consulting (Hannah Zollman and Amanda Nover)
Inclusive – Inclusivity at our events is a priority and we try to think of everything we can to make the day as comfortable and accessible as possible to all of our attendees. This starts with the online registration. We ask about dietary and accessibility needs and provide an opportunity for a deeper conversation regarding additional accommodations. It continues with pre-event communications, providing details on parking (and perhaps appropriate footwear if parking is in the grass!), reminders to bring sweaters/blankets, and “come as you are” language – wear what’s comfortable, step out when you have to, come late, leave early – whatever you need to do, this is YOUR event. And then on event day, we make sure we walk the talk with things like accessible audio support (including microphones and sound amplification) to help everyone hear and participate, quiet spaces with ear plugs and eye masks if you need a break, signage so you can safely know where you are going, and anything else we can do to make it great for each attendee. We know we can do better and we are always working on it. If there was something missing, we would love to hear that in our post-event surveys or you reach out to Vicki directly at vicki@gruninfoundation.org.
A couple of specifics from this event – there was a table of fabulous gluten free goodies that were a huge hit. And as part of all of our in-person events, we put multiple fidget type objects on the table – spinners, playdough, pipe cleaners, Rubix cubes. We know everyone listens, learns, and absorbs information differently so we like to have inclusive options. As I write this, I am STILL playing with one of the fidgets we gave out on July 21. It’s the most satisfying fidget I have ever tried, and it was 3-D printed. Who would have thought! If you want a super cool fidget that you may never be able to put down, here’s where you can get it. Or, if you have a 3-D printer and want to try making your own, check out these DIY instructions.
No, it’s not November. - This year’s Fundraising Day had one big, noticeable change – it was held in the summer versus the usual November. That was so we could make room for a new November event…Wellness Day (more to come on that). A change in season called for a change in venue. Our friends at the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore Programming Center (where we usually host Fundraising Day) were deep into their onsite summer camp. So, this year we landed on the Patterson Family Barn in Freehold. It is also a greenhouse so you can imagine how beautiful it was on a summer day. There was a rainbow of flowers surrounding the barn, the clucking of chickens, and happy barks from the Patterson Family dogs in the distance. Check out Patterson Family Barn's photo gallery for more pictures!
Gratitude – We always leave our capacity building events with such gratitude. A very special THANKS* to:
*See what we did there?
The Patterson Family Barn – such a beautiful venue and an incredibly kind and helpful family.
Hannah Zollman, Amanda Nover, and Tony Martignetti – our awesome facilitators who made the day.
ALL the attendees for joining us, bringing/taking books, and for all you do in the community!
No tech issues thanks to Versatile Event Designs. They handled the sound and tech (special thanks to Eric, our on-site pro!).
Kindly donated books (boxes and BOXES!) for the book fair from OceanFirst Bank and OceanFirst Foundation.
Scrumptious food and wonderful service catered by Beyond the Garden Events & Catering.
We hope you enjoyed this recap and felt like you were there with us. And if you were there, we hope this truly captured how the day felt. Stay tuned for upcoming events and in the meantime, check out our events page for the latest and greatest!