Our Program

Are all your donors and potential supporters reflected in your organization's work? Does their absence communicate a message about who and what are your organization’s values? When certain groups of individuals are always represented and others are missing in your communications, whether intentional or unintentional, it sends the message about who does and doesn’t belong. There are countless donor stories connected to diverse communities of supporters. This session will help fundraising professionals explore how to look for those stories through equity and inclusion. More specifically, participants will consider how to eliminate disparities connected to historically marginalized social identities and when addressed how they work effectively together, producing the best outcomes in fundraising.

By the end of the session, attendees will be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to

• Express an increased awareness of how attitudes, beliefs, behavior, and language can impact the relationships between diverse groups
• Consider how to eliminate disparities connected to historically marginalized social identities
• Examine how to produce equitable practices and inclusive communication in fundraising

Approved for 1.5 hours of CFRE credit.

Our Presenter

Emma Yackso is Director of Community Programs at the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC), an organization that works with schools, businesses, and communities to achieve success through inclusion. In her role, she designs, coordinates, delivers, and evaluates diversity, equity, and inclusion programs for non-profit organizations, community groups, and government agencies across the Commonwealth.

Emma comes to VCIC with a strong background in justice-oriented work, including a decade of experience in LGBTQ+ advocacy and support, community organizing, and southern-focused racial equity work. Most recently the Director of Programs at Side by Side, Emma is a clinical social worker who has worked in communities in Washington, D.C., New Orleans, LA, and Richmond and Charlottesville, VA. She is passionate about fostering spaces for authentic conversations that are genuinely led by and empower folks in and of their communities. She has worked with folks to build their voices around LGBTQ+ (specifically trans/gender non-conforming) equity and inclusion, community policing, non-profit equity, and more. Emma received her Masters of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University, and she is a licensed clinical social worker in the state of Virginia. She earned her undergraduate degree from George Washington University.

Our Schedule

• 11:30 a.m. In-person Registration begins
• 12 p.m. Program begins
• 1:30 p.m. Adjourn

Registration Fees

• In-person registration is $20 for members ($0 for those with a Season Pass or $12 for those with a Virtual Season Pass), $25 for nonmembers who work at a member organization, and $30 for guests. All in-person registrants should select their meal during the registration process.
• Virtual registration is $8 for members ($0 for those with a Virtual Season Pass), $11 for nonmembers who work at a member organization and $15 for nonmembers. The virtual registration fees help support the technology costs associated with offering a hybrid event.

If you are not a VAFRE member and do nor work in the office of a VAFRE member, consider becoming a member of VAFRE in order to access reduced registration fees.