Nonprofit Fundraising Series – Session 1: “Everything We Know About Fundraising is (Mostly) Wrong”
Steve MacLaughlin, Senior VP, GOBEL
This is the first in a series of six trainings featuring national experts on fundraising. You may attend any or all of the virtual sessions, held weekly January 15 through February 19, 2026, from 1:00 to 2:30 PM. Featured topics include the federal funding landscape, opportunities for earned revenue, cause marketing, legacy giving, corporate sponsorships, and more. Presented and sponsored by the Northland Foundation to support nonprofit capacity building in our region.
WHEN: January 15, 2026 | 1:00 – 2:30 PM
WHERE: Virtual via Zoom
WHO: Anyone involved in fundraising/development for nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations located within the 7-county/5-Tribal nation region served by the Northland Foundation
EVENT DESCRIPTION: You will gain understanding about:
- The real size of the nonprofit sector and sources of fundraising revenue.
- How to evolve thinking around the traditional donor pyramid.
- How the right metrics make all the difference in measuring performance.
SPEAKER BIO: Steve MacLaughlin is the Senior Vice President of Product at GOBEL and bestselling author of Data Driven Nonprofits. He has more than 20 years of experience collaborating with nonprofits, government institutions, and technology companies to drive innovation and maximize mission impact. Steve has been featured as a fundraising and nonprofit expert in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Stanford Social Innovation Review, and on National Public Radio. He is particularly known for identifying the Nonprofit Data Paradox, which is the observation that the more data nonprofits accumulate, the less valuable it becomes if culture, systems, and leadership fail to leverage it effectively. He is also a nonprofit leadership facilitator with Georgetown University’s New Strategies program.
REGISTER: Free of charge. Registration link coming soon.
Details and registration for all six sessions in the series will be posted soon. Watch this page!