Topics
Take a look at our 2025 topics, with more to be announced in the near future.
Main Stage Talks
Data-Driven, Not Data-Drowned: Making Numbers Work for Your Nonprofit Mission
Marta Garcia Ferreiro, Product Manager, Google
Data is hard to use, manipulate, and concisely share. In a world demanding impact, numbers can be your nonprofit's superpower, not its nemesis. This session dives into Data Commons (datacommons.org) – a free, open-source knowledge graph that's already helping organizations like TechSoup, Feeding America, and The ONE Campaign make smarter decisions, streamline operations, and supercharge their marketing. See how you can use this tool or tell us how to make it better!
Feeding The Future: How HungerHUB is Revolutionizing the Food Supply Chain
Manish Misri, Chief Technology Officer, TechBridge
Step into the future of food relief with HungerHUB, a groundbreaking supply chain management platform developed for Feeding America and its nationwide network of food banks. This main stage session will unveil how HungerHUB streamlines the donation, auction, and distribution of surplus food from corporate donors to local agencies, ensuring that no meal goes to waste. Discover the powerful blend of technology, transparency, and collaboration that's transforming food insecurity response at scale. Whether you're in logistics, nonprofit tech, or social impact, this is the platform redefining what’s possible.
Tracking Policy in Real Time: How AI Can Help Mission-Driven Organizations Follow Relevant Legislation
Jeremy Brien, Technical Product Manager, State of Nevada
Executive orders, agency rules, and new legislation move fast and can dramatically impact the work of mission-driven organizations. This lightning talk introduces a vendor-agnostic approach to tracking and analyzing government actions in real time using AI and automation.
Learn how a grassroots project evolved into a tool that summarizes executive orders, flags potential harm, and reduces friction for taking informed action. Nonprofit leaders will walk away with practical ideas to monitor policy and explore practical ideas for staying ahead of regulatory shifts.
Security & Infrastructure
Why We Aren't Done Talking About the Cloud
Francis Johnson, Chief Technology Officer, Tech Impact
At this point, the majority of nonprofits have moved their organization to a major cloud platform like Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, but findings show that most are only use 10% of the platform capabilities. Cloud is more than just email, files, and messaging – in this session, we’ll go deeper into your tech stack to share often-overlooked tools, security features, and hidden capabilities to help you make the most of your productivity suite investments.
From Risk to Resilience: Security Trends and Tech Insights from Okta's Nonprofits at Work Report
Okta
Okta’s Nonprofits at Work 2025 report analyzed the most-used tools and apps by nonprofits across its ecosystem over the last year. The headline? Security has never been more important – nonprofits are the second-most attacked industry and nearly one in every five authentications is a detected threat.
Hear an overview of key findings, trending technology solutions, and security measures across the sector that peer organizations are implementing and utilizing today to keep their people and data safe.
Navigating the New Threat Landscape: Nonprofit Cyber Trends and How To Prepare
Most nonprofits need to worry about phishing and brute-force attacks, but some need to worry about much more. Join a discussion about the current threat landscape and the challenges and vulnerabilities nonprofits specifically need to be aware of. Gain the perspective and experience of cybersecurity leaders who see, and help thwart, millions of cyber-attacks every day. This session will not only educate, but cut through the fearmongering.
Strategy & Innovation
Build It VS. Buy It: Weighing the Pros/Cons Between Off the Shelf and Custom
Ryan Harrington, Managing Director of Tech Impact's Data Lab
This session offers a practical framework to help nonprofit professionals decide when to buy off-the-shelf software and when to invest in building custom solutions. We’ll weigh cost, capacity, and mission alignment to guide smarter tech decisions that serve your organization’s goals.
Mind the Gap: Making Tech Work Through Better Collaboration
Taylor Wilder, Skilled Volunteer Programs Manager, Hands On powered by United Way of Greater Nashville
This session is for nonprofit tech professionals, project managers, and program staff who want to scope projects that are technically sound and widely adopted. Drawing from Hands On’s GeekCause program and real-world case studies, we’ll explore how to foster cross-functional collaboration, bridge the gap between tech and program teams, and avoid common pitfalls. You'll leave with practical tools to improve communication, build buy-in, and make tech work that lasts.
Bias Is a Feature, Until You Fix It
Theresa Kennedy, Founder & President, The Black History Foundation
In this rapid-fire session, AI ethics advisor Theresa Kennedy unpacks how bias gets baked into AI systems—and what your nonprofit can do about it. Using examples from her work with Mastercard and OpenAI, she’ll show how bias hides in language, representation, and assumptions, and offer clear, repeatable steps to build more equitable systems.
Byte-Sized Maturity: Assessing and Advancing Your Nonprofit’s Tech Readiness
Jennifer Ray, Director of Technology Engagements, Apparo & Stephanie McKee, Chief Technology Thought Partner, Apparo
Do you truly understand your nonprofit’s current technology landscape—or are you making just-in-time decisions with limited insight? Without a structured view of your tools, policies, and practices, it can be difficult to manage your technology effectively or operate efficiently. This interactive session introduces a practical framework to help nonprofit leaders assess their tech maturity, identify gaps, and access tools and resources to plan smarter—not harder.
Data Management & AI
Public Data, Public Impact: How to Use Open/Public Data to Amplify Your Nonprofit's Impact
Michael Hollander, Vice President of Data and Innovation, Heights Philadelphia
Non-profits may be short on time and resources, but we do not have to be short on data. This workshop will help you to discover how to use open data to gain insights into your community’s assets and needs, assess the long term impact of policies, and measure the impact of your own work. Drawing from real examples in education, criminal justice, and unemployment this session will equip you with practical knowledge and a variety of tools to begin your own open data journey.
Responsible AI Starts Here: Building Policy, Culture, and Capacity in Nonprofits
Jeremy Manus, Director of Technology Operations, The Boston Foundation & Tom Durkin, Associate Vice President of Information Technology, The Boston Foundation
Learn how the Boston Foundation developed and implemented an AI usage policy that reflects its nonprofit values, prioritizes equity, and fosters a culture of innovation. This session will explore the Foundation’s journey in creating an organizational environment that actively empowers staff to experiment with the technology in a thoughtful and responsible way. Leaders from the foundation will share how they guide teams through the rapidly evolving AI landscape—balancing excitement with caution—and the specific structures they put in place to support this experimentation, including a secure and welcoming framework for pilot projects.
Power BI in Action: Bring Your Data to Life
Alyssa Ford, Chief Operating Officer, Tech Impact
In this interactive Power BI session, you'll learn how to transform raw data into insights that drive action, engage stakeholders, and support decision-making. Whether you're just starting with Power BI or looking to sharpen your skills, this session offers practical guidance to help you bring your data to life. From building your first report to designing impactful visuals, you'll leave with the tools to make your data more meaningful, accessible, and actionable. No advanced experience is needed—just a desire to make your data work harder for you.
This session will help you:
Understand the Power BI ecosystem
Use visual elements to highlight trends and insights
Connect, shape, and model your data effectively
Design Exercise: AI and Automation Ideation and Technology
Ryan Harrington, Managing Director of Tech Impact's Data Lab & Linda Widdop, Chief Innovation Officer, Tech Impact
Join us for an engaging workshop session designed specifically for the Tech Forward audience. This session will be facilitated by two nonprofit technology leaders and will focus on ideation and feasibility of using AI and automation in your organization to adapt, and scale innovative solutions to address development, humanitarian, and conservation challenges.
Information Without Frustration: Building Dashboards that Make Work Easier for Everyone
Samantha Levinson, Director of Program Innovation and Client Experience, The Bail Project
We all know technology can be a game changer for our nonprofit's work and impact. Yet, many times our tech, including our dashboards, can end up making more work for everyone - from our direct service staff who end up moonlighting as data entry technicians to technical teams who spend hours managing technical debt and mitigating risks to core systems. What if there was a better way? This session will discuss core principles for dashboard (re)design that will restore dashboards to their proper place: a useful tool that supports direct service staff workflows and frees up technical teams by focusing on easy-to-maintain tools and default features. Participants will see these principles in action using a case study from recent work at The Bail Project and leave with a checklist to support them bringing these lessons back to their own organizations.