As DANA, the Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement, celebrates its 40th anniversary, The DANA 2026 IMPACT Delaware Conference, “IMPACT Rising: Beyond Measure,” is a must-attend event for nonprofit leaders and their teams, designed to foster collaboration, innovation, and shared growth. In an increasingly uncertain world, nonprofits must unite to overcome challenges and enhance their collective impact. This conference offers a unique opportunity for nonprofit professionals to come together, learn from one another, and explore new ways to strengthen the communities they serve. 

Keynote Presentation

Charting the Future: Collaboration in Action

Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds, President/CEO, Family and Children’s Association

What does surviving two cancers in two years and running a 141-year-old nonprofit through multiple crises have in common? Everything.

Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds discovered this truth the hard way – first as a nonprofit executive (navigating HIV/AIDS in the 1990s, the opioid crisis of the 2000s and COVID-19), and now as an Ironman triathlete, 15-time marathon finisher, two-time cancer survivor who found that the same principles that build resilient humans also build resilient organizations.

Nonprofit leaders today face impossible demands: do more with less; innovate while maintaining quality; compete for funding while collaborating for impact; and lead change while honoring tradition. Dr. Reynolds lives these tensions and has learned that the same principles that saved his life and carried him across race finish lines can save your organizations and supercharge your impact.

This keynote will transform how leaders think about partnership, resilience, and the future of nonprofit work – because it comes from someone who has literally bet his life on these principles and won.

Breakout Sessions

Change the System, Then Run It: Advocacy Lessons from Policymakers

Moderator: Traci Manza Murphy, Executive Director, Coalition for a Safer Delaware

Panelists:

• Alonna Berry, State Representative 

• Matthew P. Denn, former Lt. Governor and Attorney General of Delaware 

• S. Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, State Senator 

Many of today’s most effective policymakers began their careers as advocates: organizers, nonprofit leaders, policy analysts, or community champions pushing for change from the outside.  

This session explores the journey from advocacy to public office and the lessons learned along the way, revealing how policy is shaped, negotiated, and implemented. Policymakers who once stood where advocates now stand will demystify advocacy and legislative engagement, reducing the intimidation factor while offering guidance for experienced advocates. 

Participants will gain the practical insight, strategies and confidence needed to successfully communicate and advance their priorities in a clear, effective manner with policymakers.

Design It! Identifying & Planning AI Agent Use Cases

Ryan Harrington, Managing Director of the Data Innovation Lab (DIL), Tech Impact

Nonprofits are being asked to do more with less while still delivering a great experience for the communities they serve. AI can help address some of those issues, but it can be challenging to identify cases with the highest impact.

This is a hands-on session for nonprofit leaders who want practical, mission-aligned ways to apply AI agents to their organizations. We’ll introduce a clear framework for identifying opportunities, then use it to imagine possibilities across programs and operations. You’ll select one promising idea and envision how to accomplish your goals with an agent. You’ll walk away with a prioritized concept and a lightweight plan for next steps.

Values-Based Fundraising in Today’s World

Jennifer Shropshire, Consulting Associate, The Nonprofit Center

Today’s world is dynamic, unpredictable, and full of opportunity to shape a positive future. Being able to tell a compelling story about your cause in ways that resonate with people’s life and values is crucial to successful fundraising and is, perhaps, more complicated than ever before.

This session will help you prepare to start a courageous and actionable conversation with your nonprofit — how can we identify ways to embrace the twin goals of raising funds and living out our organization’s core values?

IMPACT Talks: Ideas That Move Communities

As part of the IMPACT Conference experience, IMPACT Talks features a curated series of rapid-fire thought leadership talks from respected leaders across Delaware. These engaging talks showcase bold ideas, real leadership experiences, and practical insights on how leadership, resilience, policy, and personal well-being intersect to create meaningful community impact.

Each speaker will share a compelling perspective in a dynamic 15-minute format, followed by brief audience questions. As part of the broader IMPACT Conference experience, this session invites attendees to be inspired by insightful ideas and real-world lessons that help move communities forward.

Speakers:

• Rony Balthazar-Lopez, Director, State of Delaware Office of New Americans
• Doris Griffin, Executive Director, Delaware Adolescent Program
• Kerriann Otaño, Vice President of Engagement, OperaDelaware

Plenary Panel

Holding the Line: Protecting Nonprofits’ Missions Amid Federal Policy Shifts

Panelists: 

• Diane Yentel, President, National Council of Nonprofits 

• John Kane, Director of Policy and Federal Affairs, Office of Governor Matt Meyer 

• Thère du Pont, President, Longwood Foundation

The federal policy landscape has undergone a dramatic shift in recent times, leaving nonprofits, advocates, philanthropy and other leaders reacting to rapid, unpredictable changes that impact their missions, operations and essential functions.

During this session, panelists will discuss key federal policy changes that impact nonprofits, how the government is altering the rules, and ways that philanthropy, Congress and nonprofits are approaching this situation.

Through examples from across the country, attendees will learn strategies they can adapt to push back on changes that are harmful to their mission and engage with philanthropy and government locally.

State of the Nonprofit Sector

Melissa Hopkins, Executive Vice President & Chief External Affairs Officer, DANA

DANA EVP Melissa Hopkins will deliver the annual State of the Nonprofit Sector address, sharing current data and sector trends, key challenges and opportunities facing nonprofits, and DANA’s priorities and vision for supporting the sector.

Agenda

8:30 – 9:00 AM	Registration & Networking
8:30 – 2:00 PM	Exhibitor Tables Open
9:00 – 9:30 AM	Opening Session – IMPACT Rising: Beyond Measure
9:30 – 10:15 AM	Keynote Address – Dr. Jeffrey Reynolds
10:15 – 10:35 AM	Networking and Exhibitors
10:35 – 11:25 AM	Breakout Session – Morning
11:35 AM – 12:30 PM	Networking Lunch
12:30 – 1:20 PM	Breakout Session – Afternoon
1:30 – 2:30 PM	Plenary Panel
2:30 – 2:45 PM	State of the Nonprofit Sector in Delaware
2:45 – 3:00 PM	Closing Reflection & Celebration
3:00 PM	Event Concludes

Our Sponsors

Keynote Sponsor

Showcase Exhibitors

Interested in exhibiting at the IMPACT Delaware Conference?

Show your support for the Delaware nonprofit sector by sponsoring this event. 

Contact Person

Melissa Hopkins

Executive VP & Chief External Affairs Officer

[email protected]

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