2026 APRA Canada Conference Sessions

In celebration of Apra Canada's 25th anniversary, a panel of research leaders will discuss the evolution of the field, challenges and headwinds, and where they see our profession heading in the future. Stream: all Format: Panel Ideal Industries: Animal Welfare & the Environment; Arts & Museums; Community Services; Healthcare; Higher Education; International Aid; and Religious

In this session, we'll share how we developed SKonnect, an in-house app that enables campaign cabinet members to quickly review prospects, share relationship insights, and contribute directly to prospect management. Learn how a collaborative effort between fundraising, prospect research, and technology teams improved prospect qualification, accelerated decision-making, enhanced data quality, and created a more user-friendly experience for volunteer leaders. We'll also share key lessons on collaboration, data privacy, and using technology to strengthen - not replace - relationships. We will also demonstrate how to use the app the review prospects. Learning Outcomes: Stream: Relationship & Portfolio Management Format: Breakout Session...

Organizations are rapidly adopting AI tools for prospect research, donor communications, reporting, and fundraising strategy, often without clear governance, workflows, or risk boundaries. This practical workshop explores how prospect development professionals can integrate AI into their daily operations responsibly, ethically, and effectively without overwhelming teams or compromising trust Participants will learn: * how to structure AI-assisted research workflows * practical prompting methods for prospect development * where human oversight is still essential * how to reduce reputational and ethical risks * common AI mistakes nonprofit teams are already making * lightweight governance approaches for small and mid-sized organizations This session...

In the midst of a $1 billion campaign, the University of Montreal embarked on a journey of portfolio optimization to enhance efficiency, foster success and drive growth. Using data, research and prospect strategy, the Prospect Management team was able to optimize Principal giving, Major giving and Planned giving portfolios, giving development officers clarity and realigning their focus. Learning Outcomes Stream: Relationship & Portfolio Management Format: General Session Ideal Industries: Higher Education

Most fundraising analytics functions don't fail because the tools are wrong. They stall because sustaining them gets treated as a one-time project rather than an ongoing operational commitment. This session shows how small and mid-sized Canadian charities can build durable analytical visibility using systems they already own. This session presents practical, low-budget models for building an in-house analytics function using Raiser's Edge NXT, Power BI, Power Automate, Excel, and low-cost AI tools such as ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. Organised around two staffing models — an RE DBA with roughly 20% BI time, and a dedicated 0.5–1 FTE analyst with Power...

At SickKids Foundation we launched a Data Literacy training program called First Responders to reign in data chaos and build a culture of data stewardship across the organization. Our approach has been collaborative: we partner with diverse stakeholders across business units to design education and outreach that meet people where they are and support a range of learning styles and preferences. Learning Outcomes Share the tools and methods we used to design and roll out the program, including both technology and communication strategies Facilitate a workshop exercise to help participants envision how similar initiatives could be tailored to their own...

Direct response programme budgets at most Canadian charities are set the same way every year: last year's results, adjusted for optimism. This session replaces that approach with a rigorous, reproducible forecasting workflow built entirely on tools most shops already hold — Excel Solver, free AI assistants, and Raiser's Edge NXT gift data. In twenty focused minutes, attendees work through a complete annual revenue scenario model: extracting the right gift history and constituent signals from RE NXT; building a four-stream revenue model covering renewals, upgrades, new donor acquisition, and mid-level giving; and configuring Excel Solver — a free add-in included in...

Most prospect research workflows are built around wealth: capacity scores, real estate holdings, investment assets. These are useful. They do not tell you how to get a meeting. Relationship mapping answers a different question. Not whether someone can give; whether someone you already know can introduce you to someone who can. In Canada, three publicly available data sources (T3010s, SEDAR+, and public sector salary disclosures) are particularly well suited to answering that question. This session teaches researchers how to use them. The session opens with a scenario most researchers in the room will recognize. A prospect your organization has been...

This session cuts through the hype to focus on how AI can be used practically, ethically, and credibly as part of a modern prospect research toolkit. Designed for researchers at all experience levels, we will demonstrate how tools like Claude and ChatGPT can support core prospect research activities such as prospect identification and relationship mapping without replacing professional judgment or violating data governance standards. In addition, the session will address where AI tools fail. Ethical considerations, confidentiality boundaries, and internal policy alignment will be discussed throughout. Learning Outcomes: How to recognize common risks including hallucinations, overconfidence, bias, and misattribution How...

Governing authority, accountability, and trust in AI-driven change AI initiatives rarely fail because the technology does not work. They fail because leadership does not adapt when algorithms begin influencing decisions. As AI enters projects and operations, authority blurs, accountability weakens, and trust erodes long before implementation. This session focuses on the leadership and governance breakdowns that cause AI-driven change to stall early. Drawing on real transformation and recovery work, it examines why fear and certainty loss appear before resistance becomes visible, how leaders unintentionally accelerate pushback, and why training alone does not create readiness. Participants leave with a practical leadership...

Leading change under pressure without burnout or silent failure When capable, committed professionals resist change, the issue is rarely motivation or mindset. Under sustained pressure, overload triggers neurological threat responses that degrade judgment, learning, and decision quality. This session reframes resistance and burnout as predictable outcomes of how change is designed and led. Grounded in neuroscience and leadership under pressure, it explains why smart people resist logical change, how stress quietly undermines execution, and why burnout has become a systemic risk. Leaders leave with practical insight into recognizing overload early and redesigning change environments before resistance turns into disengagement or...