TANGO 2026 Building Bridges Educational Sessions
2026 Sessions & Speakers
Our one-day educational conference specifically for nonprofit organizations will focus on business-oriented sessions where you’ll learn strategic best practices in an array of areas to help your organization thrive. Our sessions will be presented by industry experts who either work directly with Nonprofits or are affiliated with a Nonprofit organization. We are proud to offer a variety of session topics for you to choose from!
We will have two simultaneous educational sessions running for you to choose from.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
GOLD SPONSORS
Sessions & Speakers
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Registration, Breakfast & Meet the Partners 8:15 a.m – 8:40 a.m
Registration and breakfast will take place casually from 8:00am to 8:30am During this time, you’ll also be able to network with leaders in the nonprofit sector, our TANGO Business Partners, along with our guest speakers and TANGO Members.
Conference Welcome – 8:40 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.
Rollin Schuster
President & Founder, TANGO
Managing Director, NFP, an AON Company
Special Keynote Speaker: 9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
Kay’s Pier South
Creating Space in a Nonstop World: Leveraging Reflection as a Leadership Practice
The greatest challenge facing many leaders today isn’t a lack of information; it’s a lack of space to think.
Nonprofit leaders, and the organizations that support them, spend their days responding to urgent needs, making complex decisions, building partnerships, and advancing missions that matter deeply. Yet in the midst of serving others, it can become difficult to create space to pause, reflect, and hear our own voice.
As we begin a day filled with new ideas, learning, and connection, this interactive keynote invites participants to do something unexpected: slow down long enough to notice what they’re learning…not just from the speakers around them, but from themselves.
Through dynamic storytelling, guided reflection, and practical tools, Lauren will share simple ways to create intentional moments of reflection amid the demands of everyday leadership. You’ll will leave with greater clarity, deeper self-trust, and practical strategies to carry the day’s insights back to your teams, organizations, and communities.
Guest Speaker:
SESSION 1: 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
Kay’s Pier South Room
Title TBD – Emergency Preparedness
description coming
Guest Speaker:
SESSION 2: 11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Glass Room
Find the Money
Need description
Guest Speakers:
SESSION 2: 11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Glass Room
TBD – Legal
Need description
Guest Speakers:
Lunch & Networking: 12:20 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Kay’s Pier South Room
SESSION 3: 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Kay’s Pier South
Genuine AI Use vs. Gimmicks: Marketing with Today’s Technology
Learning how to meaningfully implement the use of AI within your business can feel like one more thing on an already overflowing “to-do” list. We’re told it’s a game-changer that will save us hours, but because the technology is ever-changing, it often feels like a waste of time we don’t have. In the nonprofit world, we can’t afford to sound like a machine—we need to sound like people who care.
Ben Abbas and Ryan Krejci from the Cause Inspired team are stepping away from their digital playgrounds to have an in-person, real conversation about what AI looks like in the trenches of nonprofit marketing in 2026. Between Ben’s strategic eye and Ryan’s deep dive into digital tools, they’ll break down which AI shortcuts actually help you reach more people and which ones just add more noise to an already loud world.
In this session, we’ll talk about how to:
- Spot the “Helpful” vs. the “Hype”: Figure out which AI tools actually give you your afternoon back and which ones are just shiny distractions.
- Write Like a Human (With a Little Help): Use AI to beat writer’s block for donor emails and ads without losing the heart and soul of your mission.
- Keep Your Reputation Safe: Learn why “copy-pasting” from a bot can actually hurt your standing with Google and how to keep your content feeling authentic.
- Navigate the New Way People Search: Understand how AI is changing the way donors find you online and how to stay visible when the rules of the internet are shifting.
- Decide What to Automate (and What to Touch Yourself): Create a simple “gut check” to know when to let a tool handle the work and when a task needs a real person’s touch.
Whether you’re curious about AI but don’t know where to start, or you’re worried it’s going to make your marketing feel “cold,” this presentation is about finding a balance. You’ll walk away with a game plan from Ben and Ryan on how to implement these tools in the most authentic way possible.
Guest Speakers:
SESSION 3: 1:30 p.m. – 2:20 p.m.
Glass Room
Balancing Mission and Market: Nonprofit Compensation That Works
Nonprofit compensation isn’t designed in a vacuum. It requires the right balance of mission, market data, governance, and budget realities. Nonprofit organizations face unique compensation challenges, from attracting and retaining high-performing talent to managing regulatory scrutiny and ensuring pay practices align with organizational values and resources.
This practical and engaging session will provide a framework for designing and evaluating compensation programs that are competitive, compliant, and strategically aligned with organizational goals. Participants will explore current compensation trends, governance and compliance considerations, and best practices for base pay, incentive compensation, and executive pay in the nonprofit environment. The session will also highlight common pitfalls, emerging issues, and actionable strategies that can help organizations attract talent, manage risk, and support long-term impact.
Learning Objectives
- Understand the unique compensation challenges and opportunities facing nonprofit organizations.
- Identify key market trends and structural differences between nonprofit and for-profit compensation programs.
- Apply practical approaches for designing compensation programs that balance competitiveness, compliance, affordability, and mission alignment.(Suggested objective based on the session content and focus areas.)
- Recognize governance considerations and emerging compensation issues that may affect nonprofit employers.
Guest Speaker:
Sharla St. Rose, DBA
Managing Director, PEO & Staffing Practice Leader
NFP, an Aon company
Megan Nail, CCP, SHRM-SCP, CEBS
SVP, Total Rewards Practice
NFP, an Aon company
Rollin Schuster
President & Founder, TANGO
Managing Director, NFP, an AON Company
SESSION 1: 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Kay’s Pier South
What’s Sticking With You? Reflecting on the Day and Bringing It Back to Work
Before heading back to your organizations and communities, join Lauren for one final opportunity to pause, reflect, and make meaning of the day’s learning. Through guided reflection, partner conversations, and facilitated audience dialogue, you will identify the ideas you want to carry forward, the actions you want to take, and the ways you hope to lead differently
Guest Speakers:
Closing: 3:00 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.
Kay’s Pier South Room
Conference Wrap-Up
Register Today
Building Bridges is complimentary to TANGO Members and Nonprofit Organizations.
Non-Members pay a fee that goes to the
TANGO Foundation.
Thank you to our Partners
TANGO has put together a team of partners who can provide seasoned advice and counsel within many areas of expertise. We have learned there are often times when nonprofit organizations are faced with strategic or operational business decisions where consultation from an outside voice can ensure they are making the best decision for the organization’s future.
SESSION 1: 10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
Kay’s Pier South Room
Leveraging your Board of Directors for Maximum Impact
Need description
Guest Speakers: