Digital Strategy Summit 2025

Digital Strategy Summit

February 24th – February 28th | ONLY $99

5 big days giving you the latest digital strategy for nonprofits, advocacy, and social impact organizations.

What to expect from a 5 Day Online Digital Strategy Summit?

Explore winning strategies, immediately applicable tactics (news you can use!), and case studies from organizations leading in social impact.
A digital-first experience — not stream a half-hearted stream from an in-person event.
Designed for busy professionals and teams. Easy access, access to resources, and watch on-demand for the sessions you can’t make.
Access to every speaker in Q&A and extensive options to follow up and connect.
Perfect for Nonprofits, Civic and Advocacy Organizations, Social Impact Organizations, Political Campaigns, Charities, Labor Unions, Foundations and their Grantees, Educational Institutions, Governmental Agencies, International Organizations

Sessions

30+ planned with more details and schedules updating.

Monday, February 24th

Digital Strategy 2.0 – Where we go from here

12 ET / 9am PT

Brad Caldana, Founder @ Center for Digital Strategy

We began discussing Digital Strategy 2.0 for Nonprofits and Advocacy last year. The old playbooks are broken, and massive shifts are underway. 2024 only accelerated the movement from the digital strategy of the last decade. AI tools rapidly expanded and made real impacts for thousands of organizations.

Fundamentally, what digital is, the medium people are connecting on, and how they engage continue to evolve rapidly.

Fighting Hate Legislation: Narrative Change for Digital Organizers

1 ET / 10 am PT

Ellis Katz, Narrative Strategist and Education Justice Consultant

This is an adapted training on deconstructing hate narratives, building progressive infrastructure, organizing during legislative session, and narrative shifts and aftermaths in the cyclical work of fighting hate bills.

Shaping the Future: Digital Strategy and the Call for a New SOP

2 ET / 11 am PT

Rachel Kimber, Technology Futurist and Nonprofit Executive

Make sure marginalized voices are at the policymaking table.
Move the needle on equity and digital rights within AI.
Engage your community in the evolving conversation about tech ethics.
Position your organization as a thought leader in ethical AI governance.

The digital world is evolving—and so should our approach to governing it. In a time where AI is reshaping everything from healthcare to criminal justice, how can nonprofits ensure technology works for the people, not just the profits? It’s time for a **new SOP**—a Standard Operating Procedure that puts people before profits, champions equity, and protects the most vulnerable from tech’s potential harms.

In this session, we’ll decode how nonprofits can lead the charge in creating a **technosocial contract**—a governance framework for AI that prioritizes **ethical principles**, **digital rights**, and **social good**. Whether you’re a digital strategist or just curious about how AI fits into your nonprofit’s mission, we’ll explore how you can be a key player in a future where technology doesn’t leave anyone behind.

Join us to learn how your digital strategy can be the SOP for ensuring that technology serves all of us—especially those who need it most.

BEATS instead of Attribution

3 ET / 12 PT

Jen Boland, Founder @ Satisfyly/BEATS Analytics

Understand why last-click, view-through, and other attribution techniques may be misleading you
Learn about lift testing and how it can help you understand the incremental value of your marketing efforts
Find out how survey data helps you identify your donors’ awareness channels, and their motivation to contribute

Many in the nonprofit sector are acutely aware that the conventional last-click attribution method falls short of painting a comprehensive picture of a donor's path to giving. In an era where GDPR compliance, enhanced privacy features from browsers like Firefox, Apple’s robust Privacy Protections, and Chrome’s phase-out of third-party cookies complicate digital analytics, the task of accurately measuring engagement and conversion is increasingly complex.

In this session, attendees will be introduced to the BEATS model, an innovative framework for measurement that circumvents these modern challenges. BEATS stands for Business Financials, Experiments, Analysis, Technology, and Surveys—each a critical pillar in the quest for meaningful data interpretation.

My 4 Favorite Tips for Getting Useful Data and Actionable Insights out of Google Analytics 4.

4 ET / 1 PT

Emily Patterson, Founder @ Bee Measure

I’m a digital marketing consultant who works with Google Analytics 4 every single day. This talk covers what I tell all my clients about setting up and using GA4. In Google Analytics, you can’t go back and capture data from the past — if you weren’t tracking it in the first place. So if you want good insights and reporting for all your 2025 digital content and campaigns, here’s what you need to do now.

Making your Digital Comms Accessible

5 ET / 2 PT

Jessica Olson, Project & Finance Manager @ Campaign Disability

This session is built around three essential parts of comms: language, color, and imagery. We will focus on how making small changes in all three can come together to create better social media content.
This training will include actionable tools and tips that anyone can use every day.
At the end, time will be reserved for us to work together to design an inclusive social media toolkit that everyone can use.

Every day, political campaigns, organizations, and civic groups create impactful content to engage their communities and advocate for change. All progressive policies—such as healthcare, abortion, housing, and policing—significantly affect individuals with disabilities. Regardless of your focus, including individuals with disabilities in your work is essential. It is estimated that 25% of Americans have a disability, and this number has been growing since the start of the COVID pandemic.

In this session, we will explore accessibility in communications by focusing on three fundamental pillars: language, color, and graphics. We will discuss how you can improve your accessibility in each of these areas. Additionally, we will examine how these components work together on social media and collaborate to design an accessible toolkit. This training is interactive and is designed to leave you with practical skills you can start to use in your next social media post.

Jessica Olson has facilitated both in-person and online training sessions in data analytics, finance, and field programs for over a decade. Jessica, who is disabled, has consistently advocated for the inclusion of disabled people in political campaigns and organizing efforts. As part of a fellowship with Disability Lead, she developed a training platform aimed at empowering disabled individuals to participate in community and political organizing.

Better Understanding Your Audience & Leveraging Paid Search

6 ET / 3 PT

Xavier Harrison, Digital Marketing Instructor

This presentation is to help attendees better understand how to identify the behavioral patterns of their desired targeted audience and then how to leverage paid search to reach them.

Tuesday, February 25th

Progressive Digital Consultants of Color: A Conversation on Talent, Capacity, and Roadblocks in the Progressive Ecosystem

12 ET / 9am PT

Salim Shariff, Founder – Radicle Digital

Oluwakemi Oso, Chief Program Officer @ Higher Ground Institute

Kunal Basu-Dutta, Founding Partner @ Modern Bay Strategies

Barion Grant, Principal CEO @ GAP Strategy Group

Cristina Robinson, Acting Director, InclusiveDemocracy @ ReThink Media

Fundamentally, what digital is, the medium people are connecting on, and how they engage continue to evolve rapidly.

Superpowers for Everyday Heroes: How Small Nonprofits Can Leverage AI to Do (Almost) Everything

1 ET / 10 am PT

Aram Fischer, CEO & Cofounder @ Change Agent AI

Jamilia Land, Co-Founder @ Anti-Violence Safety and Accountability Project

Haley Bash, Executive Director @ Donor Organizer Hub

Hello small-but-might non-profit pro! If you feel like you're expected to be good at everything on a never-enough budget, then this is the session for you. We're going to cover how non-profit pros can leverage AI to give us skills that we don't have. We'll share stories and offer practical examples of how we've saved precious time and money drafting content, analyzing data, translating materials, and even using AI for tech support. We've done it and you will be able to, too.

Strengthening supporter relationships through technology

2 ET / 11 PT

Faizan Faruq, Head of Sales @ Engaging Networks

Supporter engagement is key for nonprofits, but how are you strengthening that support once you've captured their attention? In this session, Faizan will go over key strategies you should implement to further engage your supporters using the technology you already have.

What Does Strategy Actually Mean? A Non-Jargon Overview For Being Strategic Online

3 ET / 12 PT

Myles Bugbee, Founder @ Persuasion and Pixels

Garima Verma, Strategic Advisor & Consultant

An overview of what strategy really means, and why we often confuse tactics for strategy
The benefits of creating a strategy that stakeholders can buy into and act as a reference as you and your team develop programs to advance your goals
A few practical ways to start implementing this into your own work

Many people have conceptions about the "strategy" part of digital strategy. Tactics and execution are often equated with an overall strategy for a team or organization. This session will illuminate what it means to be strategic in a fragmented online world and provide actionable tools and takeaways for implementing strategic approaches in your organization or campaign setting. We will cover the benefits of having a clear strategy such as how this can help your team maximize your resources no matter your organization's size and funding. Participants will leave this session with a greater understanding of strategy and a "North Star" framework that you can apply to your own work.

Campaigns Without Borders: Scaling Global Impact from Local Teams

4 ET / 1 PT

Hernán Nadal, Senior Digital Strategist & Fundraising Consultant Latte Creative

Innovative strategies for mobilizing audiences in markets where organizations lack a physical presence, leveraging digital tools and cyberactivism to create meaningful impact. Drawing on successful projects like World Animal Protection’s “Virtual Office” and Greenpeace’s expansion into Colombia, participants will learn actionable insights and strategies to drive global change from local initiatives.

Leveraging Rapid Response Moments: Mobilize, Engage, and Amplify Your Message with Influencers and Creators

5 ET / 2 PT

Olivia Drummond, Senior Account Executive @ Good Influence

Chelsey Peppe, Senior Account Manager @ Good Influence

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, more and more audiences flock to digital channels and their preferred creator voices for news updates and political perspectives. Why? Because for many, it's easier to build trust to an individual face vs. an organization with numerous corporate ties. This opens up a whole new channel of engagement for organizations in the advocacy and political spaces.

In this workshop, we'll explore the value influencer marketing has when breaking news hits. While leveraging traditional and owned channels for rapid response moments have their own merits, incorporating an influencer strategy will bring new audiences into your organization's orbit that differ from audiences you'd find via other channels; think more educated, engaged, and primed to activate around your organization's mission/cause!

This workshop will showcase real-life case studies, including campaigns with the award-winning film The Apprentice, UNFPA, and Earthjustice, highlighting how creators effectively engaged audiences in critical moments to fundraise for their respective causes. We'll explore the strategies, results, and key takeaways from each activation. The workshop will feature creator videos and content, audience participation and a Q+A section.

Wednesday, February 26th

Lessons from 2024 & Moving Forward in 2025 | Creator Convo

12 ET / 9am PT

Ashwath Narayanan,
Chief Executive Officer @ Social Currant

Ellie Artone, Chief Creator Officer & Co-Founder @ Social Currant

Join the Social Currant team to debrief on lessons learned in working with creators in 2024 and where they are looking to in 2025. Access their learnings from thousands of creators collaborations across niche, format and more.

Surviving the Search Apocalypse: How Nonprofits Can Sustain Free Website Traffic in an AI-Driven World

1 ET / 10am PT

Katherine Ong, Owner & Principal @ WO Strategies LLC

Understand the Shift in Search Behavior. Learn why Google is no longer a primary discovery tool and how AI-driven chatbots quickly become the preferred method for users to find answers, impacting nonprofit visibility.
Develop an AI-optimized Search Strategy. Discover actionable steps and a testing framework to ensure your nonprofit appears in AI-driven search results, such as Google’s AI Overviews and ChatGPT responses.
Future-Proof Your Nonprofit’s Organic Traffic. Gain insights into emerging trends and tools to adapt to the new search ecosystem, safeguarding your nonprofit's ability to attract free traffic in an AI-dominated landscape.

As the search landscape evolves, the rules for driving free traffic are changing fast. Google is no longer the go-to discovery engine it once was; instead, it's where people go after they've identified a need. Recent data reveals that only 3.6% of overall search demand comes from non-branded queries—a stark shift in user behavior.

Adding to the complexity, AI is reshaping how people search. With more US internet users turning to ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots as their first choice for answers, it's predicted that AI-driven search will contribute up to a third of organic traffic within the next three years. Meanwhile, Google is doubling down on AI in search, leaving nonprofits at a crossroads: adapt or risk losing visibility.

Does your nonprofit have a strategy to show up in AI-driven search results like Google’s AI Overviews or ChatGPT recommendations? In this session, we’ll break down these sweeping changes and arm you with actionable strategies. You’ll walk away with a clear roadmap and testing plan to position your nonprofit for success in the age of AI search.

Disrupting Disinfo in 2025: Algorithmic and Search Strategies for Information Ecosystem Defense

2 ET / 11am PT

Britt Bischoff, Founder @ Britt Bischoff Strategies

How search and AI shape information discovery in 2025
Opposition tactics revealed from 2024 search manipulation campaigns
Strategic frameworks for getting ahead of disinformation and minimizing visibility
Multi-platform strategies to disrupt coordinated disinformation
Real-world case studies of successful

n 2025, we face a poisoned information ecosystem, shaped by extremists weaponizing information to manipulate public perception. With protections against disinformation and digital harms completely dismantled, we can no longer rely on big tech to protect the truth. It’s up to us to become the firewall against deception and misinformation in the spaces where people turn for answers. This session focuses on Proactive Digital Defense—strategies to safeguard the integrity of the information ecosystem and disrupt disinformation.

Drawing from real-world strategies and case studies, we’ll dive into strategic search and algorithmic tactics that can be applied in 2025 and beyond. This session will show how to disrupt the flow of false narratives and restore integrity in the information ecosystem, emphasizing proactive and strategic intervention over reactionary measures.

Mastering Direct Channels: A Nonprofit’s Guide to Digital Audience Building

3 ET / 12 PT

Tareq Alani, Co-Founder @ Chorus AI

Learn proven strategies to build and engage your nonprofit's digital audience across messaging channels (Email, SMS, What's App, Facebook Messenger, and more). This practical session will show you where to find your ideal supporters and how to create meaningful connections that drive real-world impact. You'll walk away with actionable techniques to grow and nurture your digital community while advancing your organization's mission.

More Than Messaging: How To Use Storytelling to Measurably Change Minds

4 ET / 1 PT

David Rochkind, Founder & Creative Director @ GROUND

Marley Rosario, Founding Partner, CEO @ MJ Ventures

Join industry leaders from Ground Media and MJV for a dynamic discussion on the next generation of strategic storytelling, focusing on case studies related to clean energy and equality. The panel will explore the powerful convergence of AI-enhanced tools, data-driven insights, and community-focused engagement that is transforming modern campaigns. Discover how purpose-driven storytelling can reshape outreach, create meaningful impact, and inspire real-world change. Attendees will gain an understanding of how to move beyond traditional storytelling to achieve measurable, scalable success within their organizations.

Every Dollar Counts: Smarter, Scalable Digital Ads for Campaigns of Any Size

5 ET / 2 PT

Maya Hutchinson, Founder @ BattlegroundAI

Build an effective digital ad strategy that scales with your campaign
Leverage AI and automation to optimize performance and stretch your budget
Identify the right platforms and creative strategies to engage your target voters
Measure success and adjust your approach in real time

Every campaign, no matter the size needs an efficient, data-driven advertising strategy to maximize impact without wasting budget. This session will walk you thought a case-study and best practices on building a digital advertising strategy for any budget.

How to Build Online Community

6 ET / 3 PT

Haley Bash, Executive Director @ Donor Organizer Hub

Building an online community is crucial for organizations and campaigns to connect with their audience, foster engagement, and drive action. However, with growing concerns about trust in social media, it's essential to navigate these challenges and create a safe and inclusive space for meaningful action taking together. This session will explore the importance of building online communities, strategies for success, and how to address concerns around trust and building volunteer-driven spaces.

Thursday, February 27th

Introducing the Digital Maturity Framework to North America

12 ET / 9am PT

Benjamin Childers, Founder & CEO @ Stratovation Partners

Brani Milosevic, Modernisation Strategist and Coach @ Digital Leadership

Julius Honnor, Founder & Director @ Contentious

For the last 5 years, the Digital Maturity Framework has been used with more than 3,000 people and 100's of nonprofit organizations in Europe, the UK, and the Asia-Pacific to analyze their organizations’ digital strengths and weaknesses. And now, we are pleased to be bringing this transformational tool to North America. Join Brani Milosevic, founder of the Digital Maturity Framework & Digital Leadership Ltd., and Ben Childers, founder of Stratovation Partners, as they walk you through the framework's structure, explain the 2024 results, and show you how to take it yourself

Digital Storytelling

1 ET / 10am PT

Betsy Bevis-Smith, Digital Organizing & Political Strategist

Using storytelling to capture attention can be tricky, especially in an age of constant noise. Hear from digital and community organizer Betsy Bevis-Smith about why digital storytelling is important, how to do it ethically, and how to create a winning storytelling strategy.

The Shining, Media Literacy & Social Media: Rage, Erasure, and the Stories We Tell

2 ET / 11am PT

Jenny Ambrose, Founder @ Puree Fantastico

Recognize and challenge emotional manipulation in social media content to avoid falling into outrage-driven engagement.
Critically assess narratives for historical accuracy and the erasure of marginalized voices, ensuring a more balanced and informed perspective.
Amplify authentic, diverse voices by using media literacy strategies to identify and elevate underrepresented viewpoints in your digital content.

What The Shining– a film from 1980–reveals about social media today—algorithm-driven outrage, historical distortion, and digital erasure. This talk explores how media literacy helps us navigate misinformation, question dominant narratives, and create content that informs rather than manipulates. Attendees will gain practical strategies to analyze media, recognize emotional triggers, and amplify authentic voices online.

Video in the Age of AI

3 ET / 12 PT

Michael Hoffman, CEO @ Gather Voices

Join Michael Hoffman, CEO of Gather Voices and a leading expert in digital marketing, for a compelling session on “Video in the Age of AI.”

Discover how AI can enhance and streamline various aspects of community-driven video marketing campaigns, including content creation, personalization, distribution, and analytics. Learn how the age of AI will change what kind of content people are exposed to and what content will cut through the noise.

Michael will distill his extensive experience into practical strategies for leveraging video to boost engagement and build community.

With a background spanning technology innovation, social cause video, and digital marketing strategy, Michael offers invaluable insights into creating impactful video content. This session is a must-attend for those looking to harness the combined power of AI and authentic storytelling to elevate their engagement strategy.

From Chaos to Clarity: Transform Your Website with Powerful Information Architecture and Taxonomy

4 ET / 1 PT

Ouassim Sadellah, CIO @ IndieTech Solutions

Seth Jacobs, Director of Digital Strategy @ IndieTech Solutions

Build Clear Website Structures: Attendees will learn how to create an effective Information Architecture that simplifies website navigation and enhances user experience.
Organize Content with Purpose: Participants will understand how to develop a thoughtful taxonomy that categorizes content in a way that makes it easily searchable and accessible for users.
Apply Real-World Strategies: By the end of the training, attendees will be able to apply practical techniques and real-life examples to transform their own website designs, ensuring clarity and user-friendliness.

Join this hands-on workshop to explore how to take your website from cluttered and confusing to clear and user-friendly through the power of Information Architecture (IA) and Taxonomy. With real-life examples and activities based on Seth and Ouassim’s years of experience working with nonprofits on website redesigns, we will share how we collaboratively work on new content strategies for websites for seamless navigation and meaningful user experiences. Whether you’re in the middle of a website redesign, just starting out, or if you’d just like to make some improvements to your IA, this workshop will provide you with practical tools and techniques to transform your website into an intuitive and organized digital space. Get ready to bring clarity and purpose to your site’s design!
Ouassim Sedallah, CTO of IndieTech Solutions, and Seth Jacobs, Director of Digital Strategy of IndieTech Solutions, will host this fun, interactive workshop.

How to make the most of a moment: setting your campaign / non-profit up for success to leverage rapid response for digital fundraising.

5 ET / 2 PT

Virginia Purcell, Managing Digital Strategist @ Middle Seat

Virginia Purcell is a seasoned digital strategist who leads Middle Seat's online fundraising work for Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez among other major clients. They will discuss how to make the most of rapid response moments across verticals: from the process, to the tactics, to exciting real-life examples.

Models for Working with Influencers

6 ET / 3 PT

Eileen Pollet, Founder @ Ravenna Strategies

Michelle Stockwell, Social Media & Creator Partnerships Consultant

Think beyond paying someone with millions of followers to post about your candidate or issue! There are many ways to work with content creators and get user generated content. In this presentation we will talk about several models and provide examples of them in real life. We will talk about the cost of these models and the pros/cons to them.

Friday, February 28th

You're (probably) doing digital metrics wrong

12 ET / 9am PT

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

What really matters when creating a digital metrics report? How often should you be reporting on your metrics, which numbers should you include and (most importantly) how should you contextualize those numbers? This presentation will walk you through the process of creating and explaining a report that helps evaluate your communications strategy and improve your performance.

Cross-Sector Collaboration & Digital Organizing

2 ET / 11am PT

Roshani Kothari, Digital Strategy Consultant

Chief Thought Leadership Officer, Words Normalize Behavior LLC

Brenna Holmes, Founder & Principal @ Brenna Holmes Advisory Consulting

Geoff Livingston, Founder & Chief Strategy Officer @
CognitivePath

Tom Spencer, Founder & CTO @ Advocacy AI

Jen Frazier, Founder + CEO @ Firefly Partners

Now more than ever it's critical that we are creative in terms of digital organizing and tactics. Let's discuss the opportunities for collaboration across sectors in terms of digital organizing. How can we help each other to cross-promote our events and campaigns? How can we be creative and engage social impact communities, religious organizations and local communities to engage more people to take action?

Working Effectively with a Digital Services Vendor

3 ET / 12 PT

Laura Quinn Nonprofit, Website Coach & Guide @ Laura S. Quinn Consulting

Brenna Jennings, Senior Director, Digital @ ASPCA

Methods of finding a great firm or consultant (and why a RFI is usually better than a RFP)
Setting your organization up for success
How to build a great relationship on both hourly vs fixed price projects, and fixed scope vs ongoing projects
Tips for managing specific kinds of projects, including branding and communication strategies, websites, analytics and optimization; ongoing social, ad management or fundraising help

Are you thinking of working with a digital services firm or consultant on a project? Some straightforward best practices can make the difference between a fabulous result and a disappointing (and potentially expensive) mess. Laura S. Quinn, a website coach who works alongside nonprofits to manage digital website firms and consultants, will team up with Brenna Jennings Senior Director, Digital at ASPCA to share best practices that will help any organization have a great project, on time, on budget, and resulting in a great ongoing relationship.

Digital Rapid Response: How to Be Ready When the Moment Strikes

4 ET / 1 PT

Colin Delany, Founder @ Epolitics.com

How to choose and optimize digital channels for rapid response communications
How to establish procedures, set staff expectations and create content before a crisis arrives
How to build relationships essential to modern rapid response, from grassroots supporters to influencers to coalition partners to traditional journalists

Savvy communicators know that effective rapid response usually requires preparation. But how can organizations and activists be ready when they may not even know what kind of crisis is coming?

This online training will help you gather resources, develop procedures and build relationships before you need them desperately. We'll cover:

What does effective digital rapid response look like?
What digital technologies can help get your message out, and how do you optimize them for rapid response?
How should your organization's internal processes change to allow rapid response to actually be rapid?
How do you set expectations for staff and management?
How should your digital program integrate with your other rapid-response efforts?
What kinds of content should you bank in advance?
How do you involve allies when you have to move fast in the moment?
How can your grassroots activists support your response campaign?
What other relationships should you be building before you need them?

We'll cover these questions and more. Session will include Q&A.

FAQs

Is the event online?

Yes, to make the event as accessible as possible we offer our summits completely online so people can join from anywhere in the world.

Will sessions be recorded?

Yes, all sessions will be recorded and available immediately after the session. We will edit the recordings for a better playback for you when possible.

Will we be able to connect with others?

Yes! This event will give attendees, sponsors, and speakers the chance to connect. The live sessions and chat are all held inside of our new community site.

What type of payment methods do you accept?

You can pay with a credit card using the register link.

If you need to pay with an online check or invoice please email: [email protected]

Do you offer scholarships?

Yes, we offer scholarships for individuals and organizations who need them. Please use this form: https://centerfordigitalstrategy.com/scholarship

Why isn't it free?

I’ve seen free summits for nonprofits. Why isn’t this one free?
The majority of free summits and conferences make the attendees the commodity. What you end up with is a sponsor-centered event.

We have done away with attendee data sharing and are working to create more authentic connections between sponsors and attendees.

Will the schedule or content change?

Like any live event, the content and schedules are subject to change because the speakers are humans, and technology will always be complicated.