Perspectives How-To Day for United Ways
Did you ever wish someone would share with you the secrets for raising more money, increasing your impact, engaging your board and volunteers, and mastering your marketing? Perspectives 2026 How-To Day for United Ways is the one-day virtual event that will fulfill your wish:
Show Me How-To Do What I Need to Do!
We’ll tackle the toughest topics including attracting more donors, explaining what you do, getting board members to attend board meetings, holding special events that are worth the effort, engaging volunteers in your work, truly measuring your impact, and many more!
Join us on February 3, 2026, for a one-day virtual event packed full of how-to’s from beginning to end. We’ll show you how to do what you need to do, share tips and tricks to make your work easier and save you time, examine examples from United Ways that have figured it out, and give you time to ask questions and share your challenges.
PROGRAM
Perspectives 2026 How-To Day for United Ways is divided into five one-hour sessions, all held on February 3, 2026.
Session 1: Grow and Diversify Your Resources
We’ll make raising money easier, faster, and more effective by showing you strategies to attract new and younger donors, secure more support from companies and organizations, hold high-return special events, and empower your affinity groups to raise money! During this session you will learn how to:
Attract younger donors to support your United Way by doing these four things
Get your donors to stop designating and give directly to your United Way using these five steps
Get more organizations to support your work by offering the right combination of sponsorships for your community
Streamline your sponsorship process when you follow these five steps
Raise more money from your special events when you include all five essential giving opportunities
Increase membership and participation in your affinity groups by doing these two things
Save staff time and effort running your affinity groups by simplifying the structure of your affinity groups
Session 2: Ignite Your Impact
We’ll take your impact to a whole new level by sharing strategies to focus your impact, sharpen your allocation process, set goals that inspire, and measure impact, outcomes and success for your United Way! During this session you will learn how to:
Develop deeper impact by leaving categories behind and targeting an issue
Select a goal that changes lives in your community and motivates your supporters by using these tips
Maximize your impact by choosing the right allocation methods for your community
Stop promoting your partner agencies outcomes by developing your own outcomes for your United Way
Session 3: Engage Your Board and Volunteers
We’ll make your frustrations go away with proven strategies for engaging volunteers, building the ideal board, and having board members attend and participate in meetings! During this session you will learn how to:
Build meaningful volunteer relationships with your United Way instead of passing-through volunteers to partners
Transform your board meetings from meetings of the bored, to everyone is on-board!
Find the board members you need and get rid of the ones you don’t!
Teach your board how to invest in your United Way instead of penny-pinching!
Session 4: Master Your Marketing and Communication
We’ll teach you the essential marketing and communications strategies that will increase awareness and understanding of your United Way, your impact, and your results! During this session you will learn how to:
Get donors to give to your United Way when you tell them the three things they need to hear
Attract more donors and volunteers to your United Way with this simple call-to-action formula
Increase your donor’s understanding of what you do when you stop talking this way
Save lots of time and money on your workplace campaign materials by making this one change
Session 5: Answers and Conversations
We’ll finish off the day with an opportunity for you to ask questions and join the conversation about anything and everything we discussed during sessions one through four.
Even if you don’t have a question or something you want to share, come join us and listen. You’ll learn plenty from the answers and conversations!
SCHEDULE
Perspectives 2026 How-To Day for United Ways runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern time. There are five sessions for you to attend:
10:00 a.m. – 11 a.m. ET*
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET*
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. ET*
2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. ET*
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET*
* All times are eastern time
Grow and Diversify Your Resources
Ignite Your Impact
Engage Your Board and Volunteers
Master Your Marketing and Communication
Answers and Conversations
Gary’s sessions are always top-rated, his evaluations are filled with comments like these:
GREAT presentation, GREAT presenter! SO relative, SO informative, and there was SO much to take away from this session!!! (Southern Institute attendee)
Gary was engaging and deeply understood the challenges of United Ways. He provided us with practical solutions and easy to apply concepts. (Southeast Regional Conference attendee)
Highly relevant to the challenges facing United Ways today. (Great Rivers Conference attendee)
The most beneficial one-day training that I have ever gone to. (Indiana United Ways State Meeting attendee)
PRESENTER & GUIDE
Gary M. Goscenski, Senior Consultant, Perspectives
Since 1989, Gary has provided research, strategic planning, training and guidance to over 145 United Ways throughout the United States and Canada. He has presented over 50 sessions at regional United Way conferences including: Great Rivers Conference, Western Regional Conference, Southern Institute, and Southeast Regional Conference, as well as at state association conferences and meetings in Michigan, Indiana, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the Pacific Northwest.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
Perspectives 2026 How-To Day for United Ways will provide valuable how-to’s for Presidents/CEOs/Executive Directors, community impact staff, resource development staff, and marketing staff. Every member of your team will benefit from attending!
DRESS CODE
Perspectives 2026 How-To Day for United Ways is a virtual event, but unlike a virtual meeting, you will not be on camera. During the sessions you can type and submit questions, and time permitting you will be able to unmute your microphone and talk with us, again without being on camera. So come as you are, there is no need to dress up!
RECORDINGS
Perspectives 2026 How-To Day for United Ways is a virtual event, but unlike a virtual meeting you will not be on camera. During the sessions you can type and submit questions, and time permitting you will be able to unmute your microphone and talk with us, again without being on camera. So come as you are, there is no need to dress up!
COST
Perspectives 2026 How-To Day for United Ways is $150 per person and includes a link for participating in all five sessions and one-year access to the recordings for all five sessions.
Please note that you will receive a unique registration link which can only be used by one person and will not work if the link is forwarded or shared with another person.
Be sure to register early as registration will be capped at 250 registrants.
Want a discount?
Early Registration Discount: If you register on or before January 13, 2026, save $25 on your registration. Use discount code EARLY
Multiple Attendee Discount: Will more than one person be attending from your United Way? Save 15% on each registration when more than one person attends from your United Way. Use discount code MULTIPLE
Perspectives Client Discount: If you are a client of Perspectives Consulting Group, email us at info@focusedperspectives.com and we’ll send you a discount code to save $50 on your registration.
Perspectives Consulting Group, Inc. is an independent consulting firm and is not affiliated with, nor sponsored by, United Way Worldwide.