Spectrum 2025: Business NOT as Usual is your opportunity to learn from a rich variety of marketing and communications professionals! After beginning your day with our impactful and high-energy keynote speaker, you'll have your pick of more than a dozen engaging sessions and two interactive workshops. Sending multiple representatives from your organization to leverage the day's opportunities to their fullest is highly recommended!
Conclude your day with inspiring closing remarks and a fun social hour, including raffle item giveaways. You'll leverage networking opportunities and engage with exhibitors throughout the day—and much more. We will see you at Spectrum!
Conference Timeline:
8:00–8:45 AM: Breakfast and Networking
8:50–10:00 AM: Keynote Speaker
10:00–10:10 AM: Break
10:10 AM–noon: Morning Workshop
10:10–11:00 AM: Session 1
11:00–11:10 AM: Break
11:10–noon: Session 2
Noon–1:00 PM: Lunch and Networking
1:10–3:00 PM: Afternoon Workshop
1:10–2:00 PM: Session 3
2:00–2:10 PM: Break
2:10–3:00 PM: Session 4
3:00–3:10 PM: Break
3:10–3:45 PM: Closing Remarks
3:45–4:30 PM: Social Hour, Networking, and Raffle Giveaways!
Keynote Speaker
No Blueprint, No Problem! | 8:50–10:00 AM
No Blueprint, No Problem! | 8:50–10:00 AM Chi Anderson
Founder, Take Care Sis
Chi Anderson is a powerhouse nonprofit founder, model mentor, actress and self care advocate whose work centers around creating access, empowerment and healing for minority women and teen girls. As the visionary behind the 'Take Care Sis' movement, Chi has successfully built community - centered wellness experiences with no cheat code - just passion, purpose and unmatched grit. Her journey is filled with pivots, pressure and undeniable payoffs, and she shares it all with bold transparency, wit and relatability. Whether on stage or serving, Chi helps others find the courage to start, the strength to keep going and the confidence to take up space unapologetically.
In this powerful keynote, Chi Anderson shares how she built a purpose-driven nonprofit from scratch - without funding, connections or a formal plan. Through real stories, tough lessons and hard truths, Chi walks the audience through pivots, pressure and the ultimate pay off of walking in purpose. With her signature energy and raw transparency, Chi invites attendees to stop waiting for the perfect conditions and start building bravely and with boldness. Get ready to learn, laugh and leave fired up!
Closing Remarks
Courage & Creativity During Disruption | 3:10–3:45 PM
Michelle Miller
President & CEO, Philanthropy Missouri
Michelle Miller (she/her) began her tenure at Philanthropy Missouri (formerly Gateway Center for Giving) in December 2021, bringing 25 years of advocacy and 15 years of nonprofit, public policy, and philanthropic sector experience. Through PhilMO, she works with Members and partners to support a collaborative, purpose-driven, and effective philanthropic sector that advances a thriving, equitable Missouri.
Nonprofit professionals are no strangers to change – or the ingenuity it demands. Michelle will reflect on the current social sector landscape and the inventive spirit, adaptability, and collective strength in our region’s philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. While clear-eyed about the real challenges we’re facing, she will explore opportunities for the sector to adapt and even find momentum to shape what comes next. These closing thoughts will leave you energized, connected, and ready to carry the “Business NOT as Usual” mindset into your own work.
Workshops
Morning Workshop
Rooted in Legacy, Marketing for a Brighter Future
10:10 AM–12:00 PM
Morning WorkshopYvette LeGear Hartsfield, MA, CAP, CFRE
Vice President, Campaigns, Let's Build Hope
It is tough to know where to start when building a planned giving program. It starts with a strong marketing plan and tools. Join us as we discuss gathering the right marketing tools for your budget and finding those donors most likely be ready to hear your message.
Afternoon Workshop
Making Your Nonprofit Backable: How to Equip Your Board to Tell the Right Story
1:10 PM–3:00 PM
Afternoon WorkshopAngela Marino
Principal, Relevant Thread Consulting, LLC
Your board is one of your nonprofit’s most powerful credibility signals, yet even well-meaning and dedicated board members often tell the wrong story, no story at all, or feel unsure how to represent the organization. The result is missed opportunities and lost confidence from funders and the community. In this interactive workshop, you will learn how to equip your board with clear, usable messaging and a realistic role in fundraising. Through examples, practice, and group discussion, you will leave with a board-ready anchor message and one practical step you (yes, you!) can take to help your board strengthen support for your organization.
Session 1
The A–Z of Making a Fund the Need Video
10:10–11:00 AM
Dan Parris
Co-founder, Speak Up Studios
What attendees will take away from this presentation is a step by step system for how to plan for their “Fund the Need”/ “Mission Moment” videos for their galas and special events. We will talk about how far ahead you should start planning, how to find that great story, all the assets your video production company will need, do’s and don’ts during filming, how to pull great content from your interviewee(s), how to prevent the last minute scramble to get the video done and what really tugs at the heart strings of your attendees so they donate more.
Small Staff + A Big Impact = Success
10:10–11:00 AM
Randi Schenberg
Community Relations Director, Crown Center for Senior Living
This session speaks directly to early-career nonprofit marketers or those navigating the realities of working alone or on a small team. You’ll learn practical, low-cost strategies that don’t require fancy tools or big budgets. We’ll focus on simplifying your workload and identifying where to focus efforts to be most effective. We’ll talk less about trendy technology and more about building strong partnerships and creating repeatable systems. Interactive small group discussions will give you the chance to share struggles, brainstorm with peers, and discover what others have found helpful. We’ll create a space where attendees learn from one another and build connections. It’s designed for the marketer who’s doing it all, learning as they go, and craving guidance that’s practical, relatable, and immediately useful.
Marketing on a Mission
10:10–11:00 AM
Marketing on a MissionAmy Willis
Co-founder and CEO, WOOF Social Marketing
"Your cause is huge. Your marketing budget… isn’t." In this session we’ll unpack a three-part playbook for nonprofit visibility:
1. Be Seen: Free & low-cost tools that boost brand awareness
2. Stretch Every Asset: How to remix one story into a month of scroll-stopping posts, emails, and reels.
3. Live Page Makeovers: Share your org’s social profile for a real-time “fix-it” teardown, so you leave with practical tweaks to apply immediately.
Bring your biggest content headache; leave with a system and the receipts to prove it works.
Sponsorship Playbook: Winning Support and Partners
10:10–11:00 AM
Matt Menietti
Executive Director, TechArtista Foundation
In The Sponsorship Playbook: Proven Plays to Win Support and Turn Prospects into Partners, Matt Menietti leverages over a decade of nonprofit leadership and more than $1 million raised in cash and in-kind support to share a concise, lecture-style framework for attracting, structuring, and renewing high-value sponsorships. You’ll learn to identify aligned sponsors, craft tiered packages, build a simple financial model, and design post‑event reports. In this interactive session you'll leave with with actionable strategies to elevate your asks and build lasting, value‑added partnerships.
Session 2
Direct Mail Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
11:10 AM–12:00 PM
Richie Graham
Director - Direct Mail Division, Modern Litho - St. Louis
This session will cover why Direct Mail remains critical for nonprofits, common mistakes that cost nonprofits donations and engagement, and actionable solutions to transform you direct mail campaigns.
Panel Discussion: Building Adaptive Nonprofits in a Rapidly Changing Community
11:10 AM–12:00 PM
Heather Blue, Director, Prison Fellowship
Beth Gunter, Chief Revenue Officer, Spry Digital
Moderator: Darcella Craven, Government and Community Relations Director, Operation Food Search
Real Talk: An introspection and strategic analysis in nonprofit management, especially as organizations navigate today's rapidly changing landscape.
The Rebrand Question: Is It Time?
11:10 AM–12:00 PM
The Rebrand Question: Is It Time?Annmarie Willis
Vice President of Marketing and Communications, EverTrue
In a rapidly shifting marketplace, standing still can mean falling behind. Using EverTrue’s journey (formerly Lutheran Senior Services) as a case study, this session explores how one of the nation’s largest nonprofit aging services providers answered that critical branding question. We’ll walk through how the organization evaluated its legacy, faced hard truths about the current brand’s limitations, and ultimately embraced a bold transformation—rebranding to EverTrue—not to walk away from its mission, but to walk forward with it. This session is designed for leaders and communicators ready to navigate the inflection point between preserving tradition and preparing for tomorrow’s customer. Learn how EverTrue made the moment matter—and how you can, too.
Nonprofit Videos: Business NOT as Usual Case Studies
11:10 AM–12:00 PM
Nonprofit Videos: Business NOT as Usual Case StudiesPatrick Delhougne
CEO, Noeso
Boost fundraising, reach new audiences, raise visibility and build community by doing things differently. In this session, learn how to sell your team on making more videos effectively, discover different types of videos you can make beyond the same old stuff and hear why authenticity is the key ingredient in nonprofit videos. There will be dozens of takeaways based on real “business NOT as usual” case studies. Examples include creating episodic content to build community and brand awareness, profiling collaborative community initiatives, leading a large video project and making videos targeting segmented audiences to increase donor participation and empower gift officers. The panel of speakers include:
- Jason Schipkowski, Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis
- Alandon Pitts, Regional Business Council
- Sam Barrett & Edward Stoller, L’Arche St. Louis
- Rachel Sanger, Burns Recovered
- Nyara Williams & Patrick Delhougne, Noeso
Session 3
Start with "Why" and Move to "How"—Driving Your Nonprofit Through Innovation
1:10–2:00 PM
Start with "Why" and Move to "How"—Driving Your Nonprofit Through InnovationBarrett Baebler
Associate Professor - Management, Webster University
In this presentation participants will be exposed to various concepts from Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why” then transition into an introduction to and discussion on how using one of or all of the following models: “Divergent and Convergent Thinking”, the “Theory of Change Model”, the “Logic Model”, the “Balanced Scorecard”, and other methods (e.g. PowerPoint storyboard) can help you develop your “WHY” in today’s “business NOT as usual” environment.
Unlock Your Community's Generosity: Guide to Local Marketing & Lead Generation
1:10–2:00 PM
Matt Coen
Owner, St. Louis Magazine
Move beyond broad strategies and get hyper-local. This session dives into proven, community-focused marketing tactics that turn neighbors into lifelong supporters and first-time attendees into recurring donors. You'll learn how to craft compelling, hyper-local campaigns that resonate deeply and discover low-cost, high-impact strategies like partnering with local businesses, leveraging micro-influencers, and optimizing your events for maximum local visibility. Leave with a ready-to-implement action plan for growing your donor base right in your own backyard.
Come for the Party, Stay for the Plants
1:10–2:00 PM
Catherine Martin
Senior Public Information Officer, Missouri Botanical Garden
The Missouri Botanical Garden is a unique nonprofit with dual identities. To some, it's a world leader in scientific research fighting to protect the future of plants. To others, it's a cultural institution that hosts festivals and concerts throughout the year. The Garden's PR team will share how they balance messaging with different audiences, incorporate the Garden's mission into all communications, and how they market public events and use them as an educational opportunity to share the Garden's mission.
TRANSforming Communications:
How to Honor Gender Diversity
1:10–2:00 PM
Abby L. Mueller
Education Coordinator, Metro Trans Umbrella Group
Jamie Donelson
Education Cohort Member and Support Group Facilitator, Metro Trans Umbrella Group
Want to uplift the stories of transgender people in a meaningful way? Worried about alienating gender-expansive folks through the language you use? Metro Trans Umbrella Group representatives will walk you through common terms, topics, and allyship tips related to their experiences as part of the local trans community. By the end of this presentation, participants should be able to: recognize 3 boundaries, support needs, or moments of celebration trans people may have; identify 2 personal or organizational biases that may impact your interpretation of trans identities, stories, and experiences; and consider when gendered or gender neutral language may apply to 1 of your primary forms of communication.
Session 4
The Power of Play: Using Video to Win on Social Media
2:10–3:00 PM
Alisiana Peters
Brand Manager, Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition
Alisiana brings a wide variety of nonprofit, for-profit, and retail experience to this engaging session. She will use real examples to explain how your organization can integrate video into a successful social media strategy.
From Trend Burnout to Strategy Breakthrough
2:10–3:00 PM
Meaghan Anselm
Principal, Saves the Day Marketing
Last year’s marketing trends weren’t just about tactics, they revealed the toll constant “pivoting” takes on professionals. In this insightful session, we’ll break down what really worked, what didn’t, and how to future-proof your marketing strategy without burning out. Learn how to prioritize what matters, ditch the noise, and align your efforts with real impact. Ideal for marketing leaders, communications professionals, and anyone tired of trend-chasing.
Nonprofit Website Audit: How to Find Your Site’s Strengths and Shortcomings
2:10–3:00 PM
Nonprofit Website Audit: How to Find Your Site’s Strengths and ShortcomingsDavid Hartstein
Co-Founder of Wired Impact
A nonprofit website audit is the best way to find your site’s strengths and weaknesses. But they often take FAR too long, so most orgs give up or don't do them at all. When done right, a website audit should be actionable, comprehensive and efficient. If you're looking to find your website's strengths and shortcomings, this session is for you! You'll walk away with an audit template and a step-by-step plan that's helped hundreds of nonprofits uncover the most impactful ways to level up their websites.
From Mission to Momentum: Turning Brand Story into Revenue
2:10–3:00 PM
From Mission to Momentum: Turning Brand Story into RevenueHeather Kemper
Director of Advancement, Miriam School and Learning Center
In today’s nonprofit world, storytelling isn’t just a communications tool—it’s a revenue driver. This dynamic session bridges fundraising and marketing, showing how mission-driven messaging can fuel action, investment, and long-term engagement. Whether you’re a solo marcomms pro or part of a larger team, you’ll walk away with story-to-action frameworks, real-life examples, and practical tools to elevate your brand voice—and your bottom line.
