We are but a few weeks away from the 35th ACGA Conference!

The conference begins on April 20 and will again be presented on a virtual platform. We have learned much over the past two years about conducting a vibrant virtual conference. As such, the 35th Conference will be spread over a 5-day period to allow conference attendees plenty of time to respond to emails, join work-related virtual meetings, and be easily assimilated into their work from home routines.

We were hoping to host the 35th Conference in person in Louisville. However, many of our members informed us that their travel and conference budgets had been slashed, and other members stated that their employer would not allow them to travel as part of their pandemic protocols. These facts lead us to the decision to hold an all-virtual conference.

Conference Co-Chairs Crystal Thompkins and Cathy Sheffield, along with a dedicated committee, have put together a fabulous set of sessions that will provide gift planners of all experience levels opportunities to learn and improve their craft. The hard-working members of the ACGA Program Committee are Pamela Bennett, Bill Laskin, Rebecca Locke, Kate Melvin, Paul Putman, Angela Throne, and Mike Welling.

Details of the conference, including full-ride scholarships through the Terry L. Simmons Philanthropic Endowment Fund and our loyal ACGA partners, can be found in this February newsletter.

As you prepare to attend the ACGA conference, here are some fun facts compiled with assistance from planned giving historian, and former ACGA board member, Ron Brown:

• The ACGA is proud to be the host and sponsor of the world's longest continuous series of nonprofit fundraising conferences.
• The first ACGA conference was held in 1927, the year the ACGA was founded. For the ensuing 71 years, the conference was held every three years. That equates to 23 conferences.
• The three-year gap ended with the 23rd Conference in 1998, so beginning in 2000 with the 24th Conference, ACGA has held its conference every other year.
• Five speakers were scheduled for the first conference in 1927, but policy discussions ran so long, only three speakers made their remarks in person. The first conference was the first to run out of time.
• The 34th Conference was set to be held in Atlanta in April 2020. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in early March which forced us to pivot in a very short time frame, and the conference was among the first such events to be held totally virtually.

I look forward to “seeing” you at the 35th ACGA Conference!

Joe