March 15, 2027
Programme Day 1
The full programme is taking shape.
In the coming weeks, we will share more details about the sessions, speakers and conversations that will bring this year’s congress theme to life. What you can already expect: fresh perspectives, practical know-how and an international space to rethink, strengthen and advance face-to-face fundraising together.
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12:00 Uhr
Find your buddy!
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Elsbeth de Ridder (ES)
Global F2F Fundraising Specialist -
Filipa Morais Santos (PT)
SOS Children's Villages International
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12:30 Uhr
Lunch
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13:30 Uhr
Welcome
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13:45 Uhr
Opening Keynote
Special Surprise!-
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Ali Mahlodji (AT)
futureOne
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14:15 Uhr
Keynote
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The Power of Face-to-Face - How Fundraising Transforms Lives
F2F is not “just “ a major income stream for charities and the F2F providers. Let’s explore life within the F2F world, where the work can develop, transform, and sometimes even save the lives of those who do it. At its heart are stories of people working under harsh conditions, individuals who found a lifeline in F2F, a second chance, a career path, built sustainable businesses, or excelled despite disabilities. In a sector often shaped by short-term performance pressure, these life stories are a powerful reminder of what “change” truly means. But how do we make inclusivity and sustainability tangible realities “long after Vienna”, despite the relentless targets and expectations?
Moderated by Roland Csaki (HU)
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Roland Csaki (HU)
International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies -
Diana Etsabo (KE)
SOS Children's Villages Kenya -
Marianna Rudyk (UA)
Ukraine Red Cross -
Sachin Singh (IN)
Médecins Sans Frontières South Asia
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14:45 Uhr
Break
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15:15 Uhr
Workshops
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1A: When the Going Gets Tough: Stories from the Frontline
#Case Studies
Level: Basic
Face-to-face fundraising has always required resilience. But in an increasingly polarised world, fundraisers face challenges that go far beyond hearing “no”. Political debates, misinformation and strong emotions can turn everyday conversations into difficult encounters, especially when representing organisations working in conflict zones, migration or human rights.
As the most visible representatives of their organisations, F2F fundraisers must navigate these situations with confidence, empathy and professionalism – often in just a few minutes.
Resilience today means more than handling rejection. It means knowing when to listen, how to respond and when to walk away. But how can fundraising leaders prepare their teams for these challenges? And how can organisations create an environment that truly supports fundraisers when the going gets tough?
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Roland Csaki (HU)
International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Societies -
Diana Etsabo (KE)
SOS Children's Villages Kenya -
Marianna Rudyk (UA)
Ukraine Red Cross -
Sachin Singh (IN)
Médecins Sans Frontières South Asia
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1B: How to OLÉ (Organise, Legalise & Expand) your national F2F Fundraising Market
#Regulation
Level: Advanced
How can a national F2F market grow to its full potential while remaining sustainable, fair, transparent and well organised? Drawing on almost two decades of experience from the Netherlands (where F2F generates around 700,000–800,000 new donors each year in a country of just 18 million people), this workshop will explore how charities, agencies and regulatory bodies can build and sustain a transparent and level playing field. From agreeing common rules and coordinating locations to establishing effective self-regulation, greater transparency and shared infrastructure, we will look at the practical steps that can turn a fragmented F2F market into a trusted and thriving ecosystem and at how the IPFC can help markets make that transition.
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Hank Dockter (NL)
Beyond Fossil Fuels -
Jean-Paul Kogan-Recoing (FR)
International Public Fundraising Council (IPFC)
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1C: Does Objection Handling Actually Work? Let the Data Decide
#Donor Retention
Level: Basic
We analysed ~1,000 F2F conversations, including both sign-ups and non-sign-ups, measuring objection handling success rates and long-term retention outcomes. The results surprised us.
Which objections are worth handling? Why do some succeed while others don’t?
Bring your experience, we’ll bring the data. Let’s rethink objection handling together.
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Siri-Anna Roswall Mattsson (DK)
The Danish Child Helpline -
Anne Karina Wulf (DK)
The Danish Child Helpline
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1D: The Hidden Skill Behind Great Leaders
#Personal Growth
Level: Basic
What is coaching, and what is it not? Why do some conversations create trust, while others create resistance? In this practical workshop, we’ll explore advanced active listening, coaching principles, and the neuroscience behind meaningful human connection. Through simple tools and hands-on exercises, participants will discover how to improve communication, strengthen relationships, and lead more effectively. Ideal for leaders, managers, coaches, and anyone working closely with people.
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Alin Dinu (RO)
diDo F2F Training -
Jules D'Oca (UK)
diDo F2F Training
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1E: The Belgian F2F Benchmark: A Decade of Data-Driven Insights
#Data & Tech
Level: Basic
Join us for a groundbreaking case study unveiling the first Belgian F2F benchmark, built on over 10 years of data from 15 leading charities. This session dives deep into long-term trends in donor retention and fundraising performance, revealing how the landscape of face-to-face fundraising has evolved.Discover key figures that define success in the sector and explore the methodology behind this pioneering project. Unlike traditional approaches, this benchmark relies on real, raw retention data—standardized through a unified analytics model—ensuring true comparability for the first time. No self-declaration, no estimates: just apples-to-apples insights that redefine transparency in F2F fundraising.-
Ilja De Coster (BE)
The Donor Voice -
Joyce Browaeys (BE)
The Fundraising Collective
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16:30 Uhr
Room Change
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16:45 Uhr
Keynote
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Human Motivation. Why Taylor Got it Wrong
Level: Advanced
What truly motivates fundraisers? In this session, we’ll explore why some incentive schemes drive performance while others lose their impact over time, and how different people respond to motivation in very different ways. Drawing on insights from leading motivation theories, we’ll challenge common assumptions about what inspires fundraising teams and examine practical ways to better support and engage individuals. Join us for a thought-provoking session that offers fresh perspectives on performance, rewards, and what really makes people tick.
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John Jeffries (UK)
New Canvassing Experience
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17:45 Uhr
Explore Vienna
Speakers
Joyce Browaeys (BE)
The Fundraising Collective
Roland Csaki (HU)
IFRC – International Federation of Red Cross and Crescent Organizations
Roland built F2F programs in nearly 2 dozen markets in Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa. 20 years in the F2F, managing programs in challenging and competitive market, has has seen “it all” and solved issues deemed unsolvable. Roland is also leading on analytics, analyzing & predicting F2F program productivity and profitability, donor retention, lifetime value and advising senior managements on investments.
Ilja De Coster (BE)
The Donor Voice
Ilja De Coster is senior consultant fundraising and Fundraising Data Stategist. Nearly 20 years now he supports the fundraising of different bigger and smaller organisations.Since 2017, Ilja De Coster is Chief Platform Architect and Fundraising Data Stategist at the fundraising consultancy The DonorVoice. The DonorVoice is the leading global agency that applies the latest research on donor psychology into actionable insights for day tot day fundraising. Between 2013 and 2019, Ilja De Coster worked part time for Amnesty International Flanders, where he took the lead in an ambitious growth plan that succeeded to triple individual giving income to support human rights work worldwide. In Belgium he was the initiator of the Belgian Fundraising Day and is founding vice-president of the Fundraisers Belgium. For Ilja De Coster consulting for civil society organisations and fundraising isn’t just a job – it is a passion and political engagement for a democratic society.
Elsbeth De Ridder (ES)
Elsbeth De Ridder is a global fundraising leader with 16+ years experience within INGOs, including Save the Children International, World Food Programme, WWF, Greenpeace International and World Vision. Extensive expertise in Face-to-Face (F2F), designing, scaling and managing in-house, agency and hybrid acquisition models across global markets. Expert in global market entry, multi-million-dollar investments and sustainable unrestricted income growth. Skilled in cross-market collaboration and data-driven optimisation.
Jules D’Oca (UK)
diDo F2F Training
Alin Dinu (RO)
diDo F2F Training
Alin Dinu is a fundraising leader, trainer, and team coach with over 10 years of experience in face-to-face fundraising, leadership development, and coaching. He has helped build and scale fundraising teams from 4 to 50+ members, designed training programs, and coached managers, leaders, and fundraisers. As Co-Founder of diDo F2F Training, he develops learning programs focused on fundraising, communication, leadership, and team performance.
Hank Dockter (NL)
Beyond Fossil Fuels
Starting as a fundraiser for charities in the 1990s, Hank went on to organise street and door-to-door fundraising in the Netherlands together with visionary Dutch fundraising founders Bert Cocu and Kees-Jan Heijdra. Today, the Netherlands is one of the best organised and most successful F2F markets for charities in the world. It is powered by smart software and the willingness of commercial agencies to contribute to a truly open and level playing field.
Diana Etsabo (KE)
SOS Children’s Villages Kenya
Diana Etsabo is a Fund Development, Partnerships and Strategic Communications leader with 20+ years’ experience across resource mobilization, media and communication for development. At SOS Children’s Villages Kenya, she has mobilized KSh 50M+, pioneered local fundraising channels, including face-to-face fundraising, digital giving and telemarketing. Her leadership philosophy centers on connecting people, purpose, resources and partnerships to build sustainable systems and create measurable social impact for children and young people.
John Jeffries (UK)
New Canvassing Experience
John Jeffries has worked in face-to-face fundraising since 2006, bringing a strong background in training, people development and fundraising operations to the sector. After early roles with Fundraising Initiatives and the RSPB in the UK, he became International F2F Specialist for SOS Children’s Villages and later Global F2F Manager for Save the Children International, supporting F2F and D2D programmes around the world.
He is co-founder of New Canvassing Experience (NCE) in the United States, an agency focused on improving how F2F fundraisers are trained, managed and remunerated. Today, John is NCE’s Head of Client Services and continues to support programmes internationally, with a strong focus on cooperation, innovation and raising standards in face-to-face fundraising.
Jean-Paul Kogan-Recoing (FR)
International Public Fundraising Council
Jean-Paul Kogan-Recoing is Co-founder and Managing Director of TchekaY and President of the International Public Fundraising Council (IPFC). He pioneered Face-to-Face fundraising in France in 1998, and his work has contributed to recruiting over 2 million regular donors worldwide. Today, he focuses on building the market infrastructures that enable sustainable F2F growth by combining governance, self-regulation, payment innovation and data-driven decision-making to unlock the long-term potential of Face-to-Face fundraising.
Ali Mahlodji (AT)
futureOne
Ali Mahlodji came to Europe as a refugee and started his career as a stuttering school dropout with over 40 jobs.
He is an Austrian-Persian impact entrepreneur and author as well as co-founder and CEO of futureOne, an international technology, media and personal growth company dedicated to reminding people who they really are and helping companies bring love and humanity back into the organisation. His clients include global companies, small businesses, NGOs and political organisations. He dedicates a large part of his time to helping young people prepare for the future.
He was previously an SAP consultant at technology giant Siemens and then Global Engagement Manager at Sun Microsystems, a US Silicon Valley tech company, before becoming a teacher and founding whatchado, the handbook of life stories – an international online video job orientation platform that has inspired millions of young people on their career paths.
As the author of several bestsellers, Ali is always a welcome lecturer at universities and a sparring partner for leaders in change – also in his role as a trend researcher at the Zukunftsinstitut.
Ali has received several international awards for his work, including the UN World Summit Award, the HR Excellence Award, the New Work Award and the Andreus Peace Award.
Ali lives with his family in Vienna and travels the world as a keynote speaker, business mentor and expert on work and education.
Filipa Morais Santos (PT)
SOS Children’s Villages International
Filipa Morais is a Global Fundraising Senior Advisor at SOS Children’s Villages International, with over 13 years of experience in donor acquisition and multi-channel fundraising. She contributes to fundraising development across more than 100 countries through global capacity-building initiatives, including webinars, workshops, and knowledge sharing, and has previously served as Director of Fundraising & Communications and Interim National Director in Portugal, leading significant growth in individual giving. Filipa is an international speaker passionate about leadership and face-to-face fundraising. She is based in Lisbon and is a proud mother who enjoys travelling and dancing.
Siri-Anna Roswall Mattsson (DK)
The Danish Child Helpline (Børns Vilkår)
Siri-Anna Roswall Mattsson has a background in working with children, youth, and the arts. She began her fundraising career as a Field Fundraiser at Amnesty before moving into Phone Fundraising at The Danish Child Helpline, Børns Vilkår. In 2022, she co-founded the organisation’s in-house Face-to-Face fundraising department, building it from the ground up and leading its ongoing development. Alongside her fundraising expertise, Siri-Anna is also a certified dog trainer.
Anne Karina Wulf (DK)
The Danish Child Helpline (Børns Vilkår)
Anne-Karina Wulf began their fundraising career as a Field Fundraiser for Amnesty in 2018 before joining The Danish Child Helpline as a Telefundraiser. In 2022, they co-founded the organisation’s Field Fundraising programme and have since led its development and growth, overseeing recruitment, training, daily operations, and strategic development. Through these roles, they have built extensive experience in fundraising, team leadership, and programme development.
Marianna Rudyk (UA)
Ukraine Red Cross
Marianna Rudyk is a humanitarian and fundraising professional with over 10 years of experience in the Ukrainian nonprofit sector and international humanitarian organisations. Since 2013, she has worked across Ukraine and abroad, including managing a charitable foundation in Ukraine and working with a Social Refugee Centre in Romania in cooperation with Terre des Hommes, UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration and World Vision.
Since 2024, Marianna has been leading the development of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society’s Face-to-Face (F2F) fundraising programme, building the in-house operation from the ground up during the full-scale war in Ukraine. Her work focuses on team development, recruitment, training, fundraising performance, donor engagement and adapting F2F practices to a highly challenging security and humanitarian environment.
Sachin Singh (IN)
Medecins Sans Frontieres South Asia (India)
Sachin Singh is a fundraising leader with over two decades of experience in the nonprofit sector, with a career that began on the streets of India as a Face-to-Face fundraiser with Greenpeace and evolved into senior leadership roles.Starting his career as a Face-to-Face fundraiser gave Sachin a first-hand understanding of what it takes to engage people, build trust, handle rejection and keep going when the answer is “no”. Over the years, Sachin progressed from frontline fundraising into management and strategic leadership positions, gaining experience across different fundraising channels and donor segments. His journey has included building and leading fundraising teams, developing acquisition and retention strategies, engaging high-value and major donors, developing corporate and philanthropic partnerships, and driving organisational fundraising growth. He currently serves as Fundraising Director at Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) South Asia, where he leads fundraising strategy and growth, with a particular focus on developing individual giving, major donor, corporate and foundation fundraising, while exploring opportunities within the South Asian diaspora. He has been instrumental in shaping a long-term fundraising strategy aimed at significantly expanding the organisation’s fundraising scale and strengthening the sustainability of its donor base. Sachin has worked across the fundraising ecosystem with Organisations such as Greenpeace, Amnesty & MSF from the perspective of a fundraiser, manager and organisational leader. This gives him a unique appreciation of the challenges faced by F2F fundraisers today not only in India but around the world —from rejection and performance pressure to changing donor behaviour, evolving regulations, organisational expectations and the political challenges that we face on a daily basis on how humanitarian work is perceived in today’s world.