NonProfit NewsPod: 2026 Philanthropy Summit - Learn, Connect & Celebrate Sacramento’s Generosity

Jeff Holden: [00:00:00] Welcome to this nonprofit podcast, NewsPod, where we amplify the voices of nonprofit leaders making a difference in their communities. I'm joined by Kelly Siefkin, chief philanthropy officer at our Sacramento Region Community Foundation, to speak about what is now the third annual Philanthropy Summit.

Kelly, welcome. 

Kelly Siefikin: Thank you so much, Jeff. 

Jeff Holden: You know, before we get into any of the questions, let's start right away with the details so everybody knows what, when, where. 

Kelly Siefikin: September 15th, we hope that you will join us from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Cal Expo for the Philanthropy Summit. And for those who are less familiar, this summit is a culmination of requests that we've heard from the community for education, celebration, and networking.

We expect about 500 individuals to attend, and it's a great opportunity for anyone who is looking to [00:01:00] learn about the future of philanthropy or they're a nonprofit, how to better work with supporters. We have great educational breakout sessions, an incredible keynote speaker, and a reception that's even worth coming to.

Jeff Holden: And if I'm not a- mistaken, the, the reception in the evening actually is a celebration as well, yes? 

Kelly Siefikin: Absolutely. It's our annual Celebration of Generosity. While the Philanthropy Summit is only in its infancy stage, the Celebration of Generosity has been going on for decades. It was born out of an idea for all of the fund holders that hold charitable funds at Sacramento Region Community Foundation to celebrate their collective impact.

And when you think that there's been $20 or $25

Jeff Holden: million out the door to our community, it is something worth celebrating. That's absolutely, absolutely the case, especially coming off of such a, a successful Big Day of Giving as well at $15 million. So there's a lot to celebrate. 

Kelly Siefikin: Absolutely. 

Jeff Holden: Who [00:02:00] should attend, Kelly? Who do you see as the, the most likely attendees?

Kelly Siefikin: I think people fall into maybe one of two categories. The first category is nonprofit professionals. If you volunteer at as a board member or you lead a nonprofit as a staff member, we'd love for you to come. It's a great way to meet organizations of similar mission, organizations of similar size, as well as ones of varying size, and really not reinvent the wheel, but learn from one another.

The other group is really donors. We're really looking for individuals that want to know what's going on in our community right now. So if you are a generous individual or wanna learn more about being philanthropic, I invite you to come as well. 

Jeff Holden: And with 500 seats, so to speak, in, in attendance this year, that's a bigger capacity than we've been able to do these past couple years because the event did sell out.

It was waiting list only, and this now third year, third [00:03:00] venue, so it's another opportunity to expose the Philanthropy Summit to more and more people in the community that we, we know want to attend because they were on the waiting list. 

Kelly Siefikin: Well, I think that is a really good sign, even though it's not pleasant to have a waiting list, that we couldn't accommodate all of the demands in the community.

So we have found the largest space that we can afford, and we're gonna be at Cal Expo in the Expo Center. So it'll be very conference-like. You'll go from a main session to various breakout sessions. We'll provide lunch, and you'll come back to a second plenary, more breakout sessions, and then in the afternoon into the evening, you'll get to participate in a celebration of generosity.

So we have seen it grow every single year. We have a greater capacity this year, free parking. And for anybody who is concerned about mobility issues, we do have golf carts. We know that Cal Expo's a large grounds, but we'll make sure to get everybody from the parking lot to the wonderfully air-conditioned Expo Center very easily.

Jeff Holden: [00:04:00] Well, I'm really pleased to hear that it also is free parking because many times at an event at Cal Expo, you, you pay for the parking in addition to whatever the- Yeah ... event charges are. So that's wonderful to hear. In terms of the actual breakouts, any highlights? Any particular, uh, sessions that you might wanna point out or maybe even a keynote?

Kelly Siefikin: Yeah. The two that immediately popped into my mind was Leading Through Change, and I think there are many volunteer board members out there, many nonprofit individuals, and many community members who are overwhelmed by everything going on in our society right now. So there's a really great opportunity to take a session to learn how to lead through that change.

I think we all have a role in making sure that we take care of one another, that we improve our community, and there's a really great session about that. Another one that came to mind is our keynote speaker, somebody you've had the opportunity to interview before, but Cherian Koshy will be our [00:05:00] keynote speaker, and he's really gonna dive into the psychology behind philanthropy.

So why do people give? What motivates somebody? I think that's really relevant to these two audiences. I think a lot of people maybe don't know why they are driven to give in certain ways, but understanding that might help unlock something for a few individuals. Plus, I think that it will really help a lot of nonprofit professionals work with their donors on a way that means the most to them.

Jeff Holden: That's, that's outstanding, as is Cherian Koshy, and, and shameless plug here, his episode on the network, on the Nonprofit Podcast Network, is Neurogiving, which is also the title of a book that he released when we did the interview. And it is a Bible. It sits next to my desk all the time, and I refer to it often just because of the novelty of the approach he took in identifying how people give and why they give.

Kelly Siefikin: Yes. I think it's an interesting topic. I don't think [00:06:00] we've had something come to Sacramento sort of on that topic before. So I think there's a really great opportunity for people to learn, to listen, and you'll have the opportunity outside of the keynote to actually meet him at the celebration at the end of the evening.

Jeff Holden: Oh, fantastic. He's a, a wonderful gentleman. Well, Kelly, one more time, will you give us the details so that anybody's that listening, it sinks in? Yeah. We don't want you to miss this event. 

Kelly Siefikin: Please join us on Tuesday, September 15th. Starts at 9 o'clock in the morning and goes till 6 o'clock. We would love to have you participate.

It's gonna be at Cal Expo this year. Great parking. Um, it's gonna be a wonderful opportunity to network, to learn, and really to celebrate the incredible work that we do here in the Sacramento region. 

Jeff Holden: Kelly, thank you so much for sharing this information. As we know, it's gonna be another outstanding success.

Let's hope we sell this one out to a, uh, standing room only audience as well. The 2026 Philanthropy Summit, again, September 15th, Cal [00:07:00] Expo. I look forward to seeing you there. 

Kelly Siefikin: See you there. 

Jeff Holden: Thanks for listening. If you like our program, please subscribe, give us a positive review, and share with someone you know.

This Nonprofit Podcast News Pod is a production of Hear Me Now Studio.