Building Resilient Futures

A statewide nonprofit learning series

Blue graphic with pixelated design around title 'Building Resilient Futures', a nonprofit event series.

Nonprofit leaders across North Carolina are coming together during these challenging times to learn, connect, and amplify our individual and collective impact.

We're hosting Building Resilient Futures: Leading, Funding, Innovating for Impact across North Carolina in partnership with Duke Energy Foundation to provide space for peers to share ideas and build relationships with others working to strengthen communities across NC. Key stops include Asheville, Wilmington, Charlotte, and Greensboro.

Each in-person event will feature a local funders panel and sessions that address the challenges and opportunities nonprofits are facing today and practical strategies for nonprofit resiliency, leadership development, fundraising, and operational innovation. 

Click on the event closest to you to learn more and register: 

Asheville
April 30, 2026
9:00 am-3:00 pm

UNC-Asheville
Highsmith Student Union
1 University Heights
Asheville, NC

Wilmington
May 20, 2026
9:00 am-3:00 pm

UNC-Wilmington
Warwick Center
601 S. College Road
Wilmington, NC

Charlotte
May 28, 2026
9:00 am-3:00 pm

UNC-Charlotte
Cone University Center
9025 University Road
Charlotte, NC

Greensboro
June 3, 2026
9:00 am-3:00 pm

Guilford Technical Community College
The Conference Center
7908 Leabourne Road
Colfax, NC

*Note: You must be logged into your account (or create an account if you don't already have one) in order to view/complete the registration form on the event pages linked above.

Event Agenda

9:00-9:30AM           Registration & Networking

9:30-10:00AM         Opening Session

10:00-10:15AM       Networking Break

10:30-11:45AM       Morning Breakouts

The Fundraising Engine: Building a Revenue System That Works | Witnie Martinez, Absolute Impact  (Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro)
This session equips nonprofit leaders with the framework to build a high-performing fundraising engine that drives predictable revenue. You’ll leave with a clear model to strengthen your development operations, increase donor engagement, and accelerate revenue growth.

Leading Through Financial Uncertainty | Rebecca Coker, Cresvara Partners  (Wilmington)
This session will take a closer look at how shared financial leadership shows up across your organization, shaping priorities and decisions. You'll leave with practical approaches and tools you can use right away to make confident decisions and connect your financial path forward to your strategy and values.

How Your Best Self Translates Into Your Best Leadership | Ashley Schwader, Two Suns Consulting  (Asheville)
In this interactive session, participants will explore how personal well-being, self-awareness, and intentional self-care directly influence leadership effectiveness, team culture, and organizational success. Grounded in both research and real-world nonprofit experience, this training reframes self-care as a critical leadership competency, not a luxury.

11:45AM-1:10PM    Lunch & Local Funders Panel
Click on locations above for details on funders in attendance

1:15-2:30PM               Afternoon Breakouts

Leading Through Financial Uncertainty | Rebecca Coker, Cresvara Partners  (Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro)
This session will take a closer look at how shared financial leadership shows up across your organization, shaping priorities and decisions. You'll leave with practical approaches and tools you can use right away to make confident decisions and connect your financial path forward to your strategy and values.

Beyond The Urgent Sign-On Letter: How Your Nonprofit Can Align Mission with Policy Advocacy to Make Change | Greg Borom, Western NC Early Childhood Coalition  (Asheville)
This session will help nonprofit leaders move beyond thinking of advocacy as urgent emails and thinking about how to embed advocacy in your organization's DNA — aligning it with your mission and strengths just like your other programs. You'll learn how to lead your nonprofit in strategic conversations that build trust, skills, capacity, and alignment to sustain advocacy year after year.

Deep Tend | Rosie Molinary  (Charlotte & Greensboro)
This self-care strategy session is designed to give participants tools to create a self-care plan to support them beyond the workshop. You'll learn about preventative and interventive self-care, stress, and burnout; review components of well-being and our approach to each; reflect on how we're feeling/doing and why; and create a gentle plan to support well-being.

2:45-3:00PM               Closing Session


This event series is made possible through generous support from Duke Energy Foundation.

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