01. Keynotes & Must-Attend Conference Sessions
AFP ICON draws over 3,500 fundraising professionals and the programming reflects that breadth — from major gift strategy to digital innovation to DEI in development. Below are the sessions generating the most buzz heading into this weekend.
Note: Verify exact times on the AFP mobile app or afpglobal.org before heading over.
The AFP ICON Opening General Session
Monday, April 27 · Morning San Diego Convention Center, Ballroom 20 · Full conference badge required
The conference opener sets the tone for the entire weekend. Past ICON keynotes have featured transformative nonprofit leaders, public figures, and fundraising visionaries who reframe how the room thinks about the work. This is not optional. The energy in the room during the ICON opening session is unlike anything else in the sector. Grab coffee early and get a good seat.
AI, Algorithms & the Future of Donor Discovery
Monday, April 27 · Afternoon San Diego Convention Center
The session everyone in your organization needs to hear about. As AI tools become the starting point for donor research, the question is no longer "should we use AI?" but "are donors using AI to find us?" This session digs into the infrastructure changes nonprofit development teams need to make now.
💡 The CauseCircle Booth Makes this Session Actionable: The frameworks discussed here map directly to what you'll see in your free Donor Visibility Audit at Booth 803. Come with your results in hand and the conversation lands much more specifically.
Major Gifts in the Digital Era: From Prospect Research to First Ask
Monday, April 27 · Late Afternoon San Diego Convention Center · Limited seating — pre-register in the AFP app
A practical deep-dive on how digital signals — web content, social proof, storytelling architecture — now influence major gift officers' ability to build relationships before the first conversation even happens. Particularly valuable for development directors managing six-figure gift pipelines.
Tuesday Morning Plenary: Equity, Inclusion & the Next Donor Generation
Tuesday, April 28 · Morning San Diego Convention Center, Main Plenary Hall · All badge levels
AFP's commitment to equitable fundraising practices takes center stage. This session explores how generational wealth transfer and the growth of giving from BIPOC donors is reshaping development strategy. The data presented here tends to reframe conversations for the rest of the week.
Storytelling That Converts: How Website Architecture Drives Donor Trust
Tuesday, April 28 · Afternoon San Diego Convention Center
One of the most practically actionable sessions of the conference. This session breaks down how nonprofit websites either build or erode donor trust within the first 30 seconds of a visit — and what content structures actually lead to first-time donations. Essential for anyone managing a nonprofit's digital presence.
💡 Pro Tip: Run your Donor Visibility Audit at Booth 803 before this session. You'll walk in with real data about your own site's performance — every recommendation in the room will feel immediate and personal rather than theoretical.
AFP Young Professionals & First-Time Attendee Reception
Tuesday, April 28 · Late Afternoon San Diego Convention Center, Lobby Level · Complimentary with badge
One of the warmest rooms at the entire conference. If you're new to AFP ICON or have team members attending for the first time, this reception is the fastest way to feel oriented. AFP's chapter community is remarkable and this is where you find your people.
The Closing General Session: What We Do Next
Wednesday, April 29 · Morning San Diego Convention Center, Main Plenary Hall
Don't pack up and leave early. The AFP ICON closing session has a tradition of being the most emotionally resonant moment of the conference — the room reflects on what the sector can do differently, together. It's the session that gets quoted in board meetings for the next 12 months. Clear your travel plans until after noon on Wednesday.
02. Official Receptions & Conference Social Events
AFP ICON's networking events are worth protecting time for. These are the moments where conversations start that turn into partnerships, hires, and donor introductions that play out over the following year.
AFP ICON Welcome Reception
Monday, April 27 · Evening San Diego Convention Center, Sails Pavilion · Complimentary with conference registration
The kickoff social for the full conference community. Held inside the Convention Center with the expo floor open, this is the best time to walk the hall without sessions pulling you in another direction. It's also the ideal time to stop by Exhibitor Booth.
The AFP ICON Gala & Awards Celebration
Tuesday, April 28 · Evening San Diego Convention Center, Ballroom · Ticketed — purchase via AFP registration portal
The sector's night to celebrate excellence. The AFP Outstanding Fundraising Professional awards are presented here — honoring the people who define what our field looks like at its best. The room energy is electric and the conversations afterward tend to be some of the most generative of the whole conference.
03. Tech Offers Worth Your Time on the Expo Floor
The AFP ICON Expo Hall is large and the booths blur together fast. Here's an honest breakdown of the tech offers fundraising leaders are talking about heading into this weekend, ranked by strategic relevance to your development goals.
⭑ CauseCircle · Booth 803
Free AI Donor Visibility Audit: Live, In 60 Seconds
Bring your website URL and find out how AI tools are currently interpreting your mission, programs, and credibility signals. You'll see a clear picture of your organization's AI visibility and, more importantly, the CauseCircle team will explain what it means for your actual donor acquisition; not in theory, but based on your real site and real content.
Built on Content.One CMS infrastructure, CauseCircle is purpose-built for the way donors now discover and evaluate nonprofits. This is the audit your board will start asking about once they realize AI-driven discovery is already shaping who gets funded.
Free. No login required. Booth 803, Expo Hall.
CRM & Donor Database Platforms
Salesforce Nonprofit, Bloomerang, Raiser's Edge NXT, and others
If you're in a CRM evaluation cycle, the AFP expo floor is the most efficient place to compare vendors. Get demos from multiple providers in a single afternoon. Prioritize demos that show AI-assisted prospect scoring; that's where the category is moving fastest and the gaps between vendors are widest right now.
Digital Fundraising & Peer-to-Peer Platforms
Classy, Mightycause, CauseCircle and similar
If you're planning a fall campaign, use this as your due diligence window. Ask pointed questions about conversion rates and mobile optimization — the benchmarks vendors quote in demos tell you a lot about how seriously they take outcomes versus aesthetics.
Wealth Screening & Prospect Research
DonorSearch, iWave, WealthEngine, and others
If you're building or refreshing a major gift prospect pipeline, getting back-to-back live demos from two or three vendors on the expo floor is the most efficient 90 minutes you'll spend this week.
💡 Expo Floor Strategy: Start at Booth 803 to get your Donor Visibility Audit results. They take under a minute and give you concrete data to carry into every other tech conversation on the floor. When a vendor asks "how's your current digital donor acquisition?" — you'll actually have an answer.
04. San Diego, Beyond the Convention Center
The San Diego Convention Center sits on the waterfront in the East Village neighborhood, with the Gaslamp Quarter, Petco Park, and San Diego Bay all within a short walk. Here's what's worth your time when the sessions end.
Dinner in the Gaslamp Quarter
Any Evening · 4-minute walk from SDCC 5th & 6th Ave, Gaslamp Quarter, San Diego · 0.3 miles from the Convention Center
The Gaslamp Quarter is literally across the street — no Ubers, no coordination, no excuses. For a group dinner, Cowboy Star Restaurant & Butcher Shop (640 10th Ave) is a San Diego institution with exceptional dry-aged beef and a private dining room that seats up to 20, ideal for team dinners or donor cultivation evenings. Jsix Restaurant at Hotel Indigo offers farm-to-table California cuisine with a rooftop bar that's been a conference-week favorite for years. For something more casual, Basic Bar/Pizza (410 10th Ave) has been packing in locals since 2009 — craft cocktails, wood-fired pizza, zero pretension.
Balboa Park: San Diego's Cultural Core
Any Afternoon · 15 minutes by Uber 1549 El Prado, Balboa Park, San Diego, CA 92101 · ~3 miles from SDCC, $12–15 Uber
If you have even two free hours, Balboa Park is one of the great urban cultural spaces in the United States. Home to 17 museums — including the San Diego Museum of Art, the Fleet Science Center, and the Natural History Museum — all within a 1,200-acre Spanish Colonial Revival complex. For nonprofit professionals, the San Diego History Center and the Museum of Us are particularly thought-provoking. The park grounds are free; individual museum entry runs $12–$22.
The Embarcadero & USS Midway Museum
Any Morning or Afternoon · 8-minute walk from SDCC 910 N Harbor Dr, San Diego, CA 92101 · 0.5 miles north along the waterfront
Walk north along the bay from the Convention Center and you'll reach the Embarcadero in about 10 minutes. The USS Midway Museum — a decommissioned aircraft carrier converted into one of California's most impressive interactive museums — is a genuinely memorable outing, solo or with a group. Right next door, the San Diego Maritime Museum houses the Star of India , the oldest active sailing vessel in the world. Combined tickets run about $25–30.
Rooftop Bars & Waterfront Happy Hours
Any Evening · Under 10 minutes from SDCC Gaslamp Quarter & Marina District · All within 0.5 miles of the Convention Center
San Diego harbor views from a rooftop at sunset are one of the quiet glories of this city. Altitude Sky Lounge at the Marriott Gaslamp Quarter (660 K St) offers 360-degree views of downtown and the bay — always packed during AFP week but worth the wait. The Nolen rooftop bar at the Pendry Hotel (550 J St) is more refined, with a serious craft cocktail program and a creative professional crowd. If you want to decompress somewhere quieter, Karl Strauss Brewing Company on Columbia Street has been a San Diego institution since 1989 and is always a good room for winding down a long day.
Morning Run & Coffee on the Waterfront
Any Morning · Steps from your hotel Harbor Drive Waterfront Path — begins immediately adjacent to SDCC
Step outside and you're on one of the most beautiful urban running paths in the country. The San Diego waterfront path runs south toward Coronado and north toward Little Italy — a 30-minute morning run here before the conference starts is one of the quiet perks of being in this city. For coffee, Better Buzz Coffee (875 G St, East Village) has excellent cold brew and the kind of high-energy space that matches a conference morning. Dark Horse Coffee near the Gaslamp is another local cult favorite. Both are far better than hotel coffee and worth the extra five-minute walk.
San Diego's Nonprofit Community
Throughout the Week AFP San Diego Chapter events listed on the AFP app
San Diego has a rich nonprofit ecosystem that often gets overlooked during conference week. The San Diego Foundation — managing over $1.5B in assets — has been a leader in community-driven philanthropy for over 45 years. The AFP San Diego Chapter is one of the most active in the country; look for their hosted events and member meetups in the AFP app. Some of the most lasting connections made at AFP ICON happen in those smaller, chapter-hosted rooms.
Catch Team CauseCircle for a free Digital Storytelling and Donor Visibility Audit.
AFP ICON always moves fast. By Wednesday afternoon you'll have three pages of notes, a stack of business cards, and about six conversations you meant to have but didn't get to.
The CauseCircle Donor Visibility Audit is designed to be the conversation that doesn't get lost in that shuffle — because it's grounded in something concrete: how your organization is actually showing up in the AI-powered discovery tools your donors are already using.
Come with your website. Come with your questions. Come with curiosity about what AI actually means for your donor acquisition pipeline. The CauseCircle team will be at Booth 803 throughout the conference, and the audit takes 60 seconds. What you do with the results is where the real conversation starts.
Have a great AFP ICON! Hope to catch you there.
→ Run your free Donor Visibility Audit: https://analysis.content.one/non-profits
