Join us for our annual conference and meeting! This conference is designed for school foundation staff, foundation board members, and school district staff interested in school foundations.
NAPSF 2026 Fall Conference
Monday, November 2, 2026
8:00 am - 3:30 pm
The Archway
3060 E 1st St
Kearney, Nebraska 68847
Registration: Early Bird Registration (Prior to September 2) $100 for NAPSF member
NAPSF Member Registration (after September 1) $125
Non-Member Registration $125
Become A Conference Sponsor by Clicking Here!
Sunday Night Social
Sunday, November 1, 2026
4:00 - 6:00 pm Explore Yanney Heritage Park
6:00 - 7:00 pm Evening Receptions & Networking
7:00-8:00 pm
Public Education Is Everybody's Business: Lessons from the Front Lines in Arizona
Kim Graham, CEO, Arizona Educational Foundation
Across the nation, education foundations are the quiet engine behind public schools - filling funding gaps, championing educators, and giving students opportunities that state dollars alone can't provide. But the landscape they operate in is shifting fast. In Arizona, school choice and voucher expansion continue to reshape the funding landscape for public education statewide. The Arizona Educational Foundation is leaning into this moment with a simple but urgent message: public education isn't just a school district's job - it's everybody's business. Nebraska's education foundation leaders will leave with practical insight into how to adapt, advocate, and rally their communities as the funding landscape continues to evolve nationwide.
RSVP Today to Nicole Anderson - andersonn@discoverers.org
Hotel Accommodations
TRU by Hilton
$145/Night
Block of Rooms Available until October 14, 2026 under NE Association of Public School Foundations, Breakfast Included
Click here to Reserve Your Room.
Tentative Agenda Monday
8:00 AM Breakfast Served
8:45 AM Welcome & Official Opening
Terri Burchell, NAPSF Board President
9:00 AM Opening Keynote
Dr. Neal Schnoor, Chancellor, University of Nebraska Kearney
Keli Books, Vice President for Advancement, University of Nebraska Foundation
Building relationships and developing dynamic fundraising tactics are key to success for any nonprofit, and Dr. Schnoor and Keli Brooks are experts who will not only give a warm welcome to Kearney but also lead us in this interactive topic! Get ready to be energized and welcomed to Kearney like never before!
10:00-10:45 Session 1: Leading Together, Serving Students
Dr. John Skretta, Superintendent of Lincoln Public Schools
Strong partnerships create stronger schools. This session explores how school districts and education foundations can work together to expand opportunities, remove barriers, and better serve students. Through real-world examples and practical strategies, participants will learn how collaborative leadership, shared vision, and community engagement can strengthen programs, increase impact, and build lasting support for student success.
10:45 AM - 11:30 Session 2: SGO Tax Credit Program
Mike Taylor, CEO, NAEF
The National Freedom Education Tax Credit/Scholarship Granting Organizations PreK-12 Tax Credit is a growing topic worth learning about. This session dives into what we know, the impact, and what it means for public education. Learn how foundations can participate and maximize the program, and more, throughout this information session.
11:45 AM - 12:00 PM NAPSF Annual Meeting
12:00 - 1:00 PM Lunch & Learn: AI, Federal Collapse, and the Future of Grants
Matt Leighty, Grant Flow
Two forces hit the sector at once, and neither is waiting for us to catch up. Federal money once treated as a permanent job is being terminated, while AI has quietly erased the gap between a competent proposal and an expert one. This is an honest accounting of where that leaves the work - what the collapse actually broke, what AI actually changed, and why the comfortable assumption that philanthropy can backfill federal scale was never true.
1:15-2:15 PM How to Move Forward
Matt Leighty, Grant Flow
When AI can draft a clean proposal and federal funding can vanish on a Friday night, the work that's left is the work that was always the point: organizational readiness, real relationships, and being legibly fundable before the deadline exists. A practical session on building capacity that holds up in this environment.
2:15-3:15 PM Closing Keynote: Why Our Work Is Important
Mike Taylor, CEO, NAEF
The education landscape is ever-changing, and our work as public school Foundations is needed now more than ever. This session reminds us of our "Why" and fuels us to move forward as champions of public education.
3:00-3:30 PM Drawings & Final Comments
Blake Thompson, NAPSF Vice President
Be in the running for vendor raffles and a chance to win a scholarship to attend the 2027 National Conference!
