August 16, 2025 • 9 mins
In this vibrant and energizing episode, Charity Jen chats with Julie Naranjo Upham, Vice President of Individual Giving at Conservation International and co-chair of the Bridge Conference. A long-time AFP ICON speaker and CFRE, Julie shares what keeps her coming back year after year: the chance to connect with emerging fundraisers, learn from peers, and gather real-time ideas to strengthen her team’s fundraising strategies.
From major gift portfolio tactics to pink “Development Diva” ribbons, Julie brings equal parts insight and joy to this conversation. Whether you’re looking for fresh content to bring back to your own team or just need a reminder of how powerful community can be, this episode offers both practical tips and a healthy dose of sparkle.
Don’t forget to follow and subscribe at olasmedia.com
Some notable moments from this episode:
00:00 – Welcome and intro to Julie Naranjo Upham
01:22 – Why ICON energizes Julie every year
03:18 – Favorite takeaways: donor behavior and team growth
04:24 – Bringing major gift strategies straight home
06:01 – Ribbon stories and conference joy
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:27):
Welcome to From the Nest, where we share honest conversations
and bold ideas from inside the nonprofit world. I'm your host,
Charity Jen, and this episode is part of the AFP
icon series. They are quick but powerful interviews with folks
on the front lines of fundraising, marketing, and leadership. Think
of this as your audio field notes from Seattle. And
(00:51):
now Julie Naranjo Upham, vice president of individual giving at
Conservation International and the Bridge conference co-chair. Thank you, Julie,
for joining me on the podcast.
S2 (01:06):
It's so great to see you. It's so good to
see you. I love hanging out with you. I know, well,
you know, I've been talking to others about this amazing conference.
There's so many people here you're running into old friends,
meeting new friends. I would love to hear from you. Like,
what are some of your favorite aspects of this conference?
S3 (01:26):
Yeah, I've spoken at icon, I think for the last
five years. So I love speaking and coming and presenting
and having that experience at icon. I also love and
just at lunch now talking to those who are entering
the industry. So those who are either first timers at
Icon or who are completely new and just hearing their
excitement and what they're learning and what they're taking away,
(01:47):
it just energizes me so that, you know, I'll make
it to some sessions and I really try. But I'm
also just I love talking to all the people who
are here. Um, yeah. That's my favorite part about icon.
S2 (01:57):
Yeah. Um, what are some and I absolutely agree with you.
I mean, I just, I feel like they're, uh, you know,
you you're walking around, you run into. I ran into
someone that I literally have not seen in, I don't
think two decades. Oh my gosh. We you know we
were you know close back in. You know when I
was in North Carolina at the food bank and I
(02:18):
was like, oh my gosh, what are you doing here? Like, yeah,
there are just so many people here.
S3 (02:22):
I know, I know, I've had that where I've run
into old colleagues, actually, one of my old colleagues who'd
been on my team, who I adore, works for Bloomerang now,
and I, I knew that, so I stalked him over
at his expo center. I was like, okay, I'm gonna
wait for you to stop talking to someone. Can I
come give you a hug? Um, so that's that's really
fun because then you, like, see people on LinkedIn when
you say that you're going to go or you're going
to speak, I'll be there. And I, you know, I've
(02:44):
been finding, like, making all of my lunch dates and
my coffee dates right now. So I make sure I
see them because sometimes that's hard. You don't get to
see all the people you want to see.
S2 (02:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it seems like, you know, like
it's a three day conference. It seems like there's a
lot of time, but there's actually. Oh, that's not a
lot of time.
S3 (02:59):
It flies. And then, you know, you want to make
time like in the after hours session or what are
you doing or what are you doing? And you know,
that's there's never enough time in three days, never enough
time to see everyone you want to see.
S2 (03:10):
Yes, I know, I know, I agree. So what would
you say are some of your biggest takeaways from this,
this icon in particular? Yeah.
S3 (03:22):
I feel like there's a lot of really great sessions. Um,
and I was having a hard time choosing sessions. I
do go to I do go to some sessions. So
I really love going to anything that's about new trends
and things. I should be paying attention to behaviors, donor behaviors.
So there's so much happening in philanthropy and just constantly changing,
you know, every year, every six months, every week. Um,
(03:43):
and I just want to hear from other people, like,
what are they experiencing? What are they seeing, what's coming
and then trying to understand, like how I can help
make my work and my team's work easier just because
sometimes I don't have a chance to look up and
read and hear. But, um, yeah, those are some of
my personal favorites to go to. And I love anything
that talks about encouraging and enabling your team because I'm like,
(04:04):
I need all the tips and tricks.
S2 (04:06):
To bring.
S3 (04:06):
Back.
S2 (04:06):
For them. I know, I know, uh, what, uh, what
kinds of things like is there a, um, is there
1 or 2 nuggets that you're really excited about taking back. Well,
I mean, you sort of talked a little bit about,
you know, things to take back to your teams, but
anything specific.
S3 (04:27):
Yeah. Well, I mean, I'll be biased to the session
I spoke on yesterday was about portfolios, and we focused
specifically on major gift portfolios. And I'm literally taking that back. Uh,
Thursday and Friday of this week, I'm meeting with my
major gifts team to do the focus on the portfolio.
So I think, you know, some of that, some of
the things that people in our session were telling us
that they do now, their quarterly and getting things into
(04:49):
their CRM. So I'm like, I will take that back
and implement it within the next 48 hours. So that's
something that's really fun. Um, I also love hearing about, well,
I've known your podcast forever, so I love finding out
about new like, learning opportunities to share with my team
books that I bring back or things that I can
just introduce them to to learn. Um, so I do
(05:10):
like a month, we call it the Monday Memo, where
we bring in like things that we need to know
about the team and always a learning session, um, like
things to grow, how to learn. Um, so I love
I can just be here and I can connect with
all these people, and I have like a year's worth
of content for them that I can plug in every
single week so that, you know, that's a small thing,
but a practical thing you can't get unless you're in
(05:32):
person and hanging out with people at a conference like this.
S2 (05:34):
Right? Yes, exactly. Yeah. I was joking earlier that I
was going back through my notes, and I always leave with, like,
this list of books, like so many books I have together. Like,
you're just like, fill a notebook with, with so many
of those of those things. But yeah, yeah, when you
get back. So, uh, so what one thing I wanted to,
I noticed right before we were, uh, before we got
(05:56):
on to the podcast that you were putting your ribbons
on your tags. And since, since, since since this is
an audio.
S3 (06:05):
An.
S2 (06:05):
Audio I can.
S3 (06:06):
Tell you.
S2 (06:06):
About. You can't see the ribbons, but.
S3 (06:08):
I can describe my ribbons.
S2 (06:10):
To you.
S3 (06:11):
I have four ribbons on here. My first one is
my Cfre, which is certified Fundraising Executive, which I know
we both are.
S2 (06:17):
Yes, we both have that ribbon.
S3 (06:19):
We both have that ribbon. And I know we've both
been cdfis for a long time, and that's for me.
That's what I tell people. It's my showing my commitment
to the industry. You're always having to learn or recertify.
So for me, that's always my top. Um, we don't
have speaker ribbons, though I would have loved to have
had that one. But then I do donate to AFP,
both global and our chapter, because it's really important to
(06:39):
me to give back, to have scholarships for that next
generation to come and learn and be part of this.
And then I'm also a member. This is the white
one of Alpha society where I love my recurring giving.
I know you're an expert on this stuff. I just
like to set it and forget it. So I'm a
monthly giver to AFP global. Um, and that's just for me.
(07:01):
I'm like one. I love seeing how they do that
and they cultivate the recurring donors. But two, I need
to give. I want to give, but just make me not, like,
have to think about it twice.
S2 (07:10):
Yes.
S3 (07:10):
Um, I also have a little, like a, a little
silver pin on my nametag that has a little blue dot.
It's because of the level that I give at. And that's,
you know, I support our chapter. I support, um, global
and scholarships. And then my last one, I don't usually
put something fun. We have all of these fun ribbons.
It's like plays well with others. Runs with scissors. Party animal.
I'm in bed early. I have development diva and it's
(07:33):
a hot pink ribbon and it's sparkly and it just
makes me really happy because I then I, I hang
up all of my icon and conference tags up in
my office at home so I can look about look
at them and just remind myself when I'm in the grind,
I'm like, okay, I can learn. I need to keep learning.
This one's actually going to keep me kind of like, yeah,
I'm good at this. Let's let's be the diva. Let's
keep doing this work. So that's my I just added
(07:55):
that one as I walked in. So I was like,
that's a good one.
S2 (07:58):
Okay, I agree that is a good one, Brigadier general.
S3 (08:00):
Yeah. And you have a happy happy happy one on there.
S2 (08:03):
Happy happy happy ribbon along with my AFP donor ribbon
and my cfre. Yep. So that's my that's my fun one. Yeah.
And I will look back on this and it will
make me happy happy happy.
S3 (08:14):
Yeah. Yes that's a good that's a good one. We
need to do that especially in budget and planning season
that I'm in right now too.
S2 (08:19):
So yeah yeah yeah yeah. Well just remember have your
keep your ribbons with you and that'll keep you going.
Julie this has been great. Thank you so much for
joining me on the podcast.
S3 (08:32):
Always a pleasure.
S2 (08:34):
Yes. And we'll continue the conversation back in DC.
S3 (08:37):
Awesome.
S2 (08:38):
Thanks. Thank you.
S3 (08:39):
Bye.
S1 (08:45):
Thanks for listening to From the Nest, where fundraising takes flight.
If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss the rest of
the incredible voices we met at the AFP icon conference.
You can hear from all of the nonprofit professionals, innovators
and change makers by visiting charity. And if you need
(09:06):
more tools and insights from the field, head to Charity
comm to explore the resources I've gathered from AFP icon
and beyond, including strategy, tips, templates and more. And if
you haven't yet, check out my latest book, Digital Fundraising
Transformation The Insider's Guide to Revolutionize Your Strategy and Raise More.
(09:28):
It will help you supercharge your nonprofit marketing and fundraising efforts.
Until next time, keep lifting each other up.
Welcome to From the Nest, where we share honest conversations
and bold ideas from inside the nonprofit world. I'm your host,
Charity Jen, and this episode is part of the AFP
icon series. They are quick but powerful interviews with folks
on the front lines of fundraising, marketing, and leadership. Think
of this as your audio field notes from Seattle. And
(00:51):
now Julie Naranjo Upham, vice president of individual giving at
Conservation International and the Bridge conference co-chair. Thank you, Julie,
for joining me on the podcast.
S2 (01:06):
It's so great to see you. It's so good to
see you. I love hanging out with you. I know, well,
you know, I've been talking to others about this amazing conference.
There's so many people here you're running into old friends,
meeting new friends. I would love to hear from you. Like,
what are some of your favorite aspects of this conference?
S3 (01:26):
Yeah, I've spoken at icon, I think for the last
five years. So I love speaking and coming and presenting
and having that experience at icon. I also love and
just at lunch now talking to those who are entering
the industry. So those who are either first timers at
Icon or who are completely new and just hearing their
excitement and what they're learning and what they're taking away,
(01:47):
it just energizes me so that, you know, I'll make
it to some sessions and I really try. But I'm
also just I love talking to all the people who
are here. Um, yeah. That's my favorite part about icon.
S2 (01:57):
Yeah. Um, what are some and I absolutely agree with you.
I mean, I just, I feel like they're, uh, you know,
you you're walking around, you run into. I ran into
someone that I literally have not seen in, I don't
think two decades. Oh my gosh. We you know we
were you know close back in. You know when I
was in North Carolina at the food bank and I
(02:18):
was like, oh my gosh, what are you doing here? Like, yeah,
there are just so many people here.
S3 (02:22):
I know, I know, I've had that where I've run
into old colleagues, actually, one of my old colleagues who'd
been on my team, who I adore, works for Bloomerang now,
and I, I knew that, so I stalked him over
at his expo center. I was like, okay, I'm gonna
wait for you to stop talking to someone. Can I
come give you a hug? Um, so that's that's really
fun because then you, like, see people on LinkedIn when
you say that you're going to go or you're going
to speak, I'll be there. And I, you know, I've
(02:44):
been finding, like, making all of my lunch dates and
my coffee dates right now. So I make sure I
see them because sometimes that's hard. You don't get to
see all the people you want to see.
S2 (02:51):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it seems like, you know, like
it's a three day conference. It seems like there's a
lot of time, but there's actually. Oh, that's not a
lot of time.
S3 (02:59):
It flies. And then, you know, you want to make
time like in the after hours session or what are
you doing or what are you doing? And you know,
that's there's never enough time in three days, never enough
time to see everyone you want to see.
S2 (03:10):
Yes, I know, I know, I agree. So what would
you say are some of your biggest takeaways from this,
this icon in particular? Yeah.
S3 (03:22):
I feel like there's a lot of really great sessions. Um,
and I was having a hard time choosing sessions. I
do go to I do go to some sessions. So
I really love going to anything that's about new trends
and things. I should be paying attention to behaviors, donor behaviors.
So there's so much happening in philanthropy and just constantly changing,
you know, every year, every six months, every week. Um,
(03:43):
and I just want to hear from other people, like,
what are they experiencing? What are they seeing, what's coming
and then trying to understand, like how I can help
make my work and my team's work easier just because
sometimes I don't have a chance to look up and
read and hear. But, um, yeah, those are some of
my personal favorites to go to. And I love anything
that talks about encouraging and enabling your team because I'm like,
(04:04):
I need all the tips and tricks.
S2 (04:06):
To bring.
S3 (04:06):
Back.
S2 (04:06):
For them. I know, I know, uh, what, uh, what
kinds of things like is there a, um, is there
1 or 2 nuggets that you're really excited about taking back. Well,
I mean, you sort of talked a little bit about,
you know, things to take back to your teams, but
anything specific.
S3 (04:27):
Yeah. Well, I mean, I'll be biased to the session
I spoke on yesterday was about portfolios, and we focused
specifically on major gift portfolios. And I'm literally taking that back. Uh,
Thursday and Friday of this week, I'm meeting with my
major gifts team to do the focus on the portfolio.
So I think, you know, some of that, some of
the things that people in our session were telling us
that they do now, their quarterly and getting things into
(04:49):
their CRM. So I'm like, I will take that back
and implement it within the next 48 hours. So that's
something that's really fun. Um, I also love hearing about, well,
I've known your podcast forever, so I love finding out
about new like, learning opportunities to share with my team
books that I bring back or things that I can
just introduce them to to learn. Um, so I do
(05:10):
like a month, we call it the Monday Memo, where
we bring in like things that we need to know
about the team and always a learning session, um, like
things to grow, how to learn. Um, so I love
I can just be here and I can connect with
all these people, and I have like a year's worth
of content for them that I can plug in every
single week so that, you know, that's a small thing,
but a practical thing you can't get unless you're in
(05:32):
person and hanging out with people at a conference like this.
S2 (05:34):
Right? Yes, exactly. Yeah. I was joking earlier that I
was going back through my notes, and I always leave with, like,
this list of books, like so many books I have together. Like,
you're just like, fill a notebook with, with so many
of those of those things. But yeah, yeah, when you
get back. So, uh, so what one thing I wanted to,
I noticed right before we were, uh, before we got
(05:56):
on to the podcast that you were putting your ribbons
on your tags. And since, since, since since this is
an audio.
S3 (06:05):
An.
S2 (06:05):
Audio I can.
S3 (06:06):
Tell you.
S2 (06:06):
About. You can't see the ribbons, but.
S3 (06:08):
I can describe my ribbons.
S2 (06:10):
To you.
S3 (06:11):
I have four ribbons on here. My first one is
my Cfre, which is certified Fundraising Executive, which I know
we both are.
S2 (06:17):
Yes, we both have that ribbon.
S3 (06:19):
We both have that ribbon. And I know we've both
been cdfis for a long time, and that's for me.
That's what I tell people. It's my showing my commitment
to the industry. You're always having to learn or recertify.
So for me, that's always my top. Um, we don't
have speaker ribbons, though I would have loved to have
had that one. But then I do donate to AFP,
both global and our chapter, because it's really important to
(06:39):
me to give back, to have scholarships for that next
generation to come and learn and be part of this.
And then I'm also a member. This is the white
one of Alpha society where I love my recurring giving.
I know you're an expert on this stuff. I just
like to set it and forget it. So I'm a
monthly giver to AFP global. Um, and that's just for me.
(07:01):
I'm like one. I love seeing how they do that
and they cultivate the recurring donors. But two, I need
to give. I want to give, but just make me not, like,
have to think about it twice.
S2 (07:10):
Yes.
S3 (07:10):
Um, I also have a little, like a, a little
silver pin on my nametag that has a little blue dot.
It's because of the level that I give at. And that's,
you know, I support our chapter. I support, um, global
and scholarships. And then my last one, I don't usually
put something fun. We have all of these fun ribbons.
It's like plays well with others. Runs with scissors. Party animal.
I'm in bed early. I have development diva and it's
(07:33):
a hot pink ribbon and it's sparkly and it just
makes me really happy because I then I, I hang
up all of my icon and conference tags up in
my office at home so I can look about look
at them and just remind myself when I'm in the grind,
I'm like, okay, I can learn. I need to keep learning.
This one's actually going to keep me kind of like, yeah,
I'm good at this. Let's let's be the diva. Let's
keep doing this work. So that's my I just added
(07:55):
that one as I walked in. So I was like,
that's a good one.
S2 (07:58):
Okay, I agree that is a good one, Brigadier general.
S3 (08:00):
Yeah. And you have a happy happy happy one on there.
S2 (08:03):
Happy happy happy ribbon along with my AFP donor ribbon
and my cfre. Yep. So that's my that's my fun one. Yeah.
And I will look back on this and it will
make me happy happy happy.
S3 (08:14):
Yeah. Yes that's a good that's a good one. We
need to do that especially in budget and planning season
that I'm in right now too.
S2 (08:19):
So yeah yeah yeah yeah. Well just remember have your
keep your ribbons with you and that'll keep you going.
Julie this has been great. Thank you so much for
joining me on the podcast.
S3 (08:32):
Always a pleasure.
S2 (08:34):
Yes. And we'll continue the conversation back in DC.
S3 (08:37):
Awesome.
S2 (08:38):
Thanks. Thank you.
S3 (08:39):
Bye.
S1 (08:45):
Thanks for listening to From the Nest, where fundraising takes flight.
If you enjoyed this conversation, don't miss the rest of
the incredible voices we met at the AFP icon conference.
You can hear from all of the nonprofit professionals, innovators
and change makers by visiting charity. And if you need
(09:06):
more tools and insights from the field, head to Charity
comm to explore the resources I've gathered from AFP icon
and beyond, including strategy, tips, templates and more. And if
you haven't yet, check out my latest book, Digital Fundraising
Transformation The Insider's Guide to Revolutionize Your Strategy and Raise More.
(09:28):
It will help you supercharge your nonprofit marketing and fundraising efforts.
Until next time, keep lifting each other up.
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