2026 Conference Speakers
Bernard Ross
Masterclass
Bernard Ross is director of =mc consulting, a management consultancy working worldwide for ethical organisations.
He is an internationally regarded expert on strategy, major donors, and pro-social use of behavioural science. Bernard has written, co-written or edited eight award winning books on fundraising and social change – several with Clare Segal. Breakthrough Thinking won Best Non-profit Book in the USA. Global Fundraising was the first fundraising book to be published in China by Shanghai University Press. And with Omar Mahmoud of UNICEF International, he wrote key books on social change and decision science: Change for Good and Change for Better. His latest book with Clare Segal is Making the Ask – the artful science of solicitation.
Bernard has advised many of the world’s leading INGOs on fundraising, including UNICEF, UNHCR, IFRC, ICRC and MSF. In recent years, he’s raised money for Europe’s largest scientific experiment, to organise supplies for the biggest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh, for a museum to house the world’s largest dinosaur in Argentina, and to save the last 800 great apes in Rwanda.
Carolin Gomulia
Future-Proof your Organisation
Carolin Gomulia is a seasoned strategist who challenges conventional thinking and helps organisations to gain new insights and fresh perspectives. With a focus on creating positive change, Carolin is passionate about working with social impact organisations to achieve their goals and make a meaningful impact. She has a proven track record of developing innovative strategies, relevant capacity-strengthening, and mobilising resources. With extensive experience across continents, Carolin has developed a unique perspective that sets her apart as a strategic leader. Her 18+ years of experience include work with non-profits in more than 15 countries. Carolin, who speaks fluent English, German and Spanish, holds a Master's degree in Development Studies and another in Development Management. She is deeply committed and passionate about social justice and transformation. www.theworkroom.biz
Abigail Oliphant
Fundr(AI)sing – Potential of AI in Fundraising
Abigail Oliphant is a dynamic donor stewardship specialist and AI enthusiast with over a decade of expertise in cultivating powerful relationships within higher education, especially at North-West University. She has an innovative approach to donor engagement by blending her love for people, creativity and technology. Dedicated to a stakeholder-centric philosophy that drives impactful and lasting generosity, she believes in exploring the potential of AI to empower fundraising professionals by automating repetitive tasks and unlocking deeper insights of possibilities within the philanthropic space. Passionate about science and its societal impact, Abigail is committed to advancing knowledge and community upliftment through technology and innovation. Inspired by her South African heritage of ubuntu, her approach fosters unity and generosity and a deep love for society.
Derek Lubner
iZinga Assist – an Update
Founding Chair of iZinga Assist, Derek Lubner is experienced in a wide variety of start-ups in technology, product marketing and social entrepreneurialism. His world of work encompasses the USA, UK, and South Africa. He has been a board member of Mothers2Mothers (M2M) since its establishment over two decades ago. Derek has spent the last five years guiding the establishment of the game-changing NPO verification platform, iZinga Assist, to where it is today – a global leader in the breadth and depth of its offering.
Refilwe Moleyane
International Funding – an Update
Refilwe Moleyane is a seasoned higher education professional with more than 17 years in governance, internationalisation, and institutional transformation. She is the Senior Specialist: International Fundraising at NWU, where she advances global partnerships and mobilises resources to support sustainable institutional growth.
Refilwe has a Master’s in Governance, and has strengthened her expertise through multiple international and professional certifications. Her commitment to global engagement is further reflected in her accolades, notably the Erasmus Mundus Scholarship for short-term mobility to Uppsala University, Sweden, and the International Voluntary Leadership Scholarship awarded by the U.S. State Education Department.
Melanie Jackson
Panel: But WHY is it so Important?
Melanie Jackson is a journalist by training who has spent over two decades in the non-profit sector. She has worked ‘on both sides of the fence’, in grant-making and raising funds for a variety of causes. Her experience has ranged from corporate and trust fundraising to individual giving. As the founder of Words that Count, Melanie spends much of her time guiding organisations in their development strategy and measuring the impact of their interventions. She is also a successful trainer and mentor, having raised money for SA organisations as diverse as a mission hospital and UCT. Melanie also has extensive experience in communications, both from a strategic and operational perspective, which has included developing and implementing comprehensive communications plans. She is currently chair of the board of Positive Vibes, a Namibia-registered NPO and Nyara Youth Development, an NPC based in the Eastern Cape.
Edumisa Mtoli
Panel: But WHY is it so Important?
Edumisa Mtoli is a social entrepreneur with a passion for Mathematics Education. For the past 15 years, he has helped hundreds of high school learners from township and rural areas of the Eastern Cape to follow careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) career fields.
He is a curious Information Technology hobbyist with a granted South African Patent and a lifelong student of entrepreneurship, leadership and generalisation in business with certifications from UNISA for Maths education, Investec for leadership & entrepreneurship and Amazon Web Services for cloud technologies. Edumisa is the founder and Chief Operating Officer of iZibalo NPC, a non-profit addressing the under-participation and poor performance of learners in Mathematics, by providing free high quality Mathematics tutoring to learners in East London, South Africa.
Zoey Hoosen
Panel: But WHY is it so Important?
Zoey Hoosen is the Chief Marketing Officer at Breadline Africa, where she leads the organisation’s marketing, communications, and fundraising strategy. She is responsible for driving brand visibility, income growth, and corporate partnerships, with a strong focus on impact-led storytelling, strategic alignment, and sustainable funding models that support long-term social impact.
Thobile Ziqubu
Panel: But WHY is it so Important?
Thobile Ziqubu is the Stakeholder Relations Manager at the South African Heart Association (SA Heart®), where she works at the intersection of healthcare, partnerships, and purpose-driven impact. Her role focuses on building and stewarding meaningful collaborations across clinicians, industry, civil society, and communities to advance cardiovascular health for all in South Africa through awareness, advocacy, and strategic engagement.
Thobile combines strategic thinking with a deep passion for people, health, and country. She is proud to work alongside a committed, largely volunteer-driven team and believes that meaningful progress begins with purpose, and that leadership starts by clearly understanding the ‘why’ behind the work.
Michael Mamabolo
Panel: But WHY is it so Important?
An alumnus of the University of Johannesburg with over 16 years in fundraising within the non-profit sector, Michael Mamabolo is guided by a strong commitment to social impact and philanthropy.
He has contributed to respected organisations including Habitat for Humanity South Africa and the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA (Northern Region) and currently serves as Business Development Manager at Little Eden Society.
His work focuses on strategic resource mobilisation, stakeholder engagement, and stewardship to support sustainable and meaningful community impact.
Jill Ritchie
What Marketers Can Teach Fundraisers
Papillon Press and Consultancy founder, Jill Ritchie, has been fundraising, training and advising others on resourcing non-profits and universities for well over three decades. A writer before becoming a corporate/trust/foreign fundraiser, Jill found a natural home in the written aspects of fundraising. There are few sources of funds that she has not successfully accessed and has raised over R2 billion in the process. She has served on many boards and councils, including the SA National Museum, TUT, the Tutu Foundation, UK and the SA-UK Trust Network, which she founded. She the chairs London-based The UK Fund for Charities and is a founding trustee of iZinga Assist. Author of Fundraising from UK Donors, her focus is advising on raising money in the UK as well as managing capital campaigns globally. Jill has had 30 books published, 22 on fundraising, with the latest, Crowdfunding for Non-profits, co-authored with Erica Schofield.
Felix Spies
Beyond Compliance: Governance, Trust, and the 5 T’s of Sustainable Fundraising
Felix Spies is the Founder and CEO of Siyafunda Education Foundation, a non-profit focused on expanding access to high-quality STEM education and building long-term, wealth-creating education pipelines in under-resourced communities. With a background spanning education, science, and organisational leadership, Felix has spent the past decade working at the intersection of governance, fundraising, and systems-level social impact.
He is also the founding partner at Catalyst Consultancy, a specialist advisory firm supporting nonprofits, high net-worth individuals, and family foundations to build credible organisational infrastructure, strengthen governance, and develop trust based strategies. Felix works closely with boards and executive teams on compliance readiness, donor stewardship models, and stakeholder engagement, and the translation of strategy into operationally sound, fundable programmes.
Felix holds a BSc (SU), PGCE (UCT), Bed Hons (NWU), Cert. Robotics Education (UNISA), PGDiP (Henley) and a MBA from Henley Business School Africa, where his research examines how major donors evaluate governance in education-focused nonprofit organisations, and how they distinguish between superficial compliance and substantive, trust-worthy practice. His work is grounded in extensive engagement with donors, boards, and nonprofit leaders across South Africa and globally.
Ricardo Wyngaard
NPOs and AI: Best Practices for Ethical, Compliant, and Effective Integration
Ricardo Wyngaard is a proven legal practitioner, trainer and board development professional and has more than 20 years’ experience in facilitating board development and corporate governance training. Ricardo co-authored written submissions on pertinent legislation, including: Income Tax Act, Companies Act, Non-profit Organisations Act, Lotteries Act and National Development Agency Act. He has held positions in organisations as varied as the Law Society of South Africa, Lawyers for Human Rights, Legal Resources Centre and the Non-Profit Consortium. He has authored numerous articles. Ricardo’s book, Governance for Non-profit Boards, remains the go-to guide in South Africa.
He has participated in and presented at a range of conferences and workshops, including: the International Legal Conference, hosted by Rianovosti in Moscow; the Global Forum on Civil Society, hosted by the International Centre for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL) in Stockholm; the NGO Capacity Building Workshop, Gabarone, Botswana. https://nonprofitlawyer.co.za/
Henk Swanepoel
iZinga Assist – an Update
Henk is a well-regarded business leader recognised for his exceptional impact on marketing, media, and event management. As Chief Marketing Officer at Digitata Insights Limited, he promoted a groundbreaking gamification platform and implemented cutting-edge strategies that expanded the company globally. Moreover, as Founder and CEO of Swank Marketing Projects, he directed a collection of award-winning events and campaigns. Prior to co-founding iZinga Assist, Henk devoted his expertise to the South African Chamber of Commerce UK as a volunteer executive, where his dedication to advancing social good earned him broad acclaim.
Dianne Richards
Panel: Ask a Donor
Dianne Richards is enthusiastic about helping organisations thrive through smarter operations, stronger governance, effective programme design and management to create meaningful impact and compliance as well as enterprise risk management.
With over 25 years’ in the corporate and non-profit sectors, Dianne has experience in operations management, project execution, financial planning training, corporate governance, and social investment. She has helped shape and implement strategy, build stakeholder relationships, and manage projects that enable communities and fuel entrepreneurship.
With her background and experience in financial planning, she is a strong supporter of initiatives that promote financial literacy, particularly among the youth.
Dianne also works closely with The Resource Alliance, an international organisation that supports the global social impact sector with resources and opportunities to connect that help build sustainable societies.
Nkosenhle Hlophe
Panel: Ask a Donor
Having transitioned from engineering geology to marketing, Nkosenhle Hlophe, a media executive has spent 15 years leading various media projects. He completed the respected Raizcorp Business Development Programme, which sharpened his leadership skills and helped him expand his business nationally.
His passion and skills in strategic corporate communications and media management have seen him working with brands such as the CSIR, Defy, Transnet, RMB, Icebolethu, and involvement in mega TV productions and international events.
Nkosenhle is CEO of Kenako Marketing, managing one of South Africa’s fastest growing brands. He has visited leading Silicon Valley companies and has travelled to the UK, China, Mozambique, UAE, Swaziland, Indonesia, Zimbabwe and Thailand, contributing to his drive for building global brands.
Malusi Ntoyapi
Panel: Ask a Donor
Malusi Ntoyapi is a Programmes and Innovation Manager at the HCI Foundation, where he supports a wide range of South African not-for-profit organisations in contributing to the building of a thriving, sustainable country. His work is grounded in ubuntu. He believes that a strong, supported, and organised NPO community with a shared vision and quality programming principles can ensure that no one is left behind. Previously, he was part of the Project for the Study of Alternative Education (PRAESA) based at UCT, where he worked on the national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, Nal’ibali. He was named one of Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans in Education, 2015. He volunteers for the Vulindlela Reading and Youth Club in Philippi, sharing his time and skills to nurture young multilingual readers and thinkers while strengthening community learning.
Cara Goshen
Do More Foundation
Cara Goschen is the Business Development Manager at the DO MORE FOUNDATION (DMF), specialising in partnerships, communications and programme building. With a background in social work, Cara is adept at translating complex ideas into clear, practical solutions and helping partners work together with purpose. In addition to leading DMF’s growing presence in the UK, building relationships that connect global support to South Africa’s youngest children, Cara is a trustee of the SA-UK Trust Network.
Dr Jessica Ronaasen
Do More Foundation
Advocacy and Innovation Manager – Dr Jessica Ronaasen, holds a PhD in social work and is nationally recognised for her contributions to ECD, caregiver support and nutrition. She leads the DMF’s systems-level innovation and advocacy, including scaling the 'Everyone Gets to Play' model, ensuring child-centred and evidence-informed impact. This role includes the oversight of the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Officer ensuring data-driven decision-making and continuous learning across programmes
Megan Bosman
The Impact Blueprint: Social Media that Works for Non-profits
Megan Bosman is a social media and digital marketing professional and owner of Honeycomb Digital. With a career that began in Nutrition, Megan later transitioned to PR, where she discovered her passion for social media and the digital landscape. Honeycomb Digital was born from the desire to merge her expertise in health with her love for purposeful, creative digital work. Today, Megan supports brands and organisations with tailored digital and social media services, with a special focus on the NPO, health and nutrigenomics sectors. Passionate about driving meaningful impact, she brings a thoughtful, mission-aligned approach to every project.
Clara Kwizera
iZinga Assist – an Update
Clara Kwizera has spent over 10 years building relationships with and advising HNWIs on where their support can enable sustainable impact. Passionate about creating a more inclusive and empowered society, she has multiple degrees in financial management, has served on several non-profits’ boards and is currently chairs the Steering Committee of Women in Philanthropy South Africa (WiPSA).
Dr Carolyne A. Opinde, Dr.h.c.
AI for Social Impact
Dr Carolyne Akinyi Opinde is an award-winning thought leader, futurist, author, speaker, and lecturer specialising in social innovation, investment, and impact. As the Founder and CEO of The NGO Whisperer® Centre for Social Impact, she champions a sustainable world for present and future generations.
With over two decades of experience, Carolyne has successfully raised over £100 million and managed complex social impact projects. She has collaborated extensively with public, private and social impact sectors to foster social innovation, investment, and impact for a sustainable world.
As an international advocate for social innovation, investment, and impact, she has shared stages with notable figures such as Former President Bill Clinton, Bishop T. D. Jakes, and Deepak Chopra.