2025 Conference Speakers
Bernard Ross
Masterclass: The Case for Support Playbook
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.
Sophie Olivier
Identifying Open Donor Calls
Sophie has over 15 years of experience in southern Africa’s non-profit sector in various fundraising positions, managing teams and elevating organisational annual incomes. She has spent the past six years as the Founder and Director of Flourish Fundraising, a consultancy specialising in grants readiness, grant writing and donor prospecting. Sophie has an honours degree in International Development Studies from Sussex University.
Rowen Ravera-Bauer
Get Personal with Donor Data
Rowen Ravera-Bauer is a social development and communications specialist with over 15 years’ experience working internationally and locally with large and small organisations. She has focused on growing capacity through fundraising and resource generation, business development and partnerships, as well as strategic positioning in the media. She's also a techie, who's been building digital solutions for over a decade to support her communications and fundraising outreach.
Derek Lubner
iZinga Assist – an Update
Derek Lubner’s career spans a wide variety of start-ups in the technology, product marketing and social entrepreneurialism sectors. He has experience working in the USA, the UK and South Africa.
He has been a board member of Mothers2Mothers, since its founding 20 years ago. M2M employs over 1500 HIV positive women as mentor mothers, who help to prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child. Based in Cape Town, M2M operates in 10 African countries.
Derek has an in-depth knowledge of the challenges facing non-profit organisations.
He also runs his late parents’ South African-based family foundation MAID (Make an Immediate Difference), which has supported over 30 NPOs for 20 years in the fields of education, music, community, sport and health.
Henk Swanepoel
iZinga Assist – an Update
Henk Swanepoel is an award-winning business leader with an exceptional track record in the marketing, media and event management industries. Over the years, he has built up an extensive global network of decision-makers and influential professionals across many sectors. He has in-depth marketing and media sales experience across radio, TV, print and digital platforms.
He strongly values community and societal involvement and has a strong record of accomplishment in developing new businesses, obtaining sponsorships and fundraising.
Henk harnesses the power of relationship marketing to promote goals, events and charitable causes. As co-founder of iZinga Assist, he has proven is commitment to social good and has harnessed his gift for networking to benefit South Africa’s NPO sector.
Melanie Jackson
Panel: Shifting Sands: Corporate and Trust Trends
Melanie Jackson is a journalist by training who has been involved in the non-profit sector for more than 20 years. 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 non-profit organisation.
Prof Eric Atmore
Towards Organisation Sustainability: Setting up an Endowment Fund
Professor Eric Atmore has worked in the NPO sector for four decades, initially as a community worker, and later as a director of two NPOs serving children. In 1994, he established the Center for Early Childhood Development in Cape Town.
He holds a degree in Social Development, two honours degrees – one in Community Work and the other in Social Planning and Administration, a Masters degree in Social Planning and Administration – all from the UCT and a PhD in Education Policy Studies from Stellenbosch University.
He has published extensively on early childhood development in accredited journals nationally and internationally. Eric has also authored many chapters in books on early childhood development, leadership and management. His most recent book, Leading a Non-profit Organization – Lessons learned over the years, will be launched in February 2025 and available as an e-book.
Jill Ritchie
Donors’ Trust – the Secret of Funding Success
Papillon Press and Consultancy founder, Jill Ritchie, has been fundraising, training and advising others on resourcing organisations for 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 for NPOs and universities 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 and TUT. She also chairs two London based organisations: The UK Fund for Charities and the SA-UK Trust Network and is a founding trustee of iZinga Assist. Author of Fundraising from UK Donors, her focus is advising on raising money in the UK. She has planned and managed capital campaigns for six SA universities and many NPOs. Jill has had 30 books published, 22 on fundraising, with the latest, Crowdfunding for Non-profits, co-authored with Erica Schofield.
Khashifa Ussuph
Directors’ Fundraising Responsibilities
Attorney, Khashifa Ussuph graduated in BA(Law) and LLB from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has rights of appearance in the High Court of South Africa, The Supreme Court of Appeal and the Constitutional Court. She is a seasoned multi- disciplined litigator and Family Law practitioner and specialises in Corporate and Commercial matters. Khashifa joined MacRobert in 2019 as a Senior Associate in the Medical Law Department and expanded her repertoire as a consultant, overseeing the firm’s Pro Bono portfolio, focusing on providing legal services to SMEs and non-profits, to maximise the positive impact that these organisations have in South Africa. Khashifa is a director of OneFarm Impact NPC and VillageUp NPC and is a member of the Financial Committee of Child Welfare Tshwane.
Anna Lusty
Content Creation: Social Media & Storylines
After having spent 20 years working within the non-profit sector as a communications specialist, Anna Lusty helps non-profits, humanitarians, and social missions spread their message by capturing images and stories in a meaningful and impactful way. She spends her time shooting for organisations as well as running workshops educating both photographers and non-photographers on how to capture better pictures in the non-profit arena. Her portfolio can be seen at: www.madeinmycamera.co.za
Dalit Shekel
The Gogo Revolution: Small Actions, Big Impact
Dalit Shekel is the CEO of Relate Bracelets, a South African social enterprise that has raised and donated over R80 million for credible causes worldwide. With over 25 years of experience spanning corporate, startup, and nonprofit sectors, Dalit brings a unique blend of strategic expertise and a deep passion for social impact. She has worked across industries such as retail, advertising, and pharmaceuticals, managing global, regional, and local brands in diverse markets. At Relate, she has played a pivotal role in empowering South African seniors and young adults through job creation, while raising vital funds for impactful causes worldwide. Dalit’s career has included leadership roles that required strategic insight and vision to drive growth and innovation. Her leadership focuses on aligning purpose with empowering communities and creating sustainable impact.
Ricardo Wyngaard
NPOs using AI – the Legal Considerations
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.
Ricardo has participated and presented at a range of conferences and workshops, key among these: 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.
Kirstyn Liang
How to Raise Funds from Online Shopping
Kirstyn is a social entrepreneur from Cape Town, who started running ShopDonation South Africa after the pandemic. Using her digital and marketing knowledge, she is leveraging technology to create systemic change and unlock a new stream of funding for non-profits in the country. This dynamic young lady has been living and working as a digital nomad for the past five years.
Kelvin Glen
Bridging Borders: Making IFC 2025 Accessible for Southern Africa
Kelvin Glen, Director of Development & Partnerships at the London-based non-profit, The Resource Alliance, is trustee for the UK Fund for Charities and the SA-UK Trust Network, demonstrating his deep commitment to philanthropic endeavours. He also volunteers for Switchboard.
Kelvin is an experienced fundraiser and thought leader with 25 years of experience in the South African NPO sector. He has raised substantial funding for a broad spectrum of organisations and co-founded Fundraising Talk. He has served as Vice Chairperson of Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa and has held Director-level roles at organisations such as Tiger Brands Foundation, For Afrika, Afrika Tikkun, Methodist Homes for the Aged, The Red Cross, and Business Against Crime.
