Closing Keynote by Matt Wallaert | Donor Experience Summit 2026 - Brooklyn

How do you come up with fundraising ideas nobody's tried yet? Start by asking the opposite question: what would make sure no one ever donated to your organization again? In this closing keynote from Fundraise Up's Donor Experience Summit in New York City, applied behavioral scientist Matt Wallaert shows how the brain's built-in biases steer us toward the same predictable solutions, and how a few simple brainstorming constraints can break nonprofits out of them. Using M&M's as a live, audience-powered case study, Matt explains that all behavior comes down to a competition between promoting pressures (reasons to act) and inhibiting pressures (reasons not to). Then he puts the room to work on donor experience, from "evil" red-team brainstorms to product-only and messaging-only challenges, surfacing ideas like identity-affirming thank-yous, surprise-and-delight moments donors discover on their own, and supporting the people closest to your donors. In this session: → Why behavior change is really pressure change, and how promoting and inhibiting pressures compete → Why convenience removes a reason not to act but doesn't create a reason to act → The bias that pushes us toward the same kinds of solutions, and what the history of smoking cessation reveals about it → The "evil" brainstorm: how asking your team how to stop all donations surfaces pressures you'd otherwise miss → The product-only challenge: designing surprise-and-delight moments donors discover without being told → The messaging-only challenge: reframing what you already do without changing a thing → Why identity is one of the most powerful reasons people give, and how "I'm the kind of person who…" framing can reinforce it → Why so much nonprofit messaging is interchangeable, and how breaking your brainstorming habits helps you stand out "I don't change behavior. I change pressure. Pressure changes behavior." — Matt Wallaert ABOUT THE DONOR EXPERIENCE SUMMIT The Donor Experience Summit, hosted by Fundraise Up, brings nonprofit fundraising professionals together to rethink how organizations connect with donors. Fundraise Up is an AI-powered fundraising platform for nonprofits. Learn more: https://fundraiseup.com/ Subscribe for more on donor experience, fundraising strategy, and nonprofit leadership. #BehavioralScience #DonorExperience #NonprofitMarketing 0:00 Applied Behavioral Science & the M&M's Example 7:24 Pressure, Bias & What Smoking Cessation Teaches Us 12:14 The Evil Brainstorm: Red-Teaming M&M's 18:54 Product-Only & Messaging-Only Constraints 24:37 Brainstorming Donor Experience Ideas 31:09 Identity: The Most Powerful Reason People Give 35:10 Turning an Inhibiting Pressure Into a Reason to Give 42:07 Why Nonprofit Messaging All Sounds the Same