Top Summits for the Non-Profit Sector in 2024-2025

In the world of nonprofits, staying connected and informed is crucial for driving meaningful impact. Nonprofit conferences and global leadership summits aren't just events—they're the core of innovation, education, and networking. They provide a gateway to the latest trends, fresh insights, and essential tools that propel success and growth in the sector. Through them, leaders converge to tackle pressing issues, forge partnerships, and shape the future. 

In this blog post, we delve into the significance of attending top global business summits and global leadership summits 2024 for non-profits. Whether you're seeking to expand your network, gain insights from industry experts, secure funding, or explore collaborative ventures, these summits are essential for empowering your organization's impact and innovation strategies.

Why Attend Global Summits for Non-Profits?

Attending global summits not only facilitates networking with peers and industry leaders but also provides access to crucial resources, expert insights, and collaboration opportunities essential for non-profits' growth and impact. Let’s see how: 

A. Networking Opportunities

Global summits bring together leaders and decision-makers from various non-profit organizations, providing ample networking opportunities. Conversations during sessions, workshops, and networking breaks can lead to valuable connections that foster future collaborations.

For example, at the International Conference on Sustainable Development, many attendees can network with international NGOs, leading to partnerships for joint projects addressing climate change.

B. Learning from Industry Experts

You can always gain insights from keynote speakers and workshop leaders. Keynote addresses and specialized workshops feature experts sharing their knowledge and experience on critical topics. These sessions provide actionable insights and strategies that can be applied to enhance organizational effectiveness.

For instance, during the RightsCon conference, attendees can gain insights from cybersecurity experts on protecting human rights activists online, leading to the development of new digital security protocols implemented across multiple non-profit organizations.

C. Access to Resources and Funding

Many global summits include sessions dedicated to funding opportunities, where non-profits can learn about grants, sponsorships, and fundraising strategies. This can be your opportunity to have access to rich resources and funding possibilities. 

In addition, it offers a chance for capacity building and professional development. Workshops, training sessions, and skill-building workshops offered at summits can enhance the capabilities of non-profit staff and volunteers, providing thoughts on organizational effectiveness and efficiency.

D. Innovation and Technology Adoption

Finally, global summits serve as platforms where non-profits can explore and adopt cutting-edge innovations and technologies that address critical challenges within the sector, specifically with the introduction of Artificial Intelligence AI, Machine Learning, and Extended Reality technologies. These gatherings feature topics on blockchain for transparent fundraising, AI for data analysis, VR for advocacy and awareness, mobile apps for field operations, and many more.

Top Global Summits and Conferences for 2024-2025

1. Dreamforce
   1. Overview and Highlights: Dreamforce is an annual event hosted by Salesforce, uniting the global Salesforce community for education, networking, and philanthropy. It features keynotes, breakout sessions, and demonstrations highlighting the latest in technology and innovations.
   2. Key Focus Areas: Technology solutions for business challenges, nonprofit innovations, AI, and future technologies.
   3. Location and Date: September 17-19 in San Francisco, CA, USA.
2. International Conference on Sustainable Development (ICSD)
   1. Overview and Highlights: ICSD brings a global leadership summit with scholars, researchers, and practitioners to discuss sustainable development goals (SDGs) and innovative solutions for global challenges. For 2024, their theme is “Solutions for the Future,” focusing on themes such as Amplifying all Voices for SDG Achievement, Digitalization, Advancing Impactful Research and Education, Enhancing Governance in Diverse Sectors, and much more.
   2. Key Focus Areas: Sustainable development, environmental conservation, social equity.
   3. When: Hybrid on September 19 -  21, 2024
3. Summit of the Future
   1. Overview and Highlights: Summit of the Future by the United Nations is a prestigious, high-level event aimed at convening world leaders to establish a new international consensus on addressing global challenges and shaping a sustainable future.
   2. Key Focus Areas: Global cooperation, international consensus on pressing issues, rebuilding trust, and addressing emerging threats and opportunities.
   3. Location and Date: Action Days: September 20-21, 2024; Summit: September 22-23, 2024 in New York, USA. 
4. Good Tech Fest
   1. Overview and Highlights: Good Tech Fest is an exclusive, invitation-only retreat focusing on the intersection of technology and social impact. Held over three days in Nairobi, it gathers nearly 100 social sector leaders to discuss and showcase how technology and data drive impact in their organizations.
   2. Key Focus Areas: Technology applications in the social sector, data-driven impact, AI, Web3, machine learning, app development.
   3. Location and Date: October 7-8, 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya
5. TED Conferences [3 upcoming]
   1. Overview: Every year, TED hosts conferences to unite expert thinkers and doers across various fields, sharing groundbreaking ideas and fostering global dialogue. These events bring together academics, researchers, technologists, activists, and more, aiming to inspire and drive positive change worldwide. There are upcoming 3 conferences TEDAI in Vienna, Austria, TEDNext in Atlanta US, and the original premier event, TED AI in San Francisco
   2. Key Focus Areas: Future trends, personal and global transformation, emerging innovations, AI technologies, interdisciplinary impact, and societal implications.‍
   3. Location and Date: Events begin starting October 17, 2024

6. Cause Camp
   1. Location and Date: Cause Camp empowers non-profits with innovative approaches to tackling social issues through inspiring keynote sessions and practical workshops. The 2024 theme is a nod to the Olympic motto, “Better, Higher, Successful—Together.” This year’s event is all about uniting around the sector’s pitfalls and priorities: Helping each attendee reignite their purpose and walk away with actionable strategies to use immediately.
   2. Key Focus Areas: Leadership development, storytelling for impact, digital fundraising strategies.
   3. Location and Date:  October 21 - 22, CO, US 
7. Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF)
   1. Overview and Highlights: SEWF showcases global leaders summit and global entrepreneurship summit in social entrepreneurship, highlighting business models that drive positive social change.
   2. Key Focus Areas: Social enterprise innovation, sustainable business practices, impact investing.
   3. Location and Date: Virtual on October 23, 2024
8. AidEx
   1. Overview and Highlights: AidEx is the world’s leading humanitarian aid and disaster relief event. It features high-level conference sessions, workshops, discussion groups, case studies, and training programs focused on improving humanitarian aid delivery. This year's theme revolves around ‘Revitalising Humanitarian Assistance – How do we deliver better aid in conflict-affected hot spots? As the number of complex and hard-to-reach conflict areas continues to rise, AidEx explores innovative approaches for more effective aid delivery. 
   2. Key Focus Areas: Humanitarian assistance in conflict zones and aid delivery innovations.
   3. Location and Date: October 23-24, 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.
9. EDUtech Asia 2024
   1. Overview and Highlights: EDUtech Asia 2024 is Asia’s largest conference and exhibition dedicated to educators and EdTech providers, focusing on fostering dialogue, collaboration, and partnerships to drive meaningful change in education. The event features over 400 speakers addressing pressing topics such as digital strategy, generative AI, teacher training, pedagogy for digital learning, sustainability, cyber-security, and bridging the digital divide.
   2. Key Focus Areas: Digital transformation in education, AI and machine learning applications, innovative pedagogical approaches, cybersecurity in education, and sustainability in EdTech.
   3. Location and Date: November 5-7, 2024 in Singapore.
10. World Economic Forum
    1. Overview and Highlights: The World Economic Forum convenes global leaders to discuss economic, environmental, global philanthropy, and social issues shaping the global agenda while bringing together world economic members. The World Economic Forum Agenda focused on several key themes such as Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World, Creating Growth and Jobs for a New Era, Artificial Intelligence as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society, and much more. 
    2. Key Focus Areas: Economic security and cooperation, job creation and economic growth, tech impact on society and economy, global governance and sustainable development.
    3. Location and Date: TBD January 2025 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland
11. RightsCon
    1. Overview and Highlights: RightsCon is a premier summit on human rights in the digital age, focusing on internet freedom, digital security, and privacy rights. The global entrepreneurship summit convenes business leaders, policymakers, general counsels, government representatives, technologists, academics, journalists, and human rights advocates from around the world to tackle pressing issues at the intersection of human rights and technology
    2. Key Focus Areas: Digital rights advocacy, cybersecurity, and online privacy protections.
    3. Location and Date: February 24 - 27, 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan. 
12. SXSW
    1. Overview and Highlights: SXSW converges music, film, interactive media, and technology, featuring sessions relevant to non-profits on innovation and creative solutions in digital storytelling and audience engagement.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Innovation in technology, music, film, and culture; emerging trends in digital creativity; entrepreneurship and startup ecosystems.
    3. Location and Date: March 7 - 15, 2025 in Austin, Texas, USA
13. Global Philanthropy Forum
    1. Overview and Highlights: GPF explores effective philanthropic strategies and impact investing to address global challenges, emphasizing collaboration between philanthropists, social investors, and non-profits.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Philanthropy and social impact investing; strategies for effective giving and sustainable development; global health, education, and environmental sustainability.
    3. Location and Date: March 12-14, 2025 in San Francisco, CA. 
14. IMAGINE Nonprofit by AWS
    1. Overview and Highlights: Presented by Amazon Web Services (AWS), IMAGINE: Nonprofit brings together nonprofit leaders, purpose-focused technologists, and impact innovators to explore the transformative potential of technology in driving positive social and environmental impact. 
    2. Key Focus Areas: Leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AI, ML, generative AI, data analytics, and edge computing to address mission challenges in the digital age.
    3. Location and Date: TBD March 2025 at Amazon Headquarters, USA.
15. Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship
    1. Overview and Highlights: Skoll World Forum, a global entrepreneurship summit, convenes social entrepreneurs to share innovative solutions and scalable models for tackling pressing social and environmental issues worldwide.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Social entrepreneurship; innovative solutions to global challenges; impact investing and social enterprise models.
    3. Location and Date: Hybrid April 1–4, 2025 in Oxford, United Kingdom.
16. Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC)
    1. Overview and Highlights: NTC explores the latest trends and innovations in non-profit technology, offering workshops and sessions on digital strategy, IT management, and data security.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Nonprofit technology solutions; digital strategy and IT management for nonprofits; data security and digital transformation in the nonprofit sector.
    3. Location: April 16–18, 2025 in Baltimore, US.
17. Geneva Summit on Human Rights and Democracy
    1. Overview and Highlights: The Geneva Summit addresses global human rights challenges, advocating for democracy, and protecting civil liberties through high-level discussions and advocacy initiatives. The Summit is held around the main annual session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, when foreign ministers gather in Geneva, to place critical issues onto the international agenda.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Human rights advocacy; democracy promotion and civil liberties; international law and global governance.
    3. Location and Date: TBD May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. 
18. Engage for Good
    1. Overview and Highlights: Engage for Good (EFG) is the premier conference bringing together CSR and social impact leaders from Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies along with the nation's largest nonprofits. It focuses on strengthening collaborations and amplifying collective impact through ongoing dedication to social impact causes.
    2. Key Focus Area: Strengthening corporate and nonprofit partnerships, fostering authentic connections, and catalyzing large-scale systemic change and collaborative change through sustainable social impact initiatives.
    3. Location and Date: TBD May 2025 in MN, US.
19. Oslo Freedom Forum
    1. Overview and Highlights: The Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) is an international human rights conference series hosted and produced by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). Oslo Freedom Forum convenes human rights activists and advocates to discuss global freedom issues and promote human rights advocacy through inspiring talks and networking.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Human rights activism and advocacy; freedom of speech and democracy; global challenges to human rights and grassroots movements.
    3. Location: TBD June 2025 in Oslo, Norway. 
20. The Migration Summit
    1. Overview and Highlights: The Migration Summit, organized by the MIT Emerging Talent, Na’amal and Karam Foundation, is a global convening designed to build bridges between diverse communities of displaced learners, universities, companies, social enterprises, policymakers, employers and governments around the key challenges and opportunities for refugee and migrant communities.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Promoting education, dignified work, and inclusive opportunities for migrants and refugees, global migration trends and challenges, and challenging stereotypes and biases in the job market.
    3. Location and Date: TBD June and July 2025.
21. AI for Good Summit
    1. Overview and Highlights: The AI for Good Global Summit is the leading action-oriented United Nations platform promoting AI to advance health, climate, gender, inclusive prosperity, sustainable infrastructure, and other global development priorities. This leadership summit explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in healthcare, climate change, and education, with a focus on ethical AI development.
    2. Key Focus Areas: Applications of artificial intelligence for social good; ethical considerations in AI development; AI solutions for sustainable development goals.
    3. Location:  July 9 - 11 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland

Conclusion

Global summits for non-profits serve as invaluable platforms for networking, learning from industry leaders, accessing resources, and fostering collaboration. Whether you attend the World Economic Forum, Oslo Freedom Forum, or SXSW, they empower you to innovate and tackle global challenges effectively. If you're a nonprofit leader, volunteer, or advocate, attending these global leadership summits in 2024 provides unique opportunities to gain insights and forge partnerships. Make those summits investments to enhance your organization's strategies and contribute to positive change on a global scale.