Apply to be A UW NEXT Guest Speaker!

United Way NEXT is excited to welcome you into the 2026 Guest Speaker RFP process! Whether you’re a United Way professional, consultant, or service provider, we’re glad you’re here!

Hi! My name is Ivy Cirillo & I’m the Marketing, Communications, & Events Manager at United Way NEXT. Along with our Engage & Exchange Work Group members, I’ll be working with our internal team to review your applications. So, here’s what you need to know:

United Way NEXT is the official alumni association for United Way professionals. We offer memberships to current staff, alumni, retirees and local united ways. Whether you host an event with us or sponsor our programming, this would be your audience.

Our events are typically hosted between Tuesday and Thursday and run an average of 60-75 minutes. But to ensure everything runs smoothly, we ask that our guest speakers hop on 30 minutes early & we offer a 15-minute debrief after the event.

This year, we’ve already hosted 25 virtual events with over 1300 registrations, nearly 600 attendees and thousands of replays on YouTube. Guest speakers presented sessions on planned giving, executive leadership, financial wellness, personal development, team building, civic engagement, diversity, equity, and inclusion, & more!

When submitting your proposals, we’d love for you to consider the kind of sessions our audience might want for professional development, lift them up on hard days, support them during difficult transitions, help them practice self-care, make their lives easier, and what you love talking about. These sessions can feature co-presenters, include a panel, or act as a roundtable discussion. And they don’t have to be educational, they can be to engage, entertain, or network too. We just ask that you’re more than comfortable navigating zoom, familiar creating accessible PowerPoints, and have history working at or with United Ways.

So, what’s NEXT? After watching this video or reading this transcript, feel free to check out the frequently asked questions below and then click on the big blue button to apply! You’ll have the option to fill out the form as either a main presenter or a co-presenter. Main presenters will fill out the speaker application in its entirety while co-presenters (aka secondary speakers, panelists, and roundtable presenters) will only fill out details about themselves. Once you’ve applied, United Way NEXT staff and volunteers will review your applications and reach out to you directly with any questions we may have or provide a decision no later than November 17th.

If you’ve been selected as a 2026 Event Speaker, we will work with you to schedule your event date, create the registration link, and begin crafting your marketing materials. As we get closer, I’ll send you email updates about registration numbers, event volunteers, outstanding to-do’s, run of show, and anything else that may come up. You won’t have to worry about planning meetings, mock presentations, or anything like that! We’ll even send an email to everyone that’s registered the day before with any pre-reads or instructions you have for them & we’ll email them the following day with the event recording, your slide deck, how to get in touch with you, and any resources you shared. It’s as simple as that!

If you have any questions about applying, presenting, or need accommodations, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us! Just email me at ivy.cirillo@uww.unitedway.org & I’ll be in touch! Otherwise, I look forward to reading your application!