Join Raise 2024 Emcees, Reggie Rivers & Tom Riles, and OneCause CEO, Steve Johns, for a fun, heartwarming, and one-of-a-kind Raise 2024 conference closeout.
We’ll also announce the live Raise Raffle, where lucky winners take home fabulous prizes. Winners must be present!
Speakers
Reggie Rivers
President, The Gala Team
Reggie Rivers is a former Denver Broncos running back, who grew up as a military brat and a pastor’s son. He learned early in my life to appreciate the power of community and the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” During his 6-year NFL career, Reggie was twice named Broncos Man of the Year in recognition of civic engagement and commitment to the community. Now, as a fundraising expert and benefit auctioneer, he feels that he’s found his true purpose in life: helping nonprofits raise money.
Tom Riles
Auctioneer & Emcee, Tom Riles Auctions
After Tom Riles’ oldest daughter was born with a heart defect in 2010 (she’s healthy now), Tom began emceeing heart-related charity events, which led to him becoming an auctioneer. Tom takes pride in entertaining audiences at benefits, as well as working closely with the charity to make sure the auction and fundraising is as successful as possible.
Tom was the opening act for The Ellen DeGeneres Show for 17 years, in addition to American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and The Voice. Now Tom serves as a benefit auctioneer for many nonprofits around the country including St. Jude, Make-A-Wish, and the American Heart Association.
Passionate about brand building, Tom launched LIFE OF DAD as a support group for dads when his daughter was still in the NICU. Now, LIFE OF DAD has over 7 million followers and helps support countless parents. Tom and his wife Lucy have three kids and currently live in Nashville. Tom and Lucy co-authored a book called MOM VS DAD, The Not-So-Serious Guide To The Stuff We’re All Fighting About.
Steve Johns
CEO, OneCause
Steve Johns is an experienced leader who’s passionate about helping nonprofits build a better tomorrow. He brings over 30 years of experience in technology, corporate development, venture capital, event production and entrepreneurship to his role as Chief Executive Officer at OneCause. For the last seven years, Steve has led the award-winning team at OneCause to surpass $3 billion raised for its 6,000 nonprofit customers. Steve’s concentration focuses on being a strategist, visionary, influencer, and change agent for the organization.
He brings a fresh perspective to the team with his previous experiences as a senior executive in the Fortune 500, as well as successful early-stage start-up investing and scale-up executive leadership.Steve served on the Motorola Research Visionary Board and was a pioneer member of DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center Blue Print Mentoring Program. He currently serves on the board for TechPoint helping guide growth initiatives for the Indiana tech industry.
Steve earned a BA in business and accounting from Augustana College and began his career as a CPA.
