Students: The Path to Donors’ Hearts

Nov. 4, 2010
Online
2 - 3:30 p.m. Eastern

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Research shows that one of the major barriers to alumni giving is a lack of emotional connection to their alma maters. Yet, with the Student Discovery Initiative, pioneered at Georgetown University, student interviewers were able, in the span of one hour, to reestablish emotional bonds. As a result, irregular donors increased their giving by 43 percent without being asked.

Learn how this innovative program was built from the former vice president who launched the initiative, and how interviews are conducted from a student engaged in a discovery initiative. Discussion will include the cost-effective means of building and deploying a cadre of student interviewers; how to ask the right questions and listen for the right answers; and best practices for shaping effective communications and outreach strategies from the information gathered.

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Speakers

James M. Langley
President, Langley Innovations
Former Vice President of Advancement, Georgetown University

James M. Langley, president of Langley Innovations, is the former vice president of advancement at Georgetown University. At Georgetown, Langley created and launched the Student Discovery Initiative which deployed current students to their hometowns during academic breaks to interview inactive alumni about their relationship to the university. As a result of the interviews, thousands of alumni became actively involved and increased their support. Langley also led Georgetown to record levels of private support despite the most severe economic contraction in 75 years.

Dick Walker
Managing Director
Orr Associates, Inc.

Dick Walker joined the Orr Associates, Inc. (OAI) team as a managing director in January 2010. He brings over 35 years of fundraising and development experience primarily in the independent school sector. Walker had a 32 year career at the Landon School as a teacher and development officer. While at Landon, he served as director of development from 1982 to 2005. He served as chair of the CASE Independent Schools Commission and on the CASE Board. He chaired the CASE-NAIS Independent Schools Conference in 1993 and received the Robert Bell Crow Award in 1994 and the Crystal Apple Teaching Award in 2000.

Britt Williams
Student
Georgetown University

Britt Williams is a senior at Georgetown University majoring in International Health and Economics. She joined the Discovery Initiative's Student Ambassador Program in the Fall of 2008 after transferring to Georgetown from Santa Clara University. She has completed over 150 alumni interviews and was Chair of the Program from Fall 2009 to Spring 2010. After graduating in December, Britt will be moving to New Zealand (where the University of Auckland is starting a Discovery Initiative!) for three months and then working at a consulting firm in San Francisco next fall.

 Who Should Attend

• Advancement leaders
• Advancement officers
• Regional development directors
• Alumni relations staff
• Student-alumni relations staff
• Parents program staff

Benefits of Attending

• Discover the long- and short-term impact of engaging students as institutional ambassadors.
• Learn how a well-constructed interview can engender gratitude and inspire support.
• Glean invaluable information on the deeply held, but rarely expressed, values and concerns of alumni.
• Hear the secrets to building powerful emotional connections to thousands of alumni.
• Explore the organizational and logistical challenges involved in the deployment of many students in a large-scale alumni engagement initiative.

Registration Fees

$275, CASE members; $365, Nonmembers