Day 1

Day 2

Day 1, Thursday, November 19

1:30-1:45 PM
Welcome and Introductions

1:45-2:45
It's All About the Data!
Your direct marketing programs can only be as good as the prospect data you have available. Examine the important role data plays in your success, decide what it is you need to know and where you'll get it, and focus on developing strong partnerships with your information services colleagues.

3:00-4:00
How to Create a Coordinated Direct Marketing Calendar
A coordinated direct marketing calendar is a primary and essential tool for your annual giving program. The purpose of your direct marketing calendar is to create results. In addition to enabling you to launch your solicitation vehicles in a way that can drive your goals in a structured and thought-out manner, it can also help keep you on track and make sure that you are using every opportunity that you have to solicit your constituents without lapsing in your efforts. Review a sample direct marketing calendar that you can modify for your institution.

4:15-5:30
Developing Your Case for Support
The number of philanthropic opportunities continues to increase. The economic slowdown has limited the disposable income of many households. How can you make sure your alumni choose to support your school? Discuss ways to find the most effective branding, themes and messages for each of your varied audiences.

5:45-6:45
Networking Reception

6:45
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own

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 Day 2, Friday, November 20

8:00-9:00 AM
Continental Breakfast/Roundtables

9:00-10:00
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Smarter Direct Mail: 30 Tips in 60 Minutes
  When it comes to direct marketing, you are only as good as your last campaign. Now, more than ever, we need to be strategic about who we are mailing to and what and when we are mailing. Learn how to build a smarter direct marketing program with 30 tips from fundraisers, marketers and researchers. Join us in this fast-paced, collaborative learning environment and walk away with some valuable ideas on how to increase the effectiveness of your direct mail.
• How to Build an ePhilanthropy Program from Scratch
  Fundraising via the Internet has come of age! Electronic solicitations are now essential in creating, maintaining and stewarding relationships with your donors. If you have not tapped into this new technology and have not adopted an online fundraising presence, then this session is a must-attend for you. We'll walk you through the steps Emory took in developing an ePhilanthropy program from scratch (within their budget constraints) that helped to take Emory's annual giving program to the next level.
• Facebook, Flickr and Fundraising-Oh My!
  Everyone is talking about social media and how Web 2.0 has made the Internet interactive. It's given us new ways to engage and involve our prospects virtually. But is it helping us to raise money? Review and discuss examples of Web 2.0 work and learn how it might fit into your annual giving program.
• Writing for Different Media
  We've all struggled to compose the perfect direct mail appeal. With the advent of e-mail, Web pages, facebook, texting and twitter, even the perfect letter has limitations. Discuss the importance of varying our writing style to match the medium and creating content that keeps our audiences interested.

10:15-11:15
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• How to Measure the Success of Your Annual Giving Program (Repeated from Monday during the Successful Annual Giving conference.)
  Now more than ever, annual fund managers and directors are being asked to perform better with fewer resources. It has never been more important for you to monitor the return on investment for each project and program that you execute to ensure you are best allocating your limited resources. Learn what the key measurements are to evaluate the success and improve the performance of your annual giving program, how to put a data-driven process in place, and how to use reporting, analysis and ROI to help you focus on your priorities and ensure your goals are met. Review sample reports and discuss how to analyze your program in the short- and long-term.
• Managing Outside Writers
  One of the most effective ways to boost results is to loosen our control over content and empower volunteers, students and faculty to deliver their message directly to peers and prospects. Learn how to manage the messy process of using writers outside the realm of development and communications. This session offers you the ammunition you need to convince your colleagues that it is well worth it.
• So Many Prospects, So Little Time: Using Segmentation to Drive Solicitation (Repeated from Monday during the Successful Annual Giving conference.)
  Most annual funds are called upon to solicit everyone, but given a limited amount of time and money to do so. During this session, we'll look at how you can use your own data and/or vendor data to segment your population and invest your resources in ways that will maximize your program's success.

11:15 AM-12:15 PM
Integration Education
Integrated marketing. Everyone's talking about it, but is anyone actually doing it? The answer is yes-and they're seeing results. Using examples from organizations that are well on their way, we'll explore the areas in which your annual giving program can begin to integrate messaging, look and feel across multiple channels. Learn more about how online components can strengthen your mailing pieces, bringing you more return on your investment and stretching your limited budget dollars further. Discuss the data you need to be effective and innovative ways to take your program to the next level through long-term planning.

12:15-1:00
Faculty Firing Line

1:00
Conference Adjourns

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