Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 1, Wednesday, May 16

NOON-1:00 PM
Registration

1:00-1:45
Welcome and Introductions

1:45-3:00
Annual Giving in 2012
What does the field of annual giving look like today? Who's working in it? What resources do they use? Which tactics do they think are important?  Review the findings from a current market research study and explore the key characteristics, trends and best practices of annual giving in 2012.

3:30-4:45
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Using Challenges in Annual Giving
  Year-long? One month? Entire constituency? Targeted group? How do we market this challenge? Where do you come up with the funds for a challenge? Examine several examples of challenges and learn how they were effective and why. Look at the current trends and best practices as well as the actual steps taken to implement a challenge.
• Reunion Gift Campaigns
  Reunion is a time when many alumni reflect upon their experience at your institution and the ways in which their degree has made a difference in their lives. It is also a wonderful opportunity to increase philanthropic support to your institution. Learn how a mini-campaign approach has been used at three different institutions to break down silos and develop reunion giving programs that have helped not only raise more money but also engage more alumni.
• Donor Loyalty Programs 
  The heartbeat of your program is your loyal donors. Donor loyalty programs are a great way to acknowledge and recognize the very behavior we seek to inspire in our annual giving programs. In doing so, they cultivate a stronger and more involved community of support. Learn how to design a donor loyalty program and discover what the corresponding implications for your communications and information management needs will be. Gain  practical insight gained from real-world examples of programs that were launched at Georgetown University and Vanderbilt University.

5:00-6:00
 Networking Reception
Bring your business cards and chat informally with faculty and participants. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cash bar.

6:00
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own

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Day 2, Thursday, May 17

8:30-9:30 AM
Continental Breakfast/Roundtables

9:30-10:45
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Predictive Analytics for Annual Giving
  Across the for-profit sector, leading companies separate themselves through efficiencies and productivity realized through predictive analytics. Leading universities, colleges and schools have incorporated this same science to improve fundraising success. In this session Joshua Birkholz will present the vibrant and evolving field of predictive analytics applied to annual giving. Expect to discover new ways of segmenting and prioritizing your constituency for better results.
• Students and Young Alumni
  Students and young alumni shouldn't be at the bottom of your solicitation priorities. Learn how partnering with other programs are the key to engaging these hard-to-convert segments.

• Direct Mail Success (repeated at 3:00 PM today)
  We'll review the requirements for direct marketing success; discuss messaging and packaging, and look at inexpensive ways to test and challenge the perception of what constitutes good or bad direct mail. We'll share examples of some of the more creative appeals we've encountered over the years and, if time allows, invite you to share your own story of a successful (or unsuccessful) appeal.

11:00 AM-NOON
Leadership Annual Giving 
Learn how to implement a successful leadership annual giving program. We all need to strengthen annual results and simultaneously cultivate a stronger major gifts program. Leadership annual giving can serve as an important bridge between these two foundational objectives for annual giving programs. Whether your shop is small or large, the principles and practices outlined in this session will benefit organizations contemplating the creation of a leadership annual giving program. Focus on how to organize, launch and evaluate a new program and will review practical examples that you can relate to in your work.  

NOON-1:30 PM
Networking Luncheon
Join your fellow attendees for lunch to network, discuss current trends and best practices, and review conference content in this informal setting. Lunch is provided.  

1:30-2:45
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Advanced Call Center Management
  Many components comprise a successful annual fund calling campaign. A successful call floor is one that instills a culture of success; annual fund is not a process. Discuss how to grow your annual fund through caller recruitment and training, motivation, telephony, ask strategies and analytics.   

• Annual Giving in Asia
  Is it worth the trip? How do I know when I should go? How best do I approach donors once I am there? What cultural differences are there among the leading Asian nations with regards to philanthropy? Examine these and other questions regarding best practices in approaching fundraising in Asia.
• Stewardship: A Key Component of Your Renewal and Retention Program
  Saying "thank you" is not only polite, it's the key to nurturing those precious donor relationships. When and how you say it matters, and missing steps in the process could cost you dearly. Learn about efficient and cost-effective ways to make every donor feel appreciated, regardless of the gift size and channel. The session includes time for participants to share their successful stewardship strategies and examples, so make sure to bring your samples and brag!

3:00-4:15
Elective Sessions (choose one) 

• Annual Giving in a Small Shop
  Where do I focus my time? How do I avoid burnout and get it all done? How do I make a case for more staff? Learn how to use data analysis to help prioritize your many responsibilities to be efficient and effective, without sacrificing your sanity.
• Social Media in Annual Giving
  Peer-to-peer relationship building continues to be the most compelling method of raising gifts. We are all familiar with the channels of social media, but we may not have a clear path for leveraging the tools for better relationship building. Review real-world examples of social media as an engagement building tool and disscuss new and best practices of new media integration.
• Direct Mail Success
  Review the requirements for direct marketing success; discuss messaging and packaging, and look at inexpensive ways to test and challenge the perception of what constitutes good or bad direct mail. We'll share examples of some of the more creative appeals we've encountered over the years and, if time allows, invite you to share your own story of a successful (or unsuccessful) appeal. 

4:15
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own

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Day 3, Friday, May 18

7:30-8:30 AM
Continental Breakfast/Roundtables  

8:30-9:30
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Mobile Marketing in Annual Giving
    Mobile giving is quickly emerging as an easy and convenient way for people to make donations. In fact, mobile commerce showed an 86 percent year-over-year growth from 2010 to 2011, according to a study by Appcelerator and IDC as reported by Mobile Commerce Daily. Don't be left behind. Learn how you can take your fundraising to the next level by employing a couple of simple strategies to engage your donors via their mobile device. During this session, we'll share how to maximize the mobile giving user experience, strategies for using text messaging to speak to a whole new donor base, as well as the do's and don'ts of mobile giving.
• Developing Pipeline Annual Giving Programs
  Participation or pipeline? Successful programs choose one strategy. Learn how Oregon State University developed an annual giving pipeline program that successfully identifies, solicits and upgrades donors in preparation for major gifts.
  
• Integrated Direct Marketing Strategy
  Everyone's talking about it, but is anyone actually doing it? The answer is yes--and they're seeing results. Look at how an integrated solicitation strategy strengthens response rates across numerous channels and learn ways to move the giving process from transactional to interactive. Explore ways your annual giving program can easily integrate messaging, look and feel across multiple channels on a tight budget. Examine appeals from different institutions and share the lessons learned. 

9:45-11:00
 Management Challenges in Annual Giving
How do you increase results with fewer resources? How do you recruit good people? How do you make annual giving a higher priority for your advancement colleagues? Here is your chance to ask the conference faculty how they deal with some of their most difficult management challenges.  

11:00-11:30
Conference Wrap-up and Q&A

11:30
Conference Adjourns

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