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Donor Relations can feel like the Wild Wild West, but you are not alone! As a newcomer to the industry, join this session to hear the basics of Donor Relations from some professionals who have learned how to navigate the ever-changing terrain. While Donor Relations can look a lot different across organizations, there’s also a lot of common ground and best practices to keep in mind. We’ll discuss how Donor Relations fits into the overall Advancement picture as well as what a Donor Relations team could (and should) look like. We’ll also share some tips and tricks for getting the most out of the conference ahead of you.

Donor relations leaders are navigating a rapidly changing landscape. Expectations are growing, donor engagement is becoming more personalized and data-informed, and teams are being asked to support everything from impact reporting and recognition to events, communications, compliance, and strategic donor experience. Yet even the strongest program strategy depends on the people and structure behind it. This interactive senior leaders pre-conference hands on lab will focus on the leadership and management practices needed to build, support, and sustain effective donor relations teams. We will examine current staffing trends, team structure models, evolving skills and competencies, hiring and onboarding practices, culture-building strategies, retention, and offboarding. Designed as a practical leadership lab, this session will help participants assess their own team structures, identify skill and capacity gaps, strengthen talent practices, and leave with actionable ideas to better lead the people behind the programs.

In a resource-strapped environment, it can feel overwhelming to be asked to launch new stewardship programs or improve efficiency as philanthropic support grows. Your 2026 donor relations superpower is already in motion: the stewardship activities, communications, and reporting rhythms you have today. Doing more with what you have starts with smart choices about what to sustain, what to refresh, and what to add—without letting “new” become “forever.” In the first half of this plenary, Eliza will share a practical framework for building momentum from existing stewardship work: strengthening quality and consistency in what already exists, refreshing the right activities to reflect leadership priorities, and piloting time-bound additions with clear targets and end dates. In the second half, Eliza will moderate a panel of peers sharing real examples from their institutions: how they enhanced or repurposed existing stewardship programs, what they stopped doing to make room, and what results they saw.

For many institutions, donor recognition still begins with gift amount. But some of the most important opportunities to build loyalty happen through donor behavior: a first gift, a renewed gift, a loyal giving streak, a monthly commitment, a return after lapsing, or a response to a campaign that signals deeper connection. This session will offer a refreshed approach to behavior-based recognition that moves beyond static giving levels and focuses on the moments that matter most in a donor’s journey. We’ll explore how to prioritize donor populations, design meaningful recognition touchpoints, and build scalable experiences that support retention, loyalty, and future giving. Participants will walk away with practical examples and a framework they can adapt for teams of any size.

Thinking about rolling out the red (or gold... or orange... or blue... or whatever your school's colors are) carpet to thank your donors? Not sure where to start? University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's Advancement team was in that same situation in 2022, so we get it!

Hear how we created a high-level, intentional signature stewardship event from nothing more than the idea that we needed to do SOMETHING. This will part idea-sharing, part case study, and part audience collaboration and discussion. We'll discuss how to strategically and intentional create an event that will wow your donors and leave them feeling truly appreciated.

Lehigh University and Lafayette College share the most-played rivalry in college football history—with over 160 meetings. While these institutions are fierce competitors on the field, their donor relations shops face the shared challenge of advancing the ball at opposite ends of the campaign lifecycle: Lehigh is nearing a campaign close, while Lafayette is orchestrating the quiet phase. Joined by moderator Ashlyn Sowell (Senior Associate Vice President, Johns Hopkins University), this session offers a comprehensive "view from the sidelines" on how to strategically position a donor relations program for each campaign quarter.
The panel will move beyond the scorecard to discuss the essential infrastructure required for campaign success. We will dive into the pre-game prep of policies, gift agreements, and locking down gift thresholds and naming opportunities with university leadership. We will share strategies for a SWOT analysis and determining centralized vs. decentralized responsibilities, ensuring every team member knows their position on the field. This session covers the “X’s and O’s” of how to convey impact and celebrate milestones. Finally, we will discuss how to adjust the game plan by leveraging strategy and technology to address increased volume and personalized stewardship goals, ensuring your program doesn't fumble as the stakes get higher.

You've heard it before: there's no "I" in team. But here's the truth—you are on that team, and being a great teammate starts with knowing yourself. What motivates you? What drains your energy? What role do you naturally play? Donor relations professionals work across a wide range of personalities every day: donors, gift officers, campus partners, leadership, and teammates. In this interactive session, we'll flip the script on "there's no awesome without me" and explore how the best partnerships balance individual self-awareness with collective dynamics. Participants will learn practical tools to better understand themselves, navigate workplace friction, and tailor relationship strategies for different donor preferences. We'll examine when partnerships click, when they clash, and how understanding both the "me" and the "we" unlocks peak collaboration.

In an era of increasing demands and limited time, donor relations teams often struggle to balance personalized engagement for top donors with the need for scalable practices that also support donor prospects. Yet meaningful donor experiences—and the cultivation of future major and principal gift donors—require intentional space for creativity, personalization, and innovation.
In this session, you’ll explore how The Ohio State University Principal Gifts team developed a new donor-centered stewardship framework that blends systematic, repeatable best practices with imaginative approaches that spark connection and create meaningful engagement opportunities for both top donors and high-potential prospects. We’ll share practices for making creativity a sustainable part of your process, examples of high-impact creative initiatives, and strategies to align innovation with institutional priorities.
Participants will walk away with practical ways to carve out creative space in their stewardship work, elevate engagement across the donor pipeline, and build processes that honor both the art and science of donor relations.

Many advancement professionals don’t consider themselves “creative,” which can make design feel intimidating or out of reach. This session shows how anyone can create polished, engaging donor communications—reports, emails, web content, proposals, donor profiles, and even video!—using simple design principles and low-cost (or free!) tools. No art degree required. Through real-world examples and before-and-after visuals, participants will learn how small, practical design choices can dramatically improve donor engagement, readability, and impact. Attendees will leave with easy, immediately usable ideas that make donor communications shine—without increasing the budget.