This session will facilitate a discussion on how fundraisers are approaching this new post-pandemic landscape and look at what new strategies are being incorporated to help connect and build relationships that will lead to new fundraising opportunities. Upon completion of this workshop, those in attendance will be able to: • Assess their organization’s donor landscape - who are they, where are they, which events they attend, and where do they give? • Adapt non-traditional fundraising cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship methods developed during the pandemic to help build relationships within communities of color. • Suggest ideas that may influence how their institutions integrate new fundraising approaches into their operations. • Examine current and emerging trends influencing fundraising post-pandemic and develop strategies to adapt to the current climate. • Be aware of and effectively manage a much broader group of stakeholders that previously may have been an afterthought. • Be responsive to our changing environment to ensure that our institutional operations are equipped to engage various types of donors using a wide range of techniques.

The New to the Profession Pre-Conference Workshop is an excellent opportunity to familiarize yourself with the impact Advancement has on your institution. The sessions are designed to give you a strong understanding of Advancement as a profession as well as drill down to your specific discipline. You will walk away with valuable insight shared by five seasoned veterans as well as contacts to build your professional network. Finally, the district chair will share the benefit of serving in and volunteering for district opportunities.

Join conference leadership to kick off the 2023 District III Annual Conference and learn how to get the most out of your time in Atlanta. The welcome will be directly followed by our Opening Keynote Session with Monica Pearson.

Today’s ever-changing landscape in Advancement can affect team success—especially when your teams are small. Balancing increased expectations and limited resources requires skillful juggling to keep programs on an upward trajectory. Join Lipscomb University’s Stephanie Carroll, assistant vice president for annual giving, alumni and parent engagement, and Rhonda Minton, director of strategic communications for advancement, to learn how they have revamped their work and maximized productivity to better position their teams for success. Flying solo or have fewer than five staff members? Join us for a discussion and leave with some ideas to help your small shop reach big potential.

This session will highlight how segmenting data can lead to identifying fundraising strategies that target current and potential donors based on demographics.

Learn how to break away from the routine and reshape the way you think about work. With the simple implementation of some proven strategies and techniques, you can increase your productivity, elevate your impact and promote self-accountability while building trust and confidence within your team, division, and the broader community. Organize yourself and your team to be the best versions of yourselves.

Culture can be an afterthought in advancement. We hire mission-driven, self-motivated fundraisers for autonomous, competitive jobs and expect them to buy into our existing culture. Yet, in a post-pandemic workforce, culture matters more than ever. To attract, grow and retain top performers, we must build and rebuild a powerful, sticky culture. In this session, you'll learn how and why to foster trust, belonging and celebration to create a magnetic culture where top performers want to stay.

In this session, attendees will learn why it is important to take an aggressive approach to developing and maintaining a coherent brand as it applies to enrollment marketing, social and digital media, and on-campus communications. Presenters will explain how Carson-Newman University tackled a murky identity and unveiled not only a new campaign, but new brand look and supporting elements in 8 months in an interactive session with Q+A opportunities.

Focusing your fundraising has never been more important, or more challenging, The number and channels of distraction are growing. The attention spans of our constituents are actually shrinking (just a little!). Our ability to assess and take action is at risk. Leading your team to success means knowing what to ignore and what to tackle. Focused direction--actively choosing where you place your attention, rather than letting distractions choose for you--is critical to addressing the important no matter the urgent. Leaders in this session will learn a framework to gain mastery over the 4 M's--media, messages, meetings, and management.

Do you find yourself looking at the same prospect names and wondering why they haven't made a gift or haven't been engaged in recent years? Capacity and affinity may exist with these prospects but a relationship that would lead to a major gift is lacking. "The Philanthropist Left Behind" addresses the critical importance of donor experience and shares examples of recent gifts that fostered a culture of philanthropy and launched transformational programs at an independent private school. The session will also highlight successful research, passion/project alignment, selecting the appropriate relationship manager, and stewardship.