Working in a small(er) school community has major pluses and challenges. Best practices from larger shops cannot often simply be “shrunk down to size” to work for smaller shops, and the foundation of processes and resources may not have your shop starting from the same place as “peer” institutions. In this session, Phil Consuegra and Jenn Devine will use their experiences in Higher Ed and in larger independent school advancement offices to outline the benefits and challenges they faced when they took over the leadership of younger development programs. Attendees will leave the session with a deeper ability to understand the skills needed to create an advancement-centered strategic plan specific to their institution, how to prioritize needs vs. wants, how to utilize institutional partners, and how to analyze the ROIs on their various initiatives.