Our attention and resources are continually pulled in opposing directions. Tensions compound in the intersecting worlds of advancement and higher education. Do we prioritize needs of donors or faculty? Today or tomorrow? Performing or learning? Our default approach in such situations is to see dilemmas, then make tradeoffs. We focus on the most urgent, rewarded, or comfortable. Yet this either/or thinking is limiting at best, detrimental at worst. There is a better way. Marianne Lewis has spent the past 25 years studying the traps, opportunities, and navigation of tensions. As a professor and dean, she also lives tensions herself. Both/and thinking involves a shift from a tradeoff to a paradox mindset. Embracing competing demands can enable more generative, creative, and sustainable solutions. Join us to examine how both/and thinking can help you learn and thrive amidst tensions.

In turbulent times many smaller institutionally-related foundations (IRF’s) are seeking alternative economic models to be fully self-sustaining. The Kean University Foundation’s economic model is unique and, we believe, cutting edge. As we enter our sixth year in our restructuring plan, and embark on our first comprehensive capital campaign in more than 15 years, the Foundation employs all staff and absorbs the costs associated with staff benefits, human resources, information technology, legal, etc. This presentation summarizes the funding and spending plan for the Kean University Foundation as well as the organization’s competitive cost per dollar raised. *CPE Credit: Attendees can earn up to 1 CPE for this session.

Transform your financial reporting with a powerful but often overlooked feature - attributes! Join Kierstin Sykes from the UC San Diego Foundation, as she reveals how leveraging attributes revolutionized their reporting processes, turning a 2-3 day cash flow statement preparation into a one-hour task. Learn practical strategies for using attributes to streamline complex financial reports, automate footnote preparation, and reduce manual data manipulation. With over 73% of nonprofits spending 5+ hours weekly manipulating data outside their accounting systems, this session offers game-changing solutions for:

*Creating automated cash flow statements
*Simplifying investment reconciliations
*Streamlining tax reporting and financial statement classifications
*Managing special handling
*Building efficient footnote disclosures
*SImplifying transfer of gift data from CRM to ERP

Perfect for financial professionals looking to save time, reduce errors, and produce consistent, audit-ready reports. Discover how attributes can transform your reporting workflow and eliminate hours of Excel manipulation. *CPE Credit: Attendees can earn up to 1 CPE for this session.

A few months ago, the world’s first fully autonomous fundraiser interacted with its first assigned donor. During this time, two dozen+ nonprofits joined together as cohorts to engage donors with an AI-powered Virtual Engagement Officer but more importantly research, develop, and accelerate the deployment of autonomous fundraising for our entire industry.

All nonprofits can relate to the fact that they have more donors and alumni than they have fundraisers with capacity to build relationships. This is precisely where autonomous fundraising changes what’s possible.

In this session, cohort members will present the results they’ve seen from autonomous fundraising – donors engaged, dollars raised, and pipeline built, in addition to their experience being the first organizations in the world to deploy a Virtual Engagement Officer to a portfolio of their donors.

We’ll present what we learned, what we got right, where course corrections were needed, and how we navigated AI in a field defined by relationships. We’ll share all of our findings including portfolios for autonomous fundraisers, sourcing engagement content independently, accuracy, transparency, ethics, and more.

Finally, we’ll conclude by looking at where we are going, how we can continue to further personalize donor journeys, push the outer limits of technology, and more. *CPE Credit: Attendees can earn up to 1 CPE for this session.

What are the opportunities and challenges for foundations and their leaders? What proactive choices can we make to make a difference? CASE President and CEO Sue Cunningham will engage three foundations leaders in conversation about the challenges the sector is facing, the pace of change, and the opportunity to lead.