Designed for those with fewer than two years of advancement experience, this workshop explores the fundamentals of advancement across all disciplines (advancement services, alumni relations, fundraising, marketing and communications). Additional topics will include building a culture of generosity and the power of mentorship. Preconference Workshop Integrated Advancement Workshop

Designed for those with fewer than two years of advancement experience, this workshop explores the fundamentals of advancement across all disciplines (advancement services, alumni relations, fundraising, marketing and communications). Additional topics include building a culture of generosity and the power of mentorship.

Time: 8:00 AM – 11:45 AM ET

8:00 – 8:30 AM

Registration and Breakfast

8:30 – 9:30 AM

Introduction to Integrated Advancement
(Based on free CASE online course)

Participation in this session will equip attendees to:

• Differentiate between the core disciplines that make up educational advancement
• Identify the core competencies advancement professionals must develop
• Define the principles, ethics, and job responsibilities that encompass each discipline
• Review the key resources that support advancement professionals in their career journey

Speaker: Jen McGrath, MIT

9:30 – 10:00 AM

Stretch Break

10:00 – 11:00 AM

Building a Culture of Generosity

What does a thriving culture look and feel like? How do you identify what is working and what can be improved via the following pillars — engagement, giving, and volunteerism? In this session, explore integrated advancement strategies and frameworks that you can apply to enhance your institution’s culture.

11:00 – 11:45 AM

The Power of Mentorship and Closing Remarks

Mentoring boosts confidence, develops skills, enhances engagement, and supports inclusion — for both the mentor and mentee. This session will focus on the power of mentorship and key elements that make up strong mentoring programs. Participants will be matched with a mentor and have the opportunity to connect onsite to learn how to get the most from the conference experience.

This workshop will address the needs of new and existing managers to grow their skillsets and support their teams. Join us in tackling topics including effective management, performance management, and managing up, down, and across. Management Preconference Workshop

This workshop will address the needs of new and existing managers to grow their skillsets and support their teams. Join us in tackling topics including effective management, performance management, and managing up, down, and across.

Time: 8:00 AM – 11:45 AM ET

8:00 – 8:30 AM

Registration and Breakfast

8:30 – 9:30 AM

Characteristics of Highly Effective Managers

Thriving teams and institutions require effective managers to lead them. Join us as we explore key traits that define these managers — from adaptability to creativity and resilience. Through case studies and group discussion, participants will develop a toolkit to elevate their management practices and drive success within their department.

9:30 – 10:00 AM

Stretch Break

10:00 – 11:00 AM

Getting to Know Your People and Performance Management

Successful performance management starts with understanding your team. In this interactive session, learn practical strategies to build trust, assess team dynamics, and set clear expectations. We’ll also discuss different approaches to align individual goals with organizational outcomes.

Speaker: Shomari White, George Washington University

11:00 – 11:45 AM

Managing Up, Down and Across and Closing Remarks

Institutions thrive when advancement professionals can effectively navigate relationships at every level. From securing leadership support to motivating staff and volunteers to building authentic cross-campus partnerships, the ability to “manage up, down, and across” is critical for sustainable success. This session will share best practices for setting expectations, inspiring constituents at every level, and collaborating across departments to expand engagement opportunities. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to align stakeholders, strengthen programming, and drive measurable outcomes.

8:45 AM – 9:15 AM Poll and Discussion

Get on the same page and break the ice:

• Interactive poll: How Do We Define Young Alumni?
• Open discussion: How does this definition affect your outreach and engagement?
• Why definitions matter for accurate segmentation, messaging, and goal setting
• How institutional culture influences these definitions (i.e. GOLD, 10 Under 10)
• Airing of grievances and bragging rights: What has made you cringe and what has made you brag?

9:15 AM – 10:00 AM Generational Definitions and Norms

Understanding Millennial & Gen Z Engagement

• Basic definitions of generations based on birth year
• Cultural trends associated with generations connected to the term “young alumni”
• Philanthropic habits of Millennials vs. Gen Z
• Their top motivations for giving and volunteering
• How they respond to authenticity, transparency, immediacy, and digital-first communication
• Key themes to keep in mind when crafting communications
• Common barriers to engagement and strategies for overcoming them
• Monthly giving to mimic subscription services
• Time for questions and answers

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Break 10:30 AM – 11:15 AM Student AKA Future Recent Alumni Engagement

Building a Culture of Philanthropy: Creating the Alumni Pipeline

1. Identifying Student Leaders

• Where leaders emerge (student orgs, club sports, residential life, ambassador programs)
• Working with advisors and staff members to ensure continuity during student leadership transitions
• Integrating philanthropy messaging into established programs such as orientation, tours, Greek life, and residence halls
• Establishing consistent data integrity to code student leaders

2. Training Student Fundraising Volunteers

• Teaching the fundamentals of higher-ed philanthropy
• Developing student storytellers and social media mobilizers/influencers/advocates
• Demonstrating the tangible impact of donors on the student experience
• Using peer-to-peer strategies during Giving Days, class gifts, and club fundraising
• Establishing clear roles for student volunteers and incentivizing participation as professional development
• Normalizing participation beyond just financial giving
• Providing clear paths to volunteering beyond giving days or charitable gifts

11:15 AM – 11:30 AM Closing

Parent Fundraising Workshop Agenda Parent Fundraising Workshop Agenda 8:30–8:50 AM Welcome, Introductions, & Setting the Frame 8:50–9:35 AM Session 1: Designing the Parent Journey — Setting the Conditions for Giving

Before a gift is ever asked for, expectations are already in place. This session focuses on how schools can intentionally design the parent experience to support fundraising efforts later.

9:35–9:40 AM

Break

9:40–10:25 AM Session 2: Parent Fundraising That Works — Participation, Leadership, and Strategy

This is the core fundraising session and the clearest differentiator.

10:25–10:30 AM

Break

10:30–11:15 AM Session 3: Sustaining Trust Through the Ask — When Fundraising Meets Reality

Even well-run programs encounter moments of tension. This session focuses on maintaining credibility and momentum when fundraising intersects with tuition concerns, financial stress, or change.

11:15–11:30 AM Closing: Discussion & Questions

In an increasingly uncertain world that demands more of us every day, what keeps us going isn't another productivity hack; it's trust. Trust is the hidden infrastructure of all human relationships, starting with the one we have with ourselves. It isn't built through grand gestures; it's built in the small moments where we pause to listen, connect, and ask questions. Under pressure, it's easy to rush in and fix what's broken without falling apart ourselves. But to build the human connection that sustains us, we must pause to reset and realign with what matters. This keynote reveals how Power-Pausing builds the self-trust that becomes the foundation for every meaningful relationship in our professional lives. When we pause to truly listen, we create the conditions for genuine connection that withstand uncertainty. In times of unprecedented challenge, trust isn't just nice to have—it's the currency that makes everything else possible. Jeanette brings this to life through real-life stories, neuroscience, emotional and somatic intelligence, and behavior-based insights, showing how small shifts can recalibrate the system, regenerate trust, unlock collective intelligence, and transform how people work together.

Overview

AI is no longer an emerging trend—it’s here, it’s powerful, and it will revolutionize the way we work. But educational institutions often lag behind, weighed down by limited resources, content overload, and outdated workflows. This session will help you bridge that gap.

In this fast-paced, no-fluff, rapid-fire session, you’ll get 10 of the most up-to-date, game-changing AI tools for writing, ideation, automation, data analysis, and more—all tailored for advancement professionals. Each tool/tip will be introduced and/or demoed live in just 2 minutes, so you can immediately see what it does, why it matters, and how it can save you time, improve productivity, and transform the way you work. No filler, no vague AI talk—just practical, must-know tools, tips, and techniques that will make your job easier. And because digital accessibility is essential—not optional—this session will prioritize inclusive content and accessible methods.

AI is evolving at lightning speed, and by February 2026, new tools and innovations will reshape what’s possible. That’s why this session won’t lock into a rigid list—instead, you’ll get the freshest, most impactful AI tools available at the time. Whether it’s a breakthrough writing assistant, an automation tool, or custom GPT that eliminates mind-numbing busywork, or an AI-powered data tool that simplifies complex analysis, you’ll leave with concrete, ready-to-use, and affordable solutions.

In this lightning-fast session, we’ll condense decades of higher ed print communications experience into 60 ideas that you can use TODAY to make your print publications more read, more loved, and more valuable — and expand their impact beyond the printed page. From optimizing your print publications for the coffee table, to techniques that can make your headlines 8x more engaging, to leveraging modular story structures to create highly readable brand-aligned content: participants will come away with concrete ideas that they can implement immediately and make a real difference for their publications and communications.

If you know, you know! We’re inviting everyone (not just Grease fans) to join us for an interactive session about building skills in your current role that will prepare you for the future. We’ll identify what those skills actually are, what it takes to go after them, and how you make them your own. After this discussion, you’ll have employers singing, “You’re the one that I want!”

To ensure the right people are in the room and to maximize the return on every interaction, Boston College has adopted a collaborative, data-informed approach to campaign event planning. Central to this approach is a simple yet scalable scoring model that leverages both engagement metrics and research data—such as giving history, volunteerism, event attendance, and wealth indicators—to identify high-potential prospects in each market. This model has proven especially effective for building invitation lists for mid-sized events in secondary markets, where deeper prospecting is necessary beyond known donors and managed portfolios.

Beyond improved attendance and giving outcomes, this model has strengthened cross-team collaboration, increased operational efficiency, and informed strategic decision-making well beyond campaign programming.

Whatever Colleges and Universities can do, so can independent schools and small shops. Just ask Central Catholic High School in Lawrence, MA, as they are one of the most active SAA programs on the independent school circuit. You can start one too. This session is for all independent school and small shop professionals who hope to engage current students with their Advancement and Alumni offices on how to get started and how your current students can prepare for life after graduation as "Alumni in Training."

Higher education fundraising has long been built on the traditional model of individual major gift officer goals—where fundraisers work independently within assigned colleges, programs, or initiatives. While this structure has its merits, it can also create silos, limits collaboration, and hinders the ability to align fundraising efforts with broader institutional priorities. 

At the West Chester University Foundation, we saw an opportunity to rethink this approach. In fiscal year 2025, our frontline fundraising team (four major gift officers) transitioned to a team-based fundraising model, breaking down barriers between major gift officers and fostering a culture of shared success. By shifting our mindset from individual achievement to collective impact, we not only strengthened internal collaboration but also enhanced our donor-centric approach, increased institutional buy-in, and elevated our overall fundraising performance.

Modeled as an interactive, fact-based case study, this session will explore how WCU Foundation successfully reimagined traditional major gift fundraising goals. We will provide attendees with actionable insights to reimagine traditional fundraising goals and unlock new opportunities for long-term success in higher education advancement. 

What if every development professional saw themselves as a gardener of legacy? Too often, planned giving feels like a separate garden—quiet, mysterious, and reserved for specialists. But in reality, legacy gifts grow from years of nurturing by every team across advancement. This session explores how small, intentional “seeds” planted in everyday donor conversations can blossom into meaningful, lasting gifts. Using the metaphor of a garden, participants will learn how to spot cues that signal legacy readiness, use natural “seed phrases,” and confidently reference gift options without sounding too technical. Discover the art of legacy-minded fundraising and leave ready to nurture growth that lasts long after the campaign ends.

Launching or revitalizing an alumni engagement program with limited staff and budget demands creativity, strategic focus, and efficient use of resources. This session provides a practical, tactical approach to building meaningful alumni connections even with a lean team. Participants will learn how to leverage existing institutional assets such as faculty, staff, volunteers, social media, and easy-to-use AI tech to amplify their efforts and impact. We will explore effective strategies for prioritizing initiatives, activating alumni volunteers, tapping into your institution's influencers (everyone has them!), and streamlining operations through technology. Whether you are rebuilding after a period of transition or scaling up a scaled-back program, this session offers actionable insights and tools to implement immediately for success.

Storytelling is a hot buzzword in fundraising and donor relations in the higher education/non-profit world, but what if you don't self-identify as a storyteller? Or what if you do, but you don't know where to start at your institution? Here's the good news: journalists have been doing this for decades, and in this session, you'll get a peek inside that world. Learn how your team can create compelling content with proven reporters’ techniques — from where to find good stories to how to tell them well and where to share them. We'll delve into what makes a good story, and why those stories can and should fit into all of your Advancement work — from the ask to the thank-you. Learn how to bring storytelling into your everyday, whether you’ve got a massive communications team, or you’re a one-person show. If you're in mar-comms learn how to turn so-called "boring institutional stories" to life, and if you're in development, learn how to suss out story ideas amongst your donor and prospects and pitch to your mar-comms colleagues. I'll share real-time examples of how we "got the story" in both written pieces and video.

Session keywords: small shops, storytelling, communications, stewardship, donors, fundraising

As schools increasingly turn to predictive modeling and data-driven strategy to identify major gift prospects and optimize outreach, we must ask: who benefits—and who is left out? This session will explore the ethical implications of predictive analytics in Advancement. Drawing from industry data and research into algorithmic bias, we will examine how algorithmic models can unintentionally reinforce various social and cultural inequities, silence emerging voices, and entrench existing power dynamics in philanthropy. We will explore the concept of “encoded silences” — what our data excludes, and why it matters and offer practical strategies for integrating inclusive data practices and stakeholder accountability. Participants will leave with a framework for interrogating their own predictive models, questions to ask their vendors and analysts, and actionable approaches to aligning their data practices with institutional values around equity and inclusion.

What do Netflix, campus-wide collaboration, and smashing fundraising goals have in common? Cheshire Academy’s 1794 Challenge.

At Cheshire Academy, we ditched the boring and dove headfirst into a Netflix-inspired annual fund campaign that turned heads, opened wallets, and most importantly - brought our campus community closer together than ever before. Through a dynamic partnership between the Marketing & Communications and Advancement teams, and with the support of our cross-campus 1794 Committee (yep, it includes everyone from coaches to dorm parents to faculty stars), we created an immersive donor experience that showcased the impact of giving in a bold, new way.

From blockbuster-worthy trailers to custom movie posters featuring real faculty, staff, and students, we put storytelling center stage and gave our donors a front-row seat to the magic happening every day at Cheshire Academy.

This session is for anyone ready to shake up their annual fund, boost collaboration between departments, and think bigger (and weirder—in the best way). You'll leave with:
Creative campaign ideas
Collaboration strategies that actually work
and practical takeaways you can tailor to your own school's unique culture

Spoiler alert: We made it happen with limited resources!

Bring your popcorn—we’re rolling the credits on cookie-cutter fundraising. Catflix is now streaming, are you ready to watch?

This session dives into how to create a large-scale signature program that acknowledges and caters to a broad demographic, recognizing that needs, interests, and perspectives span a wide range. While addressing every nuance may not be feasible, thoughtful design can go a long way in celebrating community, building essential skills and inspiration.

We'll walk attendees through the planning, development, and execution of the University of Rochester's first-ever Women's Summit, held in spring 2025. What began as a volunteer-driven idea evolved into a weekend-long gathering, intentionally designed to connect alumnae, constituents, University leadership, and friends of the University through opportunities for learning, dialogue, and community-building.

Session attendees will gain insight into how the Alumni Relations and Constituent Engagement team collaborated across internal partners, formed a volunteer planning committee, and built a cohesive suite of programs with varying formats that reached graduates from the 1960s through current students, as well as parents, staff, and Trustees. You'll learn how to approach similar initiatives within your own organizations, ensuring your programs resonate with a wide audience.

Discover how our student and young alumni philanthropy initiatives, anchored by the Senior Class Gift and energized by the competitive spirit of the Battle of the B.O.L.D. (Beavers Of the Last Decade), are cultivating a culture of giving from campus to 10 years out. We'll share strategies, successes, and lessons learned in building lifelong engagement through peer-led campaigns and class pride.

For generations, American higher education has been the engine behind the nation’s progress, driving our economic prosperity, building a skilled workforce, and nurturing a vibrant democracy. But colleges and universities are experiencing a growing crisis of confidence. Once respected institutions whose importance was assumed, they have suffered a steady decline in perceived value. Just ten years ago, 57% of Americans expressed significant trust in higher education. Today, that number has plummeted to 42%. This isn’t just a concerning trend—it’s a wake-up call. There are many reasons this is happening, but a core part of the problem is the narratives used to describe the value of a college degree, which too often focus narrowly on student recruitment and the job-market return graduates receive on the cost of tuition. Left out are countless ways higher education benefits everyone, whether or not they have earned a degree. To combat this erosion of trust, CASE has partnered with marketing firm BVK to create a public service campaign to promote the value of higher education, utilizing research on how to successfully change minds and shaped by the perspectives of those who most benefit from the work that higher education does. Called “College: Proud Sponsor of America at its Best,” the campaign seeks to remind Americans that college is a public good that uplifts every facet of our society, from creating a skilled workforce and fostering economic prosperity to improving our health, promoting democracy, and protecting our national security. This session will introduce participants to the campaign and the various ways their institutions can join the movement.