This Session Will Showcase A Strategic Approach To Amplifying Fundraising And Growth Through A Gift Officer Portfolio Optimization Process By Eliminating Low-Capacity Prospects And Adding New High Capacity Prospects With Focus And Result Driven Outcomes

Launching a giving society can strengthen donor loyalty and build momentum for philanthropy—but what happens when you launch two at once? This session shares the story of creating both a planned giving society and an athletic giving society concurrently at a small university. Participants will hear candid lessons about designing societies that balance donor education with passion, managing overlapping timelines and branding, and navigating the feeling of being “overwhelmed” when resources are limited. Through reflections on both successes and challenges, attendees will walk away with practical strategies to pace new initiatives, steward diverse donor groups, and align resources for long-term growth.

Alumni engagement has always been rooted in nostalgia, but advancement’s future depends on scale. Meeting today’s donor pipeline needs requires digital-first strategies that scale what tradition started. This session will explore how advancement teams can reimagine alumni engagement by grounding strategy in CASE Insights on Alumni Engagement metrics and leveraging technology to expand reach. We’ll share how a lean alumni relations team has partnered with communications to layer digital tools onto traditional programs to create scalable, measurable engagement. Examples will include virtual engagement campaigns, new volunteer programs, and digital storytelling strategies that extend the impact of in-person events. Participants will see how blending tradition with next-generation tools opens new pathways for alumni engagement, creates data-informed decision points, and builds momentum for donor pipeline growth. Attendees will leave with practical frameworks and case studies that they can adapt to their own institutions—no matter their size or resources.

We work in Advancement because we believe in the mission: creating student access, fueling critical research, and changing the world. But we’ve been taught that the way to achieve those goals is through "more"—more hours, more projects, more hustle. The truth is, this "always on" culture is a strategic liability. Overworking ourselves and our teams is like borrowing institutional capacity at a high interest rate; eventually, that debt comes due in the form of high turnover, plummeting employee engagement, and fractured donor and alumni relationships. To create a culture where burnout isn’t a requirement for excellence, we have to address the elephant in the room: our boundaries often fail because we are afraid of what happens when the grinding stops. We stay exhausted because, on some level, we’re rewarded for it. Enter The Honest Capacity Audit—a practical framework developed by Ellen to help heart-centered professionals make lasting changes that actually stick. This science-backed method will help you identify the specific fears keeping you stuck and run "micro-tests" to prove you can achieve high-level results without burning out. You’ll walk away with a clear roadmap to protect your most finite resource—your own capacity—so you can sustain the mission without sacrificing yourself.

Tired of juggling endless email requests and unclear priorities? Discover how Agile project management can transform Advancement Operations into a streamlined, transparent, and collaborative powerhouse. Using the Scrum framework, you’ll learn how to build and prioritize a product backlog, run efficient sprints and standups, and engage stakeholders with confidence. Walk away with practical tools and strategies you can apply immediately to move projects from chaos to “done.”

Donor experience plays a critical role in retention and long-term donor value, yet many advancement teams rely on reactive communications and one-size-fits-all programs. With limited resources and changing donor expectations, intentional, data-informed engagement is more important than ever. This session introduces a practical approach to evaluating and strengthening donor experience through a structured Dx audit and a donor experience matrix. Participants will learn how to assess engagement across the donor lifecycle and use a matrix to identify gaps, set priorities, and guide scalable strategy—from annual giving to leadership-level engagement. Through real-world examples, we’ll explore how behavior-based segmentation and targeted engagement can improve retention among key donor populations, including first-time, loyal, lapsed, and recurring donors. Attendees will leave with adaptable tools to diagnose their current donor experience and use a matrix-driven approach to plan engagement that is personal, sustainable, and retention-focused.

Every NCAA Division I institution is navigating the "new world." Revenue sharing, NIL, player contracts, player salaries, and the transfer portal are all things that have changed how Athletic Departments operate, subsequently it has changed the way Advancement Departments have to operate. We will examine the changed landscape of athletics and proven strategies to leverage the new era to advance the higher education mission.

Put your crisis communication skills to the test in this interactive simulation. This session will challenge your team to respond to a rapidly unfolding crisis, assessing preparedness, decision-making, and communication strategies in real time. Gain valuable insights into your team’s strengths and areas for improvement, and leave with actionable steps to enhance your organization’s crisis readiness.

What does it take to manage fundraising for a unit? More than one might expect. A great fundraiser can 1) Manage up – build a great relationship with the dean of your school to accomplish their goals, 2) Manage down – if in a school or college with multiple development professionals, shepherding their goals to meet the metrics of the unit is critical, and 3) Managing expectations of colleagues inside your unit – every faculty member has their own priority and it is the most important! How does someone guide their inspiration while maintaining unit priorities? This moderated panel of Unit Managers with almost 70 years of combined experience will guide a conversation to help you manage up, down, and all around.

Successfully onboarding employees is about more than just a first-day orientation—it’s about creating a structured pathway that sets staff up to stay, grow, and thrive. In this session, Lana M. Fontenot of South Louisiana Community College will share practical strategies for designing intentional onboarding processes within advancement teams. From the very first week through long-term professional development, participants will explore proven methods to build engagement, clarify roles, and foster employee retention.