With competing communications priorities and a limited news team, Cal State Fullerton’s Office of Strategic Communications and Brand Management created a user-generated website for the campus community to share news, announcements and accomplishments. Learn how we launched the site, set guidelines for content submission, promoted its widespread use and grew submissions two years in a row. Additionally, our user-generated content site has become a tool for fundraisers to increase the volume of donor stories and capture information for prospect research; a tool for talent management teams to recognize faculty and staff achievements at all levels; and a tool for expanding internal news and promoting inclusive coverage by empowering campus partners to share their information. We will provide tips and lessons learned on how to maintain daily operation of the site (managed by professional writers!), discuss practical and ethical considerations for non-writers submitting content, share the campus feedback we have received, and give you a preview of our next steps as we get ready to launch version 2.0.

Join us for an engaging session that showcases innovative and inclusive strategies for building a robust donor pipeline. We'll explore scalable qualification efforts tailored for diverse audiences, including alums, parents, and friends! We will take a deep dive into transformative Discovery Journeys and demonstrate how they harness frontline fundraising and mass communication tactics to discover and qualify new leadership donors. You will also learn about the new Discovery Officer role and how this position is integral to achieving campus-wide pipeline goals. By the end of this session, you'll gain valuable insights and practical tips to apply Discovery Journey elements to your own pipeline-building initiatives. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your fundraising efforts with proven strategies!

Advancement’s revolving door of talent can be disruptive, both to internal and external stakeholders. Demand outstrips supply of talented practitioners, and polling firm Gallup reports that 42% of employee turnover is preventable but often ignored. Even as our colleges, universities and schools are evolving demographically, 85% of fundraisers self-identified as white in 2022, according to U.S. Census estimates. How do we transform our organizations into workplaces of choice, where a full range of talented professionals can contribute, achieve, and grow, without having to move every year or two? No one has completely resolved these challenges, but there are bright, thoughtful, committed innovators focused on continuous improvement. Attend this interactive discussion among forward-thinking leaders building organizations that are high-performing, welcoming, inclusive, and collaborative.

What is it about “the little engine that could” that allowed it to successfully pull the train over the mountain when larger engines refused to even try? Why is it that California pistachio farmers so often become millionaires when the trees take years to mature and bear fruit? What can we learn from the little engine that exclaimed “I think I can…I think I can” as it huffed and puffed to the mountain top?
Can universities and colleges embarking on their first-ever comprehensive campaign learn from these examples? Yes, when one considers the common characteristics or ingredients in a successful campaign: patience, persistence, and a healthy culture of philanthropy. It is almost universal that comprehensive campaigns, especially multi-year, first time efforts, are a mixture of challenges and opportunities. But with patience, persistence and a keen understanding of your culture of philanthropy, the challenges can be met, and the opportunities can bear fruit.
Join us for an in depth look at these issues and obstacles and get tips on how patience and persistence can lead to success:
• You can’t raise money for everything! When every department on campus wants to raise money, how do you go about setting meaningful priorities and goals? How do you respond to shifting priorities?
• Explore strategies when changes in leadership occur, whether at the executive level, key volunteers or even your Development staff.
• Most Advancement officers will squirm a bit when asked if they have sufficient prospects for a campaign. Join our discussion on successful techniques to grow or enhance your prospect pool.
• Return on investment. It takes money to raise money. Explore with colleagues the multiple methods for aquiring resources that will put you on a path to a successful campaign.
• Whether a campaign is big or small, short or long, there comes a time when campaign fatigue sets in. Volunteers get tired or need to move on to other things, staff move on or get frustrated, people will begin to wonder if it will ever end. This session will reveal successful ways to overcome the challenges inherent in campaign fatigue.
• Identifying and growing your culture of philanthropy is essential to campaign success. Explore with us the four key pillars of a robust culture and how you can improve them as your campaign unfolds.

There's nothing like that inaugural Giving Day. The energy and excitement from campus partners and senior leadership is palpable. But as the event enters year six, seven, eight and beyond, how do you maintain that spark? How do you keep away or recover from plateauing results? This session will cover how UC Irvine shook up their approach to reengage internal stakeholders and reassess the look and feel of the event, resulting in back-to-back record breaking Giving Days. We will share what has worked for us: processes, programs, collaborations, and more.

Are you tired of siloes? Do you wish you were able to collaborate more with your academic and administrative leaders? During this interactive session we will discuss ways you can effectively partner with them to set fundraising, engagement, and campaign priorities, prep for meetings and asks, and much more. In addition, learn what organizations are looking for when hiring fundraising and engagement professionals to work with their leaders. You will walk away with practical tools to foster stronger internal relationships so you can engage more people and secure critical philanthropic dollars to fuel your mission. This session is perfect for fundraisers, engagement professionals, and university leaders seeking to unlock the full potential of their advancement programs.

Join us for an informative session on "Equitable & Inclusive Alumni Engagement through Alumni Chapters"! Discover strategies for fostering inclusive alumni chapters that represent the diverse areas of your college community. Learn how to create and sustain affinity chapters that advocate for various interests and backgrounds, ensuring every voice is heard. Acquire practical tips for maintaining inclusivity and enhancing engagement across all alumni groups. This session will equip you with the tools to build an equitable and inclusive alumni network.

Don’t have a dedicated planned giving professional on your team?  This workshop is for you. Whether you are one person shop or you have a staff of eight, making planned giving a part of your annual plan will increase your revenue dramatically over time. We will show you how three successful community college foundations get this done. It’s time to strengthen your capacity to successfully invite donors to put your organization into their estate plans and increase the long-term sustainability of your support for students. 

Prepare yourself to talk with prospects about the basics in wills, trust, and beneficiary designations from retirement plans. This presentation will explain these terms, discuss the the benefits to the donor and charity, and offer useful conversation starters for gift officers to use with prospective donors. You do not have to be an attorney to identify planned gift donors and secure these impactful gifts. Whether you are a staff person or board volunteer new to fundraising or a seasoned gift officer this session will give you the knowledge and wording to use to secure these important future gifts for your organization.

Institutions everywhere are facing the consequences of employee burnout and the toll it takes on its workforce, including advancement staff. Finding spaces to have frank and honest conversations about burnout, however, are challenging. This session offers a candid, reflective, and (hopefully) humorous conversation featuring advancement colleagues discussing their personal experiences with burnout and discussing opportunities to prioritize mental, physical, and emotional well being.