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.

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.

Educational advancement has reached a pivot point where artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty but a core operational variable. While individual adoption is high, institutional strategy often lags behind, creating a "strategy gap" that hinders long-term growth. This session moves beyond basic tool proficiency to empower advancement professionals as architects—leaders who design the organizational frameworks that prioritize human-driven relationships over machine-driven efficiency. This workshop provides a structured laboratory to identify and re-engineer workflows that can be transformed by AI. By grounding our approach in industry trends, peer-institution best practices, and the latest CASE Insights research, we will explore why a flexible "strategic direction" is more effective than a rigid plan in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. You will leave with a concrete 90-day pilot blueprint and the leadership frameworks necessary to move your team or organization from tech-first tinkering to deliberate and integrated strategy. *Separate registration required

This is about reclaiming our humanity. Poet takes us on a journey through language & the power of words to masterfully shed light on the architecture of human connection, and what binds us all. A poetic discourse on the human experience through spoken word, music, and connection that will leave audience members feeling, inspired, alive, mesmerized, and catalyzed. Sharing perspective and insights that will help us tap into our very best selves and do our most meaningful work through an interactive experience demonstrating the irreplaceable power of connection.

As donor expectations evolve and teams face increasing demands with limited resources, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) offer powerful solutions to modernize and scale stewardship efforts. This session will explore how our team integrates AI-driven tools to streamline internal workflows, personalize donor engagement at scale, and enhance the impact of our donor relations strategies. We’ll share real-world applications of AI in our day-to-day operations—from automating routine tasks to generating tailored donor communications—and discuss how these technologies are reshaping the donor experience. The session will be interactive, inviting attendees to brainstorm and collaborate on creative ways to apply AI and ML in their own work, regardless of budget or technical expertise. Attendees will leave with practical ideas, inspiration, and a clearer understanding of how to begin or expand their use of AI in donor relations.

Across higher education, more than 95% of every institution’s donors sit outside of managed portfolios, receiving only direct mail and mass marketing. This reality leads to increasing lapsed donors, weaker major gift pipelines, and a mounting challenge of earning attention annually.
San Diego State University and San José State University each recognized this challenge and saw an opportunity to transform engagement with donors beyond the major gift portfolio. By deploying Virtual Engagement Officers (VEOs)—AI-powered teammates trained in strategic moves management—these institutions have expanded one-to-one donor engagement at scale.
From cultivating leadership annual giving prospects to re-engaging lapsed donors, uncovering planned giving opportunities, and upgrading annual fund donors, these advancement teams are reimagining how to deepen relationships without adding staffing resources. In this session, you’ll hear firsthand how SDSU and San José State are measuring ROI, engaging new donor segments, and strengthening the donor pipeline through Autonomous Fundraising.

How can you create an Annual Fund solicitation that resonates with loyal donors and non-donors alike? How can you steward supporters in a way that is personalized to their giving, demonstrates their impact, and brings them back into your donor base? In July of 2024, Reed College set out to revamp its entire Annual Fund mass solicitation strategy. They fine-tuned their fundraising audience beyond the basic segments. Over the course of fiscal year 2025, they built a more robust, cost-effective, streamlined, and data-informed program. In this session, they will share how Reed reimagined its direct mail and email solicitation and stewardship strategies and offer practical applications for increasing Annual Fund revenue and improving donor retention.

As the demands of higher education philanthropy evolve, Advancement Services must do more than keep pace. This session is designed for philanthropic leaders seeking to realign, revamp, and renew their Advancement Services teams to meet institutional priorities with purpose and precision.
We’ll explore how to build team structures that support strategic fundraising through agility in job design, data-informed decision-making, and a renewed focus on trust and collaboration. From righting inherited misalignments to instilling confidence across development and alumni relations, this session will guide you through transforming Advancement Services into a proactive, strategic partner.
Learn how to align your team around shared goals of efficiency, effectiveness, and progress, leveraging technology, interpersonal communication, and clear accountability. Join me to discover practical strategies to modernize your operations, re-establish internal partnerships, and position Advancement Services as a cornerstone of philanthropic success.

For many alumni over 50, career trajectories don’t follow the traditional path to retirement. Whether they’re exploring new industries, transitioning to part-time or consulting roles, or leveraging decades of expertise in fresh ways, this demographic represents a powerful and often underutilized resource for career communities.
This session will explore how to meaningfully engage alumni 50+ in low cost career programming—whether they’re actively seeking their next role, preparing for retirement with purpose, or navigating an unexpected career shift. Participants will learn strategies to help these alumni identify and communicate the value of their skillset, connect to networks and opportunities, and access resources that meet their unique needs.

Community colleges can be effective partners to donors looking to create meaningful impact on student success and their community through major and transformational philanthropic investments. This session will explore strategies for aligning donor vision with college priorities, and engaging faculty, staff and community partners to deliver measurable, lasting results. A case study from a recent major gift at Orange Coast College will illustrate how to move from gift commitment to meaningful, sustainable impact.

With federal research funding facing steep cuts and growing uncertainty, the question is no longer if but how institutions will adapt. This session dives into emerging fundraising strategies to bridge the gaps left by lost grant dollars—or, at minimum, to shield students and researchers from the worst impacts during this uncertain time. Hear how UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health is tackling this challenge through creative collaborations with faculty and leadership, targeted donor engagement, and new opportunities to spotlight research for donors and the public. Join us to discover fresh ideas, exchange strategies, and explore what it takes to sustain research beyond the grant.

With more than 50,000 living alumni and just four frontline fundraisers, the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University faced a clear challenge: how do you meaningfully connect with thousands of potential prospects when time and resources are limited?
Our answer was a strategic, data-informed drip marketing campaign designed to re-engage top-rated, unmanaged alumni—especially those who had drifted away from the university. The result: renewed relationships, warmer qualification calls, and a stronger major gift pipeline.

In this session, you’ll:
• Learn what drip marketing is and how to adapt it for higher education advancement.
• Explore our criteria and methodology for selecting alumni to target.
• See how we developed a timeline and message sequence to steadily build engagement.
• Discover ways to partner across campus and leverage existing resources to amplify results.

Join us for a practical, interactive session and leave with a clear blueprint for using drip campaigns to deliver key messaging at scale, re-engage disconnected constituents, and surface new major gift prospects at your institution.

The first wave of transformation at the University of Manitoba focused on automation and scalable infrastructure — essential wins that delivered efficiency but also surfaced important cultural realities. With that foundation established, the next phase integrates applied and agentic AI, introduced with greater organizational readiness and cultural alignment. This session explores how a disciplined bottom-up approach can move institutions beyond isolated efficiency gains to sustained, enterprise-level impact. Whether you are building your automation base or preparing to layer in practical AI applications and agentic workflows, you will leave with field-tested strategies to build a durable data-driven culture and position advancement services as a long-term strategic driver.

Centennial Giving Challenge: How One College Sparked a Culture of Employee Philanthropy

When San Bernardino Valley College launched its Centennial Giving Challenge in fall 2025, the goal was simple: rally employees around the college’s 100th anniversary with a bold, time-bound giving campaign. The result? Record-breaking participation, strengthened cross-campus partnerships, and a renewed sense of pride in giving back.

Join SBVC Foundation staff as they share the strategies, tools, and lessons learned from this high-energy employee giving initiative—from crafting the campaign theme to leveraging friendly competition and campus champions. This interactive session will feature a dynamic PowerPoint presentation, candid discussion, and practical takeaways you can adapt to your own institution. Bring your questions and ideas for a lively Q&A!

What happens when Advancement Services leaders from different campuses with different systems, cultures, and challenges join forces? At the Claremont Colleges, collaboration is not just a strategy; it’s a leadership pipeline, a culture shift, and an innovation lab. This panel shares practical ways to build inclusive environments, streamline operations, and turn a multi-campus model into a driver of innovation, efficiency, and team growth.

How do rituals contribute to team culture? And how do they keep employees engaged? When done well, rituals can be a powerful way to reinforce team values and strengthen relationships. In this session, we’ll dive into what makes rituals work, share examples from our teams, and practice activities that will help you build your workplace community. You'll walk away with practical tips to help foster a sense of belonging, cultivate a shared identity, and inspire your teams to do their best work.

What if you could unlock the expertise of your alumni network to benefit your students, without the usual hurdles of a formal mentoring program? At Western Washington University, that question led to Ask A Viking, an easy-to-use tool that connects students with alumni for real-world advice in just a few clicks. In this session, discover how a simple idea grew into a thriving resource that’s helping students find their path, alumni give back on their own terms, and advancement staff deepen engagement with minimal overhead.