The #1 way to ensure your university’s success & your future success as a fundraiser is ambitious, consistent discovery now. But discovery is one of the hardest parts of fundraising! When you’re getting in the door with amazing new potential donors, discovery can feel like an adventure. When you’re slogging through endless names in your database and getting zero responses, it can feel overwhelming and oppressive. Join this session for a discovery refresher & tactical, simple steps to get in the door with more potential donors.

Discover how UC Irvine’s Donald Bren School of ICS has transformed its annual Project Expo into a powerful platform for alumni and industry engagement. By inviting alumni and industry leaders to serve as guests and judges, the Expo has become a catalyst for strengthening the talent pipeline, enhancing capstone project quality, and deepening corporate partnerships, all while celebrating student excellence and fostering long-term alumni connection.

How do connections to people and places become central to who we are? In this talk, Dr. Milla Titova draws on research in psychology to explore the science of happiness, social connection, and belonging. Her work examines how feelings of connection to other people and to meaningful places shape identity, increase well-being, and motivate engagement. Integrating empirical findings with accessible insights, this session highlights belonging as a fundamental psychological need and considers how sustained experiences of connection leave lasting psychological imprints.