More than ever, the advancement disciplines rely on each other to ensure school and institutional success. Learn how cross-discipline collaboration works (and sometimes doesn't) from a panel of leaders in alumni relations, fundraising, advancement services, and communications and marketing. Discover the current state and coming trends in collaboration across advancement disciplines. Your institutes' chairs will share examples of how fundraising, advancement services, alumni relations, and communications and marketing

Inclusive philanthropy requires deliberate actions that permeate throughout advancement organizations. Advancement services, alumni relations, fundraising, and marketing and communication professionals will learn DEIB advancement strategies and work to develop a skill set that will add value to their organization.

Data is at the heart of many decisions we need to make in Advancement. Whether qualitative or quantitative, anecdotal or scientific, data should be the driving force behind the analysis of effective alumni and donor engagement. Data-informed strategies and tactics can lead to the outcomes you desire for your campus. During this session, we will discuss the importance of data and how to best leverage the information you have at your disposal to improve engagement outcomes.

Curious? Good, you’re in the perfect profession. One of the greatest privileges of working in education is in a community filled with unbounded ambition. although most academic-development interaction centers around prospect and donor work, this session will explore ways we can cultivate meaningful relationships with members of the academic and campus community to strengthen fundraising potential and expand our intellectual curiosity. You can learn how to effectively identify who and how to approach them, maintain relationships, and build your own board of directors.

Like many organizations, advancement leaders and teams are determining when and how to integrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) initiatives into program plans. Oftentimes, there is a question "why, do we need to...?" Not only is DEI&B work necessary, it should be integrated into every aspect of the plans, programs, events, and communications you execute. This session will help you to understand and be intentional in your efforts to create purposeful inclusion.

To advance in any field, a basic understanding of budgeting is a critical skill. Demonstrating solid budget management can also help you make the case to increase support for your programs. Whether you will be part of strategic budgeting conversations or responsible for managing a budget, knowledge of funding and the basics of financials, variance sheets, and budget planning will give you a head start to success. Attendees will walk away with resources and tools to make them more proficient and efficient with budgeting.

Alumni board volunteers partner with alumni staff in executing institutional/departmental goals for the alumni community. Defining specific roles and responsibilities for each volunteer leads to their accountability for how to achieve those goals. Don’t miss this train, as we embark on an overview of strategic alumni board management while making stops to discuss operations, governance, and pipeline development for future board leadership.

Now more than ever, alumni are looking at the value their institutions are providing for them today and ways in which they can serve and give back to support the university’s mission. A major opportunity to stay relevant and remain a resource for alumni is through career services and mentoring programs. This presentation will help you explore programs that meet and support alumni in their professional development journey.