Effective multimedia experiences leverage technology to “show” stories in new and interesting ways. Whether it be audio, video, animation, augmented reality, virtual reality or [insert technology not invented yet], none of these will resonate with your audience unless they have an authentic emotional story at their core. Ravi invites all around the proverbial campfire to unpack the primordial hooks and motivations of enduring storytelling. Collectively, we will examine how new and existing technologies can be integrated to serve content to emotionally engage both new and old audiences. In this session, you will:

• Learn how to identify core story forms within their brand and institutional messaging.
• Consider how time-based media can offer a new perspective on an existing story.
• Get inspired by how new media vehicles can be leveraged to support and extend an established advancement strategy.

All of our institutions are either preparing for, in the midst of, or transitioning out of a campaign. There is no absolute truth about whether to integrate your annual fund and alumni engagement goals into the campaign, but there are some important considerations to address before you make your decision. And you may even discover mid-way that you want to go in a different direction. This discussion will explore some of the pros, cons, and factors to consider in deciding how, when or if to use your campaign to promote annual giving and alumni engagement.

Your head is full of everything you've learned about advancement. Now what? Where do you start? How do you pull together all the pieces for a successful program? How do you get the greenlight for a great new idea? We'll discuss ways to plan for success, whether you're managing an office, a program, a staff-or just yourself. We will cover the why, approaches for ensuring ROI, managing outcomes, aligning resources, and lead an interactive exercise to support the development of meaningful roadmaps.

As a leadership annual fund or major gift professional, you can become a detective or anthropologist, uncovering clues to your donor's philanthropic interests, motivations and values. And, like a good detective or anthropologist, you have many different tools for gaining the information you need. In this session, we will identify some of the critical skills needed to be a strategic listener and observer and an active participant in relationship building.

Enhance your development strategy with this insightful session on collaborating with fundraisers to set and achieve meaningful goals. Learn effective techniques for aligning fundraiser objectives with organizational priorities, establishing realistic and ambitious targets, and monitoring progress. Explore best practices for fostering strong partnerships between development staff and fundraisers to drive success and maximize impact.

Do people read emails anymore? Yes—they do. But not the way you think. This talk will show you exactly how to write subject lines, optimize your links, and lay out your email copy so your message gets across. In this session, you’ll learn: How to write good subject lines that increase open rates. Typical email reading patterns and how to use them to your advantage. How to appropriately use formatting and white space. Recommendations on sentence structure and reading level. How to use links and buttons to guarantee click-through. A quick way to test if your email will get read. This session is useful for everyone, whether you send mass emails or just internal ones.

Regardless of how an advancement shop chooses to structure alumni relations and development, there are often natural opportunities for alumni teams to collaborate with development teams to engage prospective and current donors in meaningful ways. In this session, you will hear relevant examples of alumni professionals partnering with development officers to cultivate donors in the major gift cycle, while also providing alumni audiences with unique and special experiences. You will gain insight into the win-win opportunities that you can create in your advancement shop that lead to major gifts while also engaging alumni with impactful, alumni-centered programming.

Uncover the art of Impact Reporting in this insightful presentation, where we delve into defining impact and the diverse types of stories organizations can tell. Learn how to identify meaningful narratives with the help of advancement services and discover strategies to share these stories effectively, even on a limited budget. We'll cover practical tips for storytelling techniques and cost-efficient communication methods that highlight your organization's successes. Join us to understand how to craft and share compelling impact stories that resonate and showcase your organizations values.

The more siloed the campus, the more common the problem: When there is a change in strategy, you have to get all stakeholders to agree. You need buy-in. You need to turn nay-sayers into advocates. How do you get everyone to agree that the change is right? In this session, you will hear about two significant shifts in email communication strategy: One from admissions at Penn State and the other from fundraising at Cornell. You will leave with an understanding of a proven method to get large, decentralized groups to agree on a shared strategy and become the champions of its implementation. In this session, you’ll learn: How to prepare and present a strategy proposal. Which stakeholders to involve at what times when proposing change. How to use data or charts to help you make irrefutable arguments.

In this craft workshop, we’ll break down an award-winning magazine feature story, discovering how a topic—a sizable grant to support digital scholarship (institutionally important, yes; scintillating to the reader, um, no)—evolves into a deeply reported, emotional narrative that tells a story that is not only difficult to ignore, but one readers will likely never forget.