Fundraising campaigns are complex, and so is the blueprint for campaign marketing and communications. We have to reach a variety of constituents for a ton of different reasons over a period of years. And all the while we have to tell a coherent story based in our institution’s values, mission, and plans. So where to start? What to produce and why? This is doable.

No matter the size of your institution or the size of your advancement team, engagement events are likely an important part of your strategy to connect with alumni and donors. Therefore, it is vitally important for you to be thoughtful about the purpose of your events, the intended outcomes and how you will measure success, the data that will be collected, and the affinity that will be created as you advance relationships with your attendees. In this session, we will examine the elements of these strategic conversations, while also looking at the return on investment and the permanent integration of virtual events within our engagement strategies.

What are standard reports? What should they look like? What tools can be used to create them? And how will they help drive your fundraising program forward? How are campaign reports different from standard reports? What do you measure and why? What are the key performance indicators for benchmarking?  

A session about memory and strategies to help your audience remember and take action after you communicated with them.

Join your faculty for topic-based “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) sessions. Pick your topic and bring your questions; the discussion will be tailored to address specific questions attendees have about that particular subject. You’ll choose from annual giving, major gifts, personal solicitation, and management and strategy. This is a great way to get the answers you’re seeking at the 2023 Institute, and you’ll learn from the questions of others as well! Topics include: Annual Giving (Heidi Hanson McCrory and Jim Piatt); Major Gifts (Armin Afsahi and Trish Jackson); Personal Solicitation (Skylar Beaver and Lishelle Blakemore); Management and Strategy (Chris Clarke and Karl Miller-Lugo); and New Technologies in Advancement (Lacie LaRue)

At many of our institutions young alumni are often overlooked and undervalued as we consider R.O.I. in terms of the deployment of staff resources. As a result many fundraisers are forced to concentrate their efforts on “established graduates” with presumably more time and discretionary resources to support our organizations. This conversation will explore ideas and suggestions ranging from how best to involve current students in the advancement of your institution to strategies for connecting recent graduates and other young alumni with both the school and with each other. By actively engaging our alumni as volunteers and donors at an early age, we set the building blocks for success that will benefit our programs for many years to come. Please join us as we explore ideas to augment programs aimed at better serving the needs of our youngest graduates.

There is no shortage of solicitation tools in annual giving, and every year we see new strategies and platforms added. How are successful programs incorporating emerging trends like mobile giving, crowdfunding and Days of Giving into their existing tried and-true strategies like direct mail, Telefund and email.

Your head is full of everything you've learned about annual giving, alumni, volunteer engagement, personal solicitations, direct mail, prospect management, advancement services, communications and campaigns. Now what? How do you pull together all the pieces for a successful program? Strategic thinking and planning, of course! We'll discuss ways to plan for success, whether you're managing an office, a program, a staff-or just yourself.

Our best prospects are philanthropic partners already invested in our mission and dreams for the future. How effectively we thank a benefactor for a gift determines, in large part, whether an additional commitment will be made. Explore meaningful strategies to make your "thank you" an important step in cultivating that next gift.

The future is here, but are we ready for it? Digital transformation is all the buzz within the higher ed Advancement industry, but very few organizations are successful in implementing comprehensive digital strategies. Applying a digital lens over traditional development work can help organizations reach further, faster and make donors feel well taken care of. Come discuss some of the industry trends around digital transformation and how this approach can fit into relationship-based work.