It is more than a meeting: it is ensuring success in every stage of a significant solicitation. We often think of a solicitation as a singular event, the moment when we "ask for the order." In this session, we will look at personal solicitation in a broader context, by discussing the five stages of the solicitation process, beginning with the call to request an appointment and concluding with post-solicitation follow-up. Our goal will be to understand how a thoughtful and rigorous approach to each stage can help ensure the best possible outcome in your solicitation of a high-potential prospect.

One of the joys of fundraising is cultivating relationships with volunteers who care deeply about your institution. This session explores the complete volunteer lifecycle, including identifying potential leaders, effective recruitment strategies, training methods to maximize effectiveness, and management techniques to drive results while keeping volunteers engaged. We'll also address how to properly celebrate volunteer contributions and maintain meaningful relationships even after formal service concludes.

Planned giving or gift planning is often thought of as complicated and highly specialized. Moreover, it can engender discomfort among donors, volunteers and staff with its focus on mortality. On the other hand, it is one of the most meaningful ways to work with donors to help them consider the legacy they want to leave to their families and other causes that matter to them. Come learn how you can work with colleagues, institutional leaders, and volunteers to hone your gift planning skills.

Storytelling is a powerful tool for building meaningful donor relationships. This session explores how fundraisers can use stories to connect donors to institutional priorities across the full lifecycle—from identification and cultivation to solicitation and stewardship. Learn how to translate complex needs into compelling, human-centered narratives that resonate with donor motivations, strengthen engagement, and inspire giving. You’ll leave with practical frameworks and examples to confidently incorporate storytelling into your everyday fundraising work.

Ethics is a backbone of our profession; we can’t build relationships of trust, respect, and shared commitment without behaving ethically. That’s why we’re devoting an entire advisee session to this topic, building on the earlier plenary. We’ll run through case studies and consider a range of issues and topics.

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.

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.

Great stories aren’t just nice to have, they’re a strategic advantage to better connect with your audiences. This session explores how you can move beyond feel-good narratives to craft purposeful stories that directly support institutional priorities like recruitment, retention, and advancement. Attendees will learn how to identify the stories that matter most, align them with key goals, and deploy them across channels for measurable impact. This presentation will equip you with a framework to turn storytelling into one of your most powerful tools for driving results.

Great stories aren’t just nice to have, they’re a strategic advantage to better connect with your audiences. This session explores how you can move beyond feel-good narratives to craft purposeful stories that directly support institutional priorities like recruitment, retention, and advancement. Attendees will learn how to identify the stories that matter most, align them with key goals, and deploy them across channels for measurable impact. This presentation will equip you with a framework to turn storytelling into one of your most powerful tools for driving results.