NOTE: All session times are in Eastern Standard time zone.
View the online program!
11:00–11:15 AM
Welcome and Introductions
Join conference leadership to meet the faculty, review conference highlights and learn how to get the most out of your time online.
11:15 AM–12:15 PM
Fundamentals of Comprehensive/Capital Campaigns
An overview of the fundamentals needed to conduct a successful campaign. This session will share the current trends in campaign strategy, trends in the field of advancement, and campaign planning best practices that support your institutions overall campaign success.
12:30–1:30
Building the Case for Support and Strategic Planning
Now more than ever decisions about the size and goals of campaigns need to be data driven. What tools can complement the traditional influences that define campaigns? Learn about how institutions can use strategic planning, analytics, and projections to establish campaign goals, timelines, key priorities and buy-in from stakeholders – internally and externally – to motivate philanthropic investment.
1:45–2:45
Branding and Launching a Campaign in Today’s (and tomorrow’s) Environment
You’ve determined your campaign goal, developed your priorities, rallied your leadership, and charted a bold course for the future – now it’s time to tell that story. Your campaign brand is more than a logo or wordmark and your events in this moment are anything but traditional. We will discuss the fundamentals of developing a powerful, inspiring campaign story and engaging your full community in it – and what that looks like in today’s COVID environment and what these experiences can teach us about planning for the future.
3:00–4:00
Supporting Presidents, School Heads, and Leadership During a Campaign
Academic leaders are essential to the success of every capital campaign. The support, training, and counsel you provide academic leaders is the difference to achieving success and your campaign goals. This session will provide an overview of the keys to supporting academic leadership to achieve a successful campaign. You will learn what types of leadership you will need to work with on your campaign and what you can do to support the Gift Officers assigned to staff these leaders to ensure success.
4:00–4:30
Faculty Q&A
Close the day with an open Q&A with our faculty experts.
4:30-5:00
Networking Social
Pour yourself a cocktail (or mocktail) and meet virtually with conference attendees and faculty members. Take this time to build your network or ask any questions you were not able to ask earlier in the day.
5:00
Conference Adjourns for the Day
11:00 AM–NOON
Resourcing a Campaign
Successful campaigns require both one-time, multi-year and permanent funding. This panel discussion will provide an overview of today’s campaign funding realities. Considerations for financing your campaign, assessing current resources and needs, establishing appropriate staffing levels, and investments in additional resources (marketing, events, consultants, etc.) to prepare your university leaders and governing boards for the multi-year commitments to launch and celebrate the campaign.
12:15–1:15 PM
Campaign Analytics
Evaluating the success and impact of a campaign is more than just managing the overall goal. The impacts of a campaign can cut across all fundraising programs and supporting departments. Analytics, often an embedded and critical function in prospect development, contribute to feasibility studies, goal setting, resourcing and optimizing processes along the way. In addition, analytics assist in successfully tracking and managing progress to goal and adjusting for risk and changing conditions. Our faculty will share components of analytics that are key to planning your campaign as well as evaluating impact along the way.
1:30–2:30
Impact of Campaign Volunteers
Comprehensive campaigns are powered by institutional and volunteer leaders. Leveraging key relationships to maximize your campaign's success and ensuring outstanding experiences for those who lend their time, their name and their resources to your transformative effort is critical to realizing your monetary and engagement goals. This session outlines important steps and considerations in the recruitment process and explores the growing trend of campaign volunteer engagement. Discuss the strategic, thoughtful use of campaign volunteer leaders' time—all components core to your campaign's success.
Whether conducted independently or under the larger “umbrella” structure of a comprehensive effort, mini campaigns, flash campaigns, giving days, and targeted campaigns can help accelerate your success. These time limited and focused fundraising opportunities help support campaign goals, drive key giving conversations forward with specific prospect bases, and often expand the marketing and communication efforts already underway to engage new supporters through extensive use of social media, and volunteer stories and voices.
4:00–4:45
Panel Discussion: Expecting the Unexpected
Today’s campaign planning requires a proactive approach to deal with the ever-changing challenges and opportunities that impact an institution and its fundraising abilities. From recessions, leadership transitions, to athletics success, and national crisis, campaign leaders need to maneuver the internal and external climate to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities that occur over the life of a campaign. With years of campaign experience, the faculty will share their strategies, experiences, and ideas for dealing with unexpected situations and uncertainties faced during a campaign.
