Opening Plenary Session: Credible Leadership in Times of Change
Prakash Mathew, author of We are Called... to do the Right Thing, shares insights and lessons learned during his nearly four decades of student affairs work in higher education. You’ll hear his principles for becoming a credible leader, practical applications for doing the right thing for the right reason, how to create a culture within an organization, deeper understanding of the decision-making process, what’s needed for organizational change, and why he charges leaders "to serve."
Prakash Mathew, Author and Vice President Emeritus for Student Affairs, North Dakota State University
1:00–1:45
Elective Sessions
Analyzing Student Demographics to Drive Student Philanthropy
Rethink student philanthropy as more than just a group of students who want to make a difference on campus before they graduate. Rethink student philanthropy as a precursor to alumni giving. According to CASE, "...It's a fact that students who make senior gifts are more likely to give as young alumni." How do we as advancement professionals gain greater student buy-in of “we take care of our own” before they leave home? This session delves into why it's important to know who the students are in order to build a culture of student philanthropy that can strengthen the overall giving program.
Pamela Mitchell, Alcorn State University
No Silent Phase? Transforming The Traditional Model with Digital Marketing and Data
In a world where digital changes the game for all industries, what if there was an even better way to approach a campaign than the traditional model? Learn how Ashland University leveraged real-time data and strategic digital marketing to exceed their campaign goal months ahead of schedule with record-breaking levels of giving and donor engagement using this new model. Then, walk away with a clear picture of how your institution can upgrade the traditional campaign model into the digital age, and achieve previously "unfeasible" results.
Margaret Pomfret, Ashland University; Scott Williams, and Colleen Cook, Vinyl Marketing
The Future of International Advancement & Alumni Relations: Keys to Success
Cultural competence and awareness of the global landscape are of the utmost importance for successful international advancement and alumni relations. The economic, political and regulatory environment has continued to change and evolve. This session will provide critical insights and considerations for effectively engaging donors and alumni in the UK, EU and Asia. We will share from our extensive experience and global presence over the last 25+ years. Learn what is important to donors and alumni, what channels and messages are best for engaging them, and what regulatory issues to address. Elevate your international efforts in 2022 and beyond!
Nancy Bikson, Chapel & York International, Anna Rottenecker, Hong Kong Foundation for Charities, and Olivier Soret, Chapel & York Switzerland Association
Why Bequests? How Do I Encourage More?
Why should bequests from wills, living trusts and beneficiary designations find a top spot on your development outreach priority list? Discover valid affirmation that bequest marketing and acquisition is a prudent path for fundraising successes. Learn from survey results shared by gift planners based on their bequest programs. Two types of proven successful bequest campaigns will be reviewed. Three nonprofits' insightful bequests case studies will be presented. Let's learn together how to fill your bequest pipeline to overflowing and then into realities.
Sandra Henningsen, Crescendo
Impact Redefined: Leveraging Expertise to Advance DEI Philanthropy
Fundraising and alumni relations professionals are uniquely positioned to use their expertise to develop best practices for the engagement of a mosaic of constituents. In 2021, Marts&Lundy interviewed advancement leaders from North American organizations that have sharpened efforts to engage non-traditional donors. In early 2022, we launched a survey to educational institutions and their alumni to gain valuable information on the current and desired state of inclusive alumni relations programs. Findings from these two studies provide actionable insights into emerging practices that paint a broad strategic picture of DEI philanthropy through the lenses of programming, operations and fundraising.
Sara DuCuennois, FIU Alumni Association; Penelepe Hunt, Marts & Lundy; and Peter Hayashida, University of California, Riverside
Reimagining Engagement Through Video
Empowering your organization to amplify and enhance engagement opportunities through video.
Mary Bourne, Kansas State University
2:00–2:45
Elective Sessions
“Segments of One” – The Art of Personalized Communication
Picture this: Donor communication as personal as a living room conversation. Pieces whose stories resonate, convey a genuine thank you, congratulate milestones, and ultimately increase giving. Join Jamie Hurst from MSU Denver and Jonathan Van Oss of Pledgemine as they show you how you can treat your donors as “Segments of One”.
Jonathon Van Oss, Pledgemine, and Jamie Hurst, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Think Politics Will Hurt Your Giving? Think Again!
Politics are, well…messy. Competing with political fundraising--and in election years, the competition for attention, is something fundraisers often worry about. Research shows, however, that your most politically engaged supporters also give loyally to many causes. Join this session to hear how one university has embraced political and civic engagement, hear research on the synergy between civic engagement and philanthropy, and best practices for managing outreach in a politicized environment. And, join the conversation about how we can best navigate conversations with donors when our politics don't quite agree.
Brian Gawor, Ruffalo Noel Levitz; Becca Widmer, Drake University
Submission Guide: "Diversity is not my issue," and Other Stories We Tell
Using the model of inclusive marketing, the presenters will lead attendees in an open dialogue through the lenses of acceptance, belongingness, empowerment, equity, and respect. An attendee can expect to leave the session with best practices and strategies on effective inclusive marketing and communications. Presenters are both certified in cross-cultural competency and serve as communication liaisons, allies, and advocates for several diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within higher education and within their respective communities.
Kristie Colón, Eryka , SimpsonScarborough, LLC, and Rosa Mejia-Cruz, University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy
Measuring Engagement: A Key Performance Indicator Approach
At Ohio State, engagement professionals and Business Intelligence / Data Science partners have developed a new tool to analyze engagement data that we believe will benefit the engagement industry. Successes from this work include: an inclusive, stakeholder-centered definition of “meaningful engagement” that reflects our diverse and digital world; improved data measurement consistency among engagement professionals across the organization; a key performance indicator process that can be applied to other projects (to ask “Why?” and not “What?”); and a dashboard that provides real-time engagement data to analyze impact
Samantha Frost, Danielle Huskey, and Molly Schmied, The Ohio State University
Herding Cats to Inspiring Collaboration
Today’s top donors are philanthropreneurs—savvy individuals who seek to invest in big ideas driven by cross-disciplinary, collaborative teams. At Kansas State University, academic leaders and their development partners have developed a unique approach to innovation that brings together the best minds across the university to create philanthropic opportunities that leverage the qualities philanthropreneurs most value. Join Sheila Walker, Associate VP at KSU, and Darrell Godfrey, Senior VP at Advancement Resources, to learn how KSU has collaborated across college and administrative lines to inspire transformational giving through big, interdisciplinary ideas.
Sheila Walker, Kansas State University and Darrell Godfrey, Advancement Resources
3:00–3:45
Elective Sessions
Personalizing the Entire Pyramid
Can we reach every donor in truly personal ways? Advancement has traditionally used a pyramid-driven approach to plan, monitor, and provide structure to outreach, but times are changing. In this discussion, we'll hear from institutions that are creating customized donor experiences at every level. We’ll feature Grier Bennett, Director of Donor Experience at UAMS and Aimee Furrie, Senior Stewardship Program Manager at the University of Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association. Grier manages a portfolio of 1,000 mid-level donors, and Aimee is a mass marketing pro.They'll talk about what's working, what’s next, and share ideas to start working on tomorrow.
Aimee Furrie, Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association, Brent Grinna, EverTrue, and Grier Bennett, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Tools for Hiring and Onboarding Diverse Staff
Hiring a diverse staff takes work, but is well worth the effort. In this session, attendees will come away with the tools necessary to diversify the hiring process and onboard for success. Topics covered include real talk about removing hidden biases found throughout the process, job descriptions, recruitment, hiring committees, interviewing, and onboarding.
Lindsey Cimochowski, Harvard University
Beyond 24 Hours: How KCU's Day of Giving Intersected with DEI Efforts
Kansas City University will celebrate its 3rd Day of Giving on March 30-31, 2022. The goal to raise money for the University's first comprehensive DEI scholarship effort was born from listening to one alumna who gave in response to a different appeal in fall 2021. Philanthropy and Alumni Relations collaborated with the Diversity and Admissions department for outside-of-the-box stewardship and listened to the alumna's experiences from 15 years ago to help inspire future health sciences students in their pursue of a good medical education.
Adrianne Deweese, Kansas City University
Revisiting W.E.B. DuBois' Talented Tenth Framework: Leveraging Black Philanthropic Behaviors
Access to quality education is a known impediment for students from diverse backgrounds. While a great deal of scholarship, speculation, and policy recommendations have been afforded to this topic, very few have asked the question of whose job it is to fund initiatives to support access to education? For this session, the presenters revisit W. E. B. DuBois’ Talented Tenth framework to understand and make a case for philanthropy in supporting institutional DEI efforts. They will discuss the history of Black philanthropy and how it can create the economic structure necessary to foster an inclusive culture on our campuses.
Craig Jackson, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Sam Alavi, Samuel Merritt University
Launching and Rethinking Leadership Annual Giving with Digital 1st Approach
Launching a LAG Program (what we did to launch a program from tools to data) Integrating with Annual Giving (how we integrate with the marketing side) Multi-channel digital-first approach (how we use a digital-first approach to meet more donors and more prospects). In addition to how we built the collaboration across our campus.
Adam Compton and Josh Privette, North Carolina State University
4:00–5:00
Open Networking (By District)
11:00–11:45 AM EDT
Breakfast Roundtable Discussions
12:00–1:00 PM
Day 2 Opening Plenary Session
Discover the Next: A Guide for the Value of Higher Education Conversation
In an era of declining trust in big societal institutions, higher education is no exception – and you, as an advancement professional used to interacting with external audiences, are well-positioned as a countervailing force to this current negativity. CASE’s Discover the Next campaign builds off local successes and highlights research-tested approaches to showing the value of higher education through individual achievement, economic impact, innovation, and scientific progress, and cultural vitality. Learn what tools and resources are available to help your institution connect with all stakeholders, from prospective students to alumni to community leaders.
Brian Flahaven, CASE
1:15–2:00
Elective Sessions
Breaking Silos: A Strategic Relationship Between Institutional Advancement and Sponsored Programs
Does your institution continue to work in silos, whether in academics, administration, or resource development? To more strategically find resources for programs and initiatives, The University of West Alabama (UWA) is working to eliminate silo thinking between the Office of Institutional Advancement (OIA) and the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (OSPR). As part of a restructuring, a shared position between OIA and OSPR helps leverage public and private funding to support critical initiatives. This session will serve as a case study to best leverage public and private financial support at a university.
Chris Theriot and Chris Thomason, The University of West Alabama Foundation
Parlez-vous Data? The ABC’s of Data Culture and Impact on Data Strategy
Can you speak data? Is your organization fluid in data? Learning the ABC’s of Data Culture is key to unlocking your organization’s potential and harnessing the power of your data strategy. This session covers the fundamentals of data literacy and data culture and how both impact your organization’s ability to implement data strategy.
Robyn Doughty, University of California, Berkeley
Enhancing Fundraiser Performance through Pipeline-based Goal Setting
Like many large, decentralized shops, Illinois historically used matrixes or manager discretion when setting goals for fundraisers, resulting in a spectrum of performance standards. Acknowledging the importance of portfolio health to a fundraiser's success, Illinois launched the Stoplight System, a pipeline-based approach to setting goals. It combines a discounting algorithm (science) with fundraiser knowledge about each ask (art) to arrive at aspirational, yet achievable goals. Hear about the collaboration between central and unit advancement that was scalable across our institution and could be applied to yours. We'll share outcomes including larger goals, increased closures, and next steps.
Kathryn Harrell and Joseph Baldwin, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
What's Next, Next? Rethinking What We Call "Annual Giving"
Join a rapid-fire session with three industry leaders from different schools talking about the key trends, changes, and challenges in the space of what we call annual giving. During this session we'll not only talk about current issues in the field, but also about what is on the horizon and how to make sure our programs are ready for what's not just next, but "next next" as we rethink our field. Attendees will leave with ideas to apply to their program and tips for how to tackle their institution's challenge of alumni giving.
Heather Kopec, University of Miami
Silo Annihilation: How Marketing & Enrollment Can Win the Recruitment Game, Together
When your University has a distributed marketing and communications structure, how do you destroy the silos that keep the most effective and aligned recruitment strategies from ever seeing the light of day? University of Missouri’s Enrollment Management Communications team and Marketing team embarked on a two-year quest to align as many student recruitment touchpoints as possible. The work and results speak for themselves. The team and relationship-building that happened along the way were merely a bonus! Learn how Mizzou is doing student recruitment better than ever through data-driven marketing and department collaboration and how you can implement the same strategy.
Jaime Morgans, University of Missouri-Columbia
Recent Alumni Engagement: Using Survey Data to Inform Your Strategies
Recent alumni engagement is critical to keeping this key group engaged with their alma mater. In this session, we'll share results of our national survey on how recent alumni expect to engage and discuss the link between involvement in student organizations and engagement after graduation. We'll then share examples of how the KU Alumni Association and Northern Kentucky University engage students while on campus and connect with recent graduates to foster and grow their engagement and support. Participants will leave this session with data to inform their strategies and ideas of next steps to grow recent alumni engagement.
Sarah Byrd, Northern Kentucky University, David Johnston, Kansas University Alumni Association, and Mirko Widenhorn, Anthology
2:15–3:00
Elective Sessions
Campaign Communications: The Great Reboot
Clever themes. Pretty brochures. Slick videos.
Yesterday’s static, one-size-fits-all campaign communications tools are no longer enough. Today’s campaigns are crucial and continual. They target major donors who grow ever more sophisticated and investment-minded. Every mega-campaign is really hundreds of little campaigns. That’s why savvy institutions are pivoting to achieve the five hallmarks of modern campaign communications: a genuinely resonant message…deep team fluency…digital-first engagement…hyper-personalization…and institution-wide collaboration. This session will help spark a similar reboot for your institution. Achieve a campaign environment that unites and excites, a platform that propels, and a culture that triumphs through genuine, human-to-human donor engagement.
Doug Diefenbach,Snavely Associates
The NeverEnding Story - Rethinking Alumni Engagement Through Immersive Storytelling
William & Mary is focusing alumni engagement on creating Never-Ending stories through immersive alumni-centric digital and social media content. Our alumni dread the dark days of online pandemic panel discussions. Grand, gleeful in-person galas feel like a far-away fantasy. We are telling our alumni's tales of adventure by highlighting their personal and professional journeys, triumphs, and tribulations across all platforms. We don't let these stories collect dust on website shelves or hide buried beneath event logistics; instead, we weave their noble sagas through our communications channels so they may live on for all time coming.
Kelly Holdcraft, William & Mary
CASE AMAtlas: From Global Standards to Global Data
Discover the latest trends that impact advancement within your district, across the country, and around the globe. The CASE AMAtlas team will share recent findings from our benchmarking surveys, including the Voluntary Support of Education and Alumni Engagement Metrics. You will also get a sneak peek at data from our Core Metrics pilot (focusing on creating global metrics) and new Campaign Survey.
Ann Kaplan, CASE
Painful Power Dynamics – Readjusting the Scholarship Recipient Experience
Student Scholarships can be one of the most rewarding parts of our work. However, the power dynamic among donors, student recipients and the institution has moved into an unhealthy space that is no longer sustainable and tenable. How do we level set donor expectations, create positive student experiences, and meet expectations all around? We do so through self reflection and through examining what is necessary and realistic for both students and donors moving forward. If we start with the bold statement that it is OUR responsibility NOT the students to thank the donor, our current processes unravel from there.
Lynne Wester, Donor Relations Guru
Managing the Ask...Essential Steps when Soliciting Major Donors
Major gifts are crucial to any nonprofit...get ready to develop a plan! For more than 30 years, Diane M. Carlson has been helping her clients ask for and receive millions of dollars in support for their organizations. In this presentation, Diane walks her audience through the process of managing the “ask”, starting with prospect identification and ending with how to handle saying “thank you”.
Diane M. Carlson, Catapult Fundraising
The Learner First Approach: A New Way To Define, Measure and Achieve Student & Alumni Success
Our world is changing, and with it, the perception of the value of higher education and the returns it offers its student and alumni base. 65% of students agreed with the statement “higher education is not worth the cost anymore” — and it seems every major outlet, from the New York Times to the Federal Reserve, has cast a harsh light on the mere idea of college. But what’s causing it? How do students and alumni define value in the first place? This workshop explores the extensive research surrounding this topic in order to illuminate a bias for action, and outline three actionable strategies—titled the Learner First Approach—for driving meaningful, measurable outcomes
Matt Kelly, PeopleGrove
3:00–4:00
Closing Keynote Session
When an organization wants to grow, find and retain talent, and raise money, Kishshana Palmer is the fairy godmother they have on speed dial. A keen strategist and driving force behind many successful leadership initiatives, Kishshana has served as a fundraising consultant for dozens of nonprofits and organizations, raising in excess of $100 million. Her foundational business skills include cultivating an internal talent pipeline, managing leadership and employee attrition, and meeting diversity goals. She is also the founder of The Rooted Collaborative, a global online community for nonwhite women in the social sector. She's the host of the podcast "Let's Take This Offline," an adjunct professor at Baruch College, a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), a BoardSource Certified Governance Trainer (CGT), A Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and an AFP Master Trainer.
Kishshana Palmer, International Speaker, Trainer, and Coach
