![2023 Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference](/sites/default/files/styles/header_tall/public/media/image/APAC23_1920x490_Web%20banner.jpg?h=9720516a&itok=yCB3zLXy)
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Empowering Alumni Giving by ML-Driven Targeting
Nanyang Technological University has over 260,000 alumni. In previous years, the university has consistently reached out to their alumni and students to raise awareness and cultivate philanthropic support. However, the team experienced an uphill battle in expanding the alumni donors pool, retaining existing alumni donors, and increasing ROI of emails. Direct mails and Phonathon resources were stretched to the maximum with diminishing margin of returns.
Instead of the previous "spray and pray" approach, the newly formed Data Analytics team partnered with data scientists from Dell Technologies adopted various data-driven strategies by leveraging ML technology to support the annual giving fundraising process, from data collection and classification, model training and testing, AB testing and implementation. Within one year, the Alumni Giving team cut down 40% of outreach to the alumni (with significant reduction in email bombings), while the team achieved a more than 70% improvement in response to the appeals. The alumni annual participation rate increased 28% in the year.
The successful experience has proven that using ML model to improve fundraising ROI is not something unreachable for most of the fundraising organisations, as long as the fundraising organisation sets the expectation, plans for long term development and plans the future steps carefully, and involves the right experts in different stages of the transformation process.
Experience Level: Level 4 - Senior/Experienced Mid-Career
Topics: Advancement Services
Sharon Yao,
Assistant Director,
Nanyang Technological University
Chua Gek Huey,
Senior Consultant,
Data Science, Dell Technologies
A Conversation Amongst Practitioners—International Fundraising Today
International fundraising is part of most universities' and schools’ alumni and fundraising programme. This panel discussion with practitioners from universities and schools will discuss what is up to date with international fundraising, and practically, what you should be doing which will make the difference between an acceptable (or not) ROI, and making the very most of your international fundraising and alumni efforts. Post-pandemic, has it changed? Or is what was good practice still good practice? And what legal and technical issues have improved or impeded international activities and support? This is one journey where you don't have to book your seat ahead of time!
Experience Level: Level 3 - Practicing/Maturing Mid-Career
Topics: Fundraising
Nancy Bikson, JD, LLM, Managing Director, Chapel & York and Shelagh Murray, Director, Development and Alumni Relations, University of Otago and John Godfrey, PhD, MInstD, CFRE, Owner & Founder, John Godfrey and Associates Abhra Bhattacharjee, Development Director & Head of Foundation, Tanglin Trust School
From Passive to Proactive: Why intentionality matters and what role can we all play.
Join a panel from Deakin University’s Libraries and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) teams as they present a case study of what Deakin has done to foster a more inclusive approach to language in alumni communications, why they did it, why it matters, and where to next.
Experience Level: Level 3 - Practicing/Maturing Mid-Career
Topics: Alumni Relations
Rebecca Berg, Director, Alumni Engagement, Deakin University
Building the Architecture for Talent Acquisition in Advancement
Most professions require some sort of formal training before commencing work, whereas fundraisers generally have little prior learning specific to the profession and training is on-the-job. So, is this an opportunity or challenge when it comes to identifying, recruiting and growing university advancement teams?
At a time when the demand for advancement staff in the tertiary sector far outweighs the pool of experienced talent, how do we navigate the market to secure talent and how do we simultaneously foster talent from within our own ranks?
In this session you will hear from the Australian National University’s Ryan Ginard, CFRE and Kellie Takenaka about the internal and external approaches we can take to ensure our sector is an attractive option for talent and that current staff can envisage a long and successful career at their institutions.
Moderated by Jocelyn Kelty, Director of the Australia Office at Richmond Associates, who can share her perspective as a longstanding recruiter of advancement talent across Australia and globally.
Experience Level: Level 6 - Leadership/Transforming Seasoned Professional
Topics: Leadership
Ryan Ginard, Head of Advancement, College of Business and Economics, Australian National University
Kellie Ann Takenaka, Head of Advancement, College of Science, Australian National University
Jocelyn Kelty, Director- Australia, Richmond Associates
True Inclusion - outreach to the disadvantaged
Access to higher education in Pakistan is around 10%, much lower than the global average of 30%. This means that millions of young Pakistanis are not able to fully realize their potential and play their role as productive members of society. However, Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the premier, private university in the country started a path-breaking program two decades ago to address this challenge by proactively reaching out to marginalized communities and bring the most talented students to study at LUMS. Since its inception in 2001, the program has proven to be a gamechanger by graduating around 1,000 alumni across 145 cities.
A dedicated team oversees the outreach efforts through a systematic, coordinated marketing campaign to ensure that the messaging and communications are compelling, effective and reaching the right segments of society. The National Outreach Program is also a great exemplar of an integrated Advancement team working across campus stakeholders to make the program successful.
This session will highlight the elements of successful outreach and sustainability of a program that not only won the global CASE Platinum Award 2021 in the Best Practices in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion category, but continues to unfold transformational opportunities for young women and men.
Nuzhat Kamran, Director Office of Advancement, Lahore University of Management Sciences
Empowering Alumni Giving by ML-Driven Targeting
Instead of the previous "spray and pray" approach, the newly formed Data Analytics team partnered with data scientists from Dell Technologies adopted various data-driven strategies by leveraging ML technology to support the annual giving fundraising process, from data collection and classification, model training and testing, AB testing and implementation. Within one year, the Alumni Giving team cut down 40% of outreach to the alumni (with significant reduction in email bombings), while the team achieved a more than 70% improvement in response to the appeals. The alumni annual participation rate increased 28% in the year.
The successful experience has proven that using ML model to improve fundraising ROI is not something unreachable for most of the fundraising organisations, as long as the fundraising organisation set the expectation, plan for long term development and plan the future steps carefully, and involve the right experts in different stages of the transformation process.
A Conversation Amongst Practitioners - International Fundraising Today
Is there any additional information you would like to share about the session, speakers or format? : This session will focus on practical answers to the most crucial questions with real case studies from acrossdifferent types of educational institutions.
Learning Outcomes : Those who attend with come away with practical information they can use in their international fundraising and alumni work. How to best engage alumni abroad and keep them engaged; fundraising strategies that minimise time and maximise effect; tax-deductible giving aross the world and so much more.
What is the key takeaway from this session?: How to supercharge your international fundraising to maximise the ROI.
How does the session incorporate the conference theme of ‘Global Exchange’?: This session will incorporate global political, economic, cultural and ethical issues - all crucial to best practice in international fundraising and alumni relations.