Millions of professionals left their jobs monthly during the great resignation. While the trend has slowed drastically in 2023, companies are witnessing new challenges. Recent polls discovered that 50% of fundraisers are expecting to leave their job within the next couple of years. While not all staff members are exiting, employers are seeing less engagement and examples of quiet quitting. 

Our conversation with top executive search firm leaders will explore talent architecture and provide a starting point for advancement shops to avoid the pitfalls of talent engagement. Learn how you can be a champion for an engaging, functional and collaborative advancement team. 

Students are students for a fraction of the time that they will be alumni yet so little work is done with current students to teach them what it means to be engaged and involved as an alum. Most students-alumni-donor pipeline best practices currently in use were designed for a now-outdated constituency. The world has changed. The demographics of students have shifted, including more first-generation and students from underrepresented backgrounds. We now live in a digital world where online and hybrid opportunities for engagement are no longer outliers, they are practically required. A consumerist approach to education points to a more transactional experience rather than an immersive, developmental one. We must find ways to demonstrate the value of engaged alumni and donors and acknowledge that the student-alumni-donor paradigm has shifted. One-size-fits-all approaches are no longer acceptable. Drawing on findings from their research, Drs. Gilbert and Brinton have put together a toolkit that advancement professionals and campus partners can use to teach Alumni in Training not only the “how-to” but also the “why” of alumni engagement. This interactive session will provide opportunities for attendees to explore the toolkit in action and learn ways to jumpstart a student’s alumni role identity.

Session Description: Creativity isn’t just for creative professionals or artists. Creative thinking is one of the most sought-after skills companies (and CEOs) look for. And yet, 75% of people think they're not living up to their creative potential. How, exactly, do you get more creative? In this session, you will: Learn the mechanics of creativity; Experience a mini-Creative Friday, an outrageous day of silliness used by the ASU Outreach Hub to increase creative thinking, teamwork, and professional development; Have some fun (without forced socialization); Leave with some creative thinking exercises you can do, anywhere and at any time.

Are you redefining your board management and engagement for meetings? Learn tactics that can be instituted in working with your board members to engage them at the meeting - from time with students to problem solving to executive sessions with your leadership. Learn ways to engage with them virtually and in person. Have your board members come out of the meeting feeling like they made a difference and impacted your institution.

Some of your greatest champions live outside the US, but it's harder to keep them involved. Don't let borders and time zones limit your alumni relations! Extend your reach to alumni living around the world through strategic events, outreach, and relationships. Join this session to learn about and discuss why, when, and how to implement an effective international alumni engagement plan. We'll talk data, resources, ideas, best practices, and opportunities to create and sustain a vibrant global alumni community.

Love has everything to do with alumni and their healthy lifelong relationship to their alma mater. What happens though, when the love alumni have for the relationships developed in college, the professors who guided them through their academic work and the co-curricular activities stays casual and informal? This session explores how to identify, amplify and cultivate alumni experiences that align with their life cycle and that of the institution. The session will detail how strategic planning, processes and programming focused on alumni affinity; directly translates to annual, endowed and perpetual gifts.

The stakes have never been higher to find, grow and retain a high performing team. The rise of talent management has been key in developing strategies to address the challenges in the advancement market. However, talent management must have a seat at the table and strong support from the top of the organization to succeed. Please join Boston University’s Chief Advancement Officer and head of Talent Management to learn how a strong partnership from the President on down impacted unprecedented growth and success in fundraising. Topics include talent acquisition, compensation, onboarding, culture, recognition, engagement, training, DEIB, career progression and more.

About 15 percent of the world's population lives with a disability - including many of your alumni. The choices you make in engaging them can be the difference between inclusion and exclusion. In this session, we will explore major topics around accessibility, including breaking down why accessibility is so important in alumni programming. Participants will walk away from this presentation with a set of actionable tools and strategies to promote accessibility within event and engagement planning, on websites, and in digital communication. This presentation will be appropriate for both new and seasoned alumni engagement professionals.

Professional development conferences provide a catalyst for growth and connection. How do you create and maintain momentum post-conference once you are back in the office? This session will explore how we can foster unique connections, stay energized, nurture new habits and practices, and bring all this back to your teams and workplaces. These experiences can help you foster inclusiveness, recognize your institution’s investment in you, and grow your own leadership.

The way we approach DEI in Advancement is changing. We’re moving beyond education and training. Many of us are getting past the “why” and moving toward the “how” phase of our DEI journeys; we’re starting to form best practices and share results. As we seek more equitable ways to operate, engage with stakeholders, and communicate, we’re stepping closer to truly living our values. At the University of Washington, we’ve taken action, working towards our values of equity and belonging in meaningful ways. At the University of Washington Advancement, we have been calculated in establishing meaningful cross-team, cross-unit committees and groups dedicated to culture, practice, and policy change. Our committee structure is unique, and we can share how this work shapes our organization. We have also developed our DEI strategic plan and lead with a set of DEI values, all created in partnership with one of our committees. Our session will focus on how our leadership invested in DEI in UA and how we’ve moved from “why” with our vision and values, to planning and action.