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. 

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.

We will share how a system of collaboration between Caltech’s Prospect Management and Research and Regional Major Gifts Teams has implemented analytics and strategy to measure output, mentor for success, and indicate promotion. This system helps avoid the pitfalls of unconscious bias to move away from anecdotal perception to measurable results. Clearly defined metrics and accessible reports are the basis for the collaboration enabling researchers to effectively support fundraisers’ progress toward goals, and managers to effectively mentor fundraisers. It maintains equity among peers by quantitatively reflecting achievements, highlighting areas of improvement, and indicating where promotion (or separation) is needed.

The Office of Gift Compliance at the University of Colorado Foundation is focused on tackling underutilized funds through a variety of approaches, encompassing an in-house developed gift compliance data set and report (Fund Purpose Report). This work has greatly improved the Foundation’s relationship with campus (controllers, fund managers, deans, etc.) and Advancement staff and has led to overall improvements in spending, transparency and communication surrounding gift funds.

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.

In today's ever evolving tax landscape it is important to understand how to properly assess gifts and pledges with appropriate tax implications for gift acceptance and gift processing standards. We will navigate through the matrix of rules that are set for gifts-in-kind, cryptocurrency and other complex donations. We will also explore IRS requirements as well as ethical questions that can arise in the acceptance and processing of gifts and pledges. We will discuss how to handle tax questions while maintaining ethical and common-sense practices that ensure accurate processing for the IRS and your auditors.

Fund management is an essential component of providing financial transparency to our donors which ensures our fiduciary responsibilities are met. In this session we will discuss endowed fund reporting as well as processes to ensure endowment spend allocations and current-use funds are being spent in a timely manner and how the donor intended. We will also discuss fund management best practices to ensure donor's wishes are being fulfilled. Foundation project Administration was established within University Advancement as a resource for campus partners. As fiduciaries of donor funds, Foundation Project Admin offers support, guidance, education, and training on the use of Foundation funds. We perform financial compliance reviews for departmental spending of restricted funds ensuring they are spent timely and according to donor intent. As donors are inspired to give, we have a shared responsibility to ensure their support is spent as intended. We strengthen our donor's relationship with the university through financial transparency with impact reporting for future contributions.

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.