Are they your alumni, or ours? Is their gift in support of athletics or the university as a whole? Is that an athletic event or an alumni event? Managing partnerships across campus that impact the alumni experience are tricky at best. Understanding the relationships that student athletes have with their coaches, teammates, and through their affinities are the foundation to their future relationship with the institution and with the institution's teams. We will explore the different approaches to managing these relationships while they are students and will help to identify how to steward them as volunteers, donors, and engage them as alumni. As potentially your most engaged alumni population, this session will highlight the wins and losses when both advancement and athletics don't have a clear playbook for athletic alumni in their portfolio.

Break out of the silos and join us for "Stronger Together: Uniting Alumni Relations & Annual Giving for Enhanced Engagement," a session focused on maximizing the impact of collaboration between alumni relations and annual giving. Explore successful initiatives like our annual day of giving, reunion program, student and young alumni engagement, integrated communication strategies through e-newsletters and new websites, and the power of personalized outreach driven by data. Discover how leveraging alumni networks and fostering a culture of philanthropy deepen engagement, and learn how metrics and key performance indicators can help measure and refine these strategies. Gain actionable insights into creating a cohesive and dynamic alumni experience that drives both involvement and support.

From launch to close, learn how the MIT Resource Development design team approached branding, marketing, digital, events, and thanking donors with memorable experiences, collateral, and gifts during MIT's recent capital campaign, and take home ideas you can leverage for any campaign, whatever your role.

Campaigns continue to drive philanthropic growth throughout higher education, but the traditional campaign model is changing. Institutions are using the lessons learned from traditional campaigns to innovate, with creative new approaches and responses to donors’ demand for institutional vision, transformative goals, and institution-wide engagement. This session will introduce emerging trends in contemporary campaigns and discuss the implications of “principal gifts.” We will explore how expectations for sources of campaign revenue are evolving and the inclusion of goals that are not measured in dollars. How has the role of volunteers adapted to our 24/7/365 world, and do they help or hinder? Whether your institution is in campaign, planning a campaign, or recovering from a campaign, this session seeks to challenge your thinking and inspire your work.

Case statements remain vital to set the impetus of your campaign. Yet, with the number of stakeholders involved, a case statement may become generic, bloated or fragmented. This session offers insights on how to avoid common pitfalls, break with formulas and
produce genuine statements that resonate. Participants may return to their institutions better prepared to undertake, lead or support the production of a case for support that empowers fundraisers and generates results.

Clark University is embarking on a bold new campaign that integrates cutting-edge technology with a deep commitment to its philanthropic mission. Joe Manok will share how the university’s strategic plan, which includes a fourfold increase in campaign goals, is not just a response to the changing landscape but a proactive effort to redefine what’s possible in higher education fundraising. Central to this strategy is the development of the Clark-EverTrue Advancement Lab, an innovative initiative focused on harnessing artificial intelligence to revolutionize donor engagement and campaign execution. This session will detail how the lab is driving advancements in data analytics, personalizing donor outreach, and optimizing campaign outcomes. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for designing ambitious campaigns that resonate with modern donors while staying true to institutional values, and insights on how to leverage AI to future-proof their advancement efforts.