Culture can be an afterthought in advancement. We hire mission-driven, self-motivated fundraisers for autonomous, competitive jobs and expect them to buy into our existing culture. Yet, in a post-pandemic workforce, culture matters more than ever. To attract, grow and retain top performers, we must build and rebuild a powerful, sticky culture. In this session, you'll learn how and why to foster trust, belonging and celebration to create a magnetic culture where top performers want to stay.

In this session, attendees will learn why it is important to take an aggressive approach to developing and maintaining a coherent brand as it applies to enrollment marketing, social and digital media, and on-campus communications. Presenters will explain how Carson-Newman University tackled a murky identity and unveiled not only a new campaign, but new brand look and supporting elements in 8 months in an interactive session with Q+A opportunities.

Session Description: At Owl Nation, we help new hires acclimate quickly to support Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) fundraising goals. The University Advancement onboarding process equips new fundraising hires and other Advancement employees with a 30-day checklist to help navigate the first month of employment (and beyond). Our efforts are focused on acclimating new hires to the KSU mission statement, brand, values, and our division's organizational structure, culture and goals. Through successful onboarding, new hires acclimate quickly so they can focus on metrics, moves management, donor research, and donors enhancing the office’s capacity to meet its fundraising goals.

Despite the many benefits diverse voices and backgrounds bring to fundraising teams, universities often struggle finding talent that reflects the communities they serve. While leaders believe it’s critical to encourage diverse, young voices to become advancement professionals, they do not always know the best ways to recruit, retain, or evaluate employees whose lived experiences are different from their own. This session offers a blueprint to cultivate homegrown fundraising talent through fellows’ programs and apprenticeships and provides first-hand advice from young fundraisers on what works and what doesn’t to help them want to join and stay on your advancement team.