Discover the latest trends that impact advancement within your district, across the country, and around the globe. The CASE AMAtlas team will share recent findings from our benchmarking surveys, including the Voluntary Support of Education and Alumni Engagement Metrics. You will also get a sneak peek at data from our Core Metrics pilot (focusing on creating global metrics) and new Campaign Survey.

There is no "one size fits all" definition of a successful alumni relations program, but most effective alumni offices do well in 10 key categories, each of which will be discussed in this session. This session will help those who are new to alumni work (or wanting to assess an alumni shop) think through the breath of key indicators and elements of good alumni work.

Attendees who are new to the alumni relations field or new to their position in the field will leave with a renewed and clarified understanding of the breath of what is "alumni relations" work. Leaders in alumni relations will be equipped to evaluate their own teams or departments based on industry best practices and "tried and true" elements of highly effective alumni work.

As colleges look to stretch ever scarcer resources, the need for purpose-driven programs and events has become more important than ever. Events can be a high impact way of engaging donors, showcasing your institution and its programs, and communicating important stories about donor impact.

Events can be transformational, but it takes intentionality. Events need to happen on purpose: we have to make events matter. This session will explore best practices of refining strategies for more strategic engagement, using data to discern the who and what of your event schedule, minimizing cost without cutting impact and developing an event framework.

We know alumni want to mentor. But how do we create a meaningful and scaled approach? The Jindal School of Management (JSOM) at UT Dallas, in partnership with Graduway, has secured a historic number of virtual engagements with their solution, Meteor Mentoring!

In this session, the Jindal School Alumni Relations and Graduway teams will discuss how to create, measure, and scale digital engagement using a digital-first approach. We will share best practices for recruiting mentors, creating personalized marketing, connecting alumni to their peers, current students, faculty, and more!

Gen Z makes up the majority of college classrooms, and 30% have already donated to an organization they are passionate about. Engaging with Gen Z requires development professionals to think differently about the current college student and consider how each student can shift the narrative of philanthropic giving to support the university's mission. Combining five years of experience in student philanthropy, here are 10 things we wish we knew before working with students.

In late 2019, the Office of University Communications at Louisiana Tech University began preparation to launch a podcast tied to 1894: The Alumni Magazine. The podcast first focused on educating the University community on research, but it has grown into a way to create and grow relationships with external stakeholders. Using metrics like download numbers and engagement on social media, we have grown the podcast into a communication tool to advance our University's strategic focus on incorporating research, innovation, and partnership into the Louisiana Tech brand, as well as sharing stories of the Tech Family with the larger world.

Discover how to use data and feedback from alumni and non-alumni friends/donors to identify what motivates stakeholders and to find opportunities for action. Participants will not only learn about what alumni think, but will also see how to translate attitudinal findings into action. Learn how The University of New Mexico is strengthening their advancement team by creating relationships with campus partners, gathering alumni data, and translating alumni and non-alumni friend/donor feedback into tactical and strategic planning. Knowledge about stakeholder wants and desires can act as a lever to build campus-wide coalitions that are focused on alumni and non-alumni friend/donor engagement.

Historically Black & Colleges and Universities have produced many professionals in various careers especially Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEMS). It is imperative that graduates of these institutions support through scholastic efforts to ensure the future is as professional prominent for prospective college students.

Learn how Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi created a postcard signing program from scratch, targeting recent graduates and admitted students. With over 100 volunteers registered in less than 24 hours of launch, get an inside look at the back-end logistics, hear tips and tricks for collaborating with campus units, and find out how the Island University is sending over 6,000 postcard per year and reaching over 50% of their admitted population with a hand-signed note from an Alumnus in just 12 months!

Have you inherited an alumni program that needs resuscitation or a shot in the arm? Are you a small shop that needs to leverage the strengths of your volunteers to stop your program from circling the drain? Let's explore collaboration techniques between your alumni relations office and board to avoid D.O.A. and return your alumni program back to health.

Highlands University alumni board presidents, current and past, and alumni director will share their work-in-progress best practices for building a thriving, engaging alumni outreach, which in turn creates a pipeline to the foundation board and inspires greater giving to the university.