Join a panel of women in advancement leadership as they share from personal experiences about challenges and opportunities experienced over their careers. How does a woman learn to own her strengths and best utilize them for effective leadership and management? Have you recruited a personal board of directors? When is female mentorship important, and how does one identify a mentor and foster that relationship? How has the pandemic affected women leaders and how have women been especially effective during the pandemic? Come for strategies, ideas, discussion and debate with this panel of female leaders and your colleagues.

For most academic leaders, fundraising is a foreign language. It's up to you to arm your deans and directors with practical, specific tools they can use to truly boost your fundraising results. This is not easy! Join us for proven advice and steps you can take immediately to strengthen your partnership with your academic leaders, to elevate yourself as a fundraising expert, and to train your academic leaders to have more productive donor conversations at any stage.

Recent cyber security incidents worldwide reveal that hackers know more about companies and foundations than previously thought. The leaders of the Texas A&M University Foundation and New Mexico State University Foundation will share specific lessons learned and insights from their experiences fielding an independent, executive-level, hacking risk management program. Their innovative and collaborative programs have become a model for enabling leaders to make better decisions and implement necessary programs to reduce the growing risk of disruptive hacking events for development organizations.

Deans and other academicians often confess to knowing little about “development” when they are appointed to leadership roles. Our new book, “Fundraising Principles for Faculty and Academic Leaders” is written for academicians, by academicians who are also longtime development practitioners.

As scholars, this audience requires data and evidence, not just advice based on observation and experience. The book’s case studies and donor scenarios are grounded in the growing body of research on philanthropy and motives for giving and volunteering. This gives advancement professionals a credible resource to explain why there’s so much more to “development” than just making the ask.

Strategic planning across a complex Advancement organization is critical...and difficult. This session will present a framework that any organization can utilize to collaboratively define core values, mission statements, definitions and measures of success, prioritized focus areas, and individual S.M.A.R.T. goals.

Treating your colleagues like donors will benefit organizational culture, create stronger teams, and promote happier work environments, all of which further mission advancement. This session will highlight the hallmarks of authenticity that form the foundation of trust with donors and are essential to major gift fundraising. Through that lens, explore how to apply the major gift mindset to conduct yourself in integrity, lean into vulnerability, and incorporate curiosity in building trusting professional relationships. This work isn’t reserved for fundraisers or managers; anyone can take an active leadership role in enhancing their institution’s future.