We’re all doing more with less at our universities and organizations, all while trying to create more content that resonates with our audiences. Maybe your budget for freelance writers has been cut, or there have been staff cuts. Or maybe you’re just out of ideas and looking to tell more stories on all of your platforms, whether it’s your magazine or your social media channels. Time to form some partnerships and collaborate on the best content plan you can build. Here’s how.

There's no doubt that alumni want career programming, but organizations can't fully scale their services to serve every alumni. The UCLA Alumni Association implemented a new network of career coaches who provide coaching and create valuable programming for their alumni audience at no cost to the organization. This session will share best practices from vetting procedures to topics that you can bring to alumni. Whether you have a large or small staff, engaging career experts can bring valuable content and assistance without overburdening your team. The presenters will also share assessment and marketing examples to help you get started.

In a time of constant change and never-ending bad news what happens when you block your team's calendar and force them to bake a cake blindfolded? Or build a Zoom-based Rube Goldberg device? What happens when you tell them there is no way to fail and the goal is to play? As it turns out: some serious creative goodness. Learn how Creative Fridays have transformed creativity, teamwork, professional development and team culture in ASU Enterprise Partners’ Communications and Marketing department. You’ll learn what you need as a manager to bring creative thinking and play to your team without sacrificing productivity.

From an international school perspective, fundraising in the international constituency poses many challenges: from educating the community about the importance of philanthropy in the independence school model to securing volunteer engagement. Yet, despite higher families and staff turnover in an international school, it is possible to build awareness and acceptance of the value of giving and volunteering through communication and recognition.

Has diversity become a buzz word in higher education, or does it mean something? What about social justice — are we committed to it? Through a critical discourse study, Dr. Esra Hashem analyzed the marketing materials of five California State University campuses — their brand style guides, student recruitment websites and fundraising websites. The study aimed to uncover how universities manifest diversity and social justice discourses in their key marketing efforts. The findings from this research help higher ed marketing professionals begin to change the diversity narrative and advocate for social justice.

The pandemic has caused us to think outside the box and engage our communities in innovative ways. Learn how the University of San Francisco pivoted to virtual, grew their annual audience from 20,000 to 500,000 in 2 years, and produced a CASE Gold Award-winning virtual event. We look forward to sharing our learning experiences and why virtual and hybrid events are here to stay.

Development is about people. Schools are about relationships. At the Grauer School, we don’t fundraise, we friend-raise. Join The Grauer School Development Office and Dr. Grauer, Founder and Head of School, for a discussion on how to utilize their small school approach with your donors in a bigger setting. Their parents, your future donors, are primed to give at the university level – see what it means to personally connect while reaching your fundraising goals.

Sacramento State launched its first comprehensive campaign in 2015, taking the campaign public during the pandemic (2021). In an effort to engage and educate staff and faculty about the purpose of the campaign and encourage participation, University Advancement created a Campaign Ambassador program. We took the show on the virtual road to raise awareness, provide fundraising education, and offer a training opportunity for employees who wanted to become involved. Join the session to garner insight on launching and sustaining an Ambassador program, tips for engaging non-development staff and volunteers in a fundraising campaign, and campaign successes worth emulating.

Leaders play a critically important organizational role. They are entrusted with casting vision, setting tone, developing programs, and engaging an organization’s most valuable resource: its employees. As we endeavor to expand organizational capacity, increase constituent engagement, and elevate to new heights, it’s imperative that we interrogate ourselves as leaders. Are we behaving in a way that promotes a culture of belonging? Join us as we define what it means to be an inclusive leader, identify barriers that may impede, explore ways to leverage inclusive practices for organizational advancement, and discuss evidence-based strategies to ensure we consistently model inclusive leadership.