Starting a new position is intimidating for us all, at any stage of our careers. A solid plan for your first 90 days in a new role makes all the difference in the world. In this session, presenter Ellen Whitlock Baker will walk participants through a tangible plan for how to approach the first three months of a new job with confidence. Topics covered will be who to meet with, what questions to ask, how to write and present your 90-day plan, and how to assess your first 90 days.

This session is appropriate for Advancement team members at any level, as well as for HR/People and Culture team members responsible for onboarding new team members.

Have you ever wanted to engage donors more fully in an authentic and meaningful way with faculty, staff, students, alumni and donors? The Utah Valley University (UVU) Strategic Engagement team’s initiative, the EverGREEN Ambassador Program, was conceived in line with the university’s inaugural comprehensive fundraising campaign. The EverGREEN Ambassador Program was launched to strategically engage with key donors after the formal public campaign launch. As part of the fundraising campaign, the EverGREEN Ambassadors Program invited UVU’s supporters to serve as extensions of the Institutional Advancement Strategic Engagement team. In this session we will explore ways to identify principal-level donors for an integrated influencer marketing campaign. Learn how you can establish and scale an influencer marketing program for your donors and alumni with meaningful and engaging content.

Inspiring donors and raising philanthropic support for society’s most complex issues — those where tangible outcomes and positive impact may not be realized for years — is a challenge facing nonprofits, including educational institutions, worldwide. From climate change to homelessness to racial inequity to social justice, philanthropy is critical to tackling society’s most complex issues, and institutions that innovate and inspire philanthropic investment are best prepared to achieve substantive, positive change. In this session, we will address real-life challenges encountered when complex social issues are involved and provide creative solutions for addressing them.

Come learn about UC Berkeley's Pipeline Development Program and how we're growing our pipeline with two lead generation strategies; Discovery Journeys and the Bubble Up Initiative. These innovative programs offer a new approach to identifying and qualifying prospects by blending traditional frontline efforts with mass communication outreach strategies. These programs streamline prospect qualification and deliver warm, vetted prospects to Gift Officers. This allows Gift Officers to spend more time building relationships and making the ask, and less time doing cold outreach. This reallocation of resources will empower your advancement department to reach thousands more prospects per year.

Join us for a discussion about how to best integrate private foundations into a comprehensive funding plan. We'll talk about how impactful proposals to private foundations differ from those to other types of funders, how private foundations bridge the divide between individual donors and public agency sponsors, and how Oregon State University supports sponsored research through the Foundation Relations office.

Be our guest as we explore how to continuously engage donors to annual giving and engagement programs. Learn how ASU Foundation uses a little enchantment to design events that keep donors coming back and deepening their commitment, be it through philanthropy or volunteerism, to the institution.

The University of California Merced graduated its inaugural class of undergraduates in 2009. As the newest campus within the UC system, the average age of UC Merced alumni is only 28 years old. By establishing a special “Alumni Scholarship Endowment” giving program, the university has been able to transition its young alumni from supporters and advocates to major gift donors. This giving program also includes a special “signing ceremony” event that not only deepens their commitment to their alma mater, but promotes giving and demonstrates impact to their colleagues, family, and friends. Join this session to learn more about generational giving, how UC Merced engages its young alumni population, and secures transformative gifts.

Celebrating major gifts with a press release is common practice for universities. Using the press release to secure earned media coverage and support donor stewardship can be rewarding and also can pose challenges for the institution and the donor. Learn what works, what doesn't, and how and when to involve comms teams to help make the most of the gift announcement.

We all know that being aligned around a common goal and working in unison is how you achieve success but what does it look like in a complex university environment undergoing a campaign? In this session, we will explore how the University of San Diego structured its advancement staffing, aligned each department within Advancement around campaign goals and processes, built custom strategies for specific schools and projects within the comprehensive campaign, established a campaign budget, and more. Lessons learned and pitfalls to avoid will also be shared.

Are you curious about emerging leadership trends? Do you want to create a thriving team culture? During this session we will explore key leadership trends and share how they can be leveraged to create an inclusive and prosperous team environment. We will engage in conversations about proactively navigating our ever-changing work landscape. The panelists will share their diverse experience creating a thriving culture that fosters professional growth. This session is designed for the informal and formal leader who wants to be an intentional and effective player-coach.