Session description for follow shortly. 

There is a rise in female philanthropists and women’s wealth, indicating that changes to the gender balance of the major gift prospect pool are on the horizon. To maximise the opportunities this change presents, event managers should consider taking a fresh, proactive approach; evolving their event design to better cater to the distinct requirements of female philanthropists. Join this fireside chat to explore how with the right event experience design, events could play a vital part in discovering and developing the female major gift prospect pool.

Can philanthropy and alumni engagement transform entrepreneurship in higher education? What role does philanthropy play in start-ups and social venture philanthropy?

Over the past few years, advancement has fuelled a huge transformation in Durham University’s work in entrepreneurship. The impact of this work has been significant; twice as many students engaging with innovation and entrepreneurship activity, the number of startups emerging from programmes has almost trebled and four ventures have now raised over £1 million in external funding.

This session will showcase how the Durham Inspired Campaign has and continues to raise ambitions for entrepreneurship at Durham University and will help you consider how you might engage with entrepreneurship at your institution.

When its Alumni Office was first established, the DA had a very active network of alumni aged 50 years and older. In order to attract more students and young alumni to become lifelong and committed volunteers, the DA developed several strategies of early engagement. In his session, Andreas will showcase the da.link career services, jointly organised by the DA and its alumni association, which have become the most successful tool to put students in touch with alumni and to convince them to join the DA's alumni network early on. Through an interactive discussion, Andreas will discuss his example with participating delegates and invite colleagues to introduce their own strategies of combining alumni and career services for the benefit of students, alumni and their institutions.

As the higher education sector emerges into a post-Covid world, the student recruitment and engagement ecosystem looks quite different; prospective students increasingly expect high levels of instantaneous digital engagement. As institutions navigate this new blended space, the University of Aberdeen has created an innovative and revolutionary environment for students where we are always available. The use of dynamic social platforms for marketing and student recruitment activities has become essential for re-imagining a new and authentic way to recruit the tech savvy post-Covid student. How is University of Aberdeen leading the sector by working to eliminate barriers to engagement by connecting with prospective students via the correct social platforms and deal with a saturated market where quality matters?

Western, Eastern, Southern and Central Europe District Cabinet members want to bust a few myths on the advancement profession in continental Europe. Join this expert panel for an enlightening and hopefully amusing session discussing and busting a few myths on what works and doesn’t in fundraising, alumni engagement, and advancement leadership. The session will be open to audience interaction in order to gather as many examples as possible of how Continental Europe gets things done, similarly or differently to our neighbors in the north or across the sea. Our team of busters will take on a few myths such as:

• FUNDRAISING MYTH: This may all work for the Anglo-Saxons, but rich people don’t make large gifts in continental Europe.
• LEADERSHIP MYTH: Our rectors and presidents don’t believe fundraising and alumni relations will make a difference
• ADVANCEMENT PROFESSION MYTH: It’s not in our culture to ask / give back
• ALUMNI MYTH: We’ve built strong relations with our alumni, asking them for money will spoil the relationships

Panelists will share their case and explain how their example busts the myth and invite the audience to share theirs. We are sure this lighthearted myth busting process will bring you energy, ideas and some great stuff to copy and share.

In spite of being a breakthrough woman leader in her previous career, after a year at Durham University, Penny realised to her horror that almost all the panellists at the alumni events that she had organised had been white men. This presentation outlines how she used awareness and data to be more inclusive, build a network of international chapters and events more reflective of the Business School's staff and students and work with colleagues to build a balanced international advisory board and more representative honorary appointments. She'll also outline her ambitions for neurodiversity in education. If you're feeling overwhelmed by EDI initiatives this session will help you to understand how integrating equality diversity and inclusion in your work can improve its quality and impact.

How do you ensure a successful global fundraising strategy that maximises international Alumni Relations and builds a strong pipeline of global Recruitment? Come and learn how the University of Glasgow's teams collaborate and innovate, supporting one another to maximise institutional success and outcomes.

We all have ‘connectors’ in our portfolios – people who aren’t going to support our institution philanthropically for now, but who are willing to help our institutions in other ways. Sometimes, we can be guilty of giving these valuable relationships lower billing as we work on our prospects who are likely to make a gift in the short term. This session will look at how we can make the most of our connectors, taking a deep dive into the science of network mapping as our speakers share success stories and tips on maximising these important relationships.