This session highlights the importance of data collection from the collaboration between all three aspects of the Advancement umbrella - Marketing, Admissions and Development that’s honed around a school's mission, strategy, and message.

Dive deeper into your information gathering from the Admissions/Enrollment process to find out about your potential donors, their behavior and truly determine what you can do to achieve your goals. Learn how best to communicate with your donors through your marketing and communications analytics.

Let the humble data not only dazzle and work for you by identifying giving potential within your school community but also engage with prospects and donors in appropriate and highly personal ways.

Set the stage for inspirational giving by being able to better evaluate the role of prospect research within your development program.

In this lightning-fast session, we'll condense decades of on-staff and client alumni magazine and print communications experience into 60 ideas that you can use TODAY to make your print publications more read, more loved, and more valuable.

From optimizing your print publications for the coffee table to techniques that can 8x the effectiveness of your headlines, to “engagement engineering” to make stories as feedback-friendly as possible, participants will come away with concrete ideas that they can implement immediately and make a real difference for their publications and communications.

An endowment campaign is an opportunity to amplify an institution's values and formalize, in permanence, a school's commitment to fostering inclusivity and belonging. By investing in endowment, donors are invited to establish legacy by bridging access for students of varied socioeconomic backgrounds and ensuring that all students can access the full school experience equitably and inclusively. How is this possible? With a strong vision and in partnership with key stakeholders. Learn how this vision is being realized at The Winsor School through strong advancement partnerships with the Head of School, Board of Trustees, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Director of Community and Inclusion, and more.

Difficult situations and seemingly intractable problems can be the seedbed for creative problem-solving and thinking outside the box. With the use of excellent storytelling, learn how some veteran administrators found a path forward, gaining traction on what seemed to be an impossible situation and turning it into something important and significant for the school.

Join us for a dynamic session that delves into the realities of inclusive strategic planning for independent schools. Our presentation promises to ignite inspiration and share practical insights as we explore how to engage a diverse spectrum of stakeholders, including community members, parents, students, board members, and peer institutions. Discover proven methodologies and innovative approaches that foster a shared sense of purpose, harness collective wisdom, and cultivate a strategic roadmap that drives change and achieves results. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from seasoned experts and gain tools to engage your community and build consensus among stakeholders to create a united vision for the future for your school. When we plan together, we thrive together.

Hear how Oakwood has utilized a dual fund approach to annual fundraising. While maintaining our traditional Annual Fund campaign, we have also built a philanthropic culture around supporting our annual gala, The Special Event. We will share useful tips on how this singular event has driven significant revenue growth and doubled our endowment in 10 years.

What does it mean to lead a philanthropy program that aligns with your school's values? Can philanthropy be inclusive and transformative at the same time? Philanthropy is a powerful display of community engagement and when fundraisers lead with the school's values, the act of giving can foster a sense of joy and belonging for all members of the community. This session will inspire senior fundraising professionals, heads of school, and trustees to work in partnership to make all donors feel seen and valued. Attendees will walk away with tools for making the ask inclusively - honoring the donor and the needs of the school.

Presentation High School was ready to let go of the complicated, old-school fundraising practices their community had relied on for decades. Their advancement team needed a simple yet elegant way to increase their fundraising capacity without all the clutter that comes with traditional models. Responsive Fundraising’s Three Lanes approach was exactly what they were looking for: a framework that could bend and flex as they matured their fundraising effort. In this session, Presentation’s President, Holly Elkins, and Chief Advancement Officer, Danna Davis, along with Responsive Founder, Jason Lewis, will share how the Three Lanes have afforded Presentation’s team clarity of purpose and clear performance indicators with an intuitive, relationship-centered approach to increasing fundraising capacity.

The Three Lanes approach is not a rigid prescriptive plan; rather, it is a below-the-surface understanding of how effective fundraising really works. In addition to providing a framework for planning and evaluating the program’s overall performance, the Three Lanes approach addresses common roadblocks that organizations encounter in their efforts to create a place where fundraising can thrive. All participants in this session will leave with an understanding of this approach, ideas for implementing it with an existing team, and metrics you can start tracking immediately.

In an increasingly diverse and interconnected world, fostering inclusivity is not just a virtue but a strategic imperative for advancement organizations. This presentation will explore the critical role of Cultural Competency in achieving inclusivity and how it significantly enhances how schools approach the work of advancement. Cultural Competency or Cultural Intelligence (CQ) is the ability to understand and adapt to different cultural perspectives, enabling schools to foster inclusivity, connect with a broader audience, and build stronger relationships with their constituencies. In this insightful presentation, you will gain a clear understanding of how Cultural Competency can transform your advancement organization into a more inclusive and effective entity. You'll gain valuable insights into enhancing engagement, ultimately leading to increased support and success for your school. Join us in this transformative journey toward a more culturally intelligent and inclusive future.

Lee, Tom, Ninette and Katja have each had exciting and robust careers as they juggled balancing family, careers and community life. These nonprofit veterans will offer career-making – and breaking – observations for both candidates and hiring managers. They will describe how they decided to stay put, and how they knew when to leave some of the nation’s cutting-edge organizations. Each will present an exclusive history of how they navigated their careers, reinvented themselves and kept it healthy, lively and fun.