Now, more than ever, advancement leaders are asked to take risks and cultivate cultures of innovation to grow their institutions. While it’s been said that “if you’re not growing, you’re dying,” it’s still not easy to understand where to place bets – where to take calculated risks – in order to achieve the goal of growth.

As independent school leaders we all face big challenges like declining participation. Or, are recent trends actually just uncovering a different cadence of giving from our donors? The technology available to solve the root of these challenges and accelerate our work is growing faster than ever and our industry is reaping the benefits of a burst of innovation in AI, even pioneering the first autonomous fundraiser. As leaders, this vast array of solutions presents a new hurdle - how to know where to place our bets.

In this session, Christine Pina, CAO of Miss Porter’s School and Adam Martel, CEO of Givzey and Version2.ai, will discuss how to build partnerships that help institutions make the right bets. We’ll cover what good partnerships look like, how to know if you have a vendor or a partner and how to be a leader in innovation. We’ll also cover what a healthy culture of risk taking and innovation can produce, and (most importantly) what it takes to trust one another.