“Mentoring programmes": Two showcases

Group and individual mentoring: How involvement of alumni and digital adaption can provide a more efficient use of often limited resources and other learnings from the two programmes.

Do we decline donations when they come from dubious sources? What do we do if our alumni appear in dubious circumstances in the tabloids? How do we know whether something is wrong and what are the criteria for “dubious”?  Questions are hard and the answers are harder, but are there ways forward

At a university constantly producing new knowledge, innovations, collaborations and events, how do you choose which news stories to write? And how do you keep a balance between the interests of your audience and what people within the organization want to send out? In this session, I will show how KTH works with content based on a number of target groups, and how these target groups are used to develop and prioritize ideas for content. I will also highlight how regular measurement and analysis of visibility is an important part of the process.

Medical fundraising is an area of significant opportunity, but it has its unique set of challenges. These can span collaborating with partner hospitals, navigating the ethical complexities of engaging grateful patients and negotiating with medical research charities.

During this session, you will learn how Imperial College and the University of Helsinki are striving for success in medical philanthropy.

Many of us have reached a point of exhaustion when it comes to technology. Does that mean that we are continuing to look at a future of organizing annual Skype conferences, Zoom-webinars and networking events on Google Hangouts? Not likely. The reality is that we value human contact too much to take the Higher Education industry 100 percent online but reverting to old practices is also not a viable option. So, events professionals like us will need to do what we do best: get creative. Come to this session to share and discuss your event strategies and experiences.  

I will share my experiences on recruiting a new fundraising team in Finland where higher education   fundraising is still rather a new phenomenon. A few years back we started growing the donor engagement team and opened simultaneously three new major gifts officer positions to the areas of business, art & design & architecture, and individual giving. One of the latest focus areas on the Aalto’s fundraising road map is the new digital giving platform and marketing expertise to support digital fundraising. The person responsible for this area was recruited from outside Finland. You are welcome to share your best practices in recruiting and/or to look for useful tips for recruiting in an immature market.

Aalto University (FI) has recently launched a proactive legacy giving programme. What kind of process has it been so far, and what were the first critical steps in the planned giving journey?

Join us in this round table discussion and knowledge sharing session. Let’s share best practices and explore the potential pitfalls of legacy giving fundraising

The importance of alumni relations is well understood in the Nordic countries already, but we still have universities and colleges setting up their first initiatives or revitalizing young programs. What are the first steps to take and which challenges need to be addressed? While this session is designed for those of us new to the field or running young alumni relations programs, experienced professionals will also get the chance to take stock of the trajectory of their work and swap stories about successes and roadblocks as well.  

“Students are future alumni and to stay connected with them after graduation you need to put in an effort. How do you recruit students to join your alumni network, sign up for newsletters etc.? Join us in sharing ideas and best practices.”

In 2016 BI appointed the first International Advisory boards consisting of distinguished business leaders, academics and alumni, in a consulting role for BI’s Management as well as the Board of Directors. The board’s aim is to develop BI’s international footprint. Join and share in the conversation on what are the pitfalls and successes of advisory boards. 

Drawing on effective fundraising and alumni engagement programmes from around the world, we will consider together the key ingredients for building strategic and tactical approaches that energise people to connect with an institution’s cause; stay connected; and feel inspired to contribute time, talents and donations. Together, we will consider strategic approaches, but also reflect on many practical approaches that are proven to work. This journey will include exploring how we talk about our institutions’ causes, the programmes we develop to inspire engagement, how we segment and target different audiences, and the way we can harness data to fuel our approaches. Attendees will be invited to share the ingredients that are key to their success, and everyone will leave with new ideas, practical applications, and inspiration.

Nancy Bikson and Anna Rottenecker will talk about latest issues in international fundraising including legal and tax issues; foundation versus a dedicated entity; how donors are responding to educational appeals.

Small talk is both loved and hated but the benefits of it for professionals cannot be discounted. In the session you will learn some key aspects of small talk and how to master it. Some of the key areas that will be covered will be the 3 x A’s of small talk, topic surfing, questioning techniques, active listening, soft skills and the role of effective answering.