Are you prepared to outperform you peers, the industry, or your current trajectory? This session will help you explore how effective and engaged strategic planning can put you, your foundation, and your academic institution on a path to outperform the industry and the current trendlines. Examining how to identify goals (not just financial) that matter and have immediate and long last impact allows you to build the strategies, tactics and key benchmarks for new levels of success.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between a foundation and an institution ideally memorializes a shared vison for the partnership. Too often, MOUs are use as a contractual constraint to manage risk in in lieu of solid policies and governance practice. A good MOU process builds understanding of and commitment to the partnership among both administrators and board leaders. This session will share AGB’s newly revised Illustrative MOU and engage a group of foundation leaders in a discussion about the ways institution-foundation partnerships are changing and recommendations for the development, review, and renegotiation of MOUs as tool to foster effective collaboration.

In a post-pandemic world of poor retention and high burnout, today's advancement job market is riddled with continual turnover and labor shortages. Meanwhile, current research indicates only 1 in 5 employers provide sufficient training and career development opportunities for existing talent. Now is the time to embrace the changes and rethink current processes. Based on 20+ years of research and 40+ years of experience in the field, Advancement Resources’ Ben Golding and Robin Bellinger, MCLC, share the top three essential changes teams must make in order to hire the right people and retain the best talent.

The Office of Gift Compliance at the University of Colorado Foundation is focusing on tackling underutilized funds through a variety of approaches, encompassing an in-house developed gift compliance focused data set and report (Fund Purpose Report). This work has greatly improved the Foundation’s relationship with campus (controllers, fund managers, deans, etc.) and Advancement staff and has led to overall improvements in spending, transparency and communication surrounding gift funds.

Are you and your foundation cyber resilient? Join us as we discuss leading practices you and your organization can adopt to help anticipate, withstand, and recover from cyber threats and how to integrate cyber resiliency into your foundation.

Starting with a high level overview of recent hiring and compensation trends followed by a panel discussion of three advancement leaders to discuss their individual experiences/observations in their respective operations.

CASE Debate Club: ESG investing. FEG’s Kathryn Mawer and Tim O’Donnell, along President and CEO of the University of Maine Foundation, Jeff Mills will debate and discuss a continued hot topic, ESG investing in institutional portfolios.

How can community colleges begin attracting philanthropy that measures up to their growing footprint? The key lies in delivering the right messages and the most personalized communications to educate donors about the outsized impact of their own community college. These institutions are the local bastion of access to higher education, especially for first-generation students. They are where a workforce hones skills and jump-starts careers. and where the future of a region's infrastructure and prosperity rests. Find out how you can better inspire generosity and allegiance by showcasing opportunities for donors to advance their interests and invest in their community's future.

Despite recent volatility, cryptocurrency continues to be used and looks to be here to stay. It is essential for foundations to have an informed strategy on whether and how to accept cryptocurrency donations. Higher education institutions are uniquely positioned in the emerging cryptocurrency space. Though volatility has weakened valuations, donors remain eager to make cryptocurrency contributions when advantageous. As foundations position themselves for the future, understanding cryptocurrency is a business imperative. The panel will focus on operational and economic risks, costs, benefits and will provide the foundational understanding needed to consider whether a cryptocurrency strategy makes sense for their institutions.

Finding the right alignment of institutional priorities and fundraising priorities is mission critical for success. This success is not only about meeting fundraising goals, but more importantly strengthening the impact on the related institution. Our colleges and universities are complex with many competing demands -- this session will help you to think through how to increase success on every level.