An interactive and insightful session that explores how advancement marketing and communications can evolve from a support function to a strategic partner in higher education institutions. Discover the strategies, challenges, and successes involved in transforming your MarComm team to play a more pivotal role in alumni and donor engagement, major and principal level fundraising, and collaborating effectively with frontline gift officers to drive impactful results. Attendees will leave with actionable insights and approaches for elevating their MarComm teams into strategic partners in achieving institutional goals.

There are common misconceptions around wealth - do you know what they are? In this session, you will learn to view philanthropy from the perspective of wealth holders by hearing what's important to them. You'll not only better understand wealthy donors' context of giving, but you will also walk away with a more holistic approach to cultivating and soliciting gifts. Whether you're looking to deepen your relationship-building skills or just seeking to improve your effectiveness as a fundraiser, this session is for you! Participants will gain a deeper awareness of the key indicators of wealth, as well as how donors leverage their wealth as a multi-dimensional tool to achieve both financial and charitable goals.

Students are a powerful force, and that is no different when it comes to fundraising. Having that in your favor can truly transform your Class Gift fundraising and work towards creating a pipeline of engaged and philanthropic Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) alumni. In this engaging presentation, we'll take a deep dive into the dynamic role students play in philanthropy and explore firsthand how to harness their energy and passion to drive successful Class Gift campaigns. Participants will learn essential strategies for engaging and empowering students, from cultivating a culture of philanthropy on campus to integrating their fundraising efforts with other programmatic events. Discover ROI-friendly ways to incentivize students and maximize their impact on your institution's fundraising goals. GOLD Alumni represent our next generation of donors, and planting that philanthropic seed now ensures it can grow into increased engagement, volunteerism, and larger, more frequent gifts in the long term. Join us to learn how nurturing these relationships early can establish a solid foundation for sustained alumni support and amplify the impact of your institution's philanthropic efforts.

When RIT began building its Regional Advancement program, the intention was a team of Rochester-based major gift officers deployed nationally on a regular basis. The pandemic and opportunities for strategic hires shifted that thinking, but brought unexpected challenges. This session, and subsequent conversation, will discuss ways to keep the remote team engaged in the life of the institution, help them learn the institutional culture, and develop close collaboration with their institution-based colleagues. The positive outcomes for the institution, advancement team, and constituents will also be discussed, as will some lingering challenges.

While women hold the majority of professional staff roles in higher education advancement, their voices are largely absent from the literature describing talent management practices and individual career journeys of professionals in the field. This presentation will describe the findings of a research study that explored the lived experiences of women in fundraising and alumni engagement roles. By centering women’s stories, this research highlights the relationship between gender and advancement work, the factors influencing job-related decisions, and challenges to gender equality in the field. Following a discussion of this study’s findings, participants will have the opportunity to engage in a dialogue about actionable strategies to create a more inclusive and supportive work environment for women in the field.

Have you ever received a snail mail, two-sided, front and back, end-of-year appeal from your alma mater? Most likely it is written by a student receiving financial aid demonstrating the impact of how your gift makes a difference. The tone of the ask, coupled with the feel-good nature of the holiday season, is a win-win. Or is it? Explore how your team can model Calvert Hall's A/B testing model to find the perfect sized email appeal campaign to convert more gifts every fiscal/calendar year end.

Leading a division through a major project requires implementation of change management. Learn how Johns Hopkins recently moved their entire division to a new CRM - a big undertaking. It was successful through stakeholder management, tailored messaging and equipping leaders and users with the necessary skills to adapt to the change. Learn how they became emotionally ready through storytelling, and becoming partners in driving the change. And...they also will highlight the importance of embracing the unknown and learning from failures. Karen Latora and Caroline Chang will serve as moderators in this session with Teresa and Liz leading the discussion and providing the content.