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.

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.

Are you struggling with how to fundraise for research? Join this interactive session to explore strategies and tools to increase philanthropy for science, innovation, and experimentation. Learn how to inspire both individual and institutional donors with the excitement of investing in discoveries and transformation that advance the mission of your institution. You will learn at least three strategies for fundraising for research that you can immediately implement in your institution's efforts!

Do you have an institution almost 300 years old but lacking a formal principal gifts program? Have you relied on your major gift donors' support to continue fueling your pipeline and perhaps even be the cornerstones of a campaign? Do you have a committed, albeit philanthropically hesitant Board of Trustees willing to dig their feet in and raise the bar for your institution? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this session is for you! Join us as we discuss the state of giving at Moravian University and how one particular donor served as the catalyst for our Principal Gift Program. We will also discuss how our newly formed Principal Gift Program has allowed us to surpass our campaign goal of $75M two years early.

Can a company’s DEI goals move past checking a box and lead to more meaningful partnerships with diversity programs at your institution? These programs can have an immeasurable impact on students when donors and partners are truly invested in taking these initiatives to the next level. This session will show you how to highlight the powerful work of student diversity programs during important conversations with corporate donors and help them invest in student success beyond their dollars. Additionally, the session will cover strategies for using these initiatives as a starting point for meaningful engagement with individual alumni. Learn about organizations that went beyond the checkbox and discover how to engage diverse alumni both philanthropically and through purposeful volunteer opportunities.

Join us to hear about the magic that happens when silos are broken down and the different parts of advancement are strategically woven together, from business planning to program execution and even during everyday chat around the watercooler. Genuine engagement brings together all of these pieces and keeps your organization's mission at its core.

Identify with clear examples and donor success stories, how Princeton Universities has leveraged several initiatives within their current campaign to maximize the philanthropic intent with a focus on identifying future leaders. Of them, giving societies, innovative gift opportunities, targeted volunteer engagement opportunities, and leveraging the influence and expertise of alumni leaders and University professionals.

Expectations for large and even transformational gifts from corporations and foundations often are an order of magnitude bigger than historical giving from those sources. In the context of campaigns and special initiatives (think AI, DEIB, Climate, 100 & Change), how can fundraisers raise expectations of prospective donors and manage expectations within their own institutions? What are strategies and practices for marshalling internal teams to prepare big proposals? How do you grow and sustain needed external partners? What is the role of alumni connections and how do alumni in different roles and at different levels effectively help the process? What if there are no alumni – what other close connections and friends can act as advocates and champions?