Are you worried that your #GivingTuesday campaign gets lost? Is your fall already packed with asks and events? If you feel that riding that wave isn’t the path for you, don’t give up on giving days. Donors are now embracing the concept of an online giving event, but with 364 other days available, maybe it’s time to find one that’s just for you. Hear the back story of collaboration, strategy, tough choices, and effort behind launching a first giving day.

Two years ago, Syracuse University launched its Development Associate program — a team of frontline fundraisers focused on securing leadership gifts and delivering a customized, one-on-one experience to hundreds of prospects with potential. Find out how this team taps into social insights and donors’ digital footprint to personalize outreach, connect with people to renew or increase gifts, and then refer qualified prospects to major gift officers. After connecting with hundreds of Orange alumni and parents, these DOs doubled giving from their prospect pool and made dozens of major gift referrals.

Common issues at any institution include too many projects in need of private support, and not enough qualified prospects. Learn how to merge your big ideas with specific strategies for your best prospects. Refresh your experience in turning long lists of names into prioritized and qualified candidates ready for gift discussions. Discuss the critical importance of well-defined and consistent prospect strategy sessions, and leave with templates and ideas that can be implemented immediately.

In the midst of a campaign, staff transition, and a new database, the US Naval Academy Foundation went out to change the way we used metrics in major gifts fundraising. This presentation covers the transition to a metrics-based major gifts staff that focuses on helping gift officers achieve better results through valuable metrics that go beyond dollars raised. Discuss what metrics we developed, learn how we built a tracking system, and find out how we are implementing change within the major gifts team.

Are you looking to reimagine your donor proposals? Is your proposal creation process ready for a reboot with the most important content experts engaged in the process? Do your proposals evoke an emotional reaction that compels donors to commit? These questions and more were answered for the University at Buffalo with a deep assessment and reinvention of its proposal creation process, which produced winning proposals donors love. Come learn how UB has taken donor proposals to a new level of communication.

NYU implemented a strategic shift toward an interest-based approach to prospect assignment and development staff realignment. THE SHIFT allows fundraisers to engage with a greater number of prospects while better aligning donor’s interests with university’s priorities. THE SHIFT required approval from university and development leadership and the collaboration of colleagues in fundraising, prospect development, IT and gift administration teams. The case for making THE SHIFT is strong as many institutions consider how to implement policies and guidelines that are donor-centric and effective in reaching more prospects in impactful ways.

Women are the fastest growing sector in philanthropic decision-making and have specific philanthropic and financial priorities which planned giving can help them achieve. Three experienced frontline fundraisers share planned giving examples, marketing strategies for effective planned giving, how the planned giving officer can identify prospects and schedule visits, as well as recent data on how women make decisions to create an integrated planned giving strategy. Learn about planned giving options for alumnae and other female donors including the IRA Charitable Rollover, bequests, and life income gifts.

Learn how to partner with key prospects and donors to identify and showcase organizational priorities, regionally and internationally. Based on experiences highlighting medical research programs, best in class college access programs, athletics, and organizational leadership, discuss how any college or university can partner with their donors to share the impactful programs with targeted audiences and how to transform those experiences in major gifts.

Find out how much was raised in FY2019 at U.S. institutions of higher education. What type of donors contributed? How did different types of institutions fare? Are we seeing shifts in patterns due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” Stereotypes in higher education hinder partnerships between academics and advancement professionals. After all, faculty do the university's “real work" and development officers are just slick salespeople, right? No wonder the relationship between advancement and academics is defined more by walls than by bridges. Learn how to bridge this divide and build a program that fundraises FOR and WITH academics.