All institutions have a priority to focus on student and young alumni fundraising, knowing these donors will become our future major and principal gift donors. Cornell’s investment in using Venmo as a payment option shows the innovative approach we’ve taken to meeting these donors where they feel comfortable. Explore the strategic partnerships that had to happen to get the project off the ground, the technological choices made to ensure the security of the platform and data integrity, and the case for student giving.

Ever wondered WHY video is such a powerful engagement tool? Get to know your brain and learn the physiological reasons why video has the ability to create better open, click-through, and conversion rates than any other messages. Learn how to use this knowledge to create video content that is specifically designed to leverage the most compelling aspects of the medium. Spoiler alert: Effective video marketing and advancement communications can be cheap, easy, AND effective.

Higher education communications needs a “mixed-method” approach to strategic communications and content planning that brings together the best of public relations strategies with the best marketing strategies. This approach allows communication teams to make informed decisions while communicating purposefully with its varied audiences. The goal for communications professionals should be to make data-supported (not just data-driven) decisions in order to deliver personalized, honest, and altruistic content to which audiences can personally relate and use to make their own informed decisions.

At the University at Buffalo, we had to change the culture to accomplish our BOLD goal. With new leadership joining the team after the public launch of the "Boldly Buffalo" campaign, we needed to quickly realign our efforts to maximize outcomes. Alumni engagement needed strategies that supported development. Gift officers needed to focus on developing relationships. Staff needed to see how their work fit into the donor continuum. The outcome was a year of focused efforts and BOLD outcomes for our students, our faculty, and our world.

Learn the essentials of creating an impactful student ambassador group that supports and benefits alumni relations and the annual fund. The student group works with both offices to promote beloved college traditions and educate their peers about the impact of philanthropy. Learn how to start a student organization, how to create student on-campus programs and communications, how to engage students into alumni programs, and how to assess the success of how the group helps achieve aumni and annual fund goals.

In 2017, Villanova University reimagined its regional “Chapter Challenge” from a competition heavily influenced by major university donors to a competition run by the people, for the people. Meet “The Nova Challenge,” a four-day giving campaign where regional clubs appeal to their members and raise funds that go directly back to the local club community through operations and local student scholarships. Find out how a partnership between alumni relations and annual giving can increase donor participation, create a little competition, and fund your university’s regional club program.

Gifts of real estate can be complicated...and risky. In fact, 80% of real estate gifts are rejected by charitable organizations for those very reasons. With the average gift of real property being valued at more than  $400,000, this translates to a lot of missed opportunity for nonprofits who need that support. Review several unique and creative ways to navigate the complications, and manage and isolate the risks of real estate gifts.

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.

Chief executives at universities, independent schools, nonprofits, and other organizations are busy and face many demands on their time. While development is a key area where executives should focus, effectively using his/her time is critical in order to maximize impact. Setting parameters for who your chief executive should be spending time with-- and what they should be doing with that time--will maximize results.

President of the Community College of Baltimore County since 2005, Sandra L. Kurtinitis is an experienced and respected educator, administrator and author. Join us for her talk "New Year, New Decade, New Mindset: 21st Century Colleges for 21st Century Students for 21st Century 'Jobs'".