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The Ever Evolving World of Crowdfunding
The world of crowdfunding is ever evolving, with both institutions and platforms trying to keep up with what the donor expects in their peer-to-peer fundraising. This session focuses on how crowdfunding has shifted in the last few years, how institutions can take advantage of these changes both in crowdfunding and in the donors, and finally look into the future as to where crowdfunding could be potentially going.
Kyle Post, Director of Crowdfunding and Digital Fundraising, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Finding Harmony in Work and Life — with a Job that Doesn’t Turn Off
Finding time for your family, work, and leisure time can be challenging in the lives we live in higher education. It’s difficult to do it all. Not only is achieving a healthy work/life balance an attainable goal, but workers and businesses alike see the rewards. In this presentation, practical steps, tips and secrets will be shared that we can all take to loosen the grip that stress has on us and re-establish the balance we need to thrive and be happy.
Matthew Colson, Executive Director of Alumni Relations, Stony Brook University
Making It Work: Successfully Closing a Campaign Under Less than Ideal Conditions
We've all experienced it. Those times when conditions at work are less than ideal - when getting things done takes a little more time and effort. But what happens when challenging conditions coincide with the need to complete a high-stakes project? When it came time for Loyola University Maryland to steward and recognize donors to their seven-year, $100M comprehensive fundraising campaign, they faced several challenges. Discover the lessons they learned while checking egos at the door and banding together to successfully close their campaign efforts and honor their donors.
Shannon Pote, Director of Donor Engagement, Loyola University Maryland; and Matt Kudler, Director of Advancement Communications, Loyola University
Bridging Advancement and Academics: Working Together for Success
“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.
Beth Kornstein, Associate Vice President of Planned Giving; and Kenneth Alexo Jr., Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations, New Jersey Institute of Technology
Informal Integration of Alumni Relations and Career Services: Making It Work
How do you ensure every student graduates connected, cultivated, and capable for today's workplace? Drew University maneuvered from siloed career development, advancement, and academic offices to a coordinated effort that ensures students, universally, are prepared for post-college success. Learn how they created a program called Launch that benefits their diverse student (and alumnx) population with a network of mentors that every student, regardless of background, can access 24/7; walk through six Launch essential elements that demonstrate how they are integrating all aspects of the student and community experience; and brainstorm ideas for your own institution.
Carol Bassie, Director of Alumni and Parent Communities; and Daniel Pascoe Aguilar, Associate Provost for Immersive Learning and Career Design, Drew University
What’s in a (Campaign) Name?
It’s incredibly hard to capture the essence of an institution and its mission in just a few words. So, what goes into crafting an effective campaign name? Explore the “art and science” of the process, including key principles such as authenticity, future focus, and graphic design, not to decorate but to communicate. We’ll share campaign themes that have been effective and those that fell short. We'll also discuss the importance of fostering internal ownership of the campaign, revisiting the journey at UNLV — with all its twists and turns.
Stephanie Balzer, Associate Vice President, Communications, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and Ron Arena, Senior Consultant & Principal, Marts & Lundy Communications
Students Bring in More Donors: Models for Fundraising Through Student Outreach
Cornell Engineering increased from 843 to 2,608 donors on Giving Day between FY 17 and FY18, an increase of 309%. In 2019, we increased again by 24%. Through a modest matching gift program, offering $25,000 in funds across 20 student groups, we leveraged student enthusiasm to bring in thousands more gifts. With this program we have been able to access student networks to increase donors and dollars: Dollars also increased by 228% the first year ($48,000 increase), and then by 14% again in 2019. Find out how we did it.
Carol Packard, Associate Dean of Alumni Affairs and Development; and Tony Simione, Major Gifts Officer, Cornell Engineering, Cornell University
Strengthening Team Managers: Building and Enhancing Your Team's Manager Skill Set
How well does your shop, big or small, help new or newly promoted manages be successful as leaders? Exemplary individual contributors don't always have natural skills as managers. Being promoted doesn't necessarily equate to being prepared to manage. At Seton Hall University, we have implemented intentional, smaller scale, low cost initiatives to strengthen our managers and thereby our entire team.Come and hear what is new at SHU - how we invest in our people, inspire our work, and increase our professionalism through strategic talent management strategy.
Tara Hart, Senior Director of Administration, Seton Hall University