Unleash the power of Generative AI (GenAI) to revolutionize your work! This session will explore how AI-powered tools can help you work efficiently, personalize outreach, develop data-informed strategies, streamline processes, and drive innovation in your daily work and across advancement. Discover real-world case studies of applications and share your strategies for integrating AI into your daily toolkit, ensuring you stay ahead of the curve in this rapidly evolving landscape.

In an era where diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential, the representation of young alumni on national alumni association boards is more critical than ever. This session will delve into the opportunities and inclusive practices that can help amplify young alumni voices, drawing from my personal experience as the youngest board member on my alma mater's national alumni association boards.

This workshop will explore the journey of the Wake Forest University School of Business in significantly enhancing alumni satisfaction from 17% to 56% over six years. Through consistent communication to alumni and effective collaboration across School and University departments, the School of Business implemented strategies that not only improved alumni engagement but also strengthened relationships within the academic community. Participants will gain insights into practical approaches, collaborative frameworks, and communication strategies that can be adapted to their own institutions to foster alumni satisfaction and loyalty.

Discover how to cultivate a powerful alliance between your institution's advancement office and its Black Alumni Network. This session will explore strategic approaches to foster meaningful connections, enhance alumni engagement, and leverage the unique strengths of Black alumni for mutual growth and success. Attendees will gain insights into collaborative initiatives, effective communication strategies, and innovative programs that drive alumni satisfaction and institutional advancement. Join us to learn how to create a synergistic partnership that empowers Black alumni and propels your institution forward.

Learn about the sustained success of William & Mary's Society of 1918 women's philanthropy initiative. Beginning its 7th year, the Society continues to grow in numbers and impact and is now comprised of over 600 women who are philanthropically committed to W&M. The success of the Society is borne out of existing research and 6 proven principles derived from Kathleen Loehr's Gender Matters: A Guide to Growing Women's Philanthropy. We will share both our successes and lessons learned along the way. This session is a fit for you whether you are exploring the potential return on investment, currently launching or striving to sustain and grow your women's philanthropy initiative.

1 in 9 people ages 65+ is showing some sign of cognitive impairment, which is also the same age as the average major gift donor in the United States. Encountering an elderly donor in cognitive decline is inevitable as advancement staff, yet few know how to ethically and legally handle this situation when it arises. Is your institution prepared? This session will teach attendees how to spot the signs of cognitive impairment and what best practices their team should implement when faced with an older donor who has cognitive impairment issues.

A strong alumni program leads with a diverse menu of options – events, volunteer opportunities, digital presence, etc. How can you create multiple opportunities for your alumni while they are scattered around the world? How can you develop opportunities that enhance your digital presence and encourage interaction with alumni? What content will inspire institutional pride and encourage interaction - all while reaching a broader audience? This session will explore answers to these questions while giving specific examples of successful digital engagement initiatives led by the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy. Want to learn more about our recent summer initiative #DogDaysOfSummer where we asked alumni to share their policy stories and photos with us? How did we launch ‘100 Hours of Service for 100 Years of Duke” and reach over 2,000 hours within the first few months? I look forward to sharing these initiatives with you as we take a deep dive into these concepts, data, and takeaways that will inspire your school to enhance your alumni digital experience. What opportunities can you create that: highlight your school priorities, encourage engagement within the alumni network, increase alumni engagement, and lift up the successes of your school? Let’s create!

Participants will learn how to create an audio/video podcast featuring alumni. The session will detail the production, promotion, and benefits of the podcast.

By collaborating with Licensing to develop unique ODU-branded products like beer, barbecue sauce, ice cream, and the 1930 Collection clothing line, Old Dominion University (ODU) Alumni Relations has successfully engaged new audiences, strengthened alumni connections, and enhanced brand visibility. This session will focus on how ODU Alumni Relations has partnered with Licensing to develop and promote these products, fostering loyalty, increasing pride, and deepening engagement. Join us to learn how to work with Licensing, make the most of these partnerships, and effectively use your marketing and communications team to bring these ideas to life.

Collaboration, facilitated by cross-institutional strategic alignment of objectives and credit- and information sharing, is a guiding principle in contemporary university fundraising. But HOW does that work get effectively and holistically done in large, decentralized, and dispersed universities with many competing priorities? This presentation identifies a series of concrete strategies, building on examples from a large College of Arts and Sciences at a public R1 flagship characterized by a high level of strategic alignment between the Dean's Office, front-line fundraisers, and alumni relations. We examine the visioning process we undertook to identify the opportunity for transformational change and then move into the tactics: principles and practices of stakeholder engagement in the Dean's office and among faculty, department heads, and program leaders; design and implementation of a gift officer liaison model; strategica engagement of the Advisory Board; and mobilizing positive accountability and dynamic metrics staff and faculty roles. We draw conclusions about what works from the transformational results we have seen over a nearly two-year period. We also address how to overcome organizational resistance, enhance collaborative culture, and storytell around the endeavor.