In today’s rapidly evolving advancement landscape, AI is transforming how university advancement teams manage donor engagement and drive fundraising success. Join us for a dynamic session where we explore the "How, What, and Why" of leveraging AI to supercharge your mid-level and major gifts outreach.

Discover practical strategies for adopting AI tools to streamline activity tracking, personalize donor communication, and enhance team efficiency. Hear from Joan Shofner, Associate Vice President of Campaign & Development, University of Central Arkansas and Sylvia Vandever, Account Manager at Gravyty as they shares real-world examples of how AI is reshaping donor relationships and accelerating organizational impact at UCA. Walk away with actionable insights on integrating AI into your advancement strategy for sustainable growth and success.

The annual giving pipeline is critical to our organizations and robust engagement, that is personal yet done at scale, is essential for successful retention efforts in this space. Join us to learn how you can apply strategy to your donor and alumni engagement efforts that will positively affect giving retention rates as well as steward some of our more “at risk” donor populations. This is more important than ever as our industry sees declines in overall giving, decreased alumni involvement, and limited staff and budgeting resources. We will explore strategies for retention in key populations, segmentation and messaging best practices, and shifting the organizational culture to a donor-centered retention mindset.

The good news is that you’ve been hired to lead fundraising initiatives at your school. The bad news is that there’s a good chance, especially if you’re at a community college, that your president, leadership team, faculty, and professional staff assume all the development work falls solely on your shoulders. This isn’t fair—and it’s also detrimental to your financial success. How do we persuade everyone at our institutions that they play a crucial role in advancement? Let’s explore strategies for getting even the most reluctant colleagues to embrace advancement at your institution.

Discover how Oklahoma State University’s Digital Experience Officers (DXOs) are transforming donor pipeline development through innovative digital outreach. This session will explore strategies for engaging prospects at scale, creative approaches to outreach, and best practices for collaborating with development officers to seamlessly transition engaged donors up the pipeline. Learn from three years of experience, insights, and growth—including how OSU has expanded the DXO role to a senior level. Whether you're looking to launch a similar initiative or enhance your existing efforts, this session will provide actionable takeaways to strengthen your digital engagement strategy.

Feeling overwhelmed by your donor portfolio? Struggling to effectively cultivate and steward all your donors?

Discover the Secret Sauce to successful fundraising with the T36 (Top 36) approach, as shared by leaders from the Sam Houston State University Development team. The T36 provides a transformative strategy for managing donor portfolios across various areas, including Annual Giving, Major Giving, Alumni Relations, Donor Relations, Corporate and Foundation Relations, and Special Events.

Why the T36 Works:
• Effective Portfolio Management: Focus on the most impactful donors with targeted engagement strategies.
• Streamlined Strategies: Apply practical methods to ensure that each donor is effectively cultivated and stewarded.
• Enhanced Collaboration: Foster teamwork to build stronger donor relationships and maximize engagement.

By prioritizing the number of asks, setting clear ask minimums, and promoting collaboration, the T36 creates a sustainable and effective approach to fundraising.

Proven Results:
After a year of implementing the T36 strategy, our Advancement team achieved its second-largest fundraising year, surpassing our annual goal by over $2 Million. We’re on track for even greater growth in the coming years.

Join us on this journey and transform the way you manage your donor portfolio. Discover how the T36 can be scaled to all aspects of Advancement and lead to unparalleled success in your fundraising efforts.

The lights are fading, the party is almost over, the goal has been met…your campaign is coming to a close. Your development officer and leadership teams may be starting to breath deep, but now it’s our time to shine – it’s time for donor relations, stewardship, engagement, events, and communications to take the stage and breathe life into all that has been accomplished through your massive fundraising accomplishment. Join this session to explore to role of these teams in effectively recognizing donors to the campaign at all levels, reporting the impact of funds raised, stewarding new funds, consolidating and converting events as necessary, and more. We will explore key data reports to be pulling, important annual communications to be issuing, and how to develop retention strategy for these important donors. It’s now our job to retain and engage these campaign donors – until the next big party!

The Gumbo of Community College Fundraising has been cooking for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System since 2014 and the roux in the gumbo is just now being perfected for success. This session focuses on how elements of enrollment management, student affairs, academic affairs, workforce and economic development, fundraising, and governmental affairs are key ingredients to making the gumbo. Join this session to learn from a community college “Sous Chef” who has had the opportunity to work in each department at the college level and now is the “Executive Chef” at the system and what key ingredients played an important role to making a robust impact in Louisiana. These ingredients shared with attendees are key strategies to investments toward student success.

Join us for an engaging and interactive session where we dive into the latest trends in stewardship and donor experience strategies for higher education advancement. Discover how modern approaches and cutting-edge AI technologies can transform your donor relations, making them more personalized, efficient, and impactful. Through a mix of real-world examples and hands-on activities you’ll learn how to modernize donor experiences that exceeds expectations. Whether you’re a seasoned advancement professional or new to the field, this session will provide you with practical ideas, tips from AI, and innovative ideas to take your stewardship practices to the next level.

Volunteers are not just casual supporters; they are key collaborators in enhancing alumni engagement and advancing fundraising efforts, especially for reunions. Their active involvement amplifies the voice of your institution and leverages their peer-to-peer influence to inspire classmates, increase reunion attendance, and encourage greater giving. Engaged volunteers help foster stronger connections within alumni communities, contributing to the success of your initiatives. In this session, Christina Woods, Director of Annual Giving, Rice University, and Felicity Meu, Head of Partner Success, GiveCampus, will explore how to activate your most valuable asset—your volunteers. Finally, Christina and Felicity will showcase data that demonstrates how volunteers can significantly improve your alumni engagement and fundraising outcomes and share strategies for maximizing their impact.

Discover Sam Houston State University’s innovative and strategic plan to revamp their Faculty & Staff campaign post pandemic. We will discuss how we recharged our volunteer committee, added new visibility to the campaign, and boosted excitement around participating. This session would benefit someone new to fundraising or individuals looking to recharge an existing program.