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 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 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.

Join Advancement leaders from across the district, with over 75 years of combined experience between them, as they delve into the intricacies of planning and executing successful fundraising campaigns. They will share expertise on launching and managing successful campaigns at both big and small shops, help attendees identify and navigate potential pitfalls, offers practical tips and tricks for success, and provide ideas for maintaining high staff morale throughout the life of the campaign.

Faculty members and academic leaders play a critical role in the success of any advancement operation. Working closely with them and preparing them well can reap significant results; on the other hand, giving them insufficient guidance or inadequate information can ruin a donor relationship and sink a gift proposal, or alienate alumni to your detriment. Come to this engaging and interactive session ready to share stories and learn from each other as well as a veteran of nearly three decades in higher education advancement. You'll find that proper care and feeding of faculty really can be fruitful for your institution!

Join the Oklahoma State University Foundation (OSUF) for a dynamic session designed to simplify and enhance the art of prospect research, trip planning, and donor engagement. OSUF will share essential strategies for building collaborative prospect lists, planning efficient donor visits using mapping tools, and identifying top prospects by integrating data on giving history, wealth, and more. Learn the art of effective outreach and hear inspiring stories about how persistence and going the extra mile can lead to securing transformational gifts. This session will provide practical insights to help elevate your fundraising strategy and optimize donor engagement.

In the fast-paced world of professional fundraising, the pressure to secure larger and larger gifts is intense....unfortunately, I have bad news...the pressure won't let up! This session unveils nontraditional strategies that moved fundraising at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff from annual yields of $2M to a record breaking year of more than $12million; we're convinced that we can help you move the needle as well. This inspiring and strategy-filled seminar introduces participants to techniques in expanding corporate giving, alumni outreach, and processes in building a non-affiliated donor pipeline. At the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, we grew foundation and corporate giving by more than 200%, expanded alumni giving by 50%, and even increased faculty-staff giving by more than 40%. This hands on learning session is filled with practical tips that will show you how you can create a Personal Fundraising Plan (PFP), grow your non-affiliated donor pipeline, and attract those high capacity donors that always seem to get away. Designed as a best-practice session for new Development Officers, or even the veteran advancement leader looking to reinvigorate their fundraising strategies, this insightful session just might be your secret sauce for success!