Donors—particularly major donors—are increasingly seeing their gifts as investments. And just like any corporate investor, they want to know their gifts’ ROI. Universities that leverage their president, chancellor, cabinet, and faculty chairs effectively to build authentic relationships with donors are the ones seeing the biggest returns in today’s philanthropic marketplace. University of Arkansas – Fort Smith has transformed its major giving program thanks to the relationships its Chancellor Terisa Riley and department chairs such as Kendall Ross have built with key stakeholders and donors. Since Dr. Riley arrived on campus three years ago, major giving has skyrocketed. The university is set to exceed its $75 million centennial campaign’s financial goal by 33 percent, with record individual gifts and giving levels.

To understand how other universities can build similar donor/president relationships, this presentation will focus on:

-the role of the university’s advancement office in the process
-qualifying and prioritizing the right donors
-ideal allocation of a president’s time to fundraising
-taking the first step in building the relationship
-the types of cultivation events or individual meetings that are most effective

This session will provide findings from survey results, provide tools to navigate conversations with dissenting opinions, and harness the power of honoring traditions and values of the past while forging a relevant and progressive future. Attendees will learn how to engage alumni and donors in a way that empowers them to join in the vision, and identify when to detach from donors who do not uphold the institution’s current mission and vision.

Embarking on a leadership role in advancement can be both exhilarating and challenging. While many of us began our advancement careers as specialists, (making in-person asks for big gifts, mastering back-office processes, creating marketing materials, etc.), sooner or later, we find ourselves managing teams. While we may be experts at “making the ask” or “mapping appeal code structures,” oftentimes new managers can find ourselves at a loss when required to give effective performance reviews or coach up a new team member. This session is tailored for advancement professionals who have recently taken the step from being practitioners to managing teams. You will hear from three of your colleagues who have made this leap and are now successful industry leaders. Madison, Karl, and Adrian will introduce you to the dynamic world of advancement teams, providing essential insights, strategies, and tools to help you become a more successful team manager and leader.

Behavior-based donor engagement and recognition is the way of the future. With limited staff, resources, and endless priorities and goals to meet, we must implement programs that scale in customization and is designed to affect retention, loyalty, and future fundraising. By developing a program based on donor behaviors, in lieu of arbitrary giving amounts, we can ensure we are communicating gratitude and impact to donors at all levels of giving. Beyond first-time donors, there are a slew of critical donor populations that also want and deserve great giving experiences! One size does not fit all, and as we look to tailor communications, events, and recognition based on DX best practices, we must prioritize and plan appropriately and efficiently – it requires both strategy and creativity! Loyal, lapsed, trifecta, monthly, renewed, and more—let's explore priority donor behaviors that drive the entire donor pipeline.

Launching a Giving Day is no small feat. Contrary to what the name implies this type of high energy campaign encompasses much more than a single day of philanthropy. This session will outline everything from recommended timelines and strategic messaging to key successes and areas of improvement from UNT's very first on campus day of giving. Join us as we walk through the key components of starting a giving day from initial idea to fruition.

Donor relations pros and front line fundraisers rejoice. Let's work together to make fundraising magic. This session will provide a partnership roadmap for your fundraising shop. We'll fill your magic toolbox with proactive strategies, processes, and tips to dazzle even your biggest critics. You'll raise more money, make a bigger impact, and enjoy some belly laughs along the way.

Legal concerns in advancement aren't just for planned giving anymore. Whatever you do in advancement – fundraising, alumni relations, communications, or advancement services – knowing how the law affects your work could make the difference between celebrating success and a costly lawsuit. Learn from a "recovering attorney" and advancement veteran about key principles and situations to consider, whether you're planning an event, managing a fundraising campaign, writing a press release, maintaining a database, or organizing a reunion. You'll hear about plenty of real-world examples, so bring your hardest questions and toughest challenges to this lively, engaging, and interactive session – no retainer required!

ChatGPT is the fastest-growing app in history. For many users, this is their first experience with generative AI — technology that is designed to create content. And it’s their first time encountering how AI will transform how we live, work, and fundraise. In this interactive workshop, we'll talk about the rise of AI, help everyone understand generative AI and large language models, and talk about data protection and privacy. We'll then spend time in an interactive prompt engineering workshop, showing how generative AI can increase efficiency, generate ideas, and become a part of your daily work.

To fully flex your fundraising muscle you need buy-in from both the annual giving and advancement services sides of the house. How do you achieve the alignment necessary to drive meaningful results? The devil is in the data. GiveCampus analyzed aggregate data from 4,532 campaigns and 4,973 giving forms to identify what’s moving the proverbial needle in fundraising and what’s not. Find out from fellow higher education fundraisers how they’re leveraging that data to drive decisions at key stages of the philanthropic lifecycle, and how they got everybody—including advancement services—to back their biggest bets.

Do you ever feel stuck with certain prospects or donors and are unsure of how to move conversations forward that may have stalled out (or never happened in the first place)? In this session, two frontline fundraisers will share their strategic process from moving prospects from stuck to solicitation and how they have partnered together to create a model of engagement that utilizes both of their skill sets and unique roles within donor and prospect relationships to expertly drive forward solicitation conversations and proposals.  Join this session to hear practical examples and case studies from this dynamic duo about collaboration and what to do (and not to do!) to generate activity and increase solicitations within your portfolios.