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

We all know you can’t ask for the next unless you have successfully stewarded (and spent!) the last one. Join us as we dive into the complexities of fund compliance and utilization programs, what makes them successful (or not!), and the indispensable partnerships across your division and the campus that ensure their success. Whether you are in advancement services or a frontline fundraiser, everyone has a role to play in this space. We will explore the core components of a program that ensures your philanthropic funds are spent according to donor intent and to maximum capacity. We will explore strategies to strengthen collaboration between multiple key stakeholders for a more cohesive and effective approach. From data, reporting, metrics, and engagement and education programs, we will cover what you need to strengthen and streamline your fund stewardship program. Using real-life case studies from two rock solid donor compliance programs in the District, we'll give you all the tools you need to ensure success in this challenging space.

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.

We all know that a robust donor pipeline is key to a sustainable, growth-oriented development operation. but how do we combine the relationship-building power of major gifts with the scalability of annual giving activities? The answer: Digital Experience Officers (DXOs)! In this session, you will hear how the OK State Foundation Annual Giving Team built a DXO program to engage and upgrade donors in the middle of the pyramid to identify and hand off the next generation of major gift prospects. Your presenters will share their experience building a program from the ground up, how they collaborated with peers to form a program that was right for their institution, and how the program has grown and changed in its initial two years.

Our students are the future alumni and donors of our institutions; cultivating them and creating a culture of philanthropy is vital to the long-term success of our fundraising efforts. Learn how the Oklahoma State University Foundation Annual Giving Team adjusted student fundraising and engagement strategies following COVID. We will discuss best practices in Student Foundations, crowdfunding, stewardship, and talent acquisition. This session will cover ways to right size or start from scratch for all things student fundraising and engagement!

This session focuses on how to develop a playbook centered on integral principles of fundraising that are too often an afterthought for organizations: stewardship, marketing, and communications. Few organizations have a built-in donor base and even those who do, must stand out when cultivating gifts. Whether a small department or a large university, this session will provide practical examples and tactics for unique and meaningful stewardship that inspires donors during acquisition, cultivation and recognition events. The session will hone messaging and marketing that focuses on your organization’s mission, purpose and impact that resonates with any audience including the business community.

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.

In the face of political and racial tensions spreading across the nation and the impact of a global COVID-19 pandemic that upended traditional norms, The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff reached a historic fundraising milestone, generating $10.1 million: the best fundraising year in school history! The success represented 200% growth over five years, moving UAPB from an average of $2M annually to the historic $10.1M high. Such fundraising success at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), especially a small public university, is unprecedented. HBCUs face many challenges regarding fundraising and alumni engagement, but with creativity, perseverance, and non-traditional thinking, exceeding your fundraising goals can become more than just a plan! Join us for an engaging, transformative session and learn how we overcame extreme challenges and barriers to create a successful, comprehensive fundraising strategy.
In this session, you will learn the following:
• How to exceed fundraising goals even when your Institutional advancement office is understaffed, underfunded, and overworked!
• How to think beyond the urgent and immediate needs to grow your endowment.
• How to maximize time and resources to cultivate major donors.
• How to diversify fundraising to make corporate and foundation giving a base for expanding major gifts, scholarships, and endowment building.
If you have a small fundraising team with BIG fundraising goals… this session is for you!