As the national trend of declining donor counts continues, many institutions are ramping up engagement and acquisition efforts to attract new prospective donors. But increased data collection like this can often lead to differing schools of thought between the engagement professionals who seek to grow the donor pipeline and IT/data partners who aim to protect data integrity. What are the right pieces of data to collect? How can data quality be protected? At what point does data collection hinder a positive customer experience? Is there such a thing as too much data? This session will show how Ohio State Advancement has taken a collaborative approach to working through these questions and more by bringing the two business areas together to develop solutions.
Key topics will include:
• How to align teams, practices, and goals.
• How to determine the right data points to ensure quality data while collecting engagement data to build and strengthen the fundraising pipeline.
• How to select the right data collection tools for varying types of engagement opportunities.
• How to tell the story of how engagement and acquisition data impacts the long-term health of an organization.

Unlock the power of AI in your daily advancement tasks with this hands-on session! Discover free or low-cost tools like ChatGPT that can streamline donor communications, enhance alumni engagement, and simplify data management. Through real-world examples and an interactive activity, you'll learn how to implement AI solutions today, without waiting for large-scale institutional changes. Walk away with practical strategies to make your work more efficient and impactful, all while staying ahead in the evolving world of higher education advancement.

How do you engage alumni all around the world and keep volunteers connected despite the distance ? How can they support the University's global strategy? In this session you can share best practices from your institutions and learn how the Notre Dame Alumni Association has expanded their volunteer base to 60+ countries. We will talk about international volunteer recruitment and stewardship and how it supports strategic global initiatives.

Join Illinois State University for an engaging session on how personalized video appeals have revolutionized their post-2020 fundraising campaigns. From the clever Holiday Gift Appeal, designed to feel like a fun gift-purchasing experience, to the highly engaging Birds Give Back video, Illinois State has successfully used video to re-engage LYBUNT donors and drive retention rates. These creative campaigns have led to increased CTA clicks and deeper donor connections. Explore how these examples can offer fresh approaches to drive results in your own fundraising efforts.

Despite what they may want you to believe, scientists and engineers are people, too. They strive. They struggle. Sometimes they even feel! Their work is also rife with the key ingredient of good narrative tension: failure. In this session, we'll learn to use narrative structure to make the people in STEM stories come to life on the page. Rick White, chief story engineer at Michigan Tech, will show you when, why, and how.

Are you looking to build relationships between seemingly disconnected teams? Join the Northwestern Alumni Association to learn how to bridge the gap between gift officers and engagement professionals through event programming that draws both donors and alumni who have not yet given. We will share information on the development and creation of events that span a variety of topics and formats and how our shared priorities have led to success for both engagement goals and giving targets. Additionally, attendees will learn how to cultivate meaningful and long-lasting relationships with gift officers.

As we adapt to a rapidly changing world, "people problems" can be the most complex and critical challenges we face—but they don’t have to be. Humans are not chaotic, they are predictable, even in chaotic times. That means all adults pass through sequential stages of development that feature different fears, motivators, and goals. By constructively exploring these stages, we can transform our understanding of ourselves AND each other. In this interactive, entertaining, and highly actionable keynote, former Disney+ host, tech founder, and Adult Development Theory expert Arel Moodie introduces the overlooked science of human potential to help us Build People Power™ inside our organizations like never before. You’ll walk away with a clear understanding of how to predict and drive certain behaviors—no matter which stage someone is in. This roadmap will give you a renewed and restored sense of where your organization can go, and help you move people into action so you reach bigger goals together.