Parents are one of the hottest markets for philanthropy and fundraising; but in order to solicit them, we must first engage them, and meaningfully. This session will discuss the ways one institution built a family engagement strategy--through its onboarding of first-year families, in-person and virtual programming, and strategic and aligned communications, all sequenced to reinforce one another.

Because parent programming on college campuses can be scattered and disjointed, we developed a strategic plan for family engagement to provide coherence, direction, and vision. This session will provide an overview of how we not only built that plan but quickly implemented that plan and how collaboration across the institution has allowed us to meaningfully engage families and contribute to our fundraising and philanthropy goals.

New fundraisers, whether new to the profession entirely, new to your organization, or new to a discipline or role, can feel like they don't receive enough guidance, direction, and onboarding from their supervisors, mentors, and peers. This session provides practical, clearly defined suggestions for setting up your new fundraisers for success from Day 1! Learn the most important elements of onboarding a new staff member to ensure that they understand your organization and their role.

Prospecting often marks the beginning of each relationship we hope to form with a donor. Despite this, fundraisers tend to focus their energy learning more about gift closure conversations than how to reach their donors in the first place. Through the lessons learned during an experiment in prospecting you will learn how you can connect to your intended donor base with ease!

In this session you will gain insights from a study conducted using real prospects. We will talk about how to approach prospecting, what you might expect your results to be and what actually happened in the study. As well as how all of this can inform your work in the future. Additionally, the session will be full of opportunities for you to ask questions and share your experiences in prospecting.

At the end of this session you will be able to identify your target audience, create an outreach plan to increase the responses you receive from your audience and utilize these prospecting tools as an asset that aids the work you do with donors throughout the rest of the gift cycle. Let us help you make the most of the time you spend prospecting so that you can get back to closing more gifts!

This presentation will delve into the critical roles of the Wisconsin Alumni Student Board (WASB) and the Wisconsin Recent Grad Council (RGC) in influencing signature programs and initiatives at the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA). Both groups play a pivotal role in ensuring that current students and recent graduates are actively engaged in programs designed to strengthen their connections with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A core theme of the presentation highlights how diverse perspectives of both groups enhance the effectiveness of engagement strategies.

This session will focus on strategies for building and sustaining affinity networks that foster community, amplify alumni voices, and increase engagement across diverse demographics. Participants will explore how to align affinity networks with the institution's goals while ensuring they foster a culture of inclusion and belonging.

Join in a conversation about the context and experiences of women in advancement leadership. Explore research on the field, hear from a panel of women leaders, and explore best practices and resources to encourage and support women’s journeys to leadership. This session aims to motivate, empower, and energize--whether you are looking for networking, planning for career growth, seeking to enhance your leadership skills, or creating organizational environments where women leaders can thrive.

Affinity Groups. This tried-and-true engagement strategy has yielded big results at many institutions. But they can run the spectrum in both investment and results. Do you create a mini alumni association, or do you simply try to harness the momentum formed by organic groups? We will look at pro's and con's for each method, when each would be appropriate, the opportunity for a blended approach, and best practices for these powerful programs.

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.