Learn from Arizona State University's College of Nursing on how we seamlessly integrated alumni relations in to the Marketing and Communications department. This partnership has produced a cross-collaborative relationship that is not only mutually beneficial, but contributed to new projects and programs that the university is looking to duplicate on a large scale.

How often have your staff come to you to tell you about an inappropriate comment, touching, or other more egregious behavior from a donor, board member or volunteer? Or do you simply hear about it second hand because reporting it means losing a prospect or being told that it's "just part of the job"? Staff who work in the field have put up with harassment in many forms for many years, but with recent cultural shifts and efforts like CASE"s Zero Tolerance Policy, advancement shops are taking action. Please join the presenters to learn about how some shops are taking concrete actions and practices to prevent harassment and discrimination in advancement, fundraising, and related functions and how you can take these approaches back to your own team, including training to empower and protect staff members, as well as transparent reporting and remediation processes. Through gathering research, developing guidelines, and creating concrete actions and practices to address the problem, and sharing our own journeys, we can all help change the industry to create a safe and respectful workplace culture.

This session will highlight innovative and inclusive approaches to building the pipeline through scalable qualification efforts for various audiences - from alums, to parents, to friends! We will take a deep dive into Discovery Journeys, and how they leverage frontline fundraising and mass communication strategies to identify and qualify leadership donors and provide valuable insights into the donor pipeline. This session will also cover the impact of the new Discovery Officer role as an essential part of these efforts, and how this work directly aligns with overall campus-wide pipeline goals.

Advancement’s revolving door of talent can be disruptive, both to internal and external stakeholders. Demand outstrips supply of talented practitioners, and polling firm Gallup reports that 42% of employee turnover is preventable but often ignored. Even as our colleges, universities and schools are evolving demographically, 85% of fundraisers self-identified as white in 2022, according to U.S. Census estimates. How do we transform our organizations into workplaces of choice, where a full range of talented professionals can contribute, achieve, and grow, without having to move every year or two? No one has completely resolved these challenges, but there are bright, thoughtful, committed innovators focused on continuous improvement. Attend this interactive discussion among forward-thinking leaders building organizations that are high-performing, welcoming, inclusive, and collaborative.

What is it about “the little engine that could” that allowed it to successfully pull the train over the mountain when larger engines refused to even try? Why is it that California pistachio farmers so often become millionaires when the trees take years to mature and bear fruit? What can we learn from the little engine that exclaimed “I think I can…I think I can” as it huffed and puffed to the mountain top?
Can universities and colleges embarking on their first-ever comprehensive campaign learn from these examples? Yes, when one considers the common characteristics or ingredients in a successful campaign: patience, persistence, and a healthy culture of philanthropy. It is almost universal that comprehensive campaigns, especially multi-year, first time efforts, are a mixture of challenges and opportunities. But with patience, persistence and a keen understanding of your culture of philanthropy, the challenges can be met, and the opportunities can bear fruit.
Join us for an in depth look at these issues and obstacles and get tips on how patience and persistence can lead to success:
• You can’t raise money for everything! When every department on campus wants to raise money, how do you go about setting meaningful priorities and goals? How do you respond to shifting priorities?
• Explore strategies when changes in leadership occur, whether at the executive level, key volunteers or even your Development staff.
• Most Advancement officers will squirm a bit when asked if they have sufficient prospects for a campaign. Join our discussion on successful techniques to grow or enhance your prospect pool.
• Return on investment. It takes money to raise money. Explore with colleagues the multiple methods for aquiring resources that will put you on a path to a successful campaign.
• Whether a campaign is big or small, short or long, there comes a time when campaign fatigue sets in. Volunteers get tired or need to move on to other things, staff move on or get frustrated, people will begin to wonder if it will ever end. This session will reveal successful ways to overcome the challenges inherent in campaign fatigue.
• Identifying and growing your culture of philanthropy is essential to campaign success. Explore with us the four key pillars of a robust culture and how you can improve them as your campaign unfolds.

Key Takeaways:
• Develop campaign priorities that are bold, transformational and aligned with your mission and strategic plan. And don’t forget to measure prospect and donor interest. Be flexible and amenable to change if needed.
• Expect to experience changes in leadership – sometimes the president or other executives, development team members, or volunteers. Consider these changes to be opportunities for fresh perspectives and new energy.
• Be prepared to state your case with the need for sufficient resources. You cannot expect to take your fundraising program to higher levels with the same old budget.
• When your prospect pool is insufficient for your chosen goal, you must build the ship while sailing it. Building your pool takes grit, patience, hard discovery work and creativity. Never stop mining your database.
• Remember the story of the little engine that could, which teaches the value of optimism and hard work. Despite a steep climb and a heavy load, the little engine slowly succeeds in pulling the train over the mountain. And keep in mind the lessons of the pistachio farmer, who never gives up and sees from the beginning the value of nurturing cultivation of his trees, just as we must be patient and persistent with our prospects.

Are you tired of siloes? Do you wish you were able to collaborate more with your academic and administrative leaders? During this interactive session we will discuss ways you can effectively partner with them to set fundraising, engagement, and campaign priorities, prep for meetings and asks, and much more. In addition, learn what organizations are looking for when hiring fundraising and engagement professionals to work with their leaders. You will walk away with practical tools to foster stronger internal relationships so you can engage more people and secure critical philanthropic dollars to fuel your mission. This session is perfect for fundraisers, engagement professionals, and university leaders seeking to unlock the full potential of their advancement programs.

Join us for an informative session on "Equitable & Inclusive Alumni Engagement through Alumni Chapters"! Discover strategies for fostering inclusive alumni chapters that represent the diverse areas of your college community. Learn how to create and sustain affinity chapters that advocate for various interests and backgrounds, ensuring every voice is heard. Acquire practical tips for maintaining inclusivity and enhancing engagement across all alumni groups. This session will equip you with the tools to build an equitable and inclusive alumni network.

Learn how to create a dynamic and effective student ambassador program that energizes your community and drives success on Giving Day. In this session, discover how to empower students as brand advocates, equipping them with the skills to promote philanthropy and engage their community. You’ll learn strategies for executing impactful promotional activities, creating compelling marketing and social media content, and fostering meaningful connections with causes, alumni, students, and supporters. Join us to explore innovative ways to elevate your Giving Day through brand ambassadors and leave with actionable insights to boost participation and maximize your Giving Day’s impact!

There's nothing like that inaugural Giving Day. The energy and excitement from campus partners and senior leadership is palpable. But as the event enters year six, seven, eight and beyond, how do you maintain that spark? How do you keep away or recover from plateauing results? This session will cover how UC Irvine shook up their approach to reengage internal stakeholders and reassess the look and feel of the event, resulting in back-to-back record breaking Giving Days. We will share what has worked for us: processes, programs, collaborations, and more.

Institutions everywhere are facing the consequences of employee burnout and the toll it takes on its workforce, including advancement staff. Finding spaces to have frank and honest conversations about burnout, however, are challenging. This session offers a candid, reflective, and (hopefully) humorous conversation featuring advancement colleagues discussing their personal experiences with burnout and discussing opportunities to prioritize mental, physical, and emotional well being.