The new CASE Advancement Inclusion Index aids member organizations in taking inventory of DEIB maturity and organizational DEIB readiness. This presentation examines emerging data from the Inclusion Index to understand if advancement leadership is reflective of the student populations they serve and the institution faculty they support,. We then take a closer look at how colleges and universities compare in terms of demographic representation.

Your data is messy – now what? Based on CCS Fundraising’s experience working with and cleaning thousands of donor datasets, in this session we will discuss how to achieve optimal data integrity. Whether it’s an issue of reconciling data from different sources, dealing with missing data, or identifying unique household records, data health is about making your records into a strategic asset. With some simple, high-impact techniques, a healthy database will provide a consistent pipeline for finding new opportunity. CCS Fundraising will provide client examples and a step-by-step guide on how to perform data health.

How do you determine when to trust predictions? Is there such a thing as a subject matter expert for your unique advancement data when you rely on AI and machine learning to make key decisions? How do you make the results of your analyses actionable, especially for people with less experience using data? We’ll cover examples from our process of getting others more comfortable using analytics and share best practices for determining scenarios where AI can add value, and areas where it cannot.

Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become fundamental and prominent priorities in society and the philanthropy sector is now more explicitly focused on responding to the DEI challenge as well. The urgency to increase the engagement and giving from alumni of color is widespread throughout higher education, but the prospect research data, strategies and approach to identifying and systematically including alumni of color in major gift prospect pools has remained a conundrum. This session will explore inclusive prospect research strategies and practical advice for advancement leaders to more effectively identify, involve, solicit and steward alumni of color.

What exactly is engagement and how can it be measured? CASE and the Alumni Engagement Metrics Task Force has provided a framework for colleges and universities to begin answering these questions. However, every institution must embark on their own engagement scoring journey and will face unique choices, challenges and opportunities. In this session, you will hear how Carnegie Mellon University developed and deployed their first iteration of engagement ratings, what obstacles they confronted, how they are using the new ratings, and what the next phases of their project may entail. You will also learn how standardizing data and data entry, and determining what is of the most value, can shape your organization’s future.

Come join me for a “DRIVE” through a prospect research and prospect management system and discover some tricks and tips on how best to navigate through all the many wealth, affluence, asset, and analytics data and learn when it’s best to STOP, GO, YEILD, EXIT, or most importantly SPEED UP! ResearchPoint will be our vehicle and intelligence platform for our session. It is the software where assets, affluence insights, and predictive modeling components are delivered and can be accessed to help you dive deeply into the wealth profile and philanthropic history of your constituents. ResearchPoint will empower you to turn simple data into actionable information to make better strategic decisions.

The ingredients that comprise culture are a lot to balance. And with ever evolving staffing models due to the pandemic and the Great Resignation, leaders need new and better tools to manage their departments. In this session we’ll examine an innovative approach undertaken by The Hill School with the goals of gaining a clear view of the advancement team’s perceptions on culture, optimizing employee satisfaction, and building internal consensus. The unique design of the process provided leadership a view of team members’ top priorities, allowing for change management most beneficial in retaining talent, strengthening teamwork, and improving productivity.

Put away the Ouija board and the tin foil hat! This session will show you how a liberal arts college forecasts its yearly incoming revenue and fundraising totals, all without machine learning or a doctorate in econometrics. By segmenting specific areas of giving, analyzing pledge payment schedules, improving proposal pipeline maintenance, observing statistical trends and nerfing the wildly optimistic gift officer projections that never come through, we will show you how to deliver actionable intelligence to our financial overlords in administration for both revenue and fundraising.

A review of the Williams College Affinity Network Dashboard project, including SQL data extraction, statistical analysis using R, and dynamic, Tableau-based visualizations. Goals of the project were to calculate the size and capacity of student affinity groups, assigning a personal network value to each alumnus. This allows us to pinpoint high-capacity networks that warrant attention from development staff, infusing greater socioeconomic diversity into prospect portfolios. We are also able to identify alumni of influence and facilitate personal connections with hard-to-reach prospects.

Let’s get ready to rumble! Step into the environment of a charged up high school debate, on three hot fundraising topics: Are wealth ratings helpful, or useless? Should you hire more data people or front line fundraisers? Is donor engagement or cultivation more important? Howard and Brian will make their pitch on each side, cross-examine each other “politely,” and take your votes for the winner of each round. With live audience feedback, this action-packed session will feature key data and examples of what advancement leaders are doing to change the debate about fundraising. Bring your opinions, and join the debate!