The secret to effective and supported change is... there is no secret! It's a plan. It's a set of steps to unfold what used to be the way, and fold into what will be next. Believe it or not, regardless of the kind of change your team is undertaking, the path to get there is similar. In this session, we will walk through the playbook together, how it started, anecdotes about where it was tested with bumps and applied with success, and how you can use it as a framework the next time your team undergoes a change. From re-orgs to system change, fast growth to leadership change, this playbook will lay out strategies for messaging, communication, engagement, enablement, and support. It will outline different reactions and how to deal with them, different scenarios and how to approach them, and ways to keep leadership involved. Join Kate Nimety, President of Management Consulting at Zuri Group, for a workshop that will provide you with a toolkit for the next change that's around your corner!

CASE collects institutional-level data on philanthropy from around the world. Institutions which submit CASE surveys have access to this data, which they can leverage to identify and benchmark against similar institutions. In this session, we demonstrate how to use R to access SQL databases, create visualizations, and conduct regression analysis on philanthropy data. Upon completion, participants will be able to use data for storytelling and strategic thinking.

Amid rapid growth in data complexity and technology advancement, many organizations still struggle to manage, understand, and measurably improve their legacy and evolving data ecosystems. In this hands-on data lab, you will learn how to build flexible data enrichment models, reusable tools and repeatable processes to 1) establish a constituent data integrity index/baseline 2) explore, visualize and measure constituent data integrity 3) identify and prioritize opportunities to improve your overall data quality in systematic and sustainable ways towards insights, equity and efficiency.

"Join us for an interactive and guided panel discussion on automating the collection of marketing data, processing this data (ingest, deduplication, matching), and analyzing the data collected (visualize, report, insight delivery). In this session, plan to have open, casual dialogue with the panelists and your DRIVE peers on innovative strategies that streamline the automation of marketing communications such as event data, survey feedback, web analytics, social media, or email interactions. Whether you are just starting with your first survey, or you are looking to find solutions to better marketing automation, you will walk away from this session with useful perspectives on automation and practical applications of data collection."

Personalization matters, and in today's world of AI-driven technology, truly personalizing the donor experience is possible for any size organization. Join this session to see how new technology can help you change your outreach from "send everything to everyone" to producing a truly tailored experience for each donor. Hear key metrics from millions of communications about the power of personalization and how it can more than triple open rates. And hear how St. John's University transformed engagement with new technology that allows for personalization at scale. It's time to do donor engagement smarter, and if you're ready to ignite the passion of individual supporters using new tactics, this session is for you.

I will summarize some of my research findings about bequests and I will explain why I utilized the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) publicly available dataset. Specifically, I will discuss my research comparing Caucasians and African Americans on their self-rated importance of leaving a bequest to family, charity, and religion, possible reasons for the bequest gap, and what opportunities this presents for education and service to an underserved community. I will wrap up with my study that explores whether lifetime donors to different types of charities also differ in the importance they place on leaving a charitable bequest. As a whole, individuals give more during life, through annual and major gifts, than they do at death. Many of these donors are an untapped resource for planned gifts, some more than others, and this data about which donor types are most likely to be interested in a charitable bequest could inform our conversations about philanthropy.

Discover the valuable insights gained from Johns Hopkins University and Medical Center, who have successfully completed their CRM implementation, Texas Tech Foundation, currently in the midst of implementation, and UC Berkeley, actively planning their CRM implementation. Join us to unravel the mysteries and challenges that marked the critical initial months of these projects. Come prepared with your inquiries, and gain a firsthand understanding of their experiences and strategies for ensuring success. Learn about the unexpected discoveries that emerged at the outset and the key focal points as each project progresses.

Sometimes, we’re asked questions that feel like they’re in a different language. At times, we really are speaking two different languages and translation is a challenge. But all languages have some things in common and with a little work, you can often find creative solutions to communicate with one another. Have you been asked to articulate and support your request for expanded staffing? What about being asked to predict cash receipts for University budgets during times of economic uncertainty? The finance office or Dean wants to see one thing, but your fundraising database isn’t exactly aligned. This session will present several ways existing data can be used to help development leadership clarify the need for additional staff resources, articulate the impact gift officers have on total fundraising results, and demonstrate ways in which past and projected staffing and cash receipts can predict cash flow in a language both sides understand. No shouting, pointing, or 'cave speak' required.

Most Prospect Management models rely on the gift cycle to categorize prospects. But is this the most accurate way to describe a prospect's philanthropic engagement with the institution? Does a prospect being cultivated for their first major gift really fall in the same category as a seasoned donor being cultivated for their 10th? The Prospect Development Team at Temple University decided to reframe the way they code and report on prospects based on simple measurements on the donors' records. This enabled the team to engage with the fundraisers they partner with to uncover new opportunities and allowed fundraisers to approach their portfolios in a more strategic way.

Are our donor funds being utilized? Are there any fund issues we need to address? Should we be worried when we send out our annual donor fund reports? If you’ve ever had these concerns, you’re not alone. In recent years, many nonprofit organizations have been grappling with similar questions, finding little guidance on this vital aspect of any advancement operation. Join us in this session as we look at the University of Nebraska Foundation’s journey to grow its funds management team from the ground up, leveraging donor fund data along the way. It’s time to bring the discussion on funds management challenges out of closed-door conversations and begin an industry dialogue to identify what tools, resources, and standards need to be in place to successfully manage and steward donor funds. Whether you are new to funds management or seasoned in the field, come prepared to share your experiences and glean insights from others in this collaborative space.