One of the greatest privileges of working in education is in a community filled with unbounded ambition. although most academic-development interaction centers around prospect and donor work, this session will explore ways we can cultivate meaningful relationships with members of the academic and campus community to strengthen fundraising potential and expand our intellectual curiosity. You can learn how to effectively identify who and how to approach them, maintain relationships, and build your own board of directors.

Collaboration crediting. Prospect assignment hierarchy. Portfolio assessment cadence. Prospect and portfolio transfer policies. These are just some of the Prospect Management (PM) relevant topics organizations wrestle with, whether their PM program is just starting out or has reach its maturity zenith. Join in the conversation on establishing PM policies and strategies from 3 perspectives: one with a fledging PM team, one with a mature PM program, and a gift officer's perspective on PM.

Looking for inspiration? In this session, you’ll see communication and marketing examples that use AI to solve problems, save time, spark creativity, and achieve successful outcomes. Plus, you’ll leave with a few AI best practices. Are you already getting creative with AI? As part of this session, you’re invited to share your AI success stories. Finally, you’ll hear about specific AI tools campuses are using now and what to look forward to trying next.

Like many organizations, advancement leaders and teams are determining when and how to integrate diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI&B) initiatives into program plans. Oftentimes, there is a question "why, do we need to...?" Not only is DEI&B work necessary, it should be integrated into every aspect of the plans, programs, events, and communications you execute. This session will help you to understand and be intentional in your efforts to create purposeful inclusion.

Data is at the heart of many decisions we need to make in Alumni Relations. Whether qualitative of quantitative, anecdotal or scientific, data should be the driving force behind the analysis of effective alumni engagement. Data-informed strategies and tactics can lead to the outcomes you desire for your campus. During this session, we will discuss the importance of data and how to best leverage the information you have at your disposal to improve engagement outcomes.

Alumni board volunteers partner with alumni staff in executing institutional/departmental goals for the alumni community. Defining specific roles and responsibilities for each volunteer leads to their accountability for how to achieve those goals. Don’t miss this train, as we embark on an overview of strategic alumni board management while making stops to discuss operations, governance, and pipeline development for future board leadership.

Events are at the heart of alumni engagement, and understanding the “art of gathering”, how to strategically approach events based on your intended outcomes and next steps, and the core elements of successfully planning and executing are critical. This session is designed to provide you with a tactical approach to events, as well as a modern approach to evaluating the outcomes and success of your events.

Let’s talk about the importance of digital engagement within alumni relations. We will explore various types of digital content, including social media interactions and virtual events, Hear about effective strategies for creating engaging content and measuring its impact. Additionally, gain inspiration from successful digital engagement initiatives implemented by CASE member schools.

Volunteers play an essential role in reaching goals and engaging the full alumni network. It is our job to match their passion and partner with them to achieve mutually beneficial results that enhance their experience and your program. In this session, we’ll discuss tips to recruit, retain, reward and yes – reassign or retire your volunteers. Join us to discover how you can manage alumni volunteers and maximize effectiveness in your day-to-day work, institutional mission, and engagement goals.

Ensuring alumni develop a lifelong affinity to your institution requires cultivating relationships throughout their time as students and as they transition to young alumni. Historically, alumni engagement efforts have not always included segmented student and young alumni programming and messaging, certainly not as a priority; however, recently, institutions are reconsidering how to best meet students and young alumni where they are, in spaces conducive to their evolving life stages. Come to this session to gain practical insights for strengthening your team’s student and young alumni engagement efforts.