More than ever, the advancement disciplines rely on each other to ensure school and institutional success. Learn how cross-discipline collaboration works (and sometimes doesn't) from a panel of leaders in alumni relations, fundraising, advancement services, and communications and marketing. Discover the current state and coming trends in collaboration across advancement disciplines. Your institutes' chairs will share examples of how fundraising, advancement services, alumni relations, and communications and marketing are working together to best serve their schools, colleges, and universities, and why that practice is imperative for future success.

Meet with faculty and a smaller group of attendees to help maximize your learning at the institute.

Inclusive philanthropy requires deliberate actions that permeate throughout advancement organizations. Advancement services, alumni relations, fundraising, and marketing and communication professionals will learn DEIB advancement strategies and work to develop a skill set that will add value to their organization.

Strategic and generative conversations are at the heart of our work. Questioning and listening are powerful life skills. First, they will help you create productive donor relationships. What organizations do you support with your philanthropy? Where are we on your list of philanthropies? How do you make your philanthropic decisions? What has been your most meaningful gift? Quality questions elicit amazing information that will guide you in the solicitation process and help you build relationships on campus with your supervisor, peers and faculty members. Learn how to develop questions instead of talking points that will inform your gift strategy, advance relationships, and result in a joyful, generous "Yes" to your request for increased engagement with your institution, a significant gift to one of your priorities or for whatever you were hoping that volunteer or colleague would do to help you achieve your goals.

Curious? Good, you’re in the perfect profession. 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.

All successful campaigns have four essential pillars: 1) Case; 2) Leadership; 3) Prospects; 4) A Plan. The absence of any one of these ingredients spells failure. Join us as we walk through a comprehensive campaign plan and review the essentials for success.

What's a Gift Agreement? Why are they important? What should or shouldn't be in a Gift Agreement? We'll cover the critical importance of a properly written Gift Agreement and how it benefits both your institution and the donor. We'll also cover the various regulations and laws that impact Gift Agreements. Give you guidance on how to write appropriate Gift Agreements that meet your donor's requests while also staying compliant.

Is Your Institution Prepared to Respond Effectively? A crisis is any event or situation that can negatively impact your institution’s reputation. Whether you’re dealing with an infectious disease on campus, a polarizing speaker, or a social media post that went viral for the wrong reasons, knowing how to respond effectively is vital. From managing day-to-day issues to responding to a public relations nightmare, using real-life examples, this session will share ways to anticipate, mitigate and manage your school’s reputation through strategic communication tactics that are timely and effective.

Data is at the heart of many decisions we need to make in Advancement. Whether qualitative or quantitative, anecdotal or scientific, data should be the driving force behind the analysis of effective alumni and donor 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.