Join conference chair, Ayanna McConnell, and faculty leadership to learn how to get the most out of your time at the conference while getting a framework on giving and engagement trends for young alumni and students.

Meet colleagues from similar institutions and discuss some of the reasons why you’re attending. We’ll also use this time to explore some hot topics/challenges facing young alumni and students and work as a team at your tables to develop strategies to meet them.

Design your Alumni Engagement Timeline Today! Alumni Engagement plays a crucial role in fostering a strong connection between institutions and their graduates. Teaching current students about the value of being an engaged alum, creates a lifelong relationship that benefits both the individuals and the institution. In this session we explore the Alumni Engagement Timeline together and design a model that engages the significance of collaboration across institutions and campus partners. We will share how we are leveraging these collaborations at the University of Washington to enhance every UW student’s Husky Experience. Activity: participants will be asked to creatively approach a scenario requiring bold innovative thinking about how advancement adds value to current students and alumni at their institution.

In a busy world of multi-channel communications, direct mail and social media continue to be tried-and-true vehicles for annual giving and engagement. When competing for attention, what makes your mail piece, tweet, or post stand out and get noticed? We will talk about strategies for compelling content regardless of channel and how different types of organizations, both large and small, can get big results from direct mail and social media.

Providing a consistent experience as students transition to young alumni has a profound influence on their connection with their alma mater for the rest of their lives. In recent years, Penn has been strategic in creating student programming that easily translates into initiatives for young alumni with the goal of cultivating sustainable philanthropy. In this session, attendees will learn how Penn's Young Alumni and Student Philanthropy team welcomes recent graduates into the young alumni community through thoughtful communication, events, and volunteer opportunities.

Initiatives centered on diversity, equity, inclusion and justice have been a focal point for many organizations, but sustaining this important work is a key to long term impact. Add to that the competing priorities for alumni networks, institutional drivers and societal impacts, and early momentum towards inclusion and belonging work may subside. Join Tomitha and Ayanna for an interactive session highlighting strategies to partner with alumni on sustainable DEIB initiatives. You will get a deep dive on the LEAD Scholars Program, a merit-based scholarship community for underrepresented minority students at Michigan administered by the Alumni Association, and hear more about UW’s Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP), founded in 1994 and dedicated to promoting diversity at the UW and in the UW alumni community.

Data is at the center of any successful program. We strive to make data-driven decisions, but the concept of creating reports from scratch can be overwhelming at times. Yet reporting on results is essential to build plans, improve performance, and evaluate successes. In this session, we’ll talk about how to effectively…and efficiently track key performance indicators for annual giving and engagement by channel, segment, and project. Math or statistics degree not required!

Gaining and retaining young alumni donors is a hard nut for any institution to crack. In this working session, participants will read and engage in a guided analysis of a case study focused on young alumni prospects who have yet to become donors. We will discuss the basic elements of a successful solicitation and then engage in a free-flow, no holds barred brainstorming session, sharing creative ideas for the solicitation. Participants will then break out into small groups to create a solicitation, soup to nuts, which will be shared with the group. Attendees will leave the session having a strategically driven understanding of how to craft successful solicitations; they will understand how to unlock their creativity; and they will have a handful of solicitation templates to consider for their institution.

With multiple units across campus working to engage students, it can be difficult to constantly create new programs and initiatives. Using experiences gained by a professional with a background in student and academic affairs, this session will share best-practices, skills and strategies on how to strategically collaborate with various campus units, such as the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of the President, to best support everyone's goals. Additionally, this session will share examples of how students have enhanced major campus-wide initiatives, such as philanthropy efforts, involvement with Board of Trustees, etc., working smarter, not harder.

Join the Faculty as they lead 10-minute lightning talks on trending topics in young alumni and student engagement. We'll wrap up the session with Q&A so bring your questions!