Noon – 1:30 PM          
Registration

1:30 – 2:30
Welcome and Opening Conversation
This is your conference, let’s start it out right! Join the conference faculty to kick off the conference, meet your fellow attendees and set the stage to make the most of our time together.

3:00 – 4:00

• (Don’t) Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
  Do your events sometimes feel like The Never Ending Story? Do you need to turn the same annual event into an Affair to Remember?  Come and explore the art and science of planning an event. 
  
  Whether your event is a dinner for 6 people or a gala for 600, having a strategic plan will ensure that it runs smoothly, that you stay on or under budget, and that your event goals are met and your guests have a meaningful experience.  With a nod to Hollywood, learn to incorporate meaningful messaging, tangible measurements and artistic flair into your event, from beginning to end. 
• Architecture of a Development Event  
  This presentation will provide tips for managing speakers and keeping your program on track, and of course, the importance of Singing in the Rain with a back-up plan. The discussion will end with some real-life event “surprises” to see how you would have handled them. 
  
  Many institutions are using high-level events, such as gala dinners, to celebrate leadership donors. Determining the right content and program can sometimes be a challenge. How can you work in a fundraising message? How do you celebrate key donors in person? Should you include University leadership? When and how do you use videos, special effects and dramatic design elements? When and how should you engage external vendors? As Boston University nears the close of its Choose to be Great campaign, it has taken stock of what works and what doesn’t.  Learn how BU has encountered challenges and achieved success, and come to share your best practices. 
• Creating Space by Closing Doors: Leveraging small intimate gatherings to educate through experience
  The way we teach and the way we learn has fundamentally shifted over the last generation, yet why do so many of our advancement events look like classrooms from the 1960s? The sage on the stage model has been replaced with vibrant, interactive classrooms where students serve communities and collaborate closely with their peers. What does this mean for the design and shape of events? In this session we will explore how to close doors to create an intimate, alternate universe where we can better educate constituents through interactive and experimental events.
• Everybody’s Working for The Weekend: Taking World Class Engagement on Tour
  From conception to execution, EVERYBODY in William & Mary Advancement is WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND! We’ll “start from the start” on how we created a world class engagement weekend that brings the best of William & Mary – our distinguished professors, vibrant network of Tribe faithful and unmistakable spirit of discovery – to a new city filled with captivating landmarks and thrilling opportunities. The result is a weekend unlike any other, complete with insider tours, intellectual panels, world-class events and the chance to celebrate alma mater wherever the Weekend takes us. You wanna be in the show . . . c’mon baby, let’s go!

4:15 - 5:00  
Wine Education 101 
Wine selection can really set the tone for event, but massive wine lists can be intimidating and overwhelming. Join sommeliers from the Philadelphia Wine School for a crash course in all things wine. You will learn how to taste the various flavor components of the 6 common wine varietals by breaking down the 5 S’s of wine tasting, which you can put into action at multiple wine tasting stations during the networking reception. 

5:00 - 6:00 
Networking Reception
Join conference speakers and your colleagues to network and socialize after the first day of the conference. Drink tickets and hors d’oeuvres will be provided.

6:00
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own.
Small group dine-around sign-ups will be available earlier in the day at the registration desk for attendees looking to join a group for dinner at nearby restaurants.

7:45 – 8:45 AM
Breakfast and Conference Mentorship Meetup 
Get to know your fellow conference attendees over breakfast. Attendees who opted to be matched with a conference mentor, mentee, or buddy can connect during this time. A continental breakfast will be provided. 

8:45 – 9:15     
Announcements and Quickfire Challenge 

9:15 – 10:30     
The Design of Engagement: Unlock your creative superpowers and generate breakthrough ideas for your attendees

The old saying goes, “Innovation is about seeing the world not as it is, but as it could be.” But how do you know what ideas are worth exploring and what will stick with your audience?

This interactive session invites you to discover how you as successful advancement professionals can identify market opportunities, build better experiments to test ideas and concepts, and reimagine constituent engagement. If you have an idea or concept you’ve been curious about, we will explore together how you can use tools like design thinking and the discovery funnel to create successful formulas for engagement and event success.

10:45 – 11:45             
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Your Roadmap for a High-Impact Event that Inspires and Motivates

  Looking for a new way to “wow” your highest-level prospects and most generous donors? This session will detail an event that has been extremely successful in reengaging alumni and friends, as well as helping to solidify their philanthropic intentions. 

  Inside Iowa, is a two-day, immersive event for a small number of guests, providing an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at some of our flagship programs, the best and brightest faculty and students, state-of-the-art facilities, and the transformative work being done on our campus. You’ll also learn how to adapt this concept for different audiences and how to take the event on the road. 

  In a world where it’s not always easy to report ROI for events, this is one where you absolutely can!

• Caviar Taste, Peanut Butter Budget: Exceptional Events with Limited Resources

  Let’s face it: events can be expensive and not every organization has the budgetary capacity to deliver a $100,000+ production. With the demand for events continuing to increase despite educational institutions' budgetary limitations, it’s important to be a savvy event producer and fundraiser. 

  In this workshop, you’ll learn specific tools that will help you maximize your resources and produce exceptional events. We’ll discuss strategies for sponsorship engagement, the art of DIY, budget reporting, metrics for success, and working with your leadership to grow your budget over time. You’ll leave confident that your event will successfully highlight your organization’s mission, engage key stakeholders, and meet your fundraising goals. Peanut butter never tasted so good!

• Storytelling and Live Events in Higher Education
  Explore the fundamentals of good storytelling, including understanding your audience and your institution’s message, and how to identify the “characters” of your story. Review the various modes of storytelling that work best during live events, with a special emphasis on advancement-focused events in higher education.

• “I want to be in the Wonder…” And other lessons learned to reach event success
  Learn how to shift your perspective, empower your volunteers, and adjust your marketing content strategy to bring your events to the next level. This interactive session will take a deep dive into what it takes to leverage your board and volunteers to help reach your event goals. Learn strategies and exercises on how to tap into your creative mindset and market your event in fun and meaningful ways. There are many components needed to fall into place for a successful event, this workshop will focus on working with volunteers, content creation, and budget friendly marketing tactics. Walk away from this session with concrete examples, exercises, and templates you can start using right away.

11:45 AM– 1:30 PM 
Lunch on Your Own

1:15 – 2:30        
Hit Me With your Best Shot: Faculty Lighting Q&A 
Similar to our morning quickfire challenges, this will be an opportunity to get some quick takes from our faculty leadership team on all things event planning.    

2:45 – 3:45      
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Do We Have Duct Tape? A Guide to Prepping Your Event Planner Toolbox
  Most alumni relations professionals would agree that their event planner toolbox can sometimes feel empty while most seasoned event professionals would say the same about their skills for alumni engagement. Join two professionals from both sides of the aisle as we share best practices in collaborative planning, reliable techniques for event production and the tools of the trade that will create purposeful events and programs to increase alumni engagement. No matter the size of your program or scale of your event, explore practical scenarios for how to handle the unexpected and how to learn from our collective successes and failures.
• Engaging Diverse Audiences with Affinity-Based Events
  Discuss two affinity-based signature events at the University of Texas at Austin. Learn how we turned a dying event into a fun, meaningful experience for all involved and how we are building a community for our alumni and students. Review tactics to increase alumni and donor engagement in marginalized groups through community-building events that engage both former and current students.
• Is It a Tradition or a Bad Habit? How to Refresh Your Annual Events
  Awards galas, reunions, scholarship lunches—annual events can reconnect, steward, honor, raise funds and educate. They require a significant amount of human and financial resources and are worth it if the goals are met. However, annual events can become routine and stale. The strategy behind a once successful event can get buried under a political pile of boxes to check. Or the need to create the same exact event each year can lead to your stakeholders declining to attend. Discuss ways to refocus annual events worth saving. Examine who your audience should be and adjust the event to attract them. Talk about when it is time to let an annual event die and how to manage the process.
• Putting a Ring on It: Marrying Events and Research
  Events are an integral element of constituent engagement and a vital component of an organization's outreach to alumni, donors and prospects. How can prospect research and events and engagement staff work together to better engage and steward donors and prospects? In this session, attendees will learn why prospect and donor research is essential for a successful engagement event and how to maximize the impact of events by creating attendee engagement and stewardship plans for gift officers, deans and even your president!

4:00 – 5:15
Open Forums by Specialty  
An informal and interactive Q&A discussion facilitated by conference faculty, which gives attendees the opportunity to raise their own challenges and share experiences related to best practices in working within all types advancement events. 

5:15
Conference Adjourns for the Day
Dinner on your own.
Small group dine-around sign-ups will be available earlier in the day at the registration desk for attendees looking to join a group for dinner at nearby restaurants.

7:45 – 8:45 AM
Breakfast and Roundtable Discussions
Join your peers for optional small group discussions during breakfast.

8:45 – 9:15
Announcements and Quickfire Challenge 

9:15 – 10:15      
Elective Sessions (choose one)

• Leverage Volunteers to Host Meaningful Events
  Do you work with volunteers who love event planning? Northwestern's Leadership Giving program has moved from large and expensive events to intimate donor-underwritten affairs that garner higher attendance and increased giving. Learn how to leverage volunteers and donors to create unforgettable and meaningful experiences for prospective donors.
• Multiday, Immersive, High-Touch Experiential Programs for Alumni
  Learn how to create a multiday program with a strong tie to your university's mission, a feeling of exclusive access for your alumni, and a high-touch experience for the participants. Discuss the process of planning and executing experience: Building the Dream, a four-day educational program that honored the legacy of one of BU's most distinguished alumni, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with travel to four cities in two states for 30 alumni. From the first conversation with the faculty presenter to the ongoing stewardship of the alumni who participated, this program made a lasting impact on all involved. Learn how you can create the same high-value experience for your alumni.
• Partnering for Success:  Navigating The Vendor-Client Relationship
  The work that we do is all about relationships.  Relationships with alumni and donors, as well as internal and external partners.   When does it make sense for institutions to seek outside support to produce an event or series of events? What is involved in effectively navigating the vendor-client relationship to execute a flawless, authentic and emotionally-charged event? Mark Terranova, SVP, Client Engagement at August Jackson and Sarah Winkler, Managing Principal at Educe, will join Meg Umlas, Director of Campaign and Development Events at Boston University in a candid and interactive conversation. They will examine the expectations leading up to an event partnership; and share past experiences that helped shape relationships with current and former clients and vendors.

10:30 – 11:30
Future of Events and Industry Trends Panel

11:30 AM– Noon
Conference Wrap-up and Final Q&A   

Noon
Conference Adjourns

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The hotel rate is not included in your conference registration fee. You are responsible for making your own hotel reservation.

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For Further Assistance

If you need assistance or to request an invoice, please visit the member support center, M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. ET.

The hotel rate is not included in your conference registration fees. You are responsible for making your own hotel reservation. Book your room online. Occasionally, room blocks fill before the hotel deadline, although hotels may have additional rooms at a higher rate. Please make your reservation immediately to ensure the discounted rate and availability.

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