2024 Friday Morning July 26 – Breakout Sessions

All sessions are Central Time.  

All Friday sessions are at the DePaul Conference Center, 8th Floor, 1 E. Jackson Blvd.

9:00-10:15 a.m. – Breakout Sessions

A Digital Fundraising Forum
Megan Karwacki, Loyola University Chicago, Sarah Tews, DePaul University, Ramona Maza, University of Illinois Chicago
8005

It’s a one-stop-shopping forum for all of the digital fundraising topics and questions that you didn’t get addressed or answered in any other session at the conference. Join our deep-dive digital moderators for an open exchange of ideas, solutions, strategies and more.

A Healthcare Annual Giving Forum (In Two Parts)
Patients, Physicians, Providers, Policies, and Pipelines
Meredith Howell, UChicago Medicine, Victoria Gajc, Northwestern Medicine, Alex Kwak, CommonSpirit Health Philanthropy, Andrew Gutierrez, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
8204

Healthcare institutions offer their own challenges (HIPAA) and opportunities (grateful patients, healthcare professionals, companies and the community) for annual giving fundraising. Join us for a special annual giving forum all about healthcare. Join us for a two-part forum that will share group information and discuss topics including:
✔ What does the prospect journey look like: from acquisition to renewal to major giving prospect?
✔ Using digital options to the fullest: emails, unique web landing page, ongoing impact updates;
✔ Tribute and 3rd-party giving-making the process easy and meaningful;
✔ What’s new in stewardship;
✔ Valuable vendors – Who are you using? Email vendors? Print? Business Associate Agreements?
✔ Giving initiatives: Doctor’s Day, Giving Day, Nurses Week? Do these help?

Getting (it) Out Of Your System:  Lessons Learned in Systems Selection
Christina Pulawski, Zuri Group
8206

With technology ecosystems becoming more complex, it’s important to have the right ingredients in place – and it seems every day, there’s a new tool introduced in the marketplace. You could be selecting or replacing the CRM at the core, doing a “bake-off” between two possible communications tools to integrate, or branching out into a whole new line of business: there is no “best” tool in any category, it’s what’s “best for you,” considering your needs, culture and users. In this session, we’ll share the elements of a disciplined approach, and how they’ve been applied at different organizations.

Filling the Funnel: Engagement Centers and DXO Strategies
Emily Etzkorn, VanillaSoft
8002

From unaware to loyal giver, your constituents travel a journey to becoming a donor. It’s your role to make sure they land in a place that can answer their questions, support their connection to your institution, and nurture that relationship. Join VanillaSoft Fundraising Evangelist Emily Etzkorn for this session, and dive into the idea that your Engagement Center can and should be playing a crucial role in not just finding one-time donors, but also filling your DXO funnel and helping each and every donor land in the correct place at your organization. Discuss donor loyalty and pipeline development, strategies for leveraging your Engagement Center alongside your DXO program, and more!

10:15-10:30 a.m. – Break

10:30-11:45 a.m. – Breakout Sessions

Favorites From the 25th Annual Giving Appeal and Idea Exchange
Bob Burdenski
8005 

For 25 years, Bob Burdenski has hosted an annual exchange where hundreds of institutions share thousands of annual giving innovations, ideas and success stories. Awesome appeals, terrific technologies, dynamic discoveries and marvelous messages. It was a great year of pushing the envelope in direct mail, digital and beyond. Come and see 3-time CASE Innovations in Annual Giving author Bob Burdenski dump out his bag of BOB (Best of the Bunch) favorites for some of the clever fundraising ideas of the year.

A Healthcare Annual Giving Forum (In Two Parts)
Patients, Physicians, Providers, Policies, and Pipelines
Meredith Howell, UChicago Medicine, Victoria Gajc, Northwestern Medicine, Alex Kwak, CommonSpirit Health Philanthropy, Andrew Gutierrez, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
8204

Healthcare institutions offer their own challenges (HIPAA) and opportunities (grateful patients, healthcare professionals, companies and the community) for annual giving fundraising. Join us for a special annual giving forum all about healthcare. Join us for a two-part forum that will share group information and discuss topics including:
✔ What does the prospect journey look like: from acquisition to renewal to major giving prospect?
✔ Using digital options to the fullest: emails, unique web landing page, ongoing impact updates;
✔ Tribute and 3rd-party giving-making the process easy and meaningful;
✔ What’s new in stewardship;
✔ Valuable vendors – Who are you using? Email vendors? Print? Business Associate Agreements?
✔ Giving initiatives: Doctor’s Day, Giving Day, Nurses Week? Do these help?

How NOT to Do a CRM Conversion
Chris Amherst, University of Chicago
8206

In the best of circumstances, digital transformation projects like CRM conversions are challenging. Depending on who you ask, 20% to 70% of these projects will fail (and CIOs/VPs will have different definitions of failure). They start with the best of intentions, wanting to elevate our organization’s ability to reach its goals. However, several cardinal sins may lead your project astray to failure or result in a steep cost to success. Bring your questions and join us for a lively discussion on “How NOT to do a CRM Conversion”!

11:45-Noon – Break

Noon – 1:00 p.m. – Closing Session

AI, USN&WR, DAFs, VSE, DXOs, LAG and More:
Reviewing the 2024 MMOTM Alphabet Soup
Closing Session with Conference Faculty
8005 

Join us for a grand finale review of conference sessions, as we share some favorite take-aways, words of wisdom and inspired ideas from this year’s conference.   Ask your final questions, and hear some final thoughts.