All sessions are Central Time.
All Wednesday afternoon sessions are at the DePaul Conference Center, 8th Floor, 1 E. Jackson Blvd.
1:30-2:45 p.m. – Breakout Sessions
Donor Data Beyond Your Backyard
Liz Sullivan, Northwestern University
Auditorium Room 8005
Northwestern has its own useful internal prospect scoring models, but has augmented its data with additional external third-party information. Hear what they’re accessing, how it’s being used, and how it’s added a new window on prospect identification and segmentation strategies.
How to Talk Good -or- Crafting a Message that will Connect with Donors
Josh Agee, Vinyl Marketing
Room 8002
Sometimes, it can feel like the messages you send out to your donor base end up somewhere near the darkest corner of a bottomless void. You put in so much work, but the results just aren’t what they could be. But, what if you could say the right thing, at the right time, to the right person? That’s what this talk is all about. You’ll learn how to identify your donors’ specific motivations and what really spurs them to action, how brand and donor personalities factor into the equation, how to turn empathy into your go-to superpower, why good cadences are necessary for winning both hearts and minds, and so much more.
Alumni/Donor/Member/Friend Engagement Metrics – What Are They, How Do You Track Them, and What Do You Do With the Data Once You Have It?
John Taylor, John H. Taylor Consulting (Moderator), with with Bob Rickards, St. Norbert College, and JoHanna Young, Manchester University
Room 8010
We will begin the conversation by reviewing CASE’s Alumni Engagement Metrics (AEM) initiative and survey and understand why, nationally, institutions are looking at engagement metrics as a broader measure of an organization’s success. Participation still matters but does not tell the whole story. We will hear from organizations dabbling with these measurements and learn how they came up with their formula. We will conclude with an open discussion to answer the question, “Now that we have all this data, what’s next?”
Launching the Longhorn Digital Ambassadors: Authentic Video Donor Engagement
Justin Killingsworth, UT Austin and Justin Ware, firstname.co
Room 8009
Authentic, video-driven storytelling drives fundraising. That’s the theory behind the University of Texas Austin’s Longhorn Digital Ambassador program. As UT Austin moves past the pandemic and back to business as usual, the LDA program is bringing alumni and donors back into the fold through compelling, personalized video content. Hear from UT Austin annual giving leadership and partner company firstname.co on…|
✔ How to build a student video fundraising team from scratch
✔ How to increase engagement with authentic video at scale
✔ Building a pipeline of talented young fundraisers
2:45-3:15 p.m. – Break
3:15-4:45 p.m. – Breakout Sessions
The Recurring Riddle of Regular Giving Programs
Bob Burdenski, Robert Burdenski Annual Giving
Auditorium Room 8005
We’ve chased the elusive, effective recurring giving program for years. We’re proud that we can set up a recurring gift, but most educational institutions (and other not-for-profits) still struggle to attract significant numbers of recurring gift (monthly or otherwise) donors. There are successes to be found in other sectors (PBS) and even other countries (UK). What are the obstacles – and solutions – here in the U.S.? Come and see a collection of recurring giving strategies for promoting, stewarding, recognizing and sustaining a recurring donor base. Bob will share a range of samples from a variety of institutions.
Direct Mail: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics
Sara Pond and Matt Sulzer, MCR
Room 8002
Is it time to spice up your approach? Direct mail is fundamental to building the donor pipeline, but with new channels in the mix it may be time to revisit your mail strategy. Join this conversation to discuss printing hallmarks that target the right people, grab donor attention, calendar the project, and integrate storytelling to optimize results. Attendees will receive free samples from other institutions and gain insights on:
Audiences – segmenting, engagement, personalization Calendaring – channel integration, production, timing Design – photos, layout, color Packaging – envelopes, paper stocks, inserts
You Can’t Manage What You Can’t Measure – Prospect Development Metrics
Robin Schneider, and Erin Doyle Liss, DePaul University with John Taylor
Room 8010
We will explore the evolving world of Prospect Development – it’s not just about research anymore. Once we research, we need to assign and manage! But how can we tell if we are having an impact? Our session will spend time defining the field of Prospect Development and digging into its core components. With that foundation, we will discuss the importance of gathering data to inform ourselves and leadership about our activities and performance. We will review accountability measures, metrics, benchmarking, who and what we need to manage, and Key Performance Indicators (KIIs and KPIs). We will wrap the session up with a discussion on assessing our programs. Throughout the session, we welcome your suggestions on what data to collect and what measurements should be managed!
A Faculty/Staff Fundraising Forum
Jessica Tedamrongwanish, Milwaukee School of Engineering
Room 8009
With a faculty and staff appeal that first began during COVID lockdown and has now grown to more than 50% participation, MSOE has a great fundraising story to tell. Hear from Jessica how they did it, and bring your own questions and answers to this faculty and staff giving forum.
5:00-6:30 p.m.
Conference Opening Reception at the Palmer House
Sponsored by MCR
Please wear your conference badge to the reception.