Gift officers can sometimes feel uncomfortable making the ask for a variety of reasons, and the anxiety they can produce may be felt and mirrored by donors, leading to a “no.” However, not making the ask can lead to missed opportunities and a loss of momentum with key prospects. A successful ask comes down to the relationship you’ve built with the donor, being clear about your role and intent, and a strong solicitation strategy that leads up to this moment. This approach requires knowing your prospect well: understanding their giving history, what motivates them to give, and the relationships they’ve built with the different stakeholders at your institution. Join this session to gain insights on how to strategically approach a prospect you have in mind to make the ask. When done right, this moment in a donor relationship should come organically with the assurance that the answer will be a yes—and if it is not, that the relationship will remain on solid ground, and you will get another opportunity to make an ask in the future. How It Works: If you missed the event when it took place in June of 2023 or you have been meaning to engage with […]
Principal gifts, defined differently at different institutions, can bring high-level success to your institutional priorities—especially those advocated by your president and academic leaders. By building out a disciplined principal gifts program, regardless of its current maturity, you can bring clarity to how your team and institutional stakeholders advance transformational ideas in partnership with your top donors. Challenges to this endeavor, however, can prevent teams from building out the program they want. Whether it’s lack of confidence speaking to and managing prospect relationships, managing donor fatigue, or having budget shortfalls with capital projects without donors in your pipeline to finish the job, developing an effective principal gifts program can help you prepare viable prospects who are poised and ready to give when the moment is right. Join us for this conversation on developing a disciplined principal gifts program, and preparing your institution for sustained success both now and into the future.
As an advancement professional, you engage with alumni, volunteers, donors, and colleagues from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and perspectives. At times, you may receive unsolicited or angry opinions about institutional decisions, or inquiries about national and global news or events as they unfold. These comments or questions can sometimes be polarizing and catch you off guard. For some of us, our natural tendency in these situations is to shut down, disengage, and become defensive. However, a critical requirement of the relationship cultivation process with internal and external constituents is staying present in these challenging moments and allowing the conversation to continue despite political, religious, or social differences. It is also just as critical to know when to exit these conversations safely and professionally, depending on the intensity of the situation and/or other factors. Join us for this four-part online workshop series, where you’ll learn how to respond professionally to difficult conversations with alumni, volunteers, donors, and colleagues. In community with other Advancement professionals across the nation, you will learn simple yet powerful techniques and practices to help you to stay present in difficult dialogues. The workshop series will also give you an opportunity to practice having difficult conversations through a variety of […]
Working in higher education now requires navigating remote, hybrid environments and supporting overextended students and colleagues while navigating institutional complexity and resource precarity. To show up for this kind of work, you must intentionally center your well-being to thrive in this ever-changing environment. In Part 1 of this workshop series, you assessed your well-being, identified your values, and crafted your own definition of success. In Part 2, you will spend time exploring strategies to stay connected to your larger purpose in your everyday work. Jennifer will show you time-based and mindset strategies such as: creating a model calendar, time tracking, thinking medium- and long-range, and more.
Working in higher education now requires navigating remote, hybrid environments and supporting overextended students and colleagues while navigating institutional complexity and resource precarity. To show up for this kind of work, you must intentionally center your well-being to thrive in this ever-changing environment. Join us for Part 1 of our interactive workshop series, Actualize Your Purpose. In Part 1, you will assess the current state of your well-being and reflect on the factors that most contribute to it. You’ll then explore how inherited norms shape your definition of success, so that you can create your own definition based on your values and the impact you want to have in the world. Finally, you’ll start documenting a practical and tangible plan that outlines the goals and tasks you’ll need to craft the meaningful life and career you desire.
Working in higher education now requires navigating remote, hybrid environments and supporting overextended students and colleagues while navigating institutional complexity and resource precarity. To show up for this kind of work, you must intentionally center your well-being to thrive in this ever-changing environment. In Part 1 of this workshop series, you assessed your well-being, identified your values, and crafted your own definition of success. In Part 2, you will spend time exploring strategies to stay connected to your larger purpose in your everyday work. Jennifer will show you time-based and mindset strategies such as: creating a model calendar, time tracking, thinking medium- and long-range, and more.
Working in higher education now requires navigating remote, hybrid environments and supporting overextended students and colleagues while navigating institutional complexity and resource precarity. To show up for this kind of work, you must intentionally center your well-being to thrive in this ever-changing environment. Join us for Part 1 of our interactive workshop series, Actualize Your Purpose. In Part 1, you will assess the current state of your well-being and reflect on the factors that most contribute to it. You’ll then explore how inherited norms shape your definition of success, so that you can create your own definition based on your values and the impact you want to have in the world. Finally, you’ll start documenting a practical and tangible plan that outlines the goals and tasks you’ll need to craft the meaningful life and career you desire.
As a leader in professional development for higher education leaders across the world, Academic Impressions prides itself on delivering quality content that is data informed and rooted in practical application. Over the past year we have had a number of conversations with member institutions who have been seeking out inclusive leadership training for their team but have found that very few workshops speak directly to a faculty audience. In response to requests from our members we have embarked on the development of a training program that will speak directly to our faculty audience, but rather than build it in a vacuum, we have worked with campus leaders from across the country to identify key topics and develop a program structure. This next phase is our attempt to determine if what we built truly does achieve our intended outcomes.
As a leader in professional development for higher education leaders across the world, Academic Impressions prides itself on delivering quality content that is data informed and rooted in practical application. Over the past year we have had a number of conversations with member institutions who have been seeking out inclusive leadership training for their team but have found that very few workshops speak directly to a faculty audience. In response to requests from our members we have embarked on the development of a training program that will speak directly to our faculty audience, but rather than build it in a vacuum, we have worked with campus leaders from across the country to identify key topics and develop a program structure. This next phase is our attempt to determine if what we built truly does achieve our intended outcomes.
Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts have provoked a tidal wave of fury from a broad swath of Americans, especially some White Americans, who believe such efforts paint all White people as “bad people.” Until we develop a more nuanced understanding of the White racial identity development process that decenters shame and guilt and recenters the damaging effects of structural racism on all of us, we will continue to elicit sharp resistance that stymies social justice struggles. In this interactive workshop, you will have a chance to further your own self-awareness and understanding by engaging with concepts around the history of Whiteness, White socialization, and the psychology of White racial development in the U.S. today. You will leave the event with:
