Maximize the Success of Your Next Campaign: A Conference for Campaign Leaders

Location: TBA | September 15, 2025 8:30 am MT - September 16, 2025 3:00 pm MT

Registrant Access Only

This training will not be available asynchronously.

Maximize the Success of Your Next Campaign: A Conference for Campaign Leaders

Location: TBA | September 15, 2025 8:30 am MT - September 16, 2025 3:00 pm MT


Confidently lead your campus through its next comprehensive campaign.

Overview

As a campaign leader, you may have felt pressure to skip some of the front-end planning necessary to evaluate the feasibility of your campaign, create the infrastructure of support, ensure buy-in and commitment from critical stakeholders, prepare your staff, and garner volunteer leaders.  However, in today’s competitive fundraising landscape, that is no longer an option. 

In this comprehensive two-day conference, our expert panel, whose members all offer extensive years of overseeing campaigns large and small at campuses of varying sizes, will take you on a deep dive into preparing the front-end planning of your next campaign. You will zoom out to see the full scope of what a front-end campaign analysis entails and gain practical tools and resources on the following topics.  

  1. Assessing your campus’s readiness for the campaign: Get clear on your campaign’s purpose, and evaluate how well-prepared your campus is to meet those goals, so that you can identify new philanthropic opportunities while mitigating potential risks. 
  1. Aligning critical campus partners with your philanthropic campaign goals: Identify who your critical academic and non-academic partners are and learn how to strategically collaborate with them to solicit ideas while collectively defining their philanthropic roles in your next big initiatives. 
  1. Maximizing staff and volunteer participation: Learn how to best prepare your team and volunteers so that they become invested, engaged, and serve as potential leaders in your next campaign.  
  1. Preparing for your audience: Begin strategizing your communication plans that the public—including current students, parents, board members, alumni, and prospective donors—will eventually consume. This includes how to use data to identify your donor prospects, and how to creatively position and brand your next campaign. 

Who should attend?

This conference is for mid-level and senior team members in advancement from all institution types and sizes, who are planning campaigns at any level, and who want to create a blueprint that will prepare them to cover the first critical steps in preparation for their next ones. If you’re new to advancement and want to learn about campaign planning and structure, this program is also ideal for you.

Register 3 or more people and get a team discount! Discounts will be automatically applied at check out.

What makes our events different?

Academic Impressions conferences provide the opportunity for quality conversations and relationship building through both formal and informal networking opportunities in an intimate setting. Our in-depth and hands-on approach to learning provides you with actionable takeaways.

Agenda

Additional details will be forthcoming, but for planning purposes we are able to provide the following information at this time:

Start & end times: Monday & Tuesday, September 15 – 16, 2025

Day 1: 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

  • Registration and breakfast begins at: 8:30 a.m.
  • Sessions begin at: 9:00 a.m.
  • Day 1 ends at: 5:30 p.m.

Day 2: 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

  • Breakfast begins at: 8:30 a.m.
  • Sessions begin at: 9:00 a.m.
  • Conference ends at: 3:00 p.m.

Meals included in registration price:

  • Day 1: Breakfast, lunch, and networking reception
  • Day 2: Breakfast and lunch

Sessions include:

  • Understanding the Value of Campaigns
  • Identifying and Assessing the Most Critical Campaign Planning Steps
  • Aligning Fundraising Goals with Academic Priorities
  • Partnering with Campus Partners
  • Preparing Your Team
  • Analyzing and Managing Your Campaign Prospects
  • Considerations for Creating a Volunteer Structure for Your Next Campaign
  • Considerations for Your Communications & Stewardship Strategies
  • Final Recommendations for Campaign Leaders

Reviews

If your institution is planning a campaign, register for this conference. The collective knowledge and experience of the presenters and the content will help you organize, plan and manage your next campaign

 

Excellent presenters, relevant and useful discussions with actionable follow-up suggestions, and very well organized by Academic Impressions. Well done, and worth the investment.

 

This conference was immensely valuable to anyone working in or planning for a comprehensive campaign! The faculty are incredibly knowledgeable and provide in-depth, tangible examples of what you can do to get your institution campaign ready or improve your existing campaign infrastructure. I cannot recommend this conference enough.

 

Capital Campaigns are widespread throughout higher education but contain much mystery about what they are and how to best carry one out from planning to completion. This conference is perfect for the new hire all the way to the seasoned vet who may be going into a campaign, in a silent phase, or the public phase. The presenters were knowledgeable, professional, and personable, who were more than happy to answer questions. I enjoyed the smaller group setting that allowed for a “safe space” to be created to really dig deep into best practices and share ways to turn challenges into opportunities. Would highly recommend.