With the billion-dollar campaign increasingly becoming the norm in higher education fundraising, many institutions have met these ambitious goals by turning to a shrinking pool of high-wealth donors. However, these transactional interactions only increase the percentage of alumni who feel the relationship with their alma mater has been undervalued or forgotten. You will leave this session with a better understanding of this phenomenon and similar issues that frame the challenge of the future of fundraising success.

Building on the content of the previous discussion, this session will dig into the specifics of how deans can foster a culture of philanthropy at their institution. We will highlight three key building blocks: appreciation, affiliation, and agency. We will also take an in-depth look at what has worked well over time and allow you to identify where there are opportunities for improvement within your existing structures.

Your advancement team is going to be your greatest support in your philanthropic efforts and interactions with donors. Having a clear understanding of what advancement does, and where their obligations begin and end, will go a long way to build this critical relationship. We will discuss the portfolios that gift officers manage and how they utilize prospect research. You will learn to what capacity your advancement colleagues can support you and what tools they have to offer in the cultivation and solicitation process.

From former students to other alumni and even parent connections, faculty and academic leaders have unique connections to an institution’s external stakeholders. It is imperative you keep advancement staff apprised of these connections to keep development officers operating at peak performance; the more disciplined the communication, the greater the potential for institutional growth. You will leave this hour equipped with methods of ensuring that these interactions are communicated, tracked, and responded to as needed.

Fundraising success—already difficult in this philanthropic climate—is only more complicated when donors are presented with numerous giving opportunities. Our experts will provide insights on how to crystallize your vision and help unify your external message across development staffers. You will leave this session equipped with a draft of fundraising priorities for you to share with your development officer and faculty members.

Approaching a prospect with a whitepaper draft can provide a substantive, early-stage connection to a project and allow you to build a focused, results-based relationship without social cultivation. Highlighting a variety of samples, we will show you how to develop whitepapers that motivate prospects to give.

Advisory boards can be helpful entities, but they often fail to reach their full potential. Their obstacles include: an ill-defined mission, unclear or poorly defined membership responsibilities, ineffective group interaction, or uninspired leadership. This session will help you troubleshoot your challenging advisory board situations and leave you equipped with tactics to make your advisory board more effective.