Archives

Enhance Donor Experience by Conducting an Acknowledgement Audit

Conduct a successful donor acknowledgement audit at your institution to enhance donor recognition and engagement. Overview Institutions offer myriad giving opportunities that donors might choose to support. From the unrestricted gift to the gift supporting a scholarship or program, many institutions offer dozens or even hundreds of ways donors can allocate their gifts. Unfortunately, with decentralized institutions, a multitude of giving options can lead to inconsistencies in the ways that units, programs, divisions, and schools acknowledge their gifts. For instance, some units or programs may have the resources to acknowledge their donors’ generosity promptly, while others may struggle to acknowledge them even within the recommended two-week time period. In still other instances, a gift may languish in a forgotten fund and be overlooked for months—or even forever! These kinds of delays or inconsistencies with gift acknowledgements can diminish the experiences of your donors and negatively impact your retention rate, causing you to lose contact with even your most loyal and generous donors. Join us in this online training to help you prepare to conduct a gift acknowledgement audit at your institution by learning the steps that the University of Chicago took toward ensuring that their donors receive the thanks they […]

Building Confidence as a New Leader: Discussion on May 10

Connect with new leaders across higher education to overcome self-doubt. Overview The internal barriers new leaders face when starting a new role or project can hold them back from being successful. Negative self-talk, the inability to accept praise, and feedback that is based on your identity rather than your actions can all hinder your ability to make decisions and lead others. Join us for a one-hour discussion where we’ll strategize ways to work through your fears and difficulties with leadership.   Who Should Attend Attendees of our recent live training, Building Confidence as a New Leader: Overcoming Internal Barriers, or those who have viewed the recording will benefit most from this discussion opportunity. Leaders who are new to their roles or who have recently transitioned to a new and higher level of responsibility will also find it relevant. Although it is not necessary to watch the recorded training before attending this discussion, we recommend that you do so in order to make the most of the experience. The Academic Impressions Online Learning Experience Intentionally Designed Online Learning Our virtual trainings go far beyond just replicating PowerPoint presentations online: these experiences are intentionally designed to give you the kind of robust […]

Building Confidence as a New Leader: Discussion on April 25

Connect with new leaders across higher education to overcome self-doubt. Overview The internal barriers new leaders face when starting a new role or project can hold them back from being successful. Negative self-talk, the inability to accept praise, and feedback that is based on your identity rather than your actions can all hinder your ability to make decisions and lead others. Join us for a one-hour discussion where we’ll strategize ways to work through your fears and difficulties with leadership.   Who Should Attend Attendees of our recent live training, Building Confidence as a New Leader: Overcoming Internal Barriers, or those who have viewed the recording will benefit most from this discussion opportunity. Leaders who are new to their roles or who have recently transitioned to a new and higher level of responsibility will also find it relevant. Although it is not necessary to watch the recorded training before attending this discussion, we recommend that you do so in order to make the most of the experience. The Academic Impressions Online Learning Experience Intentionally Designed Online Learning Our virtual trainings go far beyond just replicating PowerPoint presentations online: these experiences are intentionally designed to give you the kind of robust […]

Partnering with Faculty in Grateful Patient Fundraising: Elements of a Training Guide

Engage grateful patients more effectively by deepening your relationships with medical faculty. Overview Faculty and development professionals must share a commitment to philanthropy in order for a grateful patient fundraising (GPFR) program to be successful. Building trust, respect, and rapport is best accomplished through a strategic process that involves educating and training medical faculty partners. When your medical faculty understands the “why,” the “how,” and the “what” of your GPFR program, it is often much easier to engage grateful patients and successfully close gifts. This training will discuss the essential elements of a training guide that development professionals should consider in their initial meetings with faculty as they begin a partnership in GPFR. Join us in this useful online training to deepen your capability as a gift officer in academic medicine and learn ways to successfully achieve buy-in from your medical faculty partners.   Who Should Attend This webcast is for gift officers who work in academic medicine fundraising and rely upon successful partnerships with medical faculty to solicit and close philanthropic gifts. AGENDA May 25, 2022 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Eastern   Our expert instructor will discuss the topics you may want to incorporate into a training guide […]

Portfolio Prioritization: Maximizing Opportunities for Your Donor Pipeline

Chart a path for success in your portfolio management by understanding your data and donor relationships. Overview A portfolio is the engine that drives a gift officer’s work and sets them up for future success. However, for new or seasoned professionals alike, opportunities to look at your portfolio with a different viewpoint can be highly beneficial as you seek to understand your portfolio data and prioritize donor relationships. Additionally, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions are facing a reset moment with their portfolios as they are able to travel again to meet donors in person. Join us for this webcast to learn how to identify key data points in your portfolio which you can then use to cultivate relationships with your donors and chart a path for success in your own portfolio management.   Who Should Attend This webcast is for advancement professionals, particularly frontline fundraisers and donor relations staff who want to learn how to prioritize their portfolios. If you manage frontline fundraisers, invite your team to this training. AGENDA April 29, 2022 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Eastern   Prioritizing Key Donors and Prospects Through a strategic approach incorporating your prospects’ demonstrated affinity for your institution, as […]

Bridging the Process Gap for Major Gifts Between Advancement Services and Frontline Fundraising

Develop an efficient process to ensure your major gifts receive proper institutional placement and acknowledgment Overview When your institution receives a major gift, whether in the form of one single gift or through a multi-year pledge, it is important to manage that gift accurately. This includes placing the gift in its appropriate account on campus, ensuring that pledge reminders are sent out and payment secured in a timely manner, and that the donation is used according to donor intent. However, when frontline fundraisers introduce new gifts, the institutional destination and purpose of the gift can get lost in translation as it makes its way to advancement services for processing. Therefore, it is vital to ensure that the processes between advancement services and frontline fundraising are sound and that communication is consistent to prevent circumstances that can lead to loss in revenue, missed pledges, or money spent incorrectly. Join us for this online training to learn how the University of Utah created a new position specific to addressing these common problems within advancement. This session will help your shop to identify and scale your current process by adopting some of Utah’s best practices to better streamline communication across these two areas. […]

Let’s Talk About Race and Collective Responsibility

Situate your understanding of individual race dynamics within a broader context. Overview It is no surprise that in the United States, racial tensions—especially between Black and White Americans—are alive and well and continue to do harm. For example, those who are Black-presenting do not get to choose or operate from the historically privileged social identities such as class, age, or ableism that White-presenting people do. In this session, therefore, you will learn how race dynamics between these two groups play out in European countries versus the United States. You will also examine how you communicate subconsciously to avoid or shut down conversations, either as a defense mechanism or to prohibit critical dialogue about racial inequity. Finally, you will learn strategies that will help us, as a collective, to move forward while simultaneously embracing the new challenges that are sure to come our way.   Who Should Attend This workshop series is designed for higher-ed professionals across all levels and functional areas who are a) seeking an opportunity for self-development, and b) committed to supporting the advancement of diversity and inclusivity efforts on their campus. VIEW SERIES PAGE The Academic Impressions Online Learning Experience Intentionally Designed Online Learning Our virtual trainings […]

Conflict Resolution: It’s What You Said AND How You Said It

Learn the art and science of effective communication in conversations about race. Overview A separate training in this educational series on racial inequity dialogue explored why conversations about racial inequity and bias can be so challenging, and now this session will help you to identify the root source of your discomfort and understand why a wide range of emotions in such moments is natural. In this workshop series, we will therefore examine historic and current roadblocks to true connection, barriers that can lead to distrust, and how we engage unconsciously with individuals based on their visible or assumed social identities. We will also explore how racial power dynamics influence everyday interactions and identify ways to challenge entrenched norms that influence how we choose to communicate and engage with each other.   Who Should Attend This workshop series is designed for higher-ed professionals across all levels and functional areas who are a) seeking an opportunity for self-development, and b) committed to supporting the advancement of diversity and inclusivity efforts on their campus. VIEW SERIES PAGE The Academic Impressions Online Learning Experience Intentionally DesignedOnline Learning Our virtual trainings go far beyond just replicating PowerPoint presentations online: these experiences are intentionally designed to […]

Uncomfortable Conversations are Necessary, Not Unkind

Learn the value and importance of engaging in difficult conversations despite your own personal discomfort. Overview For years, there has been an increasingly dominant narrative in our society about the importance of being kind or “politically correct.” While these are important principles, we must nevertheless unpack and examine how this narrative often gets in the way of difficult yet essential conversations about race and racial inequity. The truth is, if we are unwilling to engage with well-intentioned or well-meaning colleagues in critical conversations when bias appears, we are therefore consciously allowing for ignorance and harm to perpetuate. This means that conversations like these are not only critical, but also necessary for healing ourselves as individuals and as a collective. This first session will give you an opportunity to reflect on the messages you have learned over time about how to engage in conversations about race. We will explore how these messages have influenced your daily decisions to engage or disengage in difficult conversations over time. You will practice intentional engagement versus moving past uncomfortable scenarios and arrive at a place where you are more actively willing to take part in the conversation.   Who Should Attend This workshop series is […]