Sharing the Annual Fund Fundamentals

Sunday, July 21

If you are arriving on Sunday, please email Paul Ryan (pryan@hamilton.edu).  We will be organizing a social gathering / BBQ for those early arrivals.

Tuesday, July 23

8 a.m.
Breakfast roundtable discussions
YA leadership giving (Lori Pongtana, Denison)
Athletics (Eric Tvedt, St. Olaf)
Student philanthropy (Paul Ryan, Hamilton)
Volunteers (Betsy Howard, Williams)
Collaboration with other departments (Kathy Marcello, Dickinson)
Consecutive giving societies (Caitlin Kiley, Washington and Lee)
Career movement (Carolyn Gray Kimberlin, Colby)
Parents (Annie Ellsworth, Kenyon)
Donor timing (Jon Hysell, Hamilton)
Overcoming challenges within the Annual Fund (Betsy Howard, Williams)
Kirner-Johnson Commons

9 a.m.
Plenary Session II  - Promising Annual Fund Innovations
James M. Langley, President, Langley Innovations
Annual funds afford many ways to test market fundraising concepts, approaches, and language, thereby allowing institutions to adopt those that produce the best results.  James Langley, President of Langley Innovations, will share innovative approaches being employed in annual funds across the country and explain which work best, why, and how to adapt them to differing environments.
Bradford Auditorium, Kirner-Johnson 125

10:30 a.m.
Coffee Break

11 a.m.
Breakout Session I
Tips and Tricks for the Annual Fund Rookie
Skylar Beaver, Director of the Annual Fund, Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Laura Christian, Director of The Wellesley Fund, Wellesley College
New to development and the annual fund? Feeling a bit overwhelmed? In this interactive presentation, we will share with you how to prioritize your work, book in-person visits, and effectively manage volunteers. You will leave this session with the tips and tricks we wish we had known when we started out.
Red Pit, Kirner-Johnson 127

On the Road Again: The Nuts and Bolts of Getting in the Door, Planning for a Successful (& FUN) Visit and Managing Responsibilities at Home
Carol Bassie, Associate Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving-Milestone Reunions, Haverford College
Garrett Preisser, Director of the Annual Fund, Rollins College
This session offers a discussion of challenges, successes and opportunities for cultivation and management of relationships on the road and at home. Topics covered will include prospect research, securing appointments, mechanics of traveling, planning a visit’s goals and strategies, deciding what to bring with you and immediate and long-term follow up. The session will also cover tips and tactics for managing priorities back in the office, whether you are a manager or juggling multiple responsibilities. Session is suitable for newcomers, experienced travelers and managers. Come with your own best practices (and maybe not-so-great practices to avoid).
Kirner-Johnson 101

Volunteer Management Best Practices – Panel Discussion
Nicole Schroeder, Associate Director, Carleton College
Betsy Danner, Associate Director, Colby College
Betsy Howard, Development Officer, Williams College
Carleton College, Colby College, and Williams College have more than 3,000 annual fund volunteers between the three schools – and managing that number of volunteers is no easy task. Come ask representatives of these three schools about their volunteer management techniques – from recruitment, to training, motivation and appreciation.
Kirner-Johnson 102

Promising Annual Fund Innovations- Discussion with Jim Langley
Following Jim Langley's talk, continue the discussion about how innovations could be applied in various settings represented by the conferees and to brainstorm about other potential breakthrough concepts.
Bradford Auditorium, Kirner-Johnson 125

12:30 p.m.
Working Lunch
Assistant/Associate/Managers/Guest Schools Directors
Kirner-Johnson Commons

Directors Lunch Discussion
Sadove Student Center at Emerson Hall, Conference Room 112

1:45 p.m.
Breakout Session II
Future of the Annual Fund
Maria Tardugno Aldrich, Director of the Annual Fund, Davidson College
Shawn Dailey, Director of Annual Giving, Kenyon College
Carolyn Kimberlin, Director of the Colby Fund, Colby College
As Directors, we are all constant questioning the importance  and relevance of the Annual Fund.  What are the primary goals?  What are the big picture accomplishments?  How are we marketing the Annual Fund?  Where are we going? What are the growth opportunities? Join these veteran STAFF Annual Fund Directors for an engaging conversation about the Annual Fund’s past, present, and future.
Red Pit, Kirner-Johnson 127

Student Giving and Engagement: Then and Now
Emiko Boezeman, Assistant Director of the Colby Fund, Colby College
Lindsay Roth, Assistant Director of the Annual Fund, Vassar College
Colby and Vassar are two institutions that look toward a four-year student philanthropy model to maximize the opportunity to engage students while they are on campus. Colby is in itsfirst year of implementing a student philanthropy and engagement program; Vassar has been succeeding for the last five years through thoughtful programming, collaborating with the career development office and recently transitioning from a senior gift to an all class giving model. This session will showcase what each school has done to get its programs off the ground, what they are doing beyond their Senior Gift Campaigns, and the successes and challenges they have faced along the way. An interactive discussion will allow us to learn what others are doing, with the hope that you will come away with helpful ideas on how to start or enhance your existing programs.
Kirner-Johnson 101

Reunion Giving & Volunteers
Caitlin Kiley, Associate Director of Annual Giving, Washington & Lee
Mary Risner, Interim Director of Annual Giving & Director of Reunion Giving, Franklin & Marshall College
Reunions provide your shop the chance to showcase campus improvements, network with alumni, and educate a large number of constituents about your current institutional needs. Hear from two institutions with proven success in Reunion Giving with a focus on how they utilize reunion volunteers. This session will provide an in-depth look at best practices for ensuring reunion committees give your institution their finest effort. We will brainstorm ways to select and then motivate volunteers. We will also strategize on how to handle non-performing committees. Learn also how to combat the post-reunion giving slump, and the good and bad of class-specific gifts and multi-year reunion accounting.
Kirner-Johnson 102

Challenges — the good, the bad, and the ugly
Leah Wiedmann Gailey, Director of Annual Giving, Bates College
Jen Castellani, Annual Fund Gift Officer, Skidmore College
Lindsey Sadonis, Annual Fund Gift Officer, Skidmore College
To a modern Annual Fund, a challenge is almost a requisite component of a comprehensive strategic plan—assisting in securing both dollars and donors.  However, as effective as challenges can be, they can present serious hurdles and concerns both short and long term. Join us as we use a combination of case study and strategy discussion (along with a little humor), to discuss challenges—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Kirner-Johnson 201

3 p.m.
Coffee Break – Ice Cream!
McEwen Breezeway

3:30 p.m. 
Breakout Session III
Alumnae Philanthropy: Women donors and their relationships with their alma maters
Kate Rindy, Director of The Mount Holyoke Fund, Mount Holyoke College
Emily Randall, Associate Director of the Annual Fund, Wellesley College
What distinguishes women from men in philanthropic approaches to giving? How might a relationship with a woman alumna look different from one with a man? We will open this to a discussion about women and philanthropy – participants are invited to share their experiences.
Kirner-Johnson 101

Creating Time
Jon Hysell, Hamilton College
The work of annual giving is becoming increasingly complex as demands on ourselves and our colleagues are growing, simply working harder and longer is not a sustainable solution. Becoming skilled collaborators poses real opportunities; especially in a cyclical business like ours. I will explore the premise that the quality of our work is the responsibility of everyone involved. We will examine the creation of standards for repetitive tasks, take a systematic and strategic look at managing our work processes and consider how we can shorten the cycle time of decision making — all in an effort to free up time for thought, creativity and more human interaction.
Kirner-Johnson 102

Key Performance Metrics
Greg Gallagher, Interim Associate Director, Pomona College
What is a successful annual fund?  If alumni participation goes up, but total dollars raised goes down (or vice versa), was the fund year successful? Why? How we define success determines how we go about achieving it.  In this session, we will explore alternative metrics for analyzing progress in the Annual Fund.  We will discuss ways to uncover the weak spots in our programming, as well as how to discover our hidden strengths so that we can better tout our victories.
Kirner-Johnson 201

Making the Ask
Ryan Arnold, Associate Director for Reunion Giving, Davidson College
You’ve heard it said, “I could never ask people for money, how do you do it?” Ryan Arnold will discuss what he refers to as the “Natural Fundraisers Formula” and how leveraging the perfect segue can turn the most awkward part of the conversation into the most exciting. There will be plenty of time to share tales from the road as we discuss some of our more memorable and not-so-memorable asks we’ve experienced as frontline fundraisers.
Red Pit, Kirner-Johnson 127

6 p.m.
Off-Campus Dinner and Entertainment
Trotters, dancing, music and dinner at Vernon Downs, Casino and Racetrack. Shuttle will be leaving Skenandoa House at 5:30 p.m. and leaving Vernon Downs at 10 p.m. for those staying on campus. STAFF has a block of rooms reserved at Vernon Downs to make it easy for you to enjoy the party then roll into bed. Call 315-829-3400 to make your reservation.