Conference Schedule
Big 12 Development Conference Schedule — Wednesday
Wednesday, May 24
8:00 a.m. | Breakfast | Ballroom, Level 5, KU Memorial Union
8:30-8:45 a.m. | Remarks by Chancellor Douglas Girod | Ballroom, Level 5, KU Memorial Union
8:45-9:45 a.m. | Keynote | Ballroom, Level 5, KU Memorial Union
Jyarland Daniels, Esq., MBA
The Work of Connecting with People: Embracing Stories, Awareness & Vulnerability
Jyarland Daniels brings a deep and abiding passion—not to mention an incredible ability to articulate about—the diverse values we each bring to our work and to each other. As she will tell it, the power of connecting with stories is at the very core of our work. Sharing our stories and establishing connections with whom we engage, allows each of us to really see and be a part of the humanity we experience every day in our respective roles. Jyarland’s keynote will serve to connect us with each other and give us some key tools—and some practice using them—as we connect with each other and with donors throughout life, not just on behalf of our institutions!
Perhaps this quote, taken from some of Jyarland’s work with Harriet Speaks, provides a glimpse into the type of conversations we will experience with her in her session: “It is often said that one is on a “journey” of understanding race, diversity and inclusion. The problem with this term is that a journey has a definite end, but the work of understanding race, diversity and inclusion and becoming a better version of ourselves does not. There is no final destination. We do not finish this work. We continue it throughout our lives.”
9:45-10:30 a.m. | CEO Q&A Panel and Closing Remarks | Ballroom, Level 5, KU Memorial Union
Speakers:
Blaire Atkinson – President, Oklahoma State Foundation
Keith Vorkink – Advancement Vice President, Brigham Young University
Greg Willems – President/Chief Executive Officer, KSU Foundation
Larissa Holtmyer Jones – President and CEO, Iowa State University Foundation
Patrick Kramer – Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement, Texas Tech University System; CEO Texas Tech Foundation
Moderator: Dan Martin – President, KU Endowment
10:30-10:50 a.m. | Break / Walk to Jayhawk Welcome Center
10:50-11:30 a.m. | Breakout Sessions | Jayhawk Welcome Center
Covering All the Bases | Large Berkley Family Presentation Room, Level 2
Embracing the notion that “every donor counts” is vital to fundraising efforts and can be accomplished by evaluating all your donor segments and ensuring high-quality and meaningful engagement. We’ll take a look at engagement strategies for donors at various stages, data around all donor segments and pipeline development trends in the industry.
Speakers:
Nick Linde — Vice President of Advancement, University of Nebraska Foundation
Mike Nagel — Director of Account & Product Marketing, EverTrue
Austin Ice — Pipeline Development Team Lead, KU Endowment
The Little Pre-game Party that Could: How a Pre-Game Party Changed the Way we Think About Events and Propelled our Pipeline for Future Gifts | Bruckmiller Room, Level 2
This session invites audience members to join in a conversation about a uniquely successful pre-game party that hosted a previously untapped guest list. Revisiting the planning mindset, lessons learned and fundraising outcomes are key members of the K-State Foundation from the Stewardship, Events, Strategic Solicitations, Data Science and Market Research and Development teams.
Speakers:
Angela Altamore — AVP of Stewardship and Donor Engagement, KSU Foundation; President, Association of Donor Relations Professional
Mallory Billings — Assistant Director of Stewardship, KSU Foundation
Bianca Eakes — Market Research Analyst, KSU Foundation
Melissa Geisler — Senior Director of Events, KSU Foundation
Sara Prince — Executive Director of Strategic Solicitations, KSU Foundation
Baylor Parent Programs: Engagement + Philanthropy = Success | Summerfield Room, Level 1
Join Baylor University’s Parent Engagement Team to explore steps that your Advancement division can take to increase meaningful relationships with the parents of your students. We will discuss tools for engaging families during the duration of their time associated with your institution and the annual giving and principal gift opportunities that can be paired with those efforts. If done intentionally over a sustained period of time, you have the potential to create relationships with parents that last long after their student has left your institution.
Speakers:
Molly Ferguson — Senior Director of Development for Parent Principal Gifts, Baylor University
Gail Offringa — Director of Parent Engagement, Baylor University
Tracking and Leveraging CASE Alumni Engagement Metrics (AEM) to Build the Donor Pipeline | Medium Berkley Family Presentation Room, Level 2
Take an in-depth look at the dashboards the University of Central Florida created to track CASE AEM data and learn how they are leveraging this data to build the front end of the donor pipeline.
Speakers:
Heather Junod – AVP for Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving, University of Central Florida
Angie Shaw – AVP for Alumni Engagement, University of Central Florida
Inclusive Hiring: Intentionally Preparing Your Institution for Success | Paul Adam Lounge, Level 1
Amid the race equity crisis in our country, many institutions of higher education are seeking to increase the diversity of their development teams to better reflect the diversity of alumni and donor communities. Lindauer recently worked with the University of Minnesota Foundation to successfully craft and execute a search plan to begin diversifying the development team at the most senior level. Today, Lindauer is currently engaged in a similar project with the University of Cincinnati Foundation. In this session, you will learn how to put together the building blocks of recruiting for diverse lived experiences, mitigate bias in hiring and intentionally recruit people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives to your teams, ultimately improving results and delivering more inclusive programs.
Speaker:
Faith Montgomery — Vice President and Managing Director, Lindauer Global
11:30-11:50 a.m. | Break / Vendor Visits | Jayhawk Welcome Center
11:50 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | Breakout Sessions | Jayhawk Welcome Center
Through a Donor’s Eyes: Perspectives on Successful Donor Engagements | Large Berkley Family Presentation Room, Level 2
Step inside the minds of donors during a panel conversation highlighting the importance of effective cultivation, solicitation and stewardship engagements. The panel will tap into their respective experiences gained by providing philanthropic support to projects they care about in an effort to articulate what best practices they have witnessed. Panel participants bring a rich history of support ranging from personal giving to Foundation grantmaking and will provide meaningful insights into successful donor engagements.
Panelists:
Gene & Yolanda Camarena
Greg & Deanna Graves
Moderator: Jerome Davies — Executive Vice President for Development, KU Endowment
Institutional Alliances: Strategies for Building Strong Partnerships with Campus Leadership | Bruckmiller Room, Level 2
Explore ways to grow your partnership with institutional leadership to increase your fundraising success. Develop effective partnerships with deans, directors, faculty and institutional leadership to take your donor engagement to the next level. Help your campus partners identify pivotal giving opportunities and translate those opportunities into compelling stories. Explore best practices to identify strategies and desired meeting outcomes for key donor engagement, handling difficult conversations, meeting debriefs and ongoing communications.
Panelists:
Barbara Bichelmeyer — Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor, University of Kansas
Heath Peterson — President, KU Alumni Association
Ann Brill — Dean, School of Journalism, University of Kansas
Moderator: Dan Simon — AVP for Development, KU Endowment
The TA DA of Teamwork and Communication: Succeeding During Change and Disruption | Summerfield Room, Level 1
(Offered Twice – 2 of 2)
We are all improvising. We face challenges, disruption, change and obstacles without a script or rehearsal. To find success, we need to work together, build trust and create opportunity. During this session, Joel will discuss how the tenets of improvisation create successful teams during change and disruption. Joel has spent the past 30 years performing and teaching the lessons of improvisation. This interactive, engaging and hilarious session will focus on staying in the game, facing fear, building trust and asking the important question, “How do I help the people around me be successful?” Joel Zeff will also bring his famous TA DA energy as he discusses the importance of opportunity, positive support and active listening in collaboration. Yes, you will have fun and laugh during this session. You will also learn how to collaborate more successfully as a team and navigate change. Are you ready for the TA DA?
This session will focus on:
- Creating opportunity and positive support for your team.
- Making the choice to “be in the moment.”
- Staying in the Game when faced with challenges, change and disruption.
- Thriving during change by making the choice to be prepared, open and flexible.
- Fueling your passion and reducing stress.
Speaker:
Joel Zeff — National keynote speaker, workplace expert, humorist and author
Corporate and Foundation Relations in the 21st Century | Medium Berkley Family Presentation Room, Level 2
Corporations and foundations can be some of the strongest strategic partners of your university, especially when powerfully leveraged and used effectively. Join CFR expert Shelley Birdsong-Maddex as she shares best practices that can improve your organization’s approach to corporate and foundation engagement to build support for programs, translate research discoveries and create a talent pipeline.
Speaker:
Shelley Birdsong Maddex – Senior Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, West Virginia University Foundation
Exploring New Philanthropic Frontiers: International Engagement at Iowa State | Paul Adam Lounge, Level 1
In 2019, the Iowa State University Foundation began a journey into international fundraising. Since then, the program has developed into a unit of three FTE focused on securing principal and leadership gifts while developing its audience. This session will detail how and why Iowa State began working in the international space, strategies employed to overcome data issues, and the development and implementation of a business plan. We will discuss what the program looks like today and some of the success stories demonstrating that working in the international space is the right direction for Iowa State’s future growth.
Speaker:
Joe Nolte — Executive Director of Development for International Engagement, Iowa State University Foundation
12:30 p.m. | Boxed Lunch Pickup | Registration / Information Table, Jayhawk Welcome Center
A printable version of the full schedule is available here.