8-9:00 a.m. – Continental Breakfast
9-10:00 a.m. – Breakout Sessions
Integrated Marketing on Giving Day and Beyond
Anessa Rios-Ezeude and Karras Mayes, University of Houston
Giving Day is often seen as a one-day sprint measured by year-over-year dollars and donor counts. But at the University of Houston, it’s become something much bigger: a university-wide, brand-aligned moment of urgency that fuels awareness, loyalty, and long-term momentum. In this session, you’ll hear how UH transformed Giving Day from “a letter, a few emails, and some social posts” into an integrated, campaign-centered engine that connects Annual Giving, marketing, engagement systems, and communications. We’ll explore how Annual Giving is evolving from the “base of the pyramid” to the center of the wheel, powering multiple pathways of engagement for both donors and alumni.
Attendees will learn how to:
✔ Reframe Giving Day as your institution’s most visible fundraising moment, not just a metric-chasing event
✔ Build a scalable playbook: from mailer templates to cross-channel campaigns
✔ Layer engagement metrics on top of revenue goals to see the bigger picture
✔ Adapt strategies for both large and small shops
You’ll leave with practical models and fresh perspective on how Annual Giving can move beyond transactional numbers and serve as a driver of institutional pride and participation.
Two-Steppin’ Through the Crowdfunding Campaign Trail
Jasmine Amaniampong and Sharon Horinka, UNC Charlotte
Discover how UNC Charlotte transformed crowdfunding from a side project into a streamlined, high-performing program. Like a good Texas two-step, crowdfunding success is all about rhythm – the right moves at the right time. We’ll guide you through our campaign cadence so your projects flow smoothly from start to finish.
Fundraising For “Other” Audiences
Cameron Hall, University of South Carolina
In this session, we will explore how the University of South Carolina’s Anne Frank Center overcame the challenge of having no established donor base by strategically acquiring targeted data lists from a broker and launching a multi-channel solicitation campaign. Through careful audience identification, message crafting, and segmentation, the campaign secured over 450 donors—half from the acquisition lists—and raised more than $75,000, while also increasing awareness of the Center’s mission. Attendees will learn how to identify mission-aligned prospects, leverage data to reach new audiences, design compelling appeals, and balance cost with return on investment. They will leave with actionable strategies for building donor bases for niche or emerging programs, best practices for integrating data-driven targeting with storytelling, and lessons on adapting campaigns to maximize engagement and long-term donor retention.
Beyond the Envelope… Scratching the Surface of Effective Campaigns
Gail Siegel, C.I. Partners Direct
A compelling package can get your appeal opened—but it’s the offer that inspires action. In this session, we’ll look beyond surface-level tweaks to uncover how the best direct response campaigns align the offer with the moment: the right message, to the right audience, at the right time in your organization’s calendar. You’ll see how mail and digital elements can work together to reinforce—not overshadow—the heart of your ask. You’ll leave with practical ideas for shaping offers that resonate with your constituents and drive results.
10-10:15 a.m. – Break
10:15-11:15 a.m. – Breakout Sessions
A Digital Fundraising Forum
George Crocker, East Carolina University, Anessa Rios-Ezeude and Karras Mayes, University of Houston, Matt Hirschy, GetThru and Bob Burdenski
Digital fundraising keeps evolving quickly, and so are donor expectations. In this interactive discussion, we’ll explore how organizations are rethinking online engagement to move past one-time transactions and toward deeper, more meaningful relationships. Moderators and participants will share their current experiences with email, social media, text messaging, and digital campaigns—what’s working, what’s changing, and what’s next. Together, we’ll surface common challenges, emerging opportunities, practical strategies and best solutions for creating digital touchpoints that resonate. Bring questions, contribute ideas, and take part in a collaborative conversation about today’s digital fundraising.
Do’s, Don’ts, and Delights of Launching DXO Programs in Higher Ed:
A Playbook in Progress
Nicole Sprowl, Southern Methodist University
Launching a Digital Experience Officer (DXO) program in higher education can be transformative for leadership annual giving—but it comes with unique challenges, lessons, and wins. In this session, we’ll share practical guidance on building a DXO program from the ground up and blending it seamlessly with existing Leadership Giving Officer (LGO) strategies. From early planning and stakeholder buy-in to creating collaborative opportunities and celebrating key milestones, this session offers a candid, experience-based roadmap for building your donor pipeline and maximizing donor engagement.
Finding Your Rhythm: Elevating Annual Giving in Capital Campaigns
Shayna Long, UNC Charlotte
Preparing for a capital campaign or already in one? Not sure how to make annual giving a key part of the campaign choreography? Annual giving doesn’t just need to follow the beat—it can help set the tempo for successful capital campaigns when aligned with strategic partners. In this session, learn how annual giving can step into a more collaborative role by syncing efforts with advancement partners to identify and activate high-potential alumni segments. Through shared goals and data-informed strategy, annual giving can shift from participation-focused appeals to targeted engagement that fuel the campaign pipeline.
You’ll learn:
• How to align annual giving with alumni engagement to strengthen campaign strategy
• Ways to identify and prioritize alumni segments using engagement indicators
• Practical steps to evolve annual giving from a supporting function to a strategic contributor in campaign planning and execution.
Putting the Pieces Together: Omnichannel Fundraising with NC A&T
Bridgett Herring Williams, North Carolina A&T and Ryan Talbert, Excalibur Direct Marketing
This interactive discussion will explore the essential components of an omnichannel fundraising campaign, using an NC A&T appeal as a case study. It will also examine how leveraging existing data can enhance your annual giving campaign through the benefits of data modeling, and demonstrate how to effectively target your most likely donor matches from current lists. We’ll also discuss the underlying benefits of this type of strategy for your annual fund appeal. We look forward to talking with you soon!
11:15-11:30 a.m. – Break
11:30-12:30 p.m. – Breakout Sessions
Favorites From the 26th Annual Giving Appeal and Idea Exchange
Bob Burdenski
For 26 years, Bob Burdenski has hosted an annual exchange where hundreds of institutions share thousands of annual giving innovations, ideas and success stories. Awesome appeals, terrific technologies, dynamic discoveries and marvelous messages. It was a great year of pushing the envelope in direct mail, digital and beyond. Come and see 3-time CASE Innovations in Annual Giving author Bob Burdenski dump out his bag of BOB (Best of the Bunch) favorites for some of the clever fundraising ideas of the year.
Rivalry With a Purpose: UTSA and TXST’s Huddle Against Hunger
Heather Locke Green, UTSA
The Huddle Against Hunger challenge turned a spirited interstate rivalry into a powerful force for good, raising over $85,000 to combat food insecurity at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and Texas State University. Timed around the schools’ annual football matchup, this innovative campaign engaged alumni, students, and supporters in a friendly competition to fund vital campus food pantries. From August 30 to September 7, 2024, UTSA and Texas State leveraged multi-channel outreach—email, social media, texting, and peer-to-peer advocacy—to mobilize 2,057 donors. We built a central website at HuddleAgainstHunger.com that pointed visitors to each school’s crowdfunding platforms. Gift totals were updated on the site each day by 3 p.m. Texas State raised $33,467 from 1,115 donors, while UTSA secured $22,798 from 942 supporters. Thanks to a $30,000 prize pool provided by Randolph Brooks Federal Credit Union and Alterman, Texas State claimed the top prize of $18,000, and UTSA received $12,000, bringing the total funds raised to $86,267. Beyond fundraising, Huddle Against Hunger raised awareness of student food insecurity—an issue affecting nearly half of college students. The campaign’s success and early commitment of a key prize-pool donor have inspired both universities to continue the challenge next year. This initiative exemplified the power of mission-driven fundraising—blending competition, community engagement, and philanthropy to create lasting impact. By working together, two rival schools ensured students were the winners that week by addressing food insecurity on campus.
Gratitude for Growth – Stewardship and Recognition in Annual Giving
Paige Rowlett, St. Joseph/Candler Foundations
Saying “thank you,” is a timeless art that remains central to effective donor stewardship, yet the ways in which supporters wish to be acknowledged continue to evolve. When expressions of gratitude are intentional and tailored, they do more than recognize a gift: they strengthen relationships and build lasting philanthropic commitment. This session will explore strategies for stewarding and recognizing donors across diverse demographics, from traditional methods to contemporary practices, offering practical insights into how strategic gratitude fosters long-term giving.
How ETSU Turned a Canceled Print Campaign into a 60% Open Rate and Campus-Wide Change
Desmond Pierce, ETSU and Jen Lesshafft, EverTrue
When a vendor issue scrapped ETSU’s print invitations just days before a key presidential donor event, the team pivoted fast—replacing the mailing with a personal video from the university president. The result? A 60% open rate, direct donor mentions at the event, and a new digital-first strategy embraced across campus. In this session, ETSU shares how a last-minute change delivered measurable results, inspired campus-wide adoption, and redefined what donor outreach can look like.
12:30-1:00 p.m. – Closing Session
AI, USN&WR, DXOs, LAG and More: Reviewing the 2025 SEAGC Alphabet Soup
Closing Session with Conference Faculty
Join us for some special drawings and a grand finale review of conference sessions, as we share some favorite take-aways, words of wisdom and inspired ideas from this year’s conference. Ask your final questions, hear some final thoughts, and maybe go home a lucky winner!