2024 Wednesday Schedule – Sept 25

8-9:00 a.m. – Continental Breakfast

Seating/Networking in the Madison Ballroom

9-10:00 a.m. – Breakout Sessions

Segmentation Strategies in an Omnichannel Environment
Lauren Herbstritt, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Cumberland Room

Unlock effective donor engagement with “Segmentation Strategies in an Omnichannel Environment”. This session will unveil an approach used at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville that builds over a 6-month period to ensure that messaging, creative assets, and solicitation frequency are synchronized. Join us as we delve into our innovative segmentation strategy designed to balance the demands of Direct Marketing, an Engagement Center, a Giving Day and special project campaigns. Discover how UT Knoxville has successfully navigated the complexities of modern fundraising through precise audience targeting and tailored communication tactics. You’ll gain insights on:✔ Developing a cohesive omnichannel plan✔ Crafting compelling messaging that resonates✔ Utilizing data-driven techniques to optimize outreach✔ Managing multiple campaigns without overwhelming your audienceWhether you’re a seasoned fundraiser or new to the field, this session will have valuable takeaways that can elevate your strategies and drive results.

Laying the Foundation: Building or Rebuilding an Annual Giving Program
Shelia-Marie Stacy, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Michael Richmond, Tulane University Health
Sapelo Room

Join Michael and Shelia-Marie for a theoretical and practical session on what it’s like to build or rebuild an Annual Giving program. They’ll discuss where to start, what to ask, and how to manage the challenges and triumphs. Look for real-world examples, discussion, and practical applications. Whether you’re rebuilding a program, starting a program, or considering massive overhauls to how your program operates, this session may offer welcomed guidance.

A Texting Forum
Rachel Cleary, GetThru and Sharon Horinka, UNC Charlotte
Ossabaw Room

Join Rachel Cleary from GetThru and UNC Charlotte’s Sharon Horinka for a discussion on all things texting. Rachel will kick things off with a quick overview of texting and a breakdown of what you need to know now about texting compliance. Then, the duo will shift gears to have a wide-ranging conversation on what we’ve all learned since texting went from the hot new thing to a digital engagement must-have.

Favorites From the 25th “Silver Anniversary” Annual Giving Appeal and Idea Exchange
Bob Burdenski
Pulaski Room

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 25th-Montage-1024x801.jpg


For 25 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.

10-10:15 a.m. – Break (Sponsor Tables Closing)

10:15-11:15 a.m. – Breakout Sessions

Stewardship for Retention
Diana Forbus, University of Maryland
Cumberland Room

Today’s engaged and participating alums are tomorrow’s major donor prospects. The entry point for many of our most financially impactful donors is at the Annual Giving level, and many of those whose names are now on buildings on our campus began giving between $25-$200 for several years before becoming more deeply involved. In this session, we’ll walk through some of the steps that University of Maryland took to emulate the stewardship experience at the major gift level at scaled volume to improve retention for donors in years 2-5. This session will also allow plenty of time for discussion, so don’t forget to bring your own ideas and examples of annual giving stewardship to share.

An Annual Giving Management Forum
Shayna Long, UNC Charlotte
Sapelo Room

From talent to timelines, and campus partners to policies, how does a direct effectively orchestrate their team and their program? Join Shayna for a discussion on all things management.

Evaluating Your Workplace Giving Practices to Grow Your Fundraising
Colleen Carroll, Double the Donation

Are you fully leveraging the potential of workplace giving to enhance your fundraising efforts? Between matching gifts, payroll giving, and volunteer-based initiatives, there is a huge opportunity to drive donations through this channel. Whether it’s been a while since you’ve revisited your strategy or you’re seeking actionable steps after a recent evaluation, our upcoming workshop is designed for you. Join us for an immersive session where we’ll delve into the myriad of workplace giving strategies available to grow your institution’s fundraising. This workshop will guide you through a comprehensive review of your current practices and help you address any gaps that might be hindering your success.

A Healthcare Annual Giving Forum
Patients, Physicians, Providers, Policies, and Pipelines
Moderators TBA
Pulaski Room

Healthcare institutions offer their own challenges (HIPAA) and opportunities (grateful patients, healthcare professionals, companies and the community) for annual giving fundraising. Join us for a special annual giving forum all about healthcare. Join us for a two-part forum that will share group information and discuss topics including:
✔ What does the prospect journey look like: from acquisition to renewal to major giving prospect?
✔ Using digital options to the fullest: emails, unique web landing page, ongoing impact updates;
✔ Tribute and 3rd-party giving-making the process easy and meaningful;
✔ What’s new in stewardship;
✔ Valuable vendors – Who are you using? Email vendors? Print? Business Associate Agreements?
✔ Giving initiatives: Doctor’s Day, Giving Day, Nurses Week? Do these help?

11:15-11:30 p.m. – Break

11:30-12:30 p.m. – Breakout Sessions

Annual Giving 101
Cameron J. Hall, CFRE, University of South Carolina
Cumberland Room

In this session, we will discuss the Art and Science of Annual Giving and the building blocks of a robust annual giving program.

A Leadership Annual Giving Forum
Gloria Goosby, The Obama Foundation and Sharon Horinka, UNC Charlotte
Sapelo Room

Let’s talk about all things leadership annual giving. During this forum, we’ll share ideas around building the case for a LAG team, developing cadences and metrics that matter, and sharing results with your internal partners to create enthusiasm for pipeline building.

Increasing ROI Through Data Modeling, Direct Mail, and Digital Marketing
Ryan Talbert and Scott Rempe, Excalibur Direct Marketing
Ossabaw Room

This interactive discussion will focus on developing a deeper understanding of your data to help impact your Annual Giving campaigns. It will include a review of the benefits of Data Modeling, and how to directly target your most likely donor matches from your current lists.

An Independent School Fundraising Forum
Moderators TBA
Pulaski Room

AI, USN&WR, DXOs, LAG and More: Reviewing the 2024 SEAGC Alphabet Soup
Closing Session with Conference Faculty
Cumberland Room

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!