Wise Moves in Tough Times

By any measure, these are tough times. Adding to the angst is an increasing uncertainty on how students and their families will respond to a struggling economy. Institutions are scrambling to adjust, and many are uncertain about what moves they need to make to positively impact 2010 enrollments and beyond. From one of the nation’s most experienced higher education consultancies, Sevier will explore a series of marketing, recruiting, and financial aid strategies that will help your institution maintain traction in today’s ever-changing marketplace.

Dr. Robert A. Sevier is the Senior Vice President, Strategy at Stamats, Inc. With more than 50 years of experience in the higher education marketplace, Stamats is America's most experienced higher education research, planning, marketing communication, and consulting company.

Presenters: Brian Dyer & Vanessa Buntin
What do your alumni think of your events?  What makes it worth their time to attend and why?  Are your events authentic to your institution and valued by those attending?  Come learn best practices from two alumni experts with years of University Advancement experience, as they share their alumni event success stories.  Hear about what has worked for their institutions and why.

Brian Dyer began working in the Admissions Office at Rose-Hulman in 1982 as an Admission Counselor. He worked in Admissions at Rose-Hulman for 16 years before making the move to the Alumni Affairs Office in 1998. During his tenure in Admissions he helped recruit over 6000 students. He received the President’s Outstanding Service Award in 2002 and was named an Honorary Alumnus in 2005. He is the Executive Director of Alumni Affairs at Rose-Hulman.

Vanessa Buntin leads Purdue University’s College of Technology Special Events and Alumni Relations efforts by developing new and effective ways to broaden the donor base and overall alumni participation, including conceptualizing, budgeting, organizing, marketing and executing donor driven events. Among her significant positions, Vanessa served as the Assistant Director for the Office of Special Events where she assisted in the planning and execution of events for the $1.7 billion Campaign for Purdue. Vanessa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Purdue University.

Presenter: Dr. Bob Sevier
Adapted from Bob Sevier’s Thinking Outside the Box, this session is designed for colleges and universities who are tired of the same old thinking about the same old problems. It is designed to help colleges think strategically, act audaciously, and communicate aggressively.

Presenter: Derrick Feldmann
How many donors-under the age of 40-does your organization have? If you answered not very many, then you're just like most other organizations. In fact, what many organizations are finding out is that the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship practices that have been successful for many of the past generations are not producing the same results with younger generations.

This session will focus on how to attract, steward and engage young donors in the work of the organization. Based on case studies of other organizations, participants will gain a greater understanding of how to engage young donors and keep them involved in the work of the organization. After all, young donors aren't going to be young forever!

A graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, Derrick holds a Master’s Degree in Philanthropic Studies from Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy. In 2001, he joined Learning to Give, leading the organization’s external and fundraising operations and helping to guide its merger with THE LEAGUE in 2005. Immediately before helping to found Achieve, Derrick was responsible for all major development programs at The LEAGUE, including fundraising, external partnerships, and program management. Among his top achievements, Derrick worked with senior leadership to secure a $6 million gift, negotiated an in-kind TV ad campaign valued at $1 million and reached a 200 percent increase in fundraising. Derrick has helped to raise millions of dollars, organized sponsorships worth millions more in in-kind and cash support and attracted major grants. In addition, Derrick has led the development of international philanthropy projects, including programs in South Korea, Japan and Bermuda. He serves on the Association of Fundraising Professionals International Youth Philanthropy Task Force.

Presenter: Ginny Carroll
Most people don’t think about age as a diversity issue. Rather, we just live with, or complain about, the frustrations with the “curmudgeons” and the “whipper-snappers”. Generational synergy is defined as different generations of people appreciating one another’s virtues, supporting one another at every level, and creatively interacting. Your alumni and alumni volunteers represent each of the living generations and have grown up in very different eras. This program will give participants a different perspective on the values and motivators of each generation and a better understanding of how to recruit, fundraise, and sustain alumni interest more effectively.

Ginny Carroll is the CEO of inGiNuity, a consultancy focused on building personal competence and improving team synergy through retreats, possibilities planning, professional skill development, keynotes, and a variety of other learning strategies.

Ginny has spent almost 25 years in management and consulting and is a frequent trainer and speaker for businesses, student audiences, leadership conferences and conventions across the country on a variety of topics including building leadership capacity and influence, emotional intellect, and multigenerational communication.

Presenter: Dr. Bob Sevier
This session will highlight 10 most oft-repeated marketing mistakes that colleges often make; mistakes that often undermine the credibility and effectiveness of your marketing strategy. We will draw on some actual experiences and examples shared by colleagues at conferences over the last several years. The names, of course, will be changed to protect the innocent.

Presenter: Jeff Miller
In the non-profit sector, volunteer boards play an important role, or at least they think they do. Non-profit professionals spend an inordinate amount of time trying to substantiate to volunteer board members how important and involved they are, how valuable they are and how much they do for the organization. Let us dig deeper into the role most non-profit boards really play today, what roles we actually want them to play and how to better align expectations as well as outcomes from both sides.

Jeff Miller is currently a principal with Performance Professionals, a consulting and event management company. He joined Performance Professionals over a year ago after retiring from a 20 year career as President and CEO for Junior Achievement in three different cities, spending the last 15 years in Indianapolis where he pioneered numerous new program and operational innovations that have become national as well as international initiatives.

Presenter: Ginny Carroll
Exceptional boards add significant value to their organizations, making a discernible difference in their advance on mission. Good governance requires the board to balance its role as an oversight body with its role as an insight and foresight body. This program will communicate the six characteristics of an exceptional board.

Ginny Carroll is the CEO of inGiNuity, a consultancy focused on building personal competence and improving team synergy through retreats, possibilities planning, professional skill development, keynotes, and a variety of other learning strategies.

Ginny has spent almost 25 years in management and consulting and is a frequent trainer and speaker for businesses, student audiences, leadership conferences and conventions across the country on a variety of topics including building leadership capacity and influence, emotional intellect, and multigenerational communication.

Presenter: Chas Grundy
Sure, you have a website. So now what? Is it effective? Is it usable? Is it even helping you? Learn how to use analytics, the latest trends, and some of my favorite tricks to take your website to the next level.

Chas is the Director of Interactive Marketing at AgencyND – a marketing agency within the University of Notre Dame. As a web marketer, social media advocate, and former developer, Chas has seen the best and worst of what technology can do for higher education.

In addition to grundyhome.com, Chas writes about non-profit marketing and fundraising at Non-Profit Chas and the Whys-and-Why-Nots of Blogging at BlawgTips.com.

Presenter: Phil Purcell
This session will explore proven strategies for successfully integrating annual, major and planned giving in an uncertain economy.  Specific topics will include campaign planning and goal-setting, blending proposals, annual fund promotion, donor recognition, the role of the board of directors - and more!

Phil Purcell currently serves as Vice-President for Planned Giving and Endowment Stewardship at the Ball State University Foundation assisting with a $200 million campaign ($50 million planned gifts). Formerly, he served as Director of Gift Planning for the Central Indiana Community Foundation (Indianapolis, IN) where he created and directed the Planned Giving Resource Center serving area charitable organizations. Phil is an attorney and member of the American and Indiana State Bar Associations.