Thank you for attending the 2021 RNL Advancement Innovation Summit
Over 400 fundraising professionals joined us for two days of high-level innovation, actionable strategy and new ideas to help take their donor engagement to the next level.
Whether looking to build a more loyal base of annual givers, identify a pipeline for big gifts, or engage new groups of supporters, this interactive online event provided new insights to drive immediate results.
The sessions at the virtual RNL Advancement Innovation Summit were initially broadcasted online on September 22-23.
All sessions are available on demand.
Get Free Access to 30 Summit Sessions
Complete this form to watch the sessions on demand.
OPENING KEYNOTE: Doc Hendley
Speaker, author, philanthropist
In 2003, Doc Hendley dreamed up the concept of Wine to Water while bartending and playing music in nightclubs around Raleigh, North Carolina. In January of 2004 he held his first fundraiser and by August was living in Darfur, Sudan installing water systems for victims of the government-supported genocide. Wine To Water became an official 501 (c)(3) and Doc’s dream finally became a reality.
Hendley’s work aims to help the 1.1 billion people worldwide who lack access to clean water. Nearly two-thirds of that group lives in Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, 42 percent of the population lives without yard taps, household connections, or other improvements to sanitize water. Unclean water is the number one killer of children in the world. Water borne illnesses kill far more children the HIV/AIDS and Malaria combined. Every 15 seconds a child dies from unclean water.
His book, Wine to Water: A Bartender’s Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World, is a captivating story of an ordinary bartender who’s changing the world through clean water. During this keynote address, Doc will share his incredible story and his mission to bring the most precious resource to the billion who lack it.
Fill out the form above to watch Doc Hendley’s keynote and all the other sessions from the Summit.
Experience Italy Virtually
DAY ONE:
Virtual walkthrough Ancient Rome ruins
Join summit participants as you are led around Rome in real-time by tour leader Federica, who proudly calls Rome her home.
Federica will walk you around and show you the ruins of ancient apartment buildings from the 2nd century (you will find out how different life was back then). Then she’ll show you ancient Roman statues which survived through thousands of years. You will also see the main meeting points for ancient Roman citizens where they used to hang out, listen to gossips and meet friends (the Roman and Imperial forums). The tour will finish in front of the ruins of the first shopping mall EVER built, featuring 150 shops!
DAY TWO:
Pasta with Grandma, Live from Italy
Join summit participants to cook pasta from scratch with 84-year-old Nonna in her kitchen in Italy!
She will share her culinary secrets and the traditional authentic Pasta technique. Listen to her stories, watch her dance and cook, and be ready to enjoy her authentic Fettuccine dish!
Summit Agenda
The sessions at the virtual RNL Advancement Innovation Summit will initially be broadcast online on September 22-23. All sessions will then be available on demand. All times listed below are in Central Time (CT).
Planning a virtual conference across time zones is challenging, so we’re beginning our keynotes a bit later in the day, and all attendees will have easy access to on-demand recordings of sessions during and/or after the conference, based on the presentation type.
The Advancement Innovation Summit has been approved for continuing education credit with CFRE International. Please contact Brian Gawor, CFRE for questions.
Wednesday, September 22
8:30 – 8:45 a.m. CT
AIS Ambassador Update Live!
Hear from our Summit ambassador and guests about key sessions, experiences, and insights.
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. CT
Connect Over Coffee and Spin the Fundraising Wheel of Fortune: La Ruota Della Fortuna Live!
Join your peers and the RNL crew as we get ready to kick off the event, and “spin the wheel” to talk about key issues in Advancement, including the future of annual giving, major gifts, digital giving, crowdfunding, giving days, and personalizing the donor experience.
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. CT
Opening Keynote Session: Digging For Hope: Turning Wine To Water
Doc Hendley, Founder and President, Wine to Water
Our keynote speaker is proof that anyone, even a tattooed keg-tapper, can change the world. In 2004, Doc held his first fundraisers, and then a trip to Darfur changed his life. Doc’s successful charity, Wine Into Water, provides water resources to communities in need across the globe. He was named as a top ten CNN Hero, and the ripples continued to grow. Join us to hear Doc’s story, and how to unleash the changemaker in all of us.
11:00 – 11:15 a.m. CT
Break and Innovation Sessions
11:00 – 11:15 a.m. CT
AIS Ambassador Update Live!
11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. CT
We’re Getting through a Pandemic: Now What?
We’ve all had to adapt in the past 18 months. And our donors stepped up and provided incredible support for the pressing needs of the pandemic. What’s next? Join this panel of advancement leaders as we talk about what’s changed permanently, what new tools are working, and how we can avoid returning to “business as usual” and continue providing an exciting donor experience.
- Howard Heevner, Executive Director of Annual Programs, UC Berkeley
- Sarah Kathryn Hickman, Assistant Vice President, Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving, Baylor University
- Adrienne Brown, Assistant Vice President, Annual Giving & Engagement Strategies, New York University
- Chris Bingley, Senior Vice President, RNL
- Brian Gawor, Vice President, Research, RNL
12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CT
Lunch Time to Explore Innovation Sessions
Videos available in the library, interviews with successful RNL client partners utilizing innovative donor engagement tools, and RNL partner companies showing new innovations.
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Virtual Tour of Ancient Roman Ruins, Live from Rome!
12:15 – 12:30 p.m. CT
AIS Ambassador Update Live!
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. CT
Breakout Sessions (Choose from 3 sessions)
The Digital Giving Revolution: How to Harness the Newest Tech to Maximize Donor Engagement
Technology, and our donors, are constantly changing. The best advancement shops stay ahead of the curve to provide a friction-free and exciting donor experience. Join this session to hear about key innovations in crowdfunding, giving days, and digital outreach. And hear how Virginia Tech has set records with their award-winning giving day.
- Brittany Staggers, Assistant Director, Digital Philanthropy, Virginia Tech Advancement
- Eric Billings, Associate Vice President, Digital Product Management, RNL
We Retired Phonathon: Here’s What’s Next
“Dialing for dollars” is now so much more than just calling. With the integration of great new engagement methods like P2P texting, personalized video, and analytics to drive our outreach, the “phonathon” is now a full digital engagement effort. Join the people behind RNL’s innovation and partners who have used the new strategy to maximize the donor experience for some key strategy tips, lessons learned, and advice for transforming your program.
- Adrianne Penney, Associate Director Of Annual Giving, Oakland University
- Sean Shaikun, AVP, Product Management, RNL
Using AI to Optimize Donor Engagement
Personalization at scale is the new goal for the modern advancement engagement. Join this session to hear about how artificial intelligence, and optimized communication technology can transform your relationship with donors, and greatly increase the chance that your message will get seen and spark action.
- Scott VanDeusen, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations, St. John’s University
- Solomon Grey, Sr. Project Manager, RNL
- Peter Caron, Vice President, Software Products, RNL
1:30 – 1:45 p.m. CT
Break and Innovation Sessions
1:30 – 2:00 p.m. CT
Breakout Sessions (Choose from 4 sessions)
Best Practices for Engaging Volunteer Ambassadors
Volunteer ambassadors can maximize the impact of your giving outreach, exceed crowdfunding goals and set records on giving days. Join this session to hear about the best practices and new technology to keep ambassadors engaged, excited and connected to peers.
- Erica Kobbe, Sr. Annual Giving Officer, Sacramento State
- Kristin DeMarco Carroll, Senior Client Solutions Consultant, RNL
Best Practices for Engaging Student Ambassadors
Are you ready for an army of gift officers? That’s what your student ambassadors can be – and they’re no longer just “callers.” Join this session to hear about how to maximize the impact of student engagement ambassadors, utilize new technology, and stay agile with your team in a challenging time.
- Abigail Tromler, RNL Engagement Center Manager, Washington State
- Sylvia Vandever, Director of Client Success, RNL
Crowdfunding Your Way to an Engaged Donor Pipeline
It’s not a fad – it’s a fundraising tool that can engage and excite your donors, across multiple impact areas and campus leaders. Join us for an overview of what’s best in crowdfunding practices, technology and strategy, and how this peer-amplified tool can create a pipeline to even bigger gifts.
- David Jakielo, Assistant Director, Annual Giving, Duquesne University
- Ryan Lawrence, Associate Director of Digital Philanthropy, University of California, Berkeley
- Eric Billings, Associate Vice President, Digital Product Management, RNL
Think Elections will Kill Your Giving? Think Again!
Politics are, well…messy. Competing with political fundraising, and in election years, the competition for attention, is something fundraisers often worry about. It turns out, your most politically engaged supporters also give loyally to causes. Join this session to hear how one university embraced political engagement, hear research on the synergy between civic engagement and philanthropy, and best practices for managing outreach in an election year.
- Becca Widmer, Director of Annual Giving, Drake University
- Brian Gawor, Vice President, Research, RNL
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. CT
Break and Innovation Sessions
2:30 – 3:15 p.m. CT
Moving the Needle on Young Alumni Giving: The Schuler Initiative
Join the team behind the Schuler Education Foundation Young Alumni Initiative to hear how they made transformational change over three years. After setting records for millennial giving, this group will share key activities and strategies that made a difference to keep young alumni engaged and giving.
- Nina Emmi, Director of Annual Giving, Bates College
- Anita Fisher Egge, Director of the Alumni Annual Fund, Carleton College
- Amy Burke, Senior Director of Annual Giving Programs, Wellesley College
- Laura Day, Director of Annual Giving, Williams College
- Jason Patenaude, Executive Director, Schuler Education Foundation
- Kitty Bartlett, Director of Annual Giving, Middlebury College
- Alanna Shanley, Assistant Vice President of Annual Giving, Donor Relations, and Special Events, Middlebury College
- Shay Galto, Vice President, Advancement Research and Analytics, RNL
- Sarah Kleeberger, Senior Vice President, Fundraising Consulting, RNL
3:15 – 3:30 p.m. CT
Day One Wrap Up with AIS Ambassador Live!
Thursday, September 23
8:30 – 8:45 a.m. CT
AIS Ambassador Update Live!
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. CT
Connect Over Coffee and Spin the Fundraising Wheel of Fortune: La Ruota Della Fortuna
Join your peers and the RNL crew as we get ready to kick off the event, and “spin the wheel” to talk about key issues in Advancement, including the future of annual giving, major gifts, digital giving, crowdfunding, giving days, and personalizing the donor experience.
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. CT
AIS Welcome and Remarks from RNL President and CEO, Sumit Nijhawan
RNL’s CEO recaps the past year, and shares the vision of RNL as we move forward to innovate, elevate and engage with our generous supporters.
10:30 – 11:15 a.m. CT
Keynote Session: The State of Giving, Volunteering and Engagement
Dr. Nathan Dietz, Associate Research Scholar; Senior Researcher, Do Good Institute
Join us for a Q+A chat with one of the most prominent researchers on the intersection of giving, volunteering and involvement. Nathan’s work with the Do Good Institute focuses on social capital, volunteering, charitable contributions, civic engagement and social entrepreneurship. We’ll talk about the state of giving, what research tells us about the past and the future, and what it means as we engage 21st century donors.
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. CT
Break and Innovation Sessions
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. CT
The RNL Future Roadmap
We’re investing heavily to create a better donor experience and to help you meet your advancement goals. Join this session to hear what’s new and next in RNL’s technology, and how you can use it to innovate, elevate and engage.
12:15 – 12:30 p.m. CT
AIS Ambassador Update Live!
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. CT
Lunch Time to Explore Innovation Sessions
Videos available in the library, interviews with successful RNL client partners utilizing innovative donor engagement tools, and RNL partner companies showing new innovations.
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. CT
Experience Italy: Make Pasta with 84-year-old Nonna from her Kitchen in Italy Live!
1:30 – 2:15 p.m. CT
Advancement Leaders Speak: Live!
RNL’s popular Advancement Leaders Speak survey goes live in this special event. We’ll ask you what you think about key Advancement topics, like talent management, remote work, the future of giving days, whether “alumni participation” matters, supporting gift officers, and more. Join in, hear live what your peers think, and get ready to tackle top topics in donor engagement.
2:15 – 2:30 p.m. CT
Break and Innovation Sessions
2:30 – 3:00 p.m. CT
Breakout Sessions (Choose from 3 sessions)
Leveling Up Your Giving Day
Giving days are setting records, and they’re here to stay. But how do you keep your special day fresh and interesting for another year? New technology and strategy are key. Join this session to hear ways you can amplify engagement, maximize volunteers, and keep donors excited for your next event.
- Angie Vandenhaak, Director of Development, College of Business and Economics, Western Washington University
- Daryn Vorderbruegge, Assistant Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Memberships, Western Washington University
- Caileen Crecco, Assistant Director, Annual and Special Giving, DePaul University
- Kristin DeMarco Carrol, Senior Client Solutions Consultant, RNL
3 Ways Texting Can Move The Advancement Needle
Despite the fact that texting is the preferred form of communication these days, the medium is underutilized in advancement. Texting alumni and donors can be a game-changer if done correctly. A look at the data:
- Text response rates range between 40 – 60%
- 99% of texts are read
- 90% of them within 3 minutes
In this session, we’ll show you three new texting strategies you haven’t tried before & the real-life results they’re getting other advancement teams.
The Persuasive Power of Measurable Impact: Quantifying Your Value to Earn Trust and Increase Giving
Today’s impact-driven donors are increasingly focused on creating economic opportunity for students and the broader community. Colleges and universities are major drivers of this opportunity, but their contribution is often underappreciated or overlooked.
In this session, you’ll discover key data points to quantify and demonstrate the value your institution provides, both to the students it educates and the community in which it operates. As a result, you’ll be better equipped to engage donors (especially non-alumni individuals and businesses) with hard data that demonstrates how giving to your institution aligns with their philanthropic goals.
- Remie Verougstraete, Sr. Writer & Strategist, Emsi Burning Glass
3:00 – 3:30 p.m. CT
Closing Session and AIS Wrap Up
- Brian Gawor, Vice President, Research, RNL
3:30 p.m. CT
Adjournment
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