CSA Annual Advancement Conference – 2023

Join fellow admission, Alumni & parent relations, Development, and Marketing & Communications at Quinnipiac University, Thursday, April 27, 2023!

Schedule:

Registration & Welcome – 9:15 AM
Morning keynote – 9:45 AM — Embracing the Undeniable Speed of Change in Advancement Marketing; John Visgilio – CEO, OverAbove
Break – 10:45 AM
Breakouts by department – 11:00 AM — For Admissions, Development and Marketing & Communications

Each breakout will be a collaborative, working session focused on discussing topics such as:

• What is your school doing (and not doing) to embrace these dynamic changes?
• What macro trends are impacting your advancement efforts?
• What aspects are still a mystery and need more exploration?
• What three things can advancement teams focus on to close the gap?

Lunch – 12:00 PM
Introduction to Afternoon Workshops – 12:45 PM
Afternoon workshops – 1:00 PM

• Lost But Now Found: How to Ensure Your Website Is Effective and User-Friendly, Using Free Tools
  • Tara Claeys – Founder & Creative Director, Design TLC
• Two parts!
  • Part 1 — Activate Your Base: Using Challenges & Data Analysis to Increase Fundraising Success
    • Jenny Dupré – Assistant Director of Development Communications; Choate Rosemary Hall
    • KeriAnne Tisdale – Director of Development Communications; Choate Rosemary Hall
  • Part 2 — Knock it out of the Park: Achieve New Levels of Success in your Giving Challenges 
    • Lynette Gioffre – Director of Advancement; Rye Country Day School

Session descriptions:

KEYNOTE: Embracing the Undeniable Speed of Change in Advancement Marketing
John Visgilio, CEO of Overabove

Everything has changed with undeniable speed. Schools have to embrace new methodologies and technology to keep up.

That change is happening at an increasingly quick pace. New technologies are adopted as quickly as newer ones are introduced. While all of this can be overwhelming, the opportunity for marketing and communications is tremendous. We have the ability to know our alumni, donors, current families and prospect families better than ever before. This allows us to serve up the most relevant content to keep our loyalists engaged plus meet the needs and desires of future families and do it in a hyper-efficient way.

John Visgilio, CEO of Overabove, will take us through this world of transformation. From a macro overview of what is happening in the world around us to a micro execution of how advancement teams can use tools and data to engage and nurture alumni and donors as well as reach best fit families.

AFTERNOON WORKSHOP: Lost But Now Found: How to Ensure Your Website Is Effective and User-Friendly, Using Free Tools
Tara Claeys – Founder & Creative Director, Design TLC

Just because a website LOOKS great, does not mean it works for your users, or that it is helping you get found on the internet. There are a number of things to check to make sure your website is performing well. Performance includes the user experience as well as how (and where) your website is showing up in website searches. In this workshop, you will learn how to check your website’s performance using free tools, and how to implement improvements that will fix errors and increase the chances that your website will rank higher in Google. This will ultimately help your website serve as a more effective marketing tool for your independent school!

AFTERNOON WORKSHOP: Activate Your Base: Using Challenges & Data Analysis to Increase Fundraising Success
Lynette Gioffre – Director of Advancement; Rye Country Day School
KeriAnne Tisdale – Director of Development Communications; Choate Rosemary Hall
Jenny Dupré – Assistant Director of Development Communications; Choate Rosemary Hall

Part 1 — Following the Evidence: Leveraging Email Data to Drive Engagement

1. Don’t let data intimidate you. You don’t need a Ph.D. in Stats to use it!
2. Lifecycle of data-driven communications
3. There are many ways to break down data → start with a question you want to answer
4. Defining your metrics → measure what’s important to you
5. What our data told us
6. Real-life changes that made a difference (examples from our shop)
7. Practical applications for shops of all sizes

Part 2 — Knock it out of the Park: Achieve New Levels of Success in your Giving Challenges
Whether you have been running giving challenges for years or are considering launching one at your school, this presentation will share the building blocks of success. From how to utilize donor data to behind-the-scenes strategies that motivate annual giving teams and volunteers, discover key takeaways that every advancement and communications professional can put to use. Participants will leave with:

• How-to guide for running (or establishing) a successful giving challenge within various budgets
• Summary of data and resources that can be used to execute a successful challenge
• Tips for strategic collaboration that leverage a variety of talents, even if your development staff is lean
• An actionable plan for starting your school’s challenge today!

Speakers:

Tara Claeys is a seasoned website designer and developer with a marketing background going back over 25 years. Her passion for childhood enrichment helps guide a user-focused approach to websites for independent schools and education-focused nonprofits. 

As a small agency, Design TLC works one-to-one with small schools and nonprofits who need a professional, performant and user-friendly website but who don’t have a budget for large, expensive website companies. 

Design TLC has helped dozens of organizations improve their online presence, enhance the functionality of their website to make it easy to edit and update, and drive engagement with conversion-driven messaging. Tara has presented at many conferences and webinars on subjects including website performance, SEO, nonprofit website donation software, WordPress plugins, productivity and more.

Tara’s interest in the childhood enrichment and education industry comes from her own experiences raising two children in Arlington, Virginia. She is a volunteer and an ardent supporter of local and national nonprofits that support educational opportunities for underserved children.

Jenny Dupré is a storyteller with more than a decade specializing in nonprofit fundraising. In her current role as Assistant Director of Development Communications at Choate Rosemary Hall, Jenny focuses on creating copy and media that compels and delights donors. She is passionate crafting strategic content and design that can tell a story.

Lynette Gioffre is a record breaker, consistently raising the bar for fundraising at Rye Country Day School since arriving in 2014. Leading the development, alumni relations, and communications teams, her hallmarks are out-of-the-box thinking, strategic collaboration, and empowering teams to leverage individual and group strengths. Ms. Gioffre began her development career in higher education law and athletics and approaches all fundraising endeavors with spirit and energy.

KeriAnne Tisdale is Director of Development Communications at Choate Rosemary Hall. KeriAnne is a passionate advocate for utilizing data to create a successful engagement and communications strategy. As the director of development communications at Choate Rosemary Hall, KeriAnne specializes in maximizing resources to inspire greater investment from key constituents. KeriAnne has 19 years of fundraising experience in both independent and higher education. She is a proud alumna and active volunteer for the College of the Holy Cross.

John Visgilio is Principal and Co-founder of Overabove, a marketing and communications firm in Chester, CT.

John didn’t come from the ivory tower of the traditional agency world. He came from news, where he uncovered compelling stories that broke through. So he thinks differently about just about everything: strategy, collaboration, results, you name it. That’s why he created a different kind of agency. One that uses big data, technology and content in ways other agencies don’t understand.

To drive enrollment and development, schools need to differentiate themselves from the competition. From private secondary to public post-secondary schools, Overabove does just that. Academia, however, is not all we do. Overabove clients live in diverse worlds, including travel & leisure, financial services and healthcare. John uses the discipline he’s gained from working in these competitive categories to help Overabove’s education clients go over the competition and above the noise.

Conference Exhibitors

Be sure to visit our Conference Exhibitors who will be available throughout the conference!

CAIS Sustaining Partners:

• CCS Fundraising
• ISM, Inc.
• Sametz Blackstone Associates

And with:

• Annual Giving Network LLC
• Boost My School
• Finalsite