Focus on Fall: Navigating the New Normal

Join fellow thought leaders and colleagues as we navigate the principles of fundraising, collaborate on how to pivot your annual fund for FY2021, investigate how data analytics could help uncover potential within your pipeline, and share examples of creative ways to engage your alumni. In the time of navigating this new normal, creativity and innovation are going to lead us to survive and thrive.

SESSION 1

Principles of Fundraising at Independent Schools: Navigating the Challenges Presented by COVID-19

Wednesday, July 22 , 2020

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will be far-reaching and independent schools will look dramatically different in its aftermath. What can we anticipate in terms of the short-term and long-term impact on philanthropy? How will this affect your fundraising results through 2020 and beyond? What steps can and should you take now to come out of this crisis well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunities a post-COVID-19 world will provide? How can we create a narrative for donor engagement today that strikes the right tone of optimism and immediate need? These are just a few of the questions that were explored in this session designed to arm you with helpful tools to navigate these uncharted and choppy seas. Presented by CCS Vice President Julie Siebel and Executive Director Catherine Sun, in partnership with Sam Cieplicki from Phoenix Country Day School.

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SESSION 2

Uncovering Hidden Gems Within Your Prospect Base

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

How well connected are you with your community? Parent and alumni loyalty to the school is strong while they are attending. If identified and managed correctly, this loyalty offers opportunities to connect after graduation. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, independent schools still need to cultivate and steward their donors for organizational sustainability and even growth. Yet with so many other tasks, how do you prioritize this crucial work? Using knowledge about your community to identify engagement patterns can help uncover the hidden gems within your prospect pool. Prospect management has evolved into a highly strategic and critical element for any organization looking to fully understand the scope of wealth, interests, and relationships within their own communities. This session explores how to analyze and differentiate critical data points within your community and use these to launch a robust prospect engagement plan. We share proven solutions and a prospect matrix tool to uncover hidden prospects, prioritize your best possible donors, and build systems and plans that will only serve to advance your philanthropic efforts during this current crisis and when we emerge from it. Presented by CCS Vice President Julie Siebel and Executive Director Catherine Sun.

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session 3

Realigning Your Annual Fund to a COVID-19 World

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

As you have completed the 2019-2020 school year, how are you positioning your fundraising strategy to meet your annual fund goals? How have you pivoted to keep fundraising momentum for your annual fund? Explore these questions and more in this guided discussion. Presented by CCS Senior Vice President Aashika Patel and Vice President Blake Reiser.

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Session 4

Evolving Your Alumni Engagement Strategy

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

In the best of times, alumni engagement for independent schools is a tough mountain to climb. We are all challenged to create a robust engagement program that provides a growing philanthropic income stream with limited resources and for alumni who may not prioritize our schools in their charitable giving. How can we preserve the alumni gains we have made and continue to develop meaningful relationships (steward/cultivate) with alumni during a time when the bulk of our engagement tactics must change? These questions and more will be answered in this engaging session presented by CCS Senior Vice President Aashika Patel and Vice President Julie Siebel, in partnership with Jennifer Johnson from Chandler School.

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