Individual Giving: Findings From the Most Recent Research at the Center on Philanthropy

Individual giving constitutes the biggest share of charitable contributions in the US, an important funding source for the nonprofit sector, and a phenomena interconnected with the development of civil society. In this presentation, Patrick Rooney, Executive Director at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and professor of economics and philanthropic studies, will share the most recent findings on giving by households and giving by foundations in the broader context of global and American philanthropy. The discussed studies will include 2007 Center on Philanthropy Panel Study, 2010 Bank of America Merrill Lynch Study of High Net Worth Philanthropy, and 2010 Giving USA report.

• Patrick Rooney, Executive Director of The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University

Patrick M. Rooney is Executive Director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, a leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice worldwide.

A nationally recognized expert on philanthropy and charitable giving, Dr. Rooney speaks frequently across the country on issues related to philanthropy and management of nonprofit organizations and has been quoted by national news media outlets such as PBS’s Nightly Business Report, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and USA Today. He has served as a member of several national advisory groups, including advisory committees for the U.S. Corporation for National and Community Service, the U.S. Bureau of the Census’ Current Population Survey, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and INDEPENDENT SECTOR.

Dr. Rooney previously served as the Center’s Chief Operating Officer and has been its Director of Research since 1999. He created the Center’s formal in-house research program, building it into one of the premier philanthropy research organizations in the nation. He directs Center-wide research activities, including overseeing the Center's signature research project, the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS). Conducted in collaboration with the University of Michigan's Panel Study of Income Dynamics, COPPS is the largest and most accurate study of charitable giving over time ever conducted. Dr. Rooney also leads the Center’s ongoing research projects, including the research and writing for Giving USA, which is produced by Giving USA Foundation. He coordinates the Center’s extensive contract research program and has guided Center research for clients such as Bank of America, American Express, Target Corporation, United Way of America, the Business Civic Leadership Center and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In 2008 Dr. Rooney and the Center’s research team received the John Grenzebach Research Award for Outstanding Published Scholarship from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

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• Allen Rosso, Managing Principal, MindFrame

Alumni are people first and buyers second. This should be the mantra driving every organization all over the world. Over the past couple of years there has been a huge push into the world of social media. Hundreds and thousands of people have been flooding and joining sites like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter and what are they talking about? Themselves and you. Never in the history of donor engagement has there been a better platform for customer information and marketing research. How do you build an integrated marketing campaign that captures the transactional, aspirational, generational, and psychological aspects of the donor? We answer that... and more.

What you will learn:

• Why it is important to change the way you view your marketing
• How to effectively integrate traditional and digital marketing
• The future of online communication and digital marketing
• What Twitter and Facebook means to my organization
• Using new technology by reallocating existing budgets
• How digital marketing builds donor engagement
• The next 5 years of marketing communication
• Examine what worked and why from the University of Chicago case study

Allen Rosso, Managing Principal, brings more than 17 years of development experience to MindFrame. During his career, he has specialized in developing comprehensive multi-channel direct response and volunteer driven campaigns. As the Senior Director of the Office of Philanthropic Affiliation at the University of Chicago, he managed the University’s annual giving campaigns, the development and programming volunteer network of the Reunion and Class Council program and the planning and execution of events such as Reunion and Homecoming, engaging thousands of alumni and consistently raising more than $18 million dollars annually. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Rosso spent five years at Vanderbilt University and eight years working on numerous local, state and federal political campaigns. He served in diverse roles including finance director, campaign manager, research director and campaign consultant. He has taught numerous political campaign schools and Case annual giving conferences.

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• Erik Runyon, Interactive Developer, University of Notre Dame

The days of ignoring mobile users are past. This session will address the various approaches and strategies needed to provide your institutions content to mobile devices. We will look at styling websites for mobile devices, the difference between your mobile app and your homepage and mobile web vs. native applications.

Erik Runyon is an interactive developer for AgencyND at the University of Notre Dame. He is a staunch advocate of web standards, semantic markup, mobile experience, and open source software. He blogs about higher ed web development at weedygarden.net.

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• Nathan Wight, Director of Development, School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University
• Dr. David Lasater, Director of Advancement, Student Affairs, Purdue University

Get practical experiences from two development professionals focusing on: prioritizing prospects, securing, preparing for, and conducting the visit, and appropriate follow up. This session will help you think about things you can control, and how to improve your skills in securing appointments, communicating your message, and continuing appropriate cultivation with your constituency.

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Being an alumni director is hard work! How do you build and maintain a connection that lasts through the years? What are the keys to building involvement? How do you garner long-term relationships that also grow into giving relationships?

• Moderator: Cathy Valcke, Director of Alumni Relations – Indiana University Kokomo
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  Kristy Brown, Director of Development & Donor Relations, Franklin College

  Kristy Brown is director of development for donor relations for Franklin College. In this role she oversees annual fundraising, donor stewardship and development services. A graduate of Franklin College, she has also served the institution as director of alumni services. Brown has been a member of the Board of Directors of CASE Indiana.

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  Lisa A. Gregory, Asst. Director of Alumni Relations/Student Alumni Council Advisor, Manchester College

  Lisa Gregory started her career in Alumni Relations in 2003 at Manchester College, have served as Assistant Director of Alumni Relations there since 2006. Her primary programs are young alumni, AOC (alumni of color) and staff advisor for the active Student Alumni Council on campus and is heavily involved in all alumni programming. She's also in charge of the Manchester College Alumni Board of Directors. As a strong advocate for diversity and respect for the College mission, Lisa holds a seat on the human diversity and the bi-annual International Fair committees. She received her undergraduate degree in Business from the University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne, Ind.

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  Michelle Martin, Director of Alumni Relations, Ivy Tech Community College, Kokomo

  Michelle earned an Associate of Science in Professional Communication from Ivy Tech Community College in 2006 and a Bachelor's degree in General Studies from Indiana University Kokomo in 2008. She is now pursuing a Master of Science in Public Administration from Indiana University Kokomo. Prior to her career at Ivy Tech, Michelle achieved the Certified Administrative Professional Rating from the International Association of Administrative Professionals, worked for various corporations as an Executive Assistant and for many years at the Indianapolis Firefighters Local 416. Michelle currently serves on the board of the Kokomo Farmers Market, the Kokomo Event Center and on the United Way of Kokomo Volunteer Activities Committee. Michelle is a native of Indianapolis, IN and currently resides in Kokomo with her two daughters, Hannah and Baylee.

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  Marty Songer, Director of Alumni Programs, Taylor University

  Marty Songer has served her alma mater, Taylor University, since 1991 where she began as prospect researcher and grant writer. She quickly moved into the role of Director of Alumni Programs and continues to serve in that capacity today. In addition to campus and regional event planning, Marty is responsible for online communication with alumni, working with the Alumni Council, writing for the TAYLOR magazine, and cultivating alumni/student relationships.

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  Tim Ziebarth, Director of Alumni Services, Director of William P. Gordon Institute for Enterprise Development, Grace College

  Tim is a 1993 graduate of Grace College, with a double major in business and psychology and a minor in communications. In addition to coordinating alumni events and communication, Tim collaborates with alumni and the Kosciusko County community to develop synergistic applied learning opportunities for Grace students. He is also a part-time instructor for Grace, teaching various business and management disciplines.

• Patrick DiMichele, Senior Strategist, mStoner

We'll walk-through tips and tricks getting the most of your website content. The session will cover the basics of auditing your content, identifying areas in need of improvement, writing pages that facilitate action and coordinating contributors spread across your institution. And we'll dissect a collection of successful content and interactive features from an array of colleges and universities with an emphasis on approaches you can put to work at your own institution.

Patrick DiMichele, Senior Strategist at mStoner, has created web and user experience strategies for public universities, private liberal arts colleges and an array of institutions in between. Working with the mStoner creative and technical teams, he's led initiatives for Ball State University, Bethel University, College of William & Mary, Penn State University and Trinity College. Before he was a hot-shot "senior strategist" Patrick ran the design practice at mStoner where he created websites for Princeton University, McDaniel College, Quinnipiac University and Yale Law School. He holds a bachelor's degree in English and political science from Indiana University and spends way too much time in bookstores.

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• Charles Williams, Dean of the College of Business, Butler University
• Jonathan Barada, Gift Officer, Butler University

For too long we've approached donors with the “we have this initiative that needs funding….will you support us?” mentality. Instead, we propose that involving donors at the very earliest stages of planning and idea generation will yield more meaningful involvement and ultimately larger gifts. Here's the catch. We have to be willing to listen to donors and dream WITH them as opposed to providing them with a list of funding opportunities for their consideration. Take a “big idea” to your donors. Let them edit the white paper. Let them see the budget. Sincere and intimate involvement with your institution's “big ideas” will lead to larger and more meaningful fundraising. This session will describe a process for how to engage donors in a meaningful, truly collaborative process.

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• Lily Henriksen Myers, Ancilla College Alumni Association Board of Directors
• Chris Craft, Chairman-Elect, Indiana University Alumni Association
• Bonnie Biggs, Indiana Wesleyan Alumni Association Board of Directors
• Moderator: Monica Miller Woods, Managing Director, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Purdue University

They are your unsung heroes. They work for free selfishly serving their alma mater as leaders and volunteers, but why? In this session, you’ll hear from a panel of alumni candidly discussing their volunteer experience, what intrinsic value they gain from it, what would make the experience more meaningful, and what their institutions can do to engage more volunteers.

• Rwitti Roy, Senior Director of Brand and Advertising, Purdue University

The story of the making of the “Makers, All” campaign. From research through launch, we will explore how to build a brand – one brick higher.

As senior director of brand and advertising, Rwitti Roy is responsible for developing the brand blueprint for Purdue University, while ensuring that all advertising and brand strategy aligns with the strategic plan.

Born and raised in Calcutta, India, her experience includes work in both the fast-paced world of advertising (with such agencies as JWT and Bates) and the challenging world of U.S. higher education. While at Purdue, she has done groundbreaking work to build the brand rubric of the Purdue College of Engineering and the Purdue University brand. Her innate ability to reinvent brands has many a time resulted in redefining markets.

Rwitti draws inspiration from her love of cultures. Her enthusiasm feeds a curiosity about the world around her and stimulates her professional activity.

• Wendy Harlow, Executive Director for Development, Butler University

Wendy Harlow, Executive Director for Development at Butler University, has done the hard work for you. Throughout the process of proposing an incentive plan, Wendy has researched both AFP and CASE guidelines as well as benchmarked best practices from many other institutions who have implemented incentive plans. The reality is that incentive plans are a mixed bag and deciding whether or not one is right for your institution is, at least in part, about your office and institutional culture. Attendees of this session will leave with a deeper understanding of incentive plans and their pros and cons and perhaps an insight into what type, if any, incentive plan would work at your institution.