Chicago, IL
The in-person workshop will be held over two days on December 12–13, 2024

Academic leaders devote their professional careers to both deepening their subject matter expertise and honing their leadership and administrative skills. Now, with an increasing emphasis on fundraising in their job descriptions, leaders in higher education must learn the skills necessary for gaining financial support from donors. To address this need, academic leaders can put the research-based findings of Advancement Resources, a global leader in professional development education in philanthropy, to work for them in learning the skills necessary for success in fundraising.

In Professional Fundraising for Deans and Academic Leaders, participants delve into donor motivation and proven process concepts in uncovering and connecting with the philanthropic passions of donors. Designed as a shared experience for both academic leaders and their development colleagues, this training demystifies the fundraising process by focusing on the essential roles that leadership plays in helping donors and potential donors make significant contributions to your institution’s mission, vision, and funding priorities.

At the heart of the training, participants will learn the elements for crafting a compelling Opportunity Story—a simple, yet effective means for the academic leader to convey their important work to others in a way that inspires support—and receive feedback from their academic and development peers as they create and practice sharing their own Opportunity Story using one of their real-life funding priorities.

Participants will walk away with a toolkit filled with vital skills, processes, and tools that will pave the way to connecting and working with donors. Both the knowledge shared by our accomplished facilitators and the invigorating discussions with fellow participants will prime academic leaders for success as they partner with their development colleagues in achieving fundraising goals.