In This Section
Conference HandoutsKeynote Speech
Guy Kawasaki: The Art of InnovationSpecial Sessions
Chief Advancement OfficersMaster Classes
Alumni Relations Development - Campaign Strategies Advancement Services - You and Your Team Communications - Media TrainingPre-Conference Sessions
New Advancement Professionals Emerging LeadersTrack Sessions
Alumni Relations Development Communications Advancement Services Community Colleges Independent Schools Professional InterestMaster Class: Development
Sunday, November 15
Campaign Strategies - 9:00am-1:00pm
Divided into four, focused sessions with a range of contributing experts and panelists, this master class will cover a breadth of topics pertaining to campaigns in today’s economy.
Intermediate, Advanced
Session 1: Two Views of Campaign Planning: Internal and External
Have the traditional approaches to higher education campaign planning run their course? Do internal audiences view campaigns one way, but external audiences another? Do these perspectives conflict with our goals? What matters most in the end? An open discussion on the myriad pushes and pulls in planning a campaign.
Gregory Leets Vice President of Development for Arizona State University Foundation.
Leet serves on the Foundation’s executive management team and leads a staff of more than 50 in the major gifts programs in ASU’s 17 colleges and schools. He manages individual giving, estate and gift planning, foundation relations and strategic initiatives, and corporate relations. Since arriving in late 2006, Leet helped reorganize and rebuild the development functions to rapidly increase field activity and prospect relationships, and to build a culture of cross-unit collaboration. The Foundation has since doubled its frontline fundraising staff, tripled prospect appointments, and implemented a new prospect management system. Before joining ASU Foundation, Leet worked at Creighton University as regional director of development and as director of principal gifts. He was also chief strategist and relationship manager for a $50-million gift, the largest in Creighton’s history. Leet previously was at Kansas State University Foundation as director of the Hale Library campaign. Leet first worked in development as a student at Kansas State University organizing for the university’s first phonathon as a volunteer. Although after college Leet enjoyed a successful career in the California insurance industry, at the urging of his mentor at the KSU Foundation, he returned to KSU to become a fulltime fundraiser. Leet holds an undergraduate degree in journalism from Kansas State University.
Sessions 2: A Billion Dollar Campaign's Transformation Evolution: A New Day, A New Way
Numerous events occur during the typical seven-10 year campaign cycle, but the one constant is change itself – most often in the form of leadership turnovers, changes in institutional priorities and fluctuating economies (as well as donor wealth portfolios and philanthropy trends, in general). The ability to adapt, be flexible, to focus on the institution's strengths (as well as those of our alumni, friends and volunteers) and to reinvent ourselves are the keys to a successful campaign. In this session, we will examine the evolution of a major research institution's billion- dollar campaign: the changes involved from its pre- to post-public phases, the impact of current economic challenges and changes in campaign leadership, and the opportunities that have stemmed from these challenges.
Christopher M. Johnston, Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of California, Irvine (UCI)
With UCI since 2000, Assistant Vice Chancellor Christopher Johnston leads the Office of Campus Development and Leadership Initiatives and UCI’s $1 billion “Shaping the Future” campaign, and he serves as the Secretary of the UCI Foundation and as University Advancement’s Partner for the Foundation’s Campaign Committee. Chris has 17 years of university and university advancement experience, including a variety of leadership positions at UCI that include the Office of Principal Gifts, Gifts and Trusts Administration, and the School of Humanities’ Office of Development, Alumni Relations and Special Events. He also directed two campaign initiatives that helped create UCI’s School of Law and the Program in Nursing Science.
Sessions 3: A Consultant's Perspective
Providing practical insight into both sides of the education industry (administrators and consultants), this presentation will delve into an array of questions to consider when engaging—and working with—a consultant group on a major campaign.
Richard L. Tollefson, Jr., President, The Phoenix Philanthropy Group
Richard Tollefson established The Phoenix Philanthropy Group in 2004 and has more than 20 years of fundraising and advancement management experience. Serving more than 35 clients in four countries, The Phoenix Philanthropy Group partners with nonprofit organizations to optimize their impact on our global society by serving their needs with strategic, innovative, accountable, and outcomes-driven fundraising and constituent relations programs. Previously, Tollefson was Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Thunderbird School of Global Management, where he managed two comprehensive fundraising campaigns which raised $120 million in 26 countries. Additionally, he was among the leadership team for Arizona State University’s $600m campaign, helping to establish and build the institution’s comprehensive and sophisticated fundraising operation as well as innovative constituent relationship programs.
Sessions 4: Lessons Learned for Successful Fundraising (panel discussion)
The final presentation will be a panel discussion. Leading this session will be Richard Tollefson, President of The Phoenix Philanthropy Group, an organization well-versed in campaign management, fundraising, alumni and constituent relations, and market research in institutions ranging from early childhood learning and development programs, to K – 12 schools, community colleges, and public and private universities in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Arab Emirates. Joining Tollefson on the panel will be fellow master class presenters Christopher M. Johnston, Assistant Vice Chancellor, UC Irvine; Gregory Leet, Vice President of Development, Arizona State University Foundation; Jim Purcell, Vice President University Relations, Santa Clara University; and William "Wink" Ames, Founding Partner and Director, Minard-Ames Insurance Group.
Jim Purcell, Vice President for University Relations, Santa Clara University
Vice President for University Relations Jim Purcell has been with Santa Clara University since 1997. In this role, he oversees Alumni Relations, Development, and the Office of Marketing and Communications, and is a member of the President's Cabinet. Under Purcell’s leadership, the recent “Campaign for Santa Clara” raised more than $404 million for scholarships, faculty, capital projects, and technology that will significantly transform the University’s operations and overall community.
William "Wink" Ames, Founding Partner and Director, Minard-Ames Insurance Group
William “Wink” Ames is founding partner and director of the Phoenix-based Minard-Ames Insurance Group and a graduate of University of California, Berkley. Active with Del E. Webb School of Construction (DEWSC) at Arizona State University for more than 30 years, Ames has taught graduate and undergraduate courses, been a leading member of the Industry Advisory Council, and currently serves on DEWSC’s $40 million capital campaign leadership board. A member of several industry associations as well, Ames is committed to promoting professionalism and growth of the dynamic construction industry.