7:30am - 9:00am   Coffee & Registration

9:00am - 9:15am   Introduction
Speaker: Ravi Ravishanker, CIO, Wellesley College

9:15am - 10:15am   Connecticut College - Stage 1 - Early Stages of Search for a New Alumnae System
Speakers:   
Jean Kilbride, Assistant Vice President of Enterprise and Technical Systems, Connecticut College
Rainer Weissenberger, Director, Research & Prospect Management, Connecticut College

After providing a brief background history of Connecticut College's current database (Banner), we will touch on the challenges of implementation timing relative to a campaign, the evolving state of the advancement software market, and competing campus technology priorities. We will share thoughts on current and upcoming steps including an assessment of options for primary support of the College’s Advancement function, initial mapping of current business processes, wish lists for additional and different functionalities, evaluation of vendors, the composition of the core conversion committee, and the importance of communication throughout the process between the various stakeholders.

10:15am - 10:30am    Break

10:30am - 11:30am   Wellesley College - Stage 2 – Requirements, Research Done, Getting Ready to Look at Products
Speakers: 
Ilyssa Frey, Director of Communications and Marketing for Alumnae Affairs, Wellesley College
Amy Michelson, Director of Fundraising Analytics, Wellesley College
Ravi Ravishanker, CIO, Wellesley College

Wellesley has seen a significant number of changes in its technology landscape during the past six years, most recently phasing out Banner and shifting into Workday. Our next big change is a modern and unified alumnae system. Wellesley is unique in that our Office for Resources -- the development office -- manages primarily the fundraising aspect of alumnae relations, while the Wellesley College Alumnae Association, a separate 501 (c)(3) organization, oversees the "friend-raising" part. In addition, our Career Education team interacts with alumnae in multiple ways. Through a strong collaborative effort, these functional offices agreed to look at a modern and unified system for use by all that has a goal of vastly simplifying the alumnae experience while providing the functional offices with the technology they need to conduct their work, including tools for alumnae volunteers and our extensive network of alumnae classes, clubs, and shared interest groups. We have completed a needs assessment with the help of an external consultant and will soon be launching the search for a product. In this talk, we will discuss the process so far and the path going forward, along with the highlights from the needs assessment and the timeline for implementation. 

11:30am - 12:15pm   The Alumnae Systems Landscape and Driving Forces for Change
Speaker: Vicki Tambellini, President and CIO, The Tambellini Group

The evolution of the alumnae office has taken it from a sedate database of graduates that was used to report life events, announce reunions, and promote the occasional pledge for donations, to a thriving hub of success-sustaining activity for the institution as a whole. Sophisticated technology solutions now focus on fostering a closer embrace with graduates, strategic interactions with employers and the public, persuasive imaging to engage prospective students, and compelling marketing efforts to attract philanthropy. The institution’s brand is heralded, and the purpose is multi-fold. This session explores how technology solutions have evolved to support and facilitate these important strategies.

12:15pm - 1:00pm   Lunch

1:00pm - 2:00pm   Vassar College, CRM Selection and Approval:  "A Change Will Do You Good"
Speakers:  
Mark Romanovsky, Senior Programmer/Analyst, Vassar College
Mary Carole Starke, Associate Vice Preseident for Operations, Alumane Affairs & Development, Vassar College

This session will walk your though the process of selecting a new CRM.   Important to this process is communication within the Advancement office, communication between Advancement and Computing and Information Services team and the willingness to change.  Additionally, we will discuss the role of a consultant in the process and how helpful this is when you are assigned the task of finding a new CRM while keeping your "day job".​

 2:00pm - 3:00pm   Wesleyan University, Stage 4 - AKA Nirvana - Product Chosen and Implementation
Speakers:  
Karen Hook, Donor Database Implementation Manager, Wesleyan University
Jane Jylkka, Project Leader in ITS, Wesleyan University
Deb Treister, Director of Strategic Planning and Administration for University Relations, Wesleyan University

Advancement Systems – The path to finding the right system for your institution
Wesleyan began its search to replace their Advancement System (Millennium), in March of 2016.  We’ll talk about making the decision to replace our current system, our rfp and review process that led us to sign with Affinaquest/Salesforce in April of 2017.  Additionally, we’ll talk about our implementation team, where we are today, and where we’re headed.

3:00pm  End