Top Takeaways from CASE-NAIS 2017: The National Conference for Independent Schools
This was my fourth CASE-NAIS conference, but my first as an EverTrue team member. It’s always been one of my favorite conferences because there are so many opportunities to connect with great people from independent schools. We face the same challenges and when we get together, we’re always willing to share creative solutions to our […]
From Exeter to EverTrue: My Advancement Journey
I believe in the power of education. I’ve seen it in my own life when great teachers unlocked the beauty of Shakespeare through group readings. When they helped work and re-work drafts of papers before my love of storytelling blossomed into a career. When they helped me see how seemingly unrelated events intersected and crescendoed […]
Rutgers University’s Kyle Post on Digital Fundraising and Crowdfunding
We talked with Kyle Post, director of crowdfunding and digital fundraising at Rutgers University. Kyle has been in this newly created position for a little over a year and shared what he’s learned about crowdfunding during his 15 months on the job. What exactly is a director of digital fundraising? It’s a new position the […]
TechStars’ John Hill on Pushing for Innovation in Higher Ed
John Hill, network catalyst at TechStars (and EverTrue advisor), has helped people make valuable connections to build their careers for over a decade. As the director of career services at Michigan State University, he helped grow the world’s largest LinkedIn university group. He then transitioned to LinkedIn to lead the company’s launch of university pages. Now, […]
A Donor Experience Wake-Up Call… From a Mattress Company?
I went shopping for a mattress and ended up with the best customer experience of my life. Not only did the company, Tuft & Needle, knock my slippers off with the shopping experience, but they also gave me a bunch of ideas that we can easily build into our online fundraising efforts at Phillips Exeter […]
Your Guide to Surviving (Thriving!) at a Conference
Advancement professionals are always willing to share what they’re doing with each other. That’s one of the best things about this industry. We don’t compete; we work together to help each other succeed. This kind of teamwork and info-sharing makes conferences especially valuable learning opportunities, no matter how long you’ve been in the nonprofit world. […]
Get Snappin’: Alumni Engagement in the Era of Snapchat
Snapchat is the biggest social media platform that you’ve never used. While it’s just now expanding into the post-millennial mainstream, Snapchat’s user base is young. Almost half of all Snapchatters are in the 18-24 age bracket. Here are some more SnapStats that should grab your attention: 60% of all smartphone users are on Snapchat Snapchat […]
A Giving Day Built Around Donors: How WBUR Raised $1 Million in Their First-Ever One-Day Campaign
We sat down with Leah Davis, associate director of new media & membership at WBUR, Boston’s NPR® News Station, to talk about how the station cut its annual spring pledge drive down to a single day—and kept momentum going weeks later. Public radio has a problem. How can stations raise the money they need without […]
Fundraising Today and Tomorrow: An Interview With Bob Miller, VP of Advancement at Loyola Academy
This series of short conversations with advancement leaders gives us a peek into exciting new projects, their thoughts on the challenges facing our industry, and a vision of the future of fundraising. Bob Miller Vice President of Advancement at Loyola Academy Tell us who you are in 50 words or less. I’m driven by the […]
Why We Killed Our Print Marketing Budget
This post is based on an interview with Craig Schmalz, the advancement director at New Life Academy in Woodbury, Minnesota, where he oversees fundraising, marketing, and admissions for the 800-student K-12 Christian day school. At New Life Academy, one of our major challenges is the size (or lack thereof) of our admissions and marketing budget. We’re attempting to overcome […]
Fundraising Today and Tomorrow: An Interview With Kevin Noller of Villanova University
This series of short conversations with advancement leaders gives us a peek into exciting new projects, their thoughts on the challenges facing our industry, and a vision of the future of fundraising. Tell us who you are in 50 words or less. My name is Kevin Noller, and I serve as the assistant vice president […]
3 Lessons From an Alumni Website Redesign
A couple weeks ago, we launched a new alumni website here at Phillips Exeter. The culmination of more than a year of planning and countless hours of production from teams across campus, the project was an exciting opportunity to build a site from the ground up that met advancement goals and better served and engaged […]