2008 Burdenski & Taylor
Advancement Academy
July 29-31 at The San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina
Hosted by Bob Burdenski and John Taylor

I attended the (2006) Advancement Academy and I thank you for providing such an enriching experience. The speakers were wonderful. I especially enjoyed your talk on leadership annual giving. I am planning to actually get out of the office this year! Great job!

Registration for the 2008 Academy is now open.
Go to the online registration page.

The 4th-Annual Advancement Academy is co-hosted by John Taylor and Bob Burdenski, and features program tracks in annual giving and advancement services.

When planning your 2008 conference budget, be sure to include the Annual Advancement Academy.

The Academy has been approved for points in Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification.

Registration fees include breakfasts and lunches during the conference.

You can download a pdf copy of the preliminary conference agenda here.

...A session on effective parent fundaising program strategies.  How do we quickly engage, cultivate and solicit this "helicopter" prospect audience?

...Get out of the office!  A session on effective personal solicitation in leadership annual giving programs.  How does the annual giving program strenghen its role as a major gift pipeline?

..A session on data mining and prospect segmentation;  How do we improve segmentation by learning from the donor segments we already have?

..A panel discussion on best strategies for maximizing alumni giving participation rates;  Your president and your board pay attention to U.S. News and World Report rankings.  What can your annual giving program do to help?

...A special brand-new review of the best direct mail samples from the 2008 direct mail exchange. More than 150 schools participated last year -- see the very best of the new batch from the 2008 direct mail exchange.

...An overview of the latest new initiatives in online fundraising, including wiki, text messages, Facebook, email, flash, Web content and cross-media marketing. How are these new technologies continuing to integrate themselves into advancement?

...A panel discussion on the most important annual giving trends for 2008. Cell phones, Facebook.com, caller ID, spam e-mail legislation, MySpace.com, recurring giving, text messaging, Web payments, unlisted phone numbers, distance learning and non-traditional students all threaten to wreak havoc with your all-too-traditional annual giving program. Bob Burdenski convenes a special panel of annual giving veterans, vendors and opinion-makers to explore what's coming over the hill in annual giving -- and what's already here! Learn what you need to know in your program planning for FY09... and beyond.

...Bob and John’s wildly popular annual "Pardon The Interruption"-style annual giving and advancement services wrap-up discussion and faculty firing line.