Campaign Launch on a Shoestring: How to Make it Memorable
Session 1B

Session Description: 

Let us empower you to create a memorable event, even if your goal and budget are modest by today's standards. Our presentation will focus on the strategies used to stretch our dollars while still making an impression.

We will demonstrate how to execute a memorable event that will energize your donors, leadership, faculty, and staff, and spur future gifts. We'll take you step-by-step through the process—including the hurdles our team faced along the way (including an unexpected change of venue), maintaining the secrecy of a surprise goal, and the challenge of a Monday night launch.

Our team of three delivered what our guests called our "finest event," and we didn't even serve dinner! Join us to learn how you, too, can deliver a memorable event on a shoestring.

Shop Size
Small Shop (1–5 staff)

Experience Level
Suitable across all levels

Sectors
Public College/University
Foundation

Categories
Campaigns
Events

About the Speakers:

Ana Conant
Director, Stewardship
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Ana joined the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee development and alumni relations team in 2012. While not a newcomer to donor relations, Ana was the first full-time UWM staff member dedicated to donor relations and stewardship. She previously held similar client services positions in the corporate world, in commercial banking and real estate development.

Kari Anderson-Pink
Campaign Communications Manager
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Before she came to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (her alma mater!) in 2015, Kari worked as the stewardship communications writer for the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. She has previously served on the board of ADRP’s monthly newsletter, The Hub. In her current role, Kari is responsible for all communications related to the university’s comprehensive fundraising campaign, including e-newsletters, press releases, print publications, signage, web content, and video projects. 

Susan Mendelson
Campaign Manager
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Susan has been the manager of Made in Milwaukee, Shaping the World: The Campaign for UWM since 2016. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2011 as manager of the Year of the Arts, a special effort of UWM’s Peck School of the Arts, and subsequently served as the chancellor’s liaison for development for four years. Previously, she was director of alumni relations at the University School of Milwaukee. A graduate of Michigan State University, she has substantial volunteer experience, including coordinating a community organization that provides assistance to Milwaukee’s hungry.