Event
Event Details
Where:
Reno, NV
Reno, NV
When:
September 9, 2025
September 9, 2025
Join us for a day of insightful Advancement discussions
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025
9a – 3:30p
Peppermill Resort Spa Casino
Reno, Nevada
Join Kindsight and Attain Partners for Gather, an exclusive pre-conference experience created to spark meaningful conversations and foster collaboration. Gather brings together Advancement experts, higher education leaders, decision makers, and strategic partners for a day of thought leadership, candid dialogue, and connection.
This invitation-only event is curated for institutions navigating complex change and ready to accelerate their Advancement strategy. Whether you’re exploring AI readiness, operational transformation, or the future of fundraising, Gather is built to help you connect the dots with the people and strategies that matter.
What To Expect
- Opportunities to connect with peers from leading institutions
- Candid conversations with Advancement experts
- Insights into the evolving future of Advancement
Speakers and Panelists
Jeff Baynham
Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement Services
North Carolina State University
Jen Best
Senior Manager and Design Thinking Expert
Attain Partners
Christopher Campbell
Principal and Advancement Advisory Lead
Attain Partners
Caroline Chang
Vice President, Advancement
Kindsight
Ryan Hartley
Managing Director, Data Services
Attain Partners
Melissa Kwilosz
Vice President, Client Strategy
Kindsight
Shalonda Martin
Executive Director, Advancement Services
Pomona College
Joe Meister
Associate Vice President, Advancement Services
University of Rochester
Reshma Patel-Jackson
Partner and Attain Digital Lead
Attain Partners
Chris Speier
Vice President & Chief Data Officer
Texas A&M Foundation
Andy Suther
Senior Account Executive
Kindsight
Brad Tsai
AI SME
Attain Partners
Agenda
8:00a – 9:00a | Check-in and Breakfast
9:15a – 10a | Keynote: The WHY Behind Modern Fundraising
Kindsight Presenter: Melissa Kwilosz, VP, Client Strategy
Fundraising has changed, but have our tools kept up? Many advancement teams find themselves struggling with a “Fundraising Blindspot”—expected to deliver transformative results while relying on a patchwork of outdated, separate systems that don’t communicate. This approach often leads to fragmented data, missed opportunities, and fundraisers spending more time on manual work than on building relationships.
This session explores the “why” behind the shift to a modern fundraising model. We will discuss the need for a new approach that moves beyond simply managing data and towards generating real-time intelligence across the entire donor lifecycle.
Join us to understand the core principles of a modern strategy, built on three essential pillars:
- Identify & Qualify: Why it’s no longer enough to have a database of names. We’ll discuss the need to instantly spot your best donors with live, intelligent profiles that eliminate manual research and stale data.
- Cultivate & Engage: The challenge of personalizing at scale. Learn why modern fundraising requires integrated tools that provide AI-powered recommendations and automated workflows to ensure every donor feels seen.
- Steward & Grow: Moving beyond hindsight. Discover why teams now need real-time dashboards and predictive insights to see what’s working, measure performance against benchmarks, and make smarter decisions, faster.
This session will give you a clear vision for why your fundraising strategy and technology must evolve together to turn chaotic information into the measurable growth your mission deserves.
10a – 10:45a | Panel: Change Management Best Practices
Reshma Patel-Jackson (Attain Partners) facilitates client panel: Jeff Baynham (North Carolina State University), Shalonda Martin (Pomona College), Joe Meister (University of Rochester)
This session brings together advancement leaders to discuss the critical role of change management in digital transformation, with a particular focus on advancement CRM implementations. Panelists will share how recent industry challenges have reshaped institutional priorities and how IT leaders are evolving to lead cross-campus impact. We’ll explore the importance of planning, the opportunity to transition staff from tactical to strategic roles, and the urgency of developing a robust data strategy in the age of AI. The conversation will also address how institutions are balancing enterprise structure with innovation, especially in advancement operations. We’ll close with an optimistic view of how technology is helping higher education move the needle in meaningful ways.
10:45a – 11:00a | Networking Break
11:00a – 12:00p | Discussion: Architecting AI Readiness—Data Strategy for Modern Advancement
Kindsight Presenter: Brad Tsai, AI SME
Attain Partners Presenter: Ryan Hartley, Managing Director, Data Services
This joint session will explore the benefits and challenges of implementing AI. It will highlight how AI can enhance key activities, including prospect identification, personalized engagement, data quality, and operational efficiency. The presentation will also address common challenges related to data for AI, the importance of being prepared for AI implementation, and the necessity of having a robust data strategy. Additionally, examples of Generative, Predictive, Agentic, and Reporting AI will be demonstrated in action.
12:00p – 1:00p | Lunch and Networking
1:00p – 1:15p | Afternoon Remarks
1:15p – 2:00p | Interactive Discussion: Transformation, Optimization, and Design Thinking
Attain Partners Presenters: Christopher Campbell and Jen Best
Advancement organizations are undergoing rapid transformation driven by emerging technologies. Some are reimagining their strategies entirely, while others are enhancing proven approaches with modern tools. Which path leads to greater success—and how can you determine the right fit for your institution? Join experts from Attain Partners and advancement leaders who have navigated these changes to explore how both innovative and traditional strategies can drive results.
2:00p – 2:15p | Networking Break
2:15p – 3:00p | Discussion: From Reactive to Proactive: Building Your Real-time Prospecting Engine
Caroline Chang (Kindsight) and Chris Speier (Texas A&M Foundation)
Many of fundraising’s most successful institutions once faced a familiar challenge: a reactive cycle fueled by disconnected systems, manual workflows, and stale spreadsheet data. This common “fundraising blind spot” meant that even with hardworking teams, critical opportunities to connect with high-potential donors were being missed.
But a shift is underway. Top advancement shops are moving from reactive outreach to proactive, intelligence-driven prospecting, and this workshop offers the opportunity to learn from their journey.
Join us for this session to hear the strategies and frameworks that have allowed leading institutions to build their own real-time prospecting engines. We will explore the proven methods they have used to:
- Identify and Qualify Top Prospects in Seconds: Learn how they moved beyond manual research and now use dynamic, automated scoring to instantly surface the donors most likely to give.
- Act on Timely, Actionable Intelligence: Discover the role of real-time alerts and engagement triggers in their success, allowing them to connect with donors at the perfect moment.
- Empower Fundraisers to Focus on Relationships, Not Data Cleanup: Hear how they successfully unified donor data to create a single, reliable view of every prospect, enabling their teams to spend less time fixing data and more time building relationships.
This workshop is your chance to learn from the experience of those who have already navigated this change. You’ll walk away with a clear, actionable framework for building a prospecting engine that drives measurable impact.
3:00p – 3:30p | Closing Remarks
5:00p – 9:00p | Evening Entertainment: Reno’s National Bowling Stadium
After Gather concludes, join us on the lanes for bowling, food, and drink! Transportation will be provided.
