I attended the CASE/NAIS conference this year, along with 1300 other advancement team members from across the nation and global. As a new member to advancement and to independent schools I thought it would be important for me to learn more about what goes into an advancement office.

I was able to attend many workshops on engaging parents and alumni for fundraising purposes and most importantly how to engage them in volunteering roles. I was also able to attend some branding/marketing workshops; and I look forward to trying some fun new ideas to market our events better. My main purpose though was to get some more insight on how other schools are managing and handling events. I was able to walk away with new ideas to bring to Burke's. But I also took away reasons why not to cancel events or move in a different direction.

In the end, I was able to come back to San Francisco with many memories but also with new encouragement as to why this work is so important. Benefit and Festival and all the little things in between are fun, but t hey are also very important to keeping this community together and building lasting relationships with our families.