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2026 aasp Leadership Institute
March 1 - 3, 2026
Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center | Atlanta, Georgia
March 1 | March 2 | March 3
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March 1
6:00 - 7:30 PM | Reception
Sponsored by
March 2
8:00 - 9:00 AM | Breakfast
9:00 - 12:30 PM | Topic 1: Adopting Innovation
Join our first session to examine strategic approaches and key considerations for the effective implementation of new technologies and innovative solutions that support fundraising growth and advance constituent engagement.
Sub-topic 1 - It Might Be New, but Is It Right for You?
Issue: Stakeholders may be seeking solutions without first clearly defining the problem or determining whether the solution already exists therefore making it difficult to ensure alignment with organizational goals.
• There is a need to evaluate how (or whether) a new tool supports organizational goals and recognizing that “the answer might already be available in the systems you have.”
• Teams must define success together to ensure alignment, which may be difficult when the problem itself is unclear.
Sub-topic 2 - Identifying Risk
Issue: Stakeholders may be seeking new tools without fully adopting existing ones, without assessing why past solutions failed, and without ensuring alignment with culture, capacity, or strategic goals.
• Unclear risk tolerance at the institutional and advancement levels make it hard to judge whether innovations are appropriate.
• Misalignment between new tools and strategic goals often result in solutions being chosen because they are “new” rather than because they solve the right problem.
• Technology fatigue and adoption overload when tools are introduced faster than teams can learn, integrate, or maintain them.
• Stakeholders may want new tools because previous ones weren’t fully adopted and not because the underlying problems were understood or addressed.
• Lack of assessment of what went wrong with prior tools was never conducted therefore creating a pattern of replacing systems instead of diagnosing root causes.
Sub-topic 3 - Resource Allocation
Issue: New technology decisions are being considered without fully evaluating the financial, staffing, ownership, and long‑term resource implications needed to implement and sustain them.
Before adoption can succeed, several unresolved questions must be addressed:
• Budget clarity: Do we understand the full cost for both upfront and ongoing expenses?
• Human capital requirements: Do we have the staff capacity, skills, and time to implement and maintain the new tool?
• Timing and prioritization: Is now the right moment, given workload, staffing, and competing organizational priorities?
• Sustainability: Are one‑time budget dollars being used for something that will require long‑term operational funding?
• Ownership and accountability: Who will own the tool? Will it be a shared responsibility across Advancement Services and stakeholders?
• Resource allocation: Decisions about staff and financial resources must be made before adoption happens and not after.
Sub-topic 4 - Leading Adoption and Change
Issue: After a decision is made to implement a new technology or process, organizations often fail to provide the leadership, support, and frictionless workflows required to ensure successful adoption.
• Leadership may not be actively guiding the change causing a lack of clarity, reinforcement, or hands‑on support the team needs.
• Teams may lack support to adapt to the change leaving them left to figure out adoption on their own, often leading to inconsistent or delayed adoption.
• Technology creates friction instead of efficiencies due to current processes and tools that are cumbersome and may slow down essential work like donor engagement and data entry.
• Lack of institutional memory and workflow clarity by not capturing or reinforcing the “why” behind the work which may lead to disconnects in adoption.
• Gift officers face unnecessary pain points when the current technology and process design is creating barriers instead of removing them.
12:30 - 1:30 PM | Lunch
1:30 - 5:00 PM | Topic 2: Partnering for Success
Senior leaders face significant challenges due to shifting governance, legislative requirements, increased competition for philanthropic funding, and rapidly evolving technology. These pressures highlight the need for a strategic partnership with Advancement Services. Organizations also struggle with realistic technology budgeting by frequently overlooking key costs and lacking clear frameworks to measure and communicate return on investment.
Sub-topic 1 - Examine the Issues
Issue: Senior Leaders are navigating a rapidly changing and increasingly complex environment and require a strong, strategic partnership with Advancement Services to address these challenges.
• Governance & Legislative Shifts – national policies and compliance expectations are changing, and leaders must adjust their fundraising strategies accordingly.
• Intensifying Competition for Philanthropic Dollars – institutions are competing harder than ever for limited donor resources.
• Rapid Technology Evolution - new digital tools, platforms, and donor engagement technologies require interpretation, oversight, and thoughtful integration.
• The Senior Leader/Advancement Services Partnership May Need Strengthening - Advancement Services leaders “bring special insight and experience,” but that expertise isn’t always fully leveraged for strategic decision making.
Sub-topic 2 - Assess the Costs
Issue: Organizations struggle to establish realistic technology budgets because they often overlook the full scope of costs and lack effective ways to measure and communicate the value (ROI) of their technology investments.
Technology budgeting is incomplete or unrealistic – institutions frequently underestimate what it truly takes to adopt and maintain technology. This includes hardware, software, staffing, training, and ongoing operational costs. Because these elements aren’t clearly identified upfront, budget allocation becomes misaligned with actual needs.
ROI is unclear, hard to measure, and difficult to communicate – adopting technology and ensuring ROI is complex. Teams struggle to show how tools translate into revenue, engagement, or impact. Without a clear framework for measuring value, it is difficult to justify investments, secure ongoing funding, or align stakeholders.
Sub-topic 3 - Strengthen the Partnership
Issue: The partnership between Senior Leadership and Advancement Services may have gaps in understanding, expectations, communication, and collaboration, making it difficult to jointly address organizational pressures and execute shared strategies.
6:00 - 8:00 PM | Reception & Dinner
March 3
8:00 - 9:00 AM | Breakfast
9:00 - 12:00 PM | Topic: Our Transforming Role
In today’s rapidly evolving organizational landscape, Advancement Services can no longer be seen purely as a transactional back-office function. The expectations of stakeholders are rising. The pace of change demands that every team that is responsible for data, systems, and operational infrastructure play a strategic role. Leading the change means shifting from being reactive executors to becoming forward-looking influencers who help shape the institution’s priorities, decisions, and culture.
Sub-topic 1 – Advancement Services as Strategic Drivers
Issue: Misalignment, unclear roles, weak leadership support, and the lack of a unified technology roadmap may be preventing Advancement Services and Senior Leaders from executing technology strategy and organizational goals effectively.
Lack of Leadership Support for Adoption – leadership may assume decision‑making is enough which may lead to lack of guidance, reinforcement, and communication. As a result, workflows remain cumbersome and adoption fatigue emerges. This can create inconsistent implementation of solutions and frustration.
Lack of a Unified, Prioritized Technology Roadmap – is there a roadmap of shared goals across Senior Leadership and Advancement Services? If not, decisions can become reactive, emerging trends may derail long‑term plans, roles remain unclear, and organizational disruptions (e.g., leadership turnover) collapse planning. This may lead to inefficiency and fragmented tech ecosystems.
Sub-topic 2 – Human Capital and Coaching Through Resistance
Issue: Teams may be asked to adapt to new systems, processes, or technologies without the coaching, resilience-building, or personal development support needed to grow and navigate that change effectively.
Change Resistance Without Support – teams often hesitate or struggle when old systems or habits must be left behind. Leaders may not be providing the necessary coaching approaches, emotional support, guidance through the challenges of change, and reinforcement and follow‑through. As a result, staff may feel overwhelmed or uncertain, which slows or blocks adoption.
Over‑serving Others While Under‑investing in Their Own Growth – in advancement and service‑oriented roles, professionals tend to prioritize meeting others’ needs; focus on supporting stakeholders, gift officers, leaders, or donors; and put their own learning, development, or resilience last. This can lead to burnout, limited growth, and reduced ability to champion transformation now and in the future.
Sub-topic 3 - Change Management
Issue: Organizations are introducing sophisticated technologies, but teams and leaders may not be fully prepared emotionally, culturally, or operationally to let go of their legacy mindset and adopt them effectively. As organizations adopt increasingly sophisticated technologies from automation and AI to new CRM platforms and digital engagement tools, leaders are navigating a new frontier of change and how to lead teams effectively through technological transformation.
Technology is evolving faster than the people, structures, and mindsets needed to adopt it successfully. This may result in:
• Resilience: teams feeling overwhelmed by constant change
• Adaptability: old habits, old processes, and old comfort zones slowing adoption
• Leadership readiness: leaders’ inability to guide people through emotional, cultural, and practical aspects of change
• Mindset shift: teams holding on to previous systems or ways of working, creating friction with new tools
12:00 – 12:30 PM | aasp Leadership Institute Closing
12:30 - 1:30 PM | Lunch
Thank You to Our Generous Partners for Their Support of the aasp Leadership Institute
Title Sponsor
Elite Sponsor
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