This session will provide an overview of fundraising processes and strategies, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and future planning.

This session will provide an overview of the basics of fundraising and highlight library-specific projects (e.g. collections, programming, student engagement).

Panelists will discuss their experience with fundraising for building renovations and communication strategies for fundraising campaigns

Panelists will discuss their fundraising experience and stories

Be sure and join us for the ALADN Opening Reception at 5:30 pm in Mirabelle A/B

Open to library deans and directors — Ticket Required

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Since opening its doors in 1967, the nonprofit Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has grown into one of the world’s most visited history museums and the steward of an unparalleled collection, welcoming more than 1.3 million people each year. Its revenue base is diverse, but the institution’s growth would not have been possible without philanthropy. In this keynote, Ben Hall, Vice President of Development, will explore how strategic fundraising partnerships have supported exhibitions, expanded archives, and fueled nationally recognized educational programs. He will reflect on lessons learned from decades of institutional growth, share stories of transformative gifts, and offer insights into communicating both the “why” and “what” of an institution to inspire lasting philanthropic support.

This session will report outcomes from a library donor engagement event at the University of Tennessee at Martin. The activity invited a small group of recent donors to visit and tour the building, its new library learning commons space, and receive updates on current operations and future priorities. A 90-minute focus group session solicited donor's thoughts on why they support the library, the messaging that have resonated with them, and ideas on how UT Martin can effectively engage future supporters.

How can archives move donors to action? At Rice University's Fondren Library, collaboration between development and special collections has uncovered new ways to share stories that resonate emotionally and inspire giving. In this session, Amanda Focke and Mary Lowery explore how archival storytelling enriches donor communications, stewardship, and campaign narratives. Attendees will learn practical strategies for identifying stories within collections, aligning them with institutional priorities, and presenting them in ways that engage donors and celebrate the library's impact.

Academic libraries and special collections are evolving to meet campus needs - expanding access, breaking barriers, and even redefining missions. But how do you maintain strong donor relationships when the story changes? This session explores strategies - some successful, some not so much - taken at the University of Texas at Arlington Libraries and Special Collections to maintain trust and enthusiasm among donors during times of change. Practical approaches to communicating mission shifts, aligning donor values with new priorities, and building trust will be discussed. Attendees will leave with actionable ideas for ensuring donors remain partners no matter where the future leads.

How do libraries set the right tempo for successful fundraising? This panel brings together experienced development leaders to explore how strategic planning shapes fundraising priorities, donor engagement, and long-term philanthropic success. Panelists will discuss practical approaches to aligning institutional goals with advancement strategies; creating roadmaps for development work; identifying signature fundraising priorities; and adapting plans as community needs evolve.
Attendees will gain insight into how to build a strategic framework that inspires donors, strengthens organizational direction, and helps libraries compose a more sustainable philanthropic future.

Founded a little over three years ago, the Friends of the Schusterman Library (FOSL) supported the activities of the Schusterman Library at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa. Along with advising library leadership, fundraising, and advocating on behalf of the library, FOSL commits itself to promoting and championing the field of librarianship. With a flexible leadership model and no membership fee structure, this agile and responsive friends group has quickly and substantially increased giving to the library and directed several major capital improvements. We will examine the successes and challenges of managing this friends group and discuss its likely future activities.

Strategic communication in academic libraries is not about saying everything to everyone—it is about clarity, care, and alignment. Libraries operate in complex environments where messages must serve multiple audiences, justify value, and reflect institutional values while navigating scrutiny, limited resources, and competing priorities.

In this interactive workshop, participants will explore what strategic communication looks like in practice through a values-forward lens. The session introduces core principles such as audience clarity, the Five C’s of communication, intentional timing, channel selection, and outcome-driven calls to action. Drawing on real scenarios from academic libraries—including new space launches, program promotion, resource changes, and fundraising initiatives—attendees will work in small groups to practice creating a concise, practical strategic communication plan.

In the world of library development, we have seen Friends boards rise and fall in popularity and usefulness, and whether to create a board of advisors or a fundraising board is a hot topic of conversation on our professional listservs. The decision about whether to establish a board for your library is not one that should be taken lightly. From holding regular meetings to consistent and informative communication, boards require a lot of work. But, when managed carefully, having an active and engaged board can enhance your fundraising or special collection development efforts. In our presentation, we will discuss how to build a board that works for you, best practices, pitfalls, and lessons we've learned along the way.

Every library fundraiser faces rejection from time to time, but it's what you do with that rejection that determines how much you ultimately raise. In this presentation, two library fundraisers will discuss how they transformed a failed grant proposal into a funded project. The presenters will share their experiences, lessons learned, and best practices for recovering from rejection by repurposing grant proposals to raise similar funds with donors and foundations. Attendees will acquire tangible skills in reframing, reconnecting, and repurposing proposals so they can breathe new life into their fundraising efforts.

Business Casual Attire
Buses will depart for The View at Fountains beginning at 5:30 pm and will run until 6:15 pm. If desired, attendees may drive and park at the venue — 1500 Medical Center Parkway, Murfreesboro, TN
Happy Hour followed by dinner, some Thank Yous, and ALADN 2028 location nominations and voting. Buses will begin returning to the Embassy Suites Hotel around 8:00 pm

Some opportunities come only once in a century, so you need to be ready to seize them. Learn how one peer institution turned the 100th birthday of its beloved flagship library into three fun months of imaginative activities that captured the spirit of community and inspired unprecedented philanthropic support.
Whether it's the 25th or the 250th, an anniversary is a rare opportunity to reintroduce and reinforce an understanding of how an academic library has shaped an institution and can position it for future success.

In the music world, the "Liner Notes" are where the story lives—the credits, the lyrics, the art, and the "thank yous." Your library’s brand shouldn't just be a logo; it should be the liner notes to a story people want to be part of.

This session explores how to move beyond standard marketing to visually narrate your institution's impact. Drawing on his work stewarding Lyrasis’s visual identity to ensure a compelling expression of the organization’s mission, Sam will demonstrate how to create "big picture" design solutions that resonate with your audience and reflect a career dedicated to the library, archive, and museum communities.

Much like music, successful fundraising depends on rhythm, harmony, and timing. This session explores how academic libraries can create a distinctive "fundraising rhythm" that unites donor engagement, storytelling, and institutional priorities into one cohesive composition. Through real-world case studies, interactive exercises, and creative frameworks, participants will learn to harmonize messaging across campus partners, adapt to emerging technologies, and strike the right chord with donors through authentic storytelling. Attendees will leave with a customizable "score" for designing their own donor engagement plan - no music degree required!

Libraries are increasingly exploring artificial intelligence to support fundraising: streamlining data analysis, enhancing stewardship, and crafting personalized donor engagement. This discussion will feature library advancement leaders from Rice University, the University of Delaware, and others, sharing how their teams are integrating AI tools into donor prospecting, writing, event planning, and relationship management. Panelists will discuss emerging opportunities, practical limitations, and ethical considerations as libraries navigate this rapidly evolving technology in support of philanthropy.

This presentation explores how proposing the restoration and exhibition of a historic university portrait at Illinois State University's Milner Library served as a strategic fundraising strategy to raise awareness among alumni and donors about the library's conservation mission (as with Milner Library's "Finding Hovey" project). Attendees will learn how to frame conservation work as compelling storytelling, design donor opportunities around preservation, and leverage exhibitions to build long-term support for future conservation endeavors.

Faced with an aging membership and declining participation, the Library moved its traditional Friends of the Library Board into abeyance. This presentation details a strategic pivot from unproductive, board-focused events to a modern model of sustained, broad donor engagement. The new approach was validated by the successful "Boozy Book Fair," a collaborative campus event that tapped into nostalgia to attract a diverse audience. Partnering with the campus bookstore and Alumni Office, the event yielded 125 attendees and 50 new donors. We will detail the board transition, the design of the new campaign, and the long-term plan for sustaining this expanded base of campus and community support.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is currently undergoing a $98 million state capital project for renovating the main campus library. Renovation needs will be enhanced as future expectations of use of renovated space will be robust with a vision of growth for the libraries academic support for student success across campus. A campaign seeking donor support for post-renovation needs has been developed and includes the ability to provide support to collections. This presentation discusses the concepts and strategy behind developing naming opportunities for donor support for both newly renovated spaces and nameable collections within our archival department.

Revitalizing legacy donor networks is a critical challenge for academic library leaders. At the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Libraries, administrators inherited a friends group with strong giving potential but declining engagement. This presentation applies Clary et al.'s (1998) functional analysis of volunteer motivation to explore how two administrators revitalized a longstanding friends group. Their approach led to renewed donor activity, including a six-figure naming gift and a revitalized annual giving campaign. The presentation offers actionable insights for re-engaging donor groups through motivation-based strategies.

While most universities have development staffs, many faculty and staff in colleges, departments, and libraries are being increasingly tasked to raise money themselves. How do you begin? What do you say? Beverly Keel shares her story of securing the largest solicited gift in her university’s history.