Organizational Structure

For a full list of OVCIA staff, visit our directory.

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement

The OVCIA is the central campus office that oversees advancement work on campus. We work closely with units in a variety of ways, and each unit’s Chief Advancement Officer is a dual report to both their dean and to an associate vice chancellor.

Groups within OVCIA include:

  • Advancement Operations
    • Annual Giving: handles the centralized annual giving program for all donor and non-donor prospects for campus, as well as collaborating with select outward facing units such as Krannert Center for the Performing Arts and Allerton Park & Retreat Center, on mass solicitation plans. As a note, annual giving and membership for Athletics and Public Media (WILL) are managed on their own through separate processes within the unit.
    • Communications: content creation, design, web work, STORIED
    • Events: coordinates logistics of donor events both on campus and nationally as well as internal events for our advancement community.
    • Internal Communications: works to connect the central office with unit advancement colleagues
    • People and Culture: handles recruitment, hiring/onboarding, professional development, leadership development, employee engagement, and HR/budget related responsibilities
    • Stewardship and Donor Relations: oversees stewardship for all central funds and administers key programs like the first-time donor initiative, loyalty program, coordinated acknowledgment program, and the planning and implementation of stewardship events. We collaborate with units to establish and evaluate funds, provide support for impact reporting, and provide guidance on implementing stewardship plans using our CRM system.
    • Strategic Planning and Organizational Development: enhances performance at the systems and program levels in order to bolster individual contributor (and thus advancement-wide) success. Our approach involves conducting strategic assessments to identify strengths and opportunities, making recommendations that prioritize alignment between leadership priorities, operational processes, technical solutions, skills-based training, and the employee experience and solutioning and implementing change measures.
  • Cabinet/Executive Leadership
    • Helps set overall strategy and shares supervision of Chief Advancement Officers in units.
  • Office of Principal Gifts, University Initiatives, and Campaign Strategy
    • Principal Gifts: cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of $5M+ donors and prospects
    • Research Institutes: supports the work of the interdisciplinary research institutes
    • Foundation Relations: serves as a campus-wide resource for faculty and administrators seeking to advance relationships with national and selected regional private foundations.
    • University Initiatives: helps develop and facilitate broader thematic, cause based fundraising strategy and initiatives
    • Campaign Strategy: supports the need to build/integrate strategy and processes for future interdisciplinary campaign readiness
  • Regional and Global Advancement
    • This team serves as a point of contact for alumni, donors, and friends throughout the world. They are assigned different regions and build relationships through personal visits and events.

University of Illinois Alumni Association

The alumni association is a separate 501c3 university related organization that n functions as an advocate for the alumni and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign by informing interested parties of current issues, events, and accomplishments of alumni and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Our Urbana OVCIA offices are located on the third floor of the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, the home of UIAA.

University of Illinois Foundation

The Foundation serves all three campuses of the University of Illinois system and is an independent not-for-profit membership corporation that functions as the independent official fundraising and private gift-receiving agency for the University of Illinois. UIF works with the president of the University of Illinois System and leadership for each university to identify strategic private support priorities, create suitable fundraising strategies and tactics, and implement and evaluate appropriate development programs.

Our work is closely intertwined with the work of UIF. Barry Benson, as Vice Chancellor, is a dual report to the president of the Foundation, Jim Moore, and the Chancellor of the Urbana campus, Robert Jones. UIF also manages the data and database (referred to as TED) that feeds our advancement work, both for frontline fundraising and for wider communications and engagement.