Advancement Structure & Partners

Advancement at Illinois is decentralized with collaboration between the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement (OVCIA), unit advancement staff, the University of Illinois Foundation (UIF), and the University of Illinois Alumni Association (UIAA). Review the Development (Fundraising) Activity policy APR-09 of the Campus Administrative Manual for the formal advancement structure and purpose policy.

This section is intended to serve as a guide when identifying the colleagues that will become your own personal network at Illinois. Adapted in large part from iPartner, the capstone project of Leading Forward cohort 4.

Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement

OVCIA leads advancement efforts on the Urbana campus. A full directory of OVCIA departments can be found here.

Advancement Cabinet

The Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement works in partnership with the University of Illinois Foundation to manage all aspects of the fundraising operations on the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Vice Chancellor for Advancement: Barry Benson
Associate Vice Chancellor for Advancement: Dale Wright
Associate Vice Chancellor of Advancement Operations, Chief of Staff: Alex Schmidt
Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement: Sarah Morris
Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement (Health Sciences): Karen Aarestad
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Advancement: David Bruns

Strategic Engagement

The Strategic Engagement team leads the strategic efforts in the areas of event strategy, annual giving, stewardship, data analytics, and marketing/communications. Central Advancement planning information, CAP, and other samples can be found here.

Illinois Stewardship: Jamie McFarling or stewardship@illinois.edu
Annual Giving (gifts below $25,000): Kristin Burnette or giving@illinois.edu
STORIED: Kim Schmidt or storied@illinois.edu
Crowdfunding: Rachel Hull
CAP: Ashley Gorman

Regional and Global Advancement

This team is comprised of major gift officers who are deployed on a regional basis as additional fundraising support for all of the colleges and units at Illinois. Contact Sarah Morris.

The Office of Principal Gifts, University Initiatives, and Campaign Strategy

The Office of Principal Gifts, University Initiatives, and Campaign Strategy collaborates with university leadership, colleges, units, and institutes to secure transformational philanthropy impacting institutional priorities.  Additionally, the office coordinates fundraising strategy for university-wide interdisciplinary initiatives and provides oversight for the planning and execution of the future comprehensive campaign. 

Principal gifts: Contact David Bruns.
Principal gift stewardship; Chancellor and leadership donor engagement/communications: Contact Julie Jackson.
Foundation relations: Contact Liz Birlet.
University initiatives and campaign strategy: Contact Erin Kirby.

People & Culture

People & Culture partners with colleges and units on campus to attract, engage, and retain dedicated employees across the Illinois Advancement community. Contact Katie Walker.

Strategic Planning and Organizational Development

The Strategic Planning and Organizational Development team drives strategic and annual planning, facilitates fundraising goalsetting, and serves as the primary reporting analysts for senior leadership in advancement. This office is also responsible for enhancing advancement outcomes by boosting organizational capacity through data-informed, systems-based initiatives that optimize effectiveness. Contact Katie Harrell, Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Organizational Development, or Trevor Jennings, Director of Data Management, Visualization & Analysis

SDR Roundtable

The Stewardship and Donor Relations Roundtable is a self-managed interest group that meets a few times throughout the year to share best practices around stewardship and to hear the latest updates on stewardship from colleagues across campus. Stewardship professionals are encouraged to share resources in Box (access permissions required) and to communicate with the group via email between meetings. As of FY25, the steering committee is Hannah Brauer, Jenny Carroll, Camille Niccum, and Angela Tammen.

Unit Advancement Staff

Unit advancement staff ensure advancement efforts effectively support unit priorities. In addition to staff, you should get to know who your most involved constituents and important donors are.

Chief Advancement Officer

CAOs lead comprehensive advancement efforts for individual units, provide direction for the unit’s overall prospect portfolio, and are responsible for meeting unit-specific fundraising and campaign goals, while also managing a personal portfolio of high-level gift prospects.

Supervision and one-on-one mentorship of staff
Strategic planning with unit leaders and others for overall fundraising program and individual, high-level prospects and donors
Manage advancement team as well as fundraising and engagement activities
Advise Dean and Unit leaders
Primary liaison to OVCIA (Reports to Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean)
Facilitate unit leader’s engagement and travel with prospects

Major Gift Officers

Gifts of $25,000 and above are called major gifts. Major Gift Officers (MGOs) identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward prospects with strong affinity for the institution and the means to make gifts at this level. Managing a tailored portfolio of individual prospects, MGOs seek to secure gifts that match donors’ interests with institutional goals.

Meeting with unit leaders to understand unit functions and funding priorities
Research and prioritization of prospects to create engaging visits and make compelling cases for support
Development of gift proposals and communication of donor interests during the gift acceptance process

Alumni and Constituent Relations

Alumni and constituent relations professionals create engagement opportunities to build long-term, mutually beneficial relationships between alumni, constituents, and the institution. Engaged alumni and constituents serve as a strong base from which volunteer service, peer advocacy, and financial support of the institution may eventually develop.

Alumni awards, recognition programs, benefit programs (travel, credit cards)
Alumni/advisory boards
Alumni/constituent events: Homecoming, reunions, campus and regional events, virtual events
Volunteer opportunities: internship and employment opportunities for students, student mentorship, speaking opportunities

Communications and Marketing

Communications and marketing professionals share the success and achievements of their faculty, staff, students, and alumni; announce gifts and recognize donors; and show the impact of private support and collaborations on the institution. Effective communications and marketing builds the brand and reputation of the institution and inspires alumni pride and donor support.

Magazines, newsletters, social media, press releases
Branding/writing style guides to ensure message consistency
Public relations, media inquiries
Alumni and donor profiles, stories, gift announcements
Ad creation and placement, media buys, content creation
Impact reports for professorships, fellowships, scholarships
Rankings, faculty and student awards, research success, and other unit news

Events

Event professionals design and execute a variety of engagement opportunities to create affinity towards the institution, foster pride among alumni, constituents, and the community, and inspire giving. Events are an essential part of building connections between the institution and its constituents. They directly support advancement strategy in all areas, including alumni and constituent relations, corporate and foundation relations, fundraising, stewardship and donor relations, and community engagement.

Award banquets, scholarship dinners, milestone events (Sesquicentennial, Homecoming)
Alumni networking receptions, professional development opportunities
Investitures, fundraising events, campaign events
Intimate donor dinners or small gatherings at donors’ homes

Unit Partners

Outside of unit advancement staff, there are a number of roles that commonly collaborate on advancement work. Exact roles and responsibilities may vary by unit.

Unit leadership: dean, department head, unit head, director, as well as their delegates

Unit leaders are accountable for the overall success of a unit and are responsible for large, diverse, multidisciplinary groups of faculty, staff, and/or students. They have experience that lends invaluable knowledge surrounding a unit’s unique needs; as such, it is important to cultivate dialogue with advancement staff to ensure that advancement practices effectively support unit priorities. May partner with president, chancellor, UIF, OVCIA, etc., on high level prospects and projects.

Share alumni news and stories with advancement communications staff
Recommend alumni for award nominations (to alumni relations staff)
Forward names of successful former students to MGOs
Participate in hosting donor and alumni visitors
Report gratitude/impact of funds if a beneficiary (via stewardship and donor relations staff)
Partner on alumni engagement opportunities including guest lectures, internships and mentorships

Faculty

The role of faculty in advancement begins with creating a successful and meaningful academic program through teaching and research. Faculty connect with alumni at the frontline; a positive experience as a student sets the stage for a long-term relationship with the university. While it is common for alumni to identify with a past teacher or mentor, faculty can do the same when it comes to recognizing a past student who may be interested in further engagement with Illinois.

Share alumni news and stories with advancement communications staff
Recommend alumni for award nominations (to alumni relations staff)
Forward names of successful former students to MGOs
Participate in hosting donor and alumni visitors
Report gratitude/impact of funds if a beneficiary (via stewardship and donor relations staff)
Partner on alumni engagement opportunities including guest lectures, internships and mentorships

Business manager

Business managers are responsible for the oversight of gift fund use through the management of financial forms, review of supporting documentation, and running of a variety of reports. Unit business managers are experts on the policies and procedures outlined from the Office of Business and Finance (BusFin, formerly OBFS) and serve as a knowledgeable resource to advancement staff for providing guidance and solutions on financial processes. Business managers are likely the staff member with access to Banner, the interface to access UI administrative data to process Human Resources, Finance, Admissions, Financial Aid, Payroll, Records & Registration, and Recruiting transactions. They may also provide administrative support for unit advancement events, coordinating logistics with a wide range of individuals.

Set-up of UIF and Banner gift funds
Regularly audit the financial status of gift funds through the review of UIF reports (accumulations, deficits, preliminary and final budgets, etc.) to ensure accurate spending
Share detailed information on expenses to gift funds prior to reporting use of funds to donors
Track and reconcile accounting transactions on gift funds in the official university accounting system

Academic Programs

Academic programs play a large role in helping students navigate how to reach a successful and fulfilling future, which in turn increases the likelihood that students will give back when they become alumni. The composition of academic programs varies by unit, but can include career services, academic advising, admissions, study abroad, diversity programs, financial aid, student affairs, etc. Because of regular interaction with students in varying capacities, academic programs staff can be a resource for student experience stories and information. This is helpful in donor cultivation and stewardship for current donors and when current students become donor prospects.

Awards student financial aid, including scholarships, fellowships, and awards
Assist students in obtaining extracurricular, academic, and professional experiences that boost the overall satisfaction level with collegiate experience
Connect alumni interested in giving back with their time to opportunities such as career fairs, job shadowing, workshops, or networking events
Identify students who would be good candidates to feature in impact pieces
Serve as a liaison and make introductions between advancement staff and students
Attend events and help to facilitate student interactions

Engagement Programs

Tasked with driving engagement for a particular program, individuals in this role wear many hats to strategically expand and build a network of partnerships with internal and external constituents. They engage with students, faculty, staff, and external partners, uniquely putting them in a position to help advancement staff identify and cultivate donor prospects. The information that is gleaned through their meetings and interactions is helpful in educating stakeholders on how to best shape and enhance the donor experience.

Orchestrate outreach activities and events
Facilitate educational programming
Organize on-campus tours
Lead marketing efforts by creating digital and print communication pieces

University of Illinois Foundation

UIF is a 501(c)3 charitable organization and the official fundraising and private-gift-receiving agency for the entire University of Illinois System. A selection of the most common contacts for stewardship professionals is below. For a full list of services, review the Services Catalog in UIF Online (login required). Also review the “Who do I contact?” document for frequently asked questions along with the Foundation department to contact for answers.

Gift Planning and Trust Services

GPTS assists prospects and donors (and their advisers) with the structuring and management of charitable gift plans in support of the university, with a focus on financial, tax, and estate planning considerations. Working collaboratively with campus development staff and donors, Gift Planning drafts and finalizes gift, pledge, and endowment fund agreements that govern the uses of donors’ gifts in support of the university. Trust Services administers all deferred gifts including bequest commitments, life income accounts, and estate distributions. For more information on governing documents email giftdocs@uif.uillinois.edu. For general inquiries email gpinfo@uif.uillinois.edu.

Gift Administration

Gift Administration provides a broad array of services and serves as a “help desk” for inquiries from donors, University and Foundation officers, and staff in regard to gifts, pledges, and gift funds. In addition to recording and managing pledges of $1,000 or more, the unit ensures timely mailing of gift and tax receipts and coordinates production and mailing of annual endowment statements to donors and other interested parties. It manages the creation of all new gift funds and maintains the UIF Fund Database, which enables gift fund monitoring to ensure that donor intent is honored. And it supports donors and University units regarding gift acceptance, unique gift agreements or arrangements, and interpreting donor intent. Contact giftadministration@uif.uillinois.edu.

Cash Desk

When donors make gifts via cash, credit card, stock, or other method, the receipt and the disposition of their money begins at the Cash Desk. The Cash Desk receives liquid assets and prepares them for Gift Processing to record in the Tracking and Engagement Database (TED), as well as for deposit into appropriate accounts. Contact cashdesk@uif.uillinois.edu.

Gift Processing

Once gifts or other commitments have been received, they are passed to the Gift Processing department for recording in TED and the UIF document imaging system. Gift Processing handles approximately 140,000 transactions each year and prepares the daily flow of transactions from TED to the UIF General Ledger. Contact giftprocessing@uif.uillinois.edu.

Donor Relations

UIF Donor relations focuses on holistically ensuring that University of Illinois donors have a high-quality giving experience through UIF-sponsored and other organized opportunities for high-end donor experiences, such as athletic events, performances, and programs. The department also administers The Presidents Council, the University of Illinois’ premier donor recognition program, which recognizes donors who have made lifetime commitments of $50,000 or more. As an extension of board relations, this office prepares UIF Board Tributes and personalized recognition of departed major donors that become a permanent part of the UI Foundation records. Contact donorrelations@uif.uillinois.edu.

Events

Events serves as the professional, in-house event and meeting planning team, supporting event strategy, planning, programming, and execution. The department administers Cvent, the University of Illinois’ advancement events management software and is the point-of-contact for events contracting, as well as System-wide and Foundation events planning, most notably the UIF Annual Meeting, an annual celebration of philanthropic impact across the University of Illinois System. Contact donorrelations@uif.uillinois.edu.

University of Illinois Alumni Association

UIAA is a 501(c)3 charitable organization that oversees services that benefit alumni engagement at the university. Their staff directory is available here.