2027 Independent School Brand Summit

Today’s donors expect personalized experiences that reflect their relationship with your institution. But how can independent schools create meaningful, individualized engagement without adding hours to an already full workload?
In this session, Nathan Watts, assistant head of school for institutional advancement at Houston Academy, and Jed Shireman-Jones, senior solutions engineer at Varsity Consulting, will share Houston Academy’s two-year journey using constituent data, AI, and digital giving tools to transform annual giving campaigns.

Attendees will discover how personalized messaging, segmented outreach, customized giving forms, and empowered parent advocates helped increase annual fund revenue over a three year period from $72,000 to $210,000 while growing parent participation from 23% to 83%. Participants will leave with practical strategies they can immediately implement to create more meaningful donor experiences.