CASE Presents: Maximising Impact with Limited Resources - AI, Alumni Awards and Adaptable Advancement-CASE Presents

CASE Presents - ICS Budapest

Pdf Summary

Szilvi Lazar’s presentation, “The One-Woman Shop,” focuses on how a single-person advancement or communications office can manage heavy workloads efficiently while maintaining quality. The work is divided across five main areas: admissions/re-enrollment (50%), fundraising (20%), alumni relations (10%), marketing (10%), and communications (10%).  <br /><br />The core message is that time and quality matter, and that success depends on using tools to increase personalization, automation, branding consistency, and AI-supported productivity. Personalization goes beyond using names; it requires relevant content, segmentation, and localization or translation adapted to culture and audience.  <br /><br />For automation, the presentation highlights workflow tools such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, forms, task managers, and email automation through branded templates and drip campaigns. AI is positioned as a support tool, not a replacement for human judgment. It can help with drafting, ideation, summarizing, research, and repetitive tasks, but should not be used for sensitive data, final approvals, or unreviewed brand voice. The guiding principle is: AI drafts, humans decide.  <br /><br />The talk also recommends creating custom GPTs or Claude Projects for tasks like audience segmentation, A/B testing, and persona development, as well as using AI to adapt content for different audiences, analyze engagement and donation data, and conduct peer research.  <br /><br />In calendar management, the speaker stresses blocked scheduling, boundary-setting for communications, preparation for seasonal peaks, and planning events with a “T-minus” timeline approach. The closing takeaway encourages taking one small step at a time and asking: what is one thing you could start, stop, or change this week?

Keywords

single-person office

advancement communications

workflow automation

personalization

branding consistency

AI productivity

email automation

audience segmentation

calendar management

drip campaigns