We sat down with Daniel Snyder, Director of Advancement Services, Bennington College, for a candid chat on advancement, AI, and the similarities he shares with a former NFL team owner.
Discover AI Summary
• Free up your team for meaningful connections by automating repetitive tasks: Bennington College's Dan Snyder transformed operations by streamlining gift entry and data cleanup, allowing his team to focus more on building relationships with alumni and donors.
• Make data insights accessible to everyone, not just the tech experts: Dan’s vision is to empower non-technical staff to easily engage with reports, which directly improves internal decision-making and strengthens alumni engagement efforts.
• Embrace AI as a practical tool to support your work, but always with human oversight: Dan uses AI for efficiency, like generating formulas, but emphasizes that human judgment is crucial for responsible implementation in advancement.
• View your Advancement Services team as a partner that supports the entire department: Dan's driving philosophy is to provide excellent service to other teams, ensuring they have the data and tools needed for successful fundraising campaigns and engagement.
• Plan for a future with more integrated systems and a data-literate team: Bennington is focused on evolving towards nimble, collaborative operations that leverage better-connected systems for genuine alumni connections.
“We put the service in Advancement Services — that’s what drives me every day.”
— Dan Snyder, Director of Advancement Services, Bennington College
We recently caught up with Dan to talk about the unsung heroics of advancement operations, and how his data-first mindset has streamlined systems, empowered teams, and sparked momentum at Bennington.
Daniel Snyder is the Director of Advancement Services at Bennington College with 12 years of expertise in advancement services. As a director, he has implemented Evertrue, Power BI, and Power Automate, enhancing the team's operations. He led the upgrade to RENXT and the integration of GiveCampus. Daniel is an expert in advancement technology. He received the inaugural Microsoft Power Platform Community award for his contributions to the Blackbaud Community, sharing knowledge and providing valuable support.
Over the last few years, Dan has taken a sharp aim at the tedious — from gift entry to data clean-up — and built smart automations to simplify daily processes. By removing inefficiencies and creating auto-triggered alerts (like thank-you reminders), he’s allowed his team to focus more on what truly matters: relationship-building. The result? Faster answers, less manual work, and a team that spends more time with people than with spreadsheets.
Dan’s proudest ongoing goal is to make data more accessible and actionable across departments. His vision includes empowering non-technical users to engage with reports and insights independently — a push that not only improves internal decision-making, but also strengthens alumni engagement. “It’s been missing,” he says, “but we’ve got great momentum.”
While the AI wave has touched every corner of higher ed, Dan’s approach remains practical and people-first. Whether it’s generating formulas in Power Automate or drafting seating charts, he sees AI as a useful companion — but not a silver bullet. “You still need human judgment,” he says. “It’s not going back in the box, but it’s got to be used responsibly.”
Dan’s big bet for the future: a more data-literate team and better-integrated systems that support genuine alumni connection. As Bennington evolves, Dan envisions operations that are nimble, collaborative, and always a few steps ahead of the next reporting request.
Dan’s achievements in the Alumni Relations and Advancement have been immortalized with their very own AB50C Trading Card.
Want to connect with Dan or learn more about how he’s reshaping advancement operations?
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