Good onboarding welcomes new colleagues into a team—like a welcome mat for the organization. That philosophy helps the University of California, Davis, U.S., start its newcomers in advancement off on the right foot. In 2021, the development and alumni relations division there launched The Learning DO–Development Officer Boot Camp. It’s a comprehensive, centralized, nine-week academy for fundraisers.

The average tenure for an advancement professional today is just five years. To keep staff on board, our workplaces need to be flexible, empathetic, inclusive, and transparent. Here, two researchers share what they’ve discovered about human-centered talent management and the key steps to retain staff: align talent to mission and values; engage the whole person; and recognize colleagues’ impact.  

CASE’s 50th anniversary is also a time to look to the future. Five advancement leaders share thoughts on the challenges ahead, along with what makes them optimistic in this roundtable discussion.

A solution to ensuring educational philanthropy and engagement workforce stability is considering candidates with transferable skills, says Ann Synder, CASE Senior Director, Communities Engagement. But what sorts of skills make someone good at advancement? Find out how to assess data-driven and strategic thinking, drive and follow-up, listening skills, and more when hiring to attract talent that will infuse the advancement industry with new ideas.

Dos and don’ts of virtual interviews.

Advancement teams can find themselves overwhelmed by stress and information overload. Finding focus is an essential step to deal with the distress that chaotic environments can create. Recognizing the drivers for overload and dealing with them mindfully and structurally will give advancement professionals the tools to find focus. Examine the central culprits of chaos—meetings, media, management, and messages—and how to use mindfulness to address each.

The pandemic and the Great Resignation (on top of years of financial pressures and change) have created new levels of stress and mental health challenges for higher education staffs around the world. Here’s a snapshot of mental health in today’s advancement workplaces—including what institutions, leaders, and individuals can do to address burnout and support well-being.

Faculty members have dedicated a lifetime to their disciplines—they are passionate about their work, their institutions, and students. Who could be better to connect with and share stories of impact with donors? But many can be intimidated by fundraising. Here’s how development officers are strategically partnering with academics by getting to know them, defining expectations, and providing them the assistance they need to be confident philanthropy advocates.

A community college development director shares her thoughts and tips on fostering a culture of faculty involvement in fundraising.

Advancement professionals need to be curious, spend time deepening our understanding of our institutions’ teaching and research, and get to know our colleagues leading this work. We would not exist without our academic colleagues, and without our teams, they would not benefit from the extra investment, connections, resources, and publicity. We are in this together.