It’s a perennial question for advancement teams: what are the latest activities (that actually work) to engage this generation of young alumni? In the CASE Communities online discussion boards, alumni relations professionals shared these ideas. 

The Notre Dame University Alumni Association in Indiana, U.S., hosted its first Global Day of Service in 2023—drawing more than 3,500 volunteers for projects in 26 countries.

In 2022, Cardiff University in Wales launched The 30(ish) Awards to celebrate young (and young-at-heart) alumni making positive contributions to their communities.

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.

When it comes to educational marketing, universities and independent schools can seem worlds apart. But today they face similar challenges—competition for students, the need to demonstrate value, and the pressure to stand out in a crowded market. By recognizing each other’s strengths and learning from different approaches, universities and independent schools can enhance their marketing strategies, create stronger student connections, and remain competitive in an evolving, and often challenging, educational landscape. 

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.  

Listing of advancement companies, consultants, and software.

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.

Four technical universities in the Netherlands pooled their international alumni efforts and ended up with a world-class network. Now in its 10th year, 4TU encompasses more than 30 alumni communities in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Nordics, Spain, Switzerland, and the U.S. as it continues to extend its global reach.

Public regional universities are becoming a popular choice for college students because they are accessible both geographically and financially. They are located across all 50 states, and while we may not hear much about these institutions in the national media, they are more than meeting the mission of higher education with cutting-edge pathways for diverse student populations. Find out how four of them are doing it.