2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of CASE as an association, which came about from the joining of the American Alumni Council and the American College Public Relations Association. CASE now is the global professional association for those who work in those disciplines and also in fundraising and advancement services – and many other specialties. To mark this anniversary, CASE senior leadership will engage a panel of volunteers about the future of advancement. At the end of the year, this conversation will inform a collection of insights about our profession and all its disciplines – the ones we know now, and the ones that might emerge!

In an era where the digital realm continues to evolve, staying connected with alumni requires more than just traditional approaches. Dive into this dynamic session to uncover the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the latest technology innovations in deepening and enriching alumni relations.

Affinity work is key to meaningful alumni engagement and participation. In this session, we’ll share the creative ways that Babson College has fostered alumni engagement among its athletes, married couples, and reunion classes to build philanthropic support for our annual Athletics [fundraising] Challenge, Bsquared … happily ever after wall, and Class Days of Giving.

How does your organization decide what prospects are in major gift portfolio and with what major gift officers? We will discuss criteria used at Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences for major gift assignment including ratings, region and class year, among others. When should major gift officers be disqualifying prospects? How can your organization set up a process to get leads for strong prospects from colleagues and volunteers into major gift officer portfolio in a timely manner? How do we use an upcoming reunion milestone to evaluate major gift officer coverage? In this interactive session, we will share some of Harvard’s processes and strategies for organizing portfolios for frontline fundraisers and encourage those in the audience to contribute their ideas.

Diversity within a nonprofit Board is a catalyst for organizational success. The more diverse a Board is, the broader the set of perspectives is in decision making. In a one-on-one conversation, hear how Smith College is approaching diversifying their Board. We will hear about successes achieved to date as well as activity currently underway. Beth Raffeld will share firsthand experiences and strategies for building an inclusive board that aligns with your mission and goals. Focused on Leadership and Strategic Thinking, this session aims to provide attendees with concrete tools for fostering diversity, equity and inclusion among their volunteer leadership that enhances fundraising efficacy and mission alignment.

Audiences will be encouraged to share their own experiences during a live Q&A session. Learning objectives include identifying barriers to board diversity and understanding how to strategically overcome them. Whether you're working on diversifying your Board or feel you’ve already made progress on this front, this session will offer valuable insights for immediate implementation. Come prepared to engage in meaningful dialogue that will inform your next steps in building a diverse Board.

Reporting on your marketing and communications team’s efforts to the university’s leadership or Board can be intimidating. Babson College will share how they gathered, analyzed, and reported their results data to their Leadership Teams. Understanding results also helps with making a case for a budget request. They will talk about why reporting is important, what to report, and how to report it to demonstrate measurable impact of your marketing efforts.

How do you engage varying perspectives within your school community in the process of developing an authentic brand identity? We will explore strategies to include internal and external stakeholders in this essential Mar/Comm endeavor.

Join campus leaders from Boston University and Colby College for new insights and a lively discussion around building donor pipeline. From surveying to better understand your audience, to persona building & targeted engagement, to evaluating and implementing new tools to move donors up the ladder at scale, building a pipeline of donors from entry to major gift, is key to fundraising on campus today. In this session, staff from Boston University and Colby College will talk about the work they’ve been doing, the challenges they had along the way, how they ultimately found success at scale, and engage presentation participants in a lively discussion that will prepare them for returning to campus with new strategies and ideas.

Collaborating with colleagues on gifts means a seamless experience for your donor, and can lead to large, combined gifts. Whether it is a major and planned giving officer working together, central and unit fundraising, or working with academic and institutional leadership, building these relationships can greatly impact your goals. Hear from a panel of Brown and UConn peers about building these relationships and leveraging them to benefit the donor and their institution.

The most involved students do not always equate to engaged alumni. This session will show the importance of having students be involved with the Alumni Office so that they can get excited to be alumni as early as their first year on campus!

Building a culture of philanthropy involves engaging stakeholders in the stories of our students and alumni. A successful major gift strategy is aligning a donor's interest with our shared mission. This session will share three case studies of fundraising success in New Hampshire that collectively have enhanced the culture of giving across our colleges statewide. The primary objective is to engage attendees in an active conversation, an exchange of ideas about how we collectively define success in today's fundraising climate.