Our brand new Director of Community Colleges and Foundations, Meg Natter, started at CASE in August. We are delighted to have her at the helm of this important community, along with Ann Snyder and the rest of our Volunteer Engagement team. To get to know her better, we asked her to share how she came to advancement work and what aspects of the profession she’s most looking forward to exploring or contributing to from the national association perspective. As always, we invite you to reach out to either Meg or Ann at mnatter@case.org or asnyder@case.org.

What drew you to working in Community Colleges? 

A popular community college theme is “From here, you can go anywhere!” It may sound like just a cute marketing slogan, but it’s true, and I wanted to be part of an organization that provided hope to thousands of my neighbors in my home of Monmouth County, New Jersey. While I ran the college’s foundation, I was proud of the scholarships we offered and met many students who had come from challenging circumstances and recognized my school as the only way toward success. I eventually became an English professor, and I read more details in essays from students who were the first in their families to go to college--students who hated their minimum-wage jobs and dreamed of six-figure salaries and students who were lost and didn’t want to waste money or time at an expensive four-year institution while they figured out their educational and career paths. So many stories! All of the students saw my community college as their chance to fulfill their dreams. As a fundraiser, faculty member, and eventually as a dean, I was proud to help them.

 

Why did you decide to come to CASE from your institution? 

This is an incredible opportunity to use my 20-plus years of community college experience to help my colleagues across the country. I was also drawn to CASE because not only is it a nonprofit organization, but because I loved going to the annual community college conference when I was a newcomer to fundraising. I remember the warm welcome from CASE staff and my colleagues from across the U.S. and how generous everyone was with sharing their “lessons learned.” It’s time for me to pay it forward.

 

What are critical aspects of our advancement work that you hope to explore or contribute to during your time at CASE? 

I want to highlight the impressive advancement work already being accomplished by community colleges. Community college professionals, for example, have decades of experience working with diverse populations. Since community colleges have an open-admissions policy, this is at the heart of their mission and the work they do every day. Equity? Inclusion? Belonging? You’ll see it clearly on every community college campus you visit. CASE can provide a wonderful forum for community colleges to guide other institutions in this and other aspects of advancement.

 

If you could give advice to any advancement team right now, what would it be? 

#1. The most challenging times will push you to realize you’re more resourceful than you think. Hang in there.

#2. Memorize your organization’s mission. Believe in it. When you “feel” your organization’s mission, you won’t have to do so much explaining. Your love for your organization will just be part of who you are.