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.

Rates of mental health issues among college students have been rising for a nearly a decade—made worse by the pandemic. Now, more colleges and universities are discussing, focusing on, and prioritizing mental health initiatives. Here’s how advancement teams are working to support students’ mental health today, by raising awareness and sharing information, mobilizing donor and alumni support, and promoting wellness campuswide.

What is race equity as it applies to education institutions? How are advancement teams approaching this work, which experts say involves a wholesale transformation of organizational cultures? How are institutions and individuals moving forward in the name of equity? 

Alumni relations teams that executed innovative programs in 2019 faced a big question in 2020: How could they continue those projects amid the pandemic? Here’s how five teams grappled with that—and the key lessons their experiences reveal about creatively and strategically problem-solving when contexts change.

How advancement draws on athletics to communicate with constituents, motivate alumni, and speak to a greater mission—even in an era when the sports environment has changed radically

The University of Illinois Foundation's chatbot, silent reading parties for UCLA alumni, Minecraft graduations, virtual potlucks for advancement staff, and more.

Alumni engagement metrics have come a long way in a short time and are proving to be crucial to advancement teams. With years of solid data under their belts, many in alumni relations are finding significant results from building systems around these metrics, altering their actions in response, and displaying the value of their work to constituents, institutional leadership, and board members.

As a student at the University of Washington, Sarah Reyneveld saw firsthand the power of putting ideas into action.

Anniversary celebrations can dazzle at any budget. Scaling ideas to work at any institution, with any size staff, is a dance between dreaming big and drilling down to what’s doable.