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.

When disaster strikes, communicators (and their educational institutions) need to be prepared. Advancement professionals share lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as past crises, about being transparent, showing heart, and balancing speed with accuracy.

Some fundraisers turn to outside marketing agencies and public relations firms to maximize the potential of their institutions' campaigns. To ensure success, they stress the importance of collaborating, early and often.

When a university or college undergoes a name change or merger, becomes widely known for a new program, or has a changing student population, what steps do advancement shops take to communicate these changes to their constituents and pursue the advantages of the situation?

Nearly 125 colleges in the U.S. exhibit four or more of the risk factors, putting them in danger of closing. And there are several challenges on the horizon that put more private colleges at greater risk than ever before. Advancement professionals at these institutions are in the best position to drive the actions that could save these institutions.

What members are thinking and sharing

Reacting to the coronavirus crisis, community colleges, and their foundations, jumped to support students with emergency aid and provided unused PPE to health care workers on the front lines.

CASE volunteer Diana Colmenares speaks to Latin America’s advancement challenges, her favorite spot on Colegio Nueva Granada’s campus, and how international schools are supporting their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To communicate its value to prospective families, Shanghai American School found methods to “make stories part of the everyday”—even on the international school’s fleet of buses.