At CASE’s “The Future of Advancement” panel discussions held throughout 2024, we invited members around the globe to share ideas about the profession. We consistently heard that institutions must sharpen their focus by listening more to their communities—understanding their doubts, addressing gaps in understanding, and clearly articulating our purpose.

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.

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.  

The CASE Library maintains this collection of online samples for all CASE members. It includes examples of diversity and inclusion plans, mission statements, and DEI priorities and initiatives within institutional advancement divisions.

Founding Editor Virginia Carter Smith set the foundation for Currents—a magazine chronicling trends in advancement that helps professionals work more effectively—that stands today.

The CASE Library has compiled this sample collection of talent management programs from CASE Circle of Excellence entries and Currents articles. The collection first lists award-winning programs and then additional programs and initiatives.

By 2007, CASE membership had grown to include advancement professionals in 54 countries—and there was growing momentum to shape programming in Asia-Pacific and beyond. In this excerpt from CASE at 50: A Narrative History of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, explore the development of CASE’s work in Asia throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

A staff member since 1987, Brett Chambers says it’s CASE volunteers who are at the core of his career passion.

Support the next generation of advancement leaders through CASE's Future Fund.

Through CASE Insights, advancement professionals have access to the latest data, standards, and research. Here’s a look at the historic milestones that led to Insights.