In too many organizations, advancement is lagging on diversity, equity, and inclusion when it should be leading—and leading proactively. To build inclusive cultures and achieve real success in DEI objectives, advancement teams have to move from awareness to assessment to understanding. It's action with accountability. In this book excerpt, Angelique Grant and Ronald J. Schiller share key steps for leaders to do that.

By and large, advancement professionals stop at AI tools that are definitive and descriptive in nature. That leaves plenty of improving space before we bump our collective heads on the technology ceiling.

In North America, the beginning of the fall semester has been rife with controversy, COVID-19 outbreaks, and an increased focus on health and safety. How are advancement professionals adapting to the situation, what about their job duties has changed, and how are they balancing the short-term needs of constituents with the long-range goals of their institutions?

As we take a look at enrollment-focused marketing and communications strategies, we can make some predictions on which long-used tactics will stand the test of time into the new era, and which innovative new approaches will form the new backbone of enrollment marketing in the years to come.   

The Advancement Resource Catalog is the Library's database of 15,000+ item records (including articles, books, and white papers) available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

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.

Technology, data, people, and problem-solving power Sarah Barr and Rodger Devine’s day-to-day lives. As chair and co-chair of DRIVE/ 2020, CASE's data and analytics conference this March in New Orleans, Barr and Devine are shaping a program rich with data-driven insights.

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.