Office Space: Personal Invitations
CURRENTS Article The LGBT community is growing in visibility and formal acceptance. How can institutions better welcome and integrate this community into their educational advancement efforts?

The Mindful Development Officer
CURRENTS Article Veteran advancement officer Deb Taft offer tips for reaching out to diverse alumni and volunteers and ensuring they're involved in meaningful ways.

Office Space: We Know Better
CURRENTS Article Keep board members informed, give them meaningful work, and show them appreciation in order to leave board members with a favorable view of and quite possibly increase their engagement (in terms of volunteerism and financial gifts) with your institution.

Volunteering Rates
CURRENTS Article Sweet Briar College's alumni office has created a volunteer management system analogous to the college's prospect management system.

Multiple Targets
CURRENTS Article The University of Exeter is counting alumni volunteer hours as part of the institution's current £23 million campaign, showing the progression toward its goal alongside those for financial donations and legacies pledged.

Toast of the Town
CURRENTS Article The Catholic University of America nearly doubled its annual fund between the years of 2004 and 2008 by strategically revamping its appeals and by fully engaging a team of alumni volunteers who became "the face of philanthropy" for the Washington, D.C., institution. A sidebar tells how Harley School, a private independent day school in Rochester, N.Y., gave its annual giving program a makeover in less than five years.

When Volunteers Attack!
CURRENTS Article Working with alumni volunteers shouldn't create horror and suspense. Following a few key steps can help maintain a smooth relationship between alumni volunteers and the alumni relations office staff.

Closing Remarks: Why I Volunteer
CURRENTS Article Mary Kay McPhee, the inaugural recipient of CASE's Distinguished Friend of Education Award, describes the value she's gleaned from being an active volunteer at multiple institutions.

Leaders in Training
CURRENTS Article Guiding young leaders may involve more work for alumni staff, but the payoff is long-term support and engagement with the institution and its alumni program.

Advance Work: Service with a Smile
CURRENTS Article A recent report by the Corporation for National and Community Service finds that in the wake of Sept. 11, college students are volunteering in greater numbers.

Career Path: Extracurricular Experience
CURRENTS Article A professional fundraiser learns a lot about her job and how to do it better by volunteering in her community.

AdvanceWork: Calling All Student Volunteers
CURRENTS Article Campus groups earn cash for their cause through phonathon work

Small Office: Capitalizing on Volunteers
CURRENTS Article As the first and only advancement professional at three-year-old Nunez Community College, Tucker helped organize a fund-raising campaign that far exceeded its goal of $1.1 million. The idea originated when the chair of the foundation board accompanied Tucker to a conference on fund-raising methods for community colleges. This dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer led the push to establish an endowment and conduct a capital campaign. Tucker recommends these steps for other small institutions: 1) educate the board; 2) solicit the board's full support; 3) hire consultants when needed; 4) recruit volunteers who can open doors; 5) accompany volunteers on solicitation visits; 6) role-play with volunteers before solicitations; 7) reward volunteers for their efforts; and 8) have fun.

In Advance: The Accidental Fund Raiser
CURRENTS Article Drake University volunteer Maddie Levitt is the recipient of the CASE 1998 Ernest T. Stewart Award for Alumni Volunteer Involvement. Levitt has chaired two successful capital campaigns for Drake, and is a frequent speaker on women and philanthropy. She credits her success as a fund raiser to a willingness to support institutions such as Drake and a strong belief in the value of cultivating and involving alumni when they are young.

The Element of Surprise
CURRENTS Article Sometimes alumni professionals need to orchestrate a bit of unexpected fun or fanfare to excite or energize alumni volunteers. Tactics can range from using the campus marching band to kickoff a board retreat to using a chaotic gift-exchange among volunteers, to surprising parent phonathon volunteers with a hail of nerfballs tossed by children. Kilcup stresses the importance of thanking volunteers continuously and offers numerous suggested ways to do so. You might host a surprise birthday party, give unique t-shirts, send flowers on Valentine’s Day, or offer invitations to alumni events the volunteers did not themselves have to plan.

In Advance: Safe Under the Law
CURRENTS Article A new law protects your alumni volunteers from legal liability