Millennials Tap Websites First for Info on Giving, Volunteering
Article Young adults are more likely to visit a nonprofit’s website when looking for information about volunteer opportunities or giving. That is according to a new study on millennials.

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.

Think Outside the Box When Managing Volunteers
Article A CASE faculty member says colleges, universities and schools can improve how they manage and engage volunteers by adopting management strategies from other organizations in the nonprofit sector.

Engaging Young Alumni
Podcast Hear Scott M. Mory from the University of Southern California discuss common characteristics of alumni born in 1982 and after—often referred to as the Millennial generation—and how alumni relations professionals can use this knowledge to better engage them.

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 Helps Develop Leadership Skills
Article One of the best ways to learn to become a leader is by making a commitment to a cause through volunteer service, writes a leadership expert.

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

Managing Volunteers
Podcast Listen to Molly Peoples from the University of Cambridge explain why working with volunteers can benefit your institution and "restore your faith in humanity." Also, catch her advice on how to manage volunteers who "push the limits."

Managing Volunteers
Product This chapter, originally published in Alumni Relations: A Newcomer’s Guide to Success (2nd ed.), offers essential information and advice about how to manage volunteers, from hiring to firing. Includes sample role/job descriptions.

Mobilizing a Volunteer Team for Your Community College Annual Fund Campaign
Product This webinar discusses how the Los Rios Community College District mobilized a group of volunteers to conduct a successful annual fund campaign. The team of 12 volunteers raised $40,000 in two weeks. Handouts include contains agendas, job descriptions, scripts and other items needed to run a successful volunteer appeal at a two- or four-year institution with limited staff and resources.This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented Oct. 4, 2011. It is part 1 of a three-part Community College Webinar series.

Fundraising Model Proves Successful for Smaller Institutions
Article With a bit of ingenuity and complete trust in its volunteers, a two-person advancement team at a community college in California raised US$40,000 in two weeks. Officials behind the campaign blitz say their formula for success is tailor-made for two-year and four-year institutions with limited staff and resources.

Learn to Run a Successful Volunteer Annual Fund Blitz
Article Last spring, the two-person advancement staff at Los Rios Community College District mobilized volunteers for an annual fund campaign that raised more than $40,000 in two weeks. In October 2011, officials behind the campaign will host a webinar on how to launch a similar campaign with limited staff and resources.

Study Finds Racial, Generational Differences in Online Cause Engagement
Article African-Americans and Hispanics are significantly more likely than Caucasians to believe that they can help support a cause or social issue through online social networks. And while younger Americans are also more likely to use social media to support causes, more than 40 percent still get information about causes through family, friends and television.

Six Behaviors that Grow Generous Donors
Article A new study indicates that what parents say and do when it comes to giving and volunteering can have a significant impact on the charitable activities of their children once they become adults.

Value of Volunteering Grows in U.S.
Article The value of a volunteer hour in the United States grew from $20.85 in 2009 to $21.36 in 2010.

Askophobia: A Guide for Anxious Fund-Raising Volunteers_Packet of 25
Product This booklet is designed to help volunteers overcome the fear of asking for gifts and provides step-by-step advice on planning and making the call, discussing the amount of the ask and handling a yes, no, or maybe.

Askophobia: A Guide for Anxious Fund-Raising Volunteers_Packet of 10
Product This booklet is designed to help volunteers overcome the fear of asking for gifts and provides step-by-step advice on planning and making the call, discussing the amount of the ask and handling a yes, no, or maybe. .

Askophobia: A Guide for Anxious Fund-Raising Volunteers_Single copy PDF
Product This booklet is designed to help volunteers overcome the fear of asking for gifts and provides step-by-step advice on planning and making the call, discussing the amount of the ask and handling a yes, no, or maybe.

Art of Asking_Single copy PDF
Product A useful tool for training new and experienced volunteers, The Art of Asking provides guidelines that volunteers can use in preparing for prospect calls and asking for gifts.

Art of Asking_Packet of 10
Product A useful tool for training new and experienced volunteers, The Art of Asking provides guidelines that volunteers can use in preparing for prospect calls and asking for gifts.

Art of Asking_Packet of 25
Product A useful tool for training new and experienced volunteers, The Art of Asking provides guidelines that volunteers can use in preparing for prospect calls and asking for gifts.

Winning Words: A Volunteer's Guide to Asking for Major Gifts_Single copy PDF
Product Winning Words helps your trustees, alumni, and friends prepare for prospect calls. Along with explaining the duties of the asker and the civic obligations of the prospect, it shows them how to handle the most commonly asked questions and most commonly offered excuses..

Winning Words: A Volunteer's Guide to Asking for Major Gifts_Packet of 25
Product Winning Words helps your trustees, alumni, and friends prepare for prospect calls. Along with explaining the duties of the asker and the civic obligations of the prospect, it shows them how to handle the most commonly asked questions and most commonly offered excuses.

Winning Words: A Volunteer's Guide to Asking for Major Gifts_Packet of 10
Product Winning Words helps your trustees, alumni, and friends prepare for prospect calls. Along with explaining the duties of the asker and the civic obligations of the prospect, it shows them how to handle the most commonly asked questions and most commonly offered excuses.

Data Disputes Belief that Volunteering Grows during Recession
Article Claims that volunteering during the recession soared in the United Kingdom were “premature and overly optimistic,” according to an analysis of national survey data by the Institute for Volunteering Research.

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.

Internet Use Encourages Offline Participation
Article Internet users may once have been stereotyped as antisocial basement-dwellers, but a recent study has shown that the opposite is now true: Pew's Internet and American Life project found that three-quarters of all U.S. adults are active in some kind of voluntary group or organization, and Internet users are more likely than others to be active.

Study Says Time to Engage Younger Generation is Now
Article Now is the time to engage individuals under age 45 as volunteers and donors – just as they move into their peak earning years, a new study concludes.

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.

Study Shows Number of Volunteers Up in 2009
Article Despite a tough economic climate, nearly 64 million individuals in the United States volunteered in 2009, an increase of 1.6 million over 2008 and the biggest jump in six years. That’s according to a recently released report by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Building a Strong Volunteer Program (sample materials)
Phillips Exeter Academy
Sample Collection This packet from a 2008 CASE conference includes guiding principles for a volunteer program, tips for successful class agents, the role of a class agent, the table of contents of a class agent manual, a sample letter to class agents, and a sample volunteer update newsletter.

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.

Successful Affinity Group Reunions Require Strong Volunteer Participation
Article Motivating volunteers to play a significant role in planning and organizing is the key to holding a successful affinity reunion.

Relationship-Building Key to Recruiting and Retaining Volunteers
Article All volunteers have three things in common: they care about the cause or institution, they want to enjoy their experience and they need to know they are valued.

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.

Volunteerism Decline No Drop in the Bucket
Article Blame it on the “leaky bucket” phenomenon. A new study shows that the number of Americans volunteering has dipped for the second year in a row, which might signal volunteer dissatisfaction with the experience.

Volunteer Management: Connect, Engage and Inspire Your Constituency
Product This webinar teaches strategies and tips for effective volunteer management and discusses how mission-focused, well-matched and high-performing volunteers are a key component of the success of an alumni relations program or any nonprofit organization. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented Dec. 4, 2008.

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.

Recruiting and Training Fundraising Volunteers
Product This book discusses techniques to use in recruiting and training volunteers in order for them to be effective fundraisers. Talks about all aspects of volunteer involvement, including volunteer positions in the capital campaign; volunteers in other fundraising roles; the role of the board in fundraising; training and educating volunteers; and staff and volunteers working together to raise money. Part of the AFP Fund Development Series.

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

Askophobia: A Guide for Anxious Fund-Raising Volunteers_Packet of 50
Product This booklet is designed to help volunteers overcome the fear of asking for gifts and provides step-by-step advice on planning and making the call, discussing the amount of the ask and handling a yes, no, or maybe.

Winning Words: A Volunteer's Guide to Asking for Major Gifts_Packet of 50
Product Winning Words helps your trustees, alumni, and friends prepare for prospect calls. Along with explaining the duties of the asker and the civic obligations of the prospect, it shows them how to handle the most commonly asked questions and most commonly offered excuses.

Art of Asking_Packet of 50
Product A useful tool for training new and experienced volunteers, The Art of Asking provides guidelines that volunteers can use in preparing for prospect calls and asking for gifts.