Outlook: A New View on Fundraising
CURRENTS Article With public funding for community colleges dwindling, the leaders of these two-year institutions will be increasingly focused on raising philanthropic support, necessitating a change in their traditional campus roles.

Benchmarking Alumni Relations in Community Colleges: Findings from a 2012 CASE Survey
White Paper This March 2013 white paper summarizes the results of a survey on alumni relations programs at U.S. and Canadian community colleges. The purpose of the survey was to help community college staff members benchmark their experiences and programs in alumni relations with their peers. The survey was conducted by the CASE research office in conjunction with CASE's Center for Community College Advancement.

Students Learn Importance of Philanthropy
Article On Feb. 28, three community colleges participated in Student Engagement and Philanthropy Day, a celebration among more than 120 institutions worldwide spotlighting the importance of private giving to education.

Bringing Order to a College Website
Article To ensure their websites stay fresh and focused, community colleges should adopt a governance policy for those who manage and publish content, says a marketing professional.

The Road to Changing State Policy
Article Community college leaders must make a clear "ask" and articulate the return on investment when advocating for legislation, says the head of a two-year college system.

Using the VSE to Benchmark Your Fundraising Efforts (free webinar)
Ann Kaplan and Germaine Brandt Elkins for CASE
Online Seminar The Voluntary Support of Education (VSE) survey is considered to be the authoritative source for annual data on private giving to higher education and K-12 independent schools in the United States. This March 2013 recording provides an introduction to completing the survey, shows ways institutions can use VSE data and the Data Miner tool to benchmark and improve their fundraising, and offers insights about the most recent data on private giving to community colleges. Note: The recording lasts for 54 minutes and starts about five minutes into the presentation.

Smaller Is Better
CURRENTS Article Bronx Community College in New York is piloting alumni programs that organize graduates by small, tight groups with specific interests and needs.

Community College Strategic Plans
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of strategic plans for alumni relations, communications and marketing, fundraising and institutionally related foundations at community colleges. The collection is available to all members.

Community College Alumni Surveys
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of alumni surveys, reports and magazine coverage. The collection includes samples from community colleges.

Benchmarking Tools Within Reach
Article Community colleges looking for a method to track their fundraising efforts in comparison to their peers should look no further than the Voluntary Support of Education survey, says one advancement leader.

Advice for New Chief Fundraisers
Article To achieve fundraising success, chief development officers need to establish a good working relationship with their college president, says a CASE presenter.

A Call to Action on Advocacy
Article Community college leaders must be better advocates for legislation that will increase institutional access, remove barriers to student success and adequately fund their programs, says one of the sector’s most effective champions.

Everyone Has Something to Teach
Article Both first-time and seasoned presenters at last year's Conference for Community College Advancement say the experience has made them better professionals and are encouraging others to share their knowledge with colleagues at this year's event.

Bringing Order and Sanity to Your Community College Website
Product This webinar examines the ways in which a governance policy can help in managing and publishing content on a website. Speakers look at how a community college implemented the “Five R’s” of governance (Roles, Responsibilities, Relationships, Rules and Review) while launching a new website. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar presented March 19, 2013.

Mind the Gap: Enhancing Internal Relationships for Fundraising Success
Product This webinar looks the results of a 2012 CASE survey of community college CEOs and their chief fundraisers and explores ways to use the data to evaluate and improve internal relationships on campus. The webinar includes practical tips from a college president and her chief fundraiser about how to build a working relationship that can help boost private philanthropy. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar presented Feb. 19, 2013.

Maximizing LinkedIn for Community College Alumni Relations
Product This webinar teaches participants how to leverage LinkedIn for an alumni relations program. Hear how one school, with a very small advancement staff, used LinkedIn to reduce its bad mail count, discover a new crop of successful award nominees, create and sustain a mentor program and triple its email database This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar presented April 9, 2013.

Making the Most of Your First Donor Visit
Product A successful community college fundraiser shares an approach to donor cultivation that makes the most of the first donor visit. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar presented May 7, 2013.

Community Colleges Join Forces in Statewide Fundraiser
Article Maryland’s 16 community colleges collaborated in a 24-hour online fundraising blitz last month and raised more than $62,000 for scholarships, programs, facilities and other local projects.

Rebuilding an Alumni Program
Article Morrisville State College, a predominately two-year institution in rural upstate New York, recently rebooted its alumni program and outreach philosophy on campus, garnering more than 300 new donors in a year.

Motivating a Fundraising Board
Article Advancement officials who liaise with fundraising boards need to take more personal responsibility for their members’ engagement with donor cultivation, says a CASE faculty member.

The State of Community College Alumni Relations
Article A recent national survey reveals that most alumni relations programs at community colleges are nascent, remain small in scope and have budgets that are spread thin. However, the survey also reveals that community colleges are adopting several best practices that have led to early successes.

Benchmarking the Alumni Relations Program
Report In June 2012, CASE fielded a survey about community college alumni relations programs. A total of 133 usable responses were collected from a range of demographic profiles reflecting enrollment size, geographic area and alumni base. Topics included alumni program staff and budget resources, data collection and management, communications and strategy, solicitation and fundraising, governance and alumni associations. This presentation reflects the survey results.

Mind the Gap
CURRENTS Article If good communication is the key to a successful relationship, it might be time for chief fundraisers and their institutional CEOs to consider couples counseling.

Community College Stewardship Videos
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of stewardship videos from community colleges.

Community College Annual Reports
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of annual reports from community colleges. Reports are arranged alphabetically by institution.

Keeping a Campaign Short and Sweet
Article In just six weeks last year, the Foundation for Santa Barbara City College raised $700,000 and grew its donor base by 35 percent.

How to Pass a Bond Issue or Tax Levy
Article Community colleges should use demographic data to determine the best time to request voter support for bond issues and tax levies, says a former institutional leader.

Be a Better Storyteller for Your College
Article Storytelling is the best tool community colleges have to advance themselves and their cause, says a nonprofit communications expert.

Community College CEO/Chief Development Officer Survey Report
Report Do community college presidents believe they're getting adequate support from chief fundraisers? Do fundraisers believe that their CEOs understand their roles in fundraising success? In summer 2012, CASE conducted parallel surveys of community college CEOs and chief development officers to gather their perspectives on their roles and relationship. The surveys and a presentation of the findings are included.

Cultivating Models of Success
CURRENTS Article Community colleges throughout the country are beginning to engage alumni as donors and advocates who can testify to the value of a community college education.

Small Shop, Big Results: Rebuilding Your Community College Alumni Program
Product This webinar looks at how Morrisville State College, a predominantly two-year institution in upstate New York, successfully retooled its alumni program and realized new levels of alumni engagement. Participants learn how Morrisville transitioned its alumni efforts and what the college has accomplished. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar presented Dec. 11, 2012.

Motivating Your Community College Fundraising Board
Product This webinar teaches ways to motivate board members (as well as administrators, staff members and volunteers) to greatness. Topics include positive psychology, diverse learning styles and cognitive shifting. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar presented Nov. 6, 2012.

Short and Very Sweet: Implementing a Six-Week Fundraising Campaign
Product During this webinar, the executive director of the Foundation for Santa Barbara City College talks about how the foundation created a wildly successful “Campaign for Student Success” in 2011, raising $700,000 in six weeks and growing the donor base by 35 percent. Participants hear how a small staff made this happen and how they grew their giving and donor base even more during the second year of the campaign. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar presented Oct. 23, 2012.

Advice for New Chief Fundraisers
Article Two community college chief fundraisers say colleagues who are new to leadership roles in fundraising should engage academic and board leaders in the advancement process, so that they have institutional allies in their work efforts.

Three Paths to Fundraising Success
Article There’s more than one way for a community college to significantly improve its overall fundraising performance. Just ask three award-winning institutions from Kentucky, New York and Virginia.

Spend Money to Make Money
Article Dan Pallotta, nonprofit guru and keynote speaker at the upcoming CASE Conference for Community College Advancement, says community colleges should significantly invest in fundraising.

Marketing Lessons from Madison Avenue
Article Community colleges shouldn't be afraid to adopt some of the marketing tactics of corporate advertising firms, says a team of marketing experts from Ohio.

Track Everything Posted on Social Media
Article A skilled social media maven from an institutionally related foundation in Texas says college officials should measure the impact of everything they post on Facebook, Twitter and other similar networks.

Results of the 2012 CASE Compensation Survey: Community College Respondents
Report The 2012 Community College Compensation Report summarizes the results of CASE's most recent compensation survey just for community college respondents. The 42-page report contains data from 146 individuals employed at North American community colleges. The 2012 results provide a comprehensive view of compensation practices to help identify patterns across the profession. Community college salary data is broken down by criteria such as discipline/primary function, enrollment size, supervisory level and tenure.

How Presidents and Development Directors Work Together
Article Mutual respect and common understanding are essential to productive relationships between chief executives and chief advancement officers at community colleges, says one such duo from a two-year institution in New York.

Getting LinkedIn with Lost Alumni
Article A Pennsylvania community college more than tripled its alumni mailing directory in less than two years using the social network LinkedIn.

CASE File: Largest Gifts to Community Colleges
CASE File The institutions on this list have received a gift or pledge valued at $10 million U.S. dollars (unless indicated otherwise) or more. The list is organized in order from largest to smallest gift. The dollar amounts do not represent a donor's cumulative giving to a recipient institution. Information was compiled from press releases, articles, websites and databases. Full citations for sources can be found in the bibliography.

Advancement Research Tools Available at Your Fingertips
Article Benchmarking data and research about community college advancement programs are plentiful—if you know where to look.

Community College Leaders Urged to Fundraise
Article Fundraising emerged as a new, hot topic at a recent annual meeting of community college leaders.

Finding Metrics that Matter and Learning to Use Them
Article Many in the community college sector talk about “integrated marketing” but few understand what it means and how it can transform their institution’s operations, say a pair of practitioners at a Massachusetts community college.

Don’t Leave Money on the Table
Article Nearly one in 10 gifts to educational institutions is eligible for a matching gift from employers of individual donors. It’s time more community colleges took advantage of these opportunities, say a group of matching gifts experts.

Students Dial Up Donations
Article Involving students in phonathons is a great way to generate excitement on campus and drum up community support for an annual fund, says a development officer at a Michigan community college, who adds that most students say they love the work and are happy to help.

Small Shops: Making Time for What Really Matters in Community College Fundraising
Product During this webinar, author Steve Klingaman offers insights on fundraising at community colleges and at any small shops. Topics covered include special events, annual funds, alumni relations and building a culture of philanthropy on campuses. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented April 24, 2012.

Turning Community College Alumni into Donors
Article The advancement staff at the Community College of Baltimore County in Maryland—where alumni donations increased 89 percent in one year—has discovered practices that turn alumni into donors.

Foundation Leader Recognized for Contributions to Profession
Article Betheny Reid, president of the Dallas County Community College District Foundation, was recently named the recipient of a 2012 CASE Commonfund Institutionally Related Foundation Award for her work. She hopes her institution’s rise from humble beginnings to the seventh-largest two-year college foundation will inspire her colleagues in the sector to embrace advancement.

Advice for Building a Strong Advancement Program
Article A leading expert on community college fundraising says two-year institutions can secure a proportionate share of dollars given to higher education by applying management practices used by four-year colleges and universities.

Scaling New Heights
CURRENTS Article Community colleges are seeking and raising previously unheard-of sums through major campaigns. Driven by the need to fill budget gaps caused by reduced public funding, these colleges also have strong leaders championing their fundraising cause and newfound confidence that they are worthy of investment.

Talking Points: A Measured Response
CURRENTS Article For years, U.S. community college leaders have argued that graduation rates are not a good barometer for measuring community college success. Two efforts are underway to address questions about community college performance with new yardsticks that provide a more accurate assessment.

Calif. Colleges Turn to CASE for Professional Development
Article Amid ongoing state budget cuts to education, advancement professionals at community colleges in California face growing pressure to raise more private funds and increase alumni interest to support the operations of their institutions. Thanks to a new partnership between CASE and the Network of California Community College Foundations, advancement professionals at the state’s 112 community colleges will receive even more professional development, services and support at this critical time in their history.

Community College and Business Partnerships Take Root
Article During last month’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama spoke of a partnership between Siemens AG and Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina that helped an out-of-work mechanic enroll in training and earn a high-paying job at the company. The president applauded the effort and called on more two-year institutions and private businesses around the country to engage in similar job-creating partnerships.

Conference for Community College Advancement
Conference Join colleagues from throughout North America for the Conference for Community College Advancement. This special conference will bring together professionals from all areas of advancement at community colleges, including fundraising, alumni relations, marketing and communications, and government relations.

Setting Up a Community College Student Phonathon
Product This webinar looks at how Clark College achieved success in its phonathon program. Details covered include making the case to setting up a calling center and selecting a vendor’s software. Hear how the program has grown, and learn some of the many benefits that resulted. This multimedia file, part of the Community College Webinar series, is a recording of a webinar originally presented May 15, 2012.

Metrics That Matter: Using Data to Improve Community College Marketing and Communications
Product Hear how Mount Wachusett Community College has begun using metrics to change its marketing and communications plan. During this webinar, part of the Community College Webinars series, presenters discuss how their new media strategies are informed by the volumes of data available through Google Analytics and other dashboard tools. Participants hear how the marketing and communications division at this college transformed itself in 18 months while garnering important institutional support along the way. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented May 1, 2012.

Engineering a Great Board
Article Any good volunteer board needs a tune up every now and then—and community college foundation boards are no exception. A board’s makeup should change as the institution’s goals change, experts say, whether this means attracting members willing to take on a more proactive role in fundraising or bringing on higher-level executives who maintain invaluable professional networks.

Everyday Ideas for Engaging Students
Article Alumni relations professionals know that engaging current students with their institution is key to future giving. A number of two-year schools—even those without a full-blown alumni relations program—are creatively using their existing resources and programs to enrich the college-going experience of their current students. Even a one-person advancement shop can learn from their experiences.

Turning Community College Alumni into Donors
Product During this webinar, participants learn how the Community College of Baltimore County's systematic approach to data cleanup, communications and mailing with its alumni yielded an 89 percent increase in alumni giving in one year. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented March 13, 2012.

Lessons Learned: Shifting Your Volunteer Board Composition
Product During this webinar, a foundation executive director examines the dynamics and challenges involved in changing the composition of a volunteer board. She talks about the lessons she learned during this highly contentious undertaking. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented Feb. 14, 2012.

Professor of Year Helps College Garner Grants
Article The Math Outreach Center at Amarillo College—brainchild of CASE’s 2011 outstanding community colleges Professor of the Year—began six years ago with no space, no personnel and no budget. Today, the center provides more than 23,000 hour-long tutoring sessions annually to students—many of whom see their test scores increase at least one letter grade after visiting one or more times. But students aren’t the only ones reaping the rewards of the center’s success. The Texas community college has recently garnered national attention and millions of dollars in federal grants.

New Research Shows that Transfers Support Both Alma Maters
Article New research reveals that community college students who transfer to four-year institutions are as likely to donate to both their two- and four-year alma maters.

Revealing the Community College Alumni Donor
Article Using predictive models, four-year institutions develop profiles of alumni donors so that they can target efforts to those alumni most likely to give. Community colleges, however, have been unable to benefit from such tactics because a profile of their alumni donors did not exist. Now, thanks to groundbreaking research, some characteristics of community college alumni donors have been revealed—and are sure to provide new direction for two-year college administrators, fundraisers and alumni professionals.

Get to Know Your CASE District
Article Community college officials looking to get more out of their CASE experience should consider attending events in their CASE district, which may provide a number of convenient and cost-effective opportunities for advancement training.

Community College Case Statements
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of case statements for a variety of campaign types and goals. Annotations include each campaign's goal, priorities, time frame, amount raised to date, website and additional publications (when available).

Out of Thin Air, an Alumni Database
Article When the Northwest Technical College Foundation was established in 2005, it had a problem. The small Bemidji, Minn., institution and its predecessor colleges had never kept track of alumni data in their 40-year history. In 2009, the foundation set about the tall task of compiling its very first alumni database. And it found a significant number of alumni by asking local businesses for help in the search process.

Using Social Media Deliberately
Article Many community colleges are unsure how to manage their social media presence to achieve their institutions’ strategic goals. CASE will host a webinar Nov. 8 explaining how community college advancement teams should use social media, both coherently and strategically, to grow enrollment and build brand.

Fundraising Strategies for Community Colleges: The Definitive Guide for Advancement
Product This comprehensive guide, written expressly for community colleges, offers practical advice and concrete steps on how to build a strong advancement team that encompasses annual fund, grants, major gift and planned giving programs. Recommended for development professionals, college presidents, board members, trustees, faculty leaders and others in leadership positions at community colleges.

Noteworthy Former Community College Students
Article When Business Insider last month published its list of “the most famous community college students of all time,” it created an opportunity for community colleges to showcase their vast reach as well as their accomplished former students.

Fundraising 101
Article Community colleges looking to spark a culture of advancement on their campuses need look no further than the classroom. Several two-year institutions have reaped the benefits of teaching their students, faculty and staff the ins and outs of fundraising

Necessity of Developing a Community College Alumni Relations Program
Product As community colleges are increasingly looking to alumni for support in their fundraising efforts, their need for a solid alumni relations office is becoming obvious. During this webinar, participants will hear how a school, which is only a few years into building their alumni relations programs, has expanded its database and email contacts. Includes practical ideas and some low-cost and no-cost tips that can be implemented, regardless of staff size. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented Dec. 13, 2011. It is part 3 of a three-part Community College Webinar series.

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.

Growing Brand and Enrollment through Social Media: Tips for Community Colleges
Product This seminar will provide tips and ideas for using social media to grow enrollment and build brand. Examples and case studies will be presented that show how to integrate various types of social media, along with ways to blend social media with traditional marketing tactics. The webinar focuses on providing practical, actionable approaches that community college communicators, marketers and recruiters can begin to apply immediately to their campaigns. This mulitmedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented Nov. 8, 2011. It is part 2 of a three-part Community College Webinar series.

Maximizing LinkedIn for Community College Alumni Relations
Online Seminar This webinar will help you leverage your alumni relations program by employing several new LinkedIn tools that make finding and reaching your former students easy.

Making the Most of Your First Donor Visit
Online Seminar A successful community college fundraiser shares an approach to donor cultivation that makes the most of the first donor visit.

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.

The VSE: "An Aspiration Tool"
Article The Voluntary Support of Education survey is considered by many to be the authoritative national source of information on private giving to higher education. However, community college participation in the survey has remained low. Arguing that the survey is an invaluable tool for their field, many community college officials say they would like to see more of their peers participate.

You Asked For It...
Article More than 50 advancement professionals from throughout the United States participated in a series of CASE Virtual Town Hall meetings last month, offering ideas for the Center for Community College Advancement.

Survey Looks at Institutionally Related Foundation Funding
Article About 72 percent of community college foundations had endowments valued at less than $10 million last fiscal year. The mean amount of private support raised per community college foundation was around $1.8 million. These are among the findings of a 2010 CASE survey of institutionally related foundations affiliated with public institutions of higher education in the United States.

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.

CASE Launches Center for Community College Advancement
Article Community colleges now have access to an expanding array of programs and services being offered through the new CASE Center for Community College Advancement.

Conference Speakers Find Gold in Community College Partnerships
Article "America's community colleges are probably the most democratic, influential institutions in our country. They give everyone who wants it a chance to fulfill their potential." That's according to Brian Haller, director of foundation and corporate relations at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and presenter at a recent CASE conference.

Odds and Ends: Community Opportunity
CURRENTS Article In this interview, CURRENTS talks with Kweisi Mfume about the impact community college had on his life. He also talks about rising tuition costs and the role of the government.

Connecting with Commuters
CURRENTS Article With decreased government funding for higher education the world over, many public two- and four-year commuter institutions are paying more attention to fundraising, which means reconnecting with alumni and building relationships. Since commuter schools are not likely to have much success with traditional alumni programming such as homecomings, class reunions, and tailgate parties, these institutions are finding other ways to engage former students and foster a sense of community.

Community College Organizational Charts
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of advancement organizational charts for community colleges.

Community College Naming Policies & Opportunities
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter maintains this collection of links to naming policies and opportunities posted on institutional websites. The collection includes samples from community colleges.

Talking Points: An Overlooked Resource
CURRENTS Article Many of today's community college students are among the best students in America and have the potential to thrive at elite four-year colleges and universities. However, too few of them have the opportunity to transfer. This article discusses the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation's Community College Transfer Initiative, which makes grants to highly selective four-year institutions that agree to increase admissions of, establish programs for, and provide financial aid to low- to moderate-income community college students.

Community College Foundations: An Analysis of a Survey Conducted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
White Paper This white paper on the structure and staffing of community college foundations reports the results of a CASE survey conducted in 2010. The survey asked community college foundation leaders to respond to questions about board and governance, staffing, alumni relations, budget/funding, fundraising/private support, campaigns, major gifts, endowment and donor outreach.

Odds and Ends: Through the Gates
CURRENTS Article In this interview with CURRENTS, Hilary Pennington of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation offers advice for institutions seeking funding and discusses the Gates Foundation's particular interest in community colleges.

Survey: Americans Generally Pleased with Community Colleges
Article The vast majority of respondents to a new survey say the quality of education at community colleges is excellent or good and that it is sometimes better for students to attend community colleges instead of four-year institutions.

Community Colleges Have Crucial Role in U.S. Economy
Article "Unsung heroes," "hidden gems" and "uniquely American" are just a few of the phrases national leaders used to describe community colleges during a White House summit earlier this month in Washington, D.C.

Talking Points: Funding Efficiency
CURRENTS Article The U.S. Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act puts the federal government in charge of student loans, and uses the resultant savings for a variety of priority higher education programs, including increased Pell Grant allotments and dedicated funding to community colleges and minority-serving institutions.

Private Gifts Support Emergency Aid at Community Colleges
Article Most emergency aid funds available to help community college students with unanticipated expenses come from private gifts, according to the results of a recent CASE survey on community college emergency aid programs. Nearly 70 percent of respondents at institutions that offer emergency aid say that requests for aid have increased during the last two years, and nearly 60 percent indicate that the pool of available funds is inadequate to meet needs.

Expert Shares Essential Elements for Successful Fundraising at Community Colleges
Article A leading expert in community college fundraising says having a strong team of leaders from the institution and general community is crucial for a successful campaign.

Getting Started on Your Community College Fundraising Campaign
Product Veteran fundraiser Stuart Grover offers practical advice to help community and technical colleges prepare for and undertake major fundraising campaigns. Grover offers special insights into the role the CEO and other decision-makers should play in the process. This multimedia file is a recording of a webinar originally presented April 22, 2010.

Suddenly in the Spotlight
CURRENTS Article Community college enrollments in the United States are soaring. At the same time, however, states are slashing budgets, and more students applying to community colleges today qualify for financial aid. With less money to educate more students, community colleges are turning to more strategic fundraising to fulfill their missions and meet expectations.

Advance Work: Midnight Madness
CURRENTS Article Community colleges are getting creative with class schedules to battle enlarging class sizes.

Talking Points: Standards that Fit
CURRENTS Article Traditional outcome measures, particularly those collected at the federal level, inadequately capture the breadth and varied missions of community colleges. Community college leaders are working on developing new metrics by which to measure their institutions.

Community Colleges: Growing Individual Giving with Effective Prospect Research
WealthEngine
White Paper This January 2010 white paper explores the extent to which prospect research is used by community colleges, particularly in the area of individual giving. Free registration is required to download the paper.

Getting the Green: Fundraising Campaigns for Community Colleges
Product The special challenges facing fundraisers at community colleges are addressed in this book, which offers guidance for every step of planning, carrying out, and following up on campaigns, from testing feasibility, to identifying supporters, to thanking and retaining volunteers and donors.

Talking Points: Plans for Parity
CURRENTS Article The time is right for a more diverse community college leadership corps.

Matter of Scale
CURRENTS Article Community colleges are poised to communicate the true value they provide to students and higher education in America.

Doing More with Less in Downturns Not New for Community Colleges
Article A national survey of community college leaders reveals that these institutions are "again at the receiving end of the 'do more with less and do it better' mantra" as they face significantly higher enrollments and steep budget cuts as part of the economic downturn.

Advance Work: All for One
CURRENTS Article The Foundation for California Community Colleges and the Network of California Community College Foundations have teamed up to produce a statewide community college alumni magazine and companion Web site.

Advance Work: A Community Evolves
CURRENTS Article A recent report found that during their time in community college, many students raise their education goals.

Specific Media Relations Programs: Waubonsee Community College - Gold Award
Best Practice Waubonsee Community College celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2006-2007. As part of the celebration, the college recognized and honored its top 40 alumni and students, calling them Waubonsee’s "Fabulous 40" to coincide with the anniversary theme of "Celebrating 40 Years of Student Success." The media relations campaign for the Fabulous 40 won an award from CASE in 2008.

Campaigns: Monroe Community College Foundation - Bronze Award
Best Practice In January 2007, Monroe Community College announced the Chesonis Family Foundation Challenge as part of the institution's campaign to raise funds for the PAC Center--a new athletic, fitness and recreational facility. By December 2007, the college and its foundation met the campaign goal of raising $6 million in private funds, including the $1.5 million challenge.

Corporate and Foundation Programs: Bow Valley College - Silver Award
Best Practice Bow Valley College's first-ever fundraising campaign, "Improving Lives Beyond the Classroom," set out to raise $10 million over five years. With funding in 2005, 2006 and 2007 from Suncor Energy Foundation, the Canadian community college developed a program called Placement Services for Immigrant Professionals. The college also leveraged the Suncor gift to launch a new integrated employment service for students, alumni and clients called BVCWorks.

Creative Use of Technology and New Media: SAIT Polytechnic - Bronze Award
Best Practice When SAITVIEW arrived on campus in spring 2007, heads began to turn upwards. Digital information screens mounted from the ceiling in 17 locations captured the attention of three key audiences: students, staff and supporters/visitors. A new tool in the college's communications program, SAITVIEW offered the latest campus news in 15-second billboard bites, conveying breaking news and internal marketing information via an easy-to-access and engaging medium in strategically located gathering spots.

Advance Work: Think Locally, Educate Globally
CURRENTS Article Students at Blue Ridge Community College had the opportunity to help a local community in Haiti.

Advance Work: Bugged About Recruiting
CURRENTS Article A welding rodeo is not your common campus event, but it is the perfect recruitment and community building tool for one technical college in Washington.

Talking Points: Change Is Good
CURRENTS Article This column deals with the complexities of the credit transfer process throughout higher education.

Springboard for Life
CURRENTS Article This article focuses on public perceptions--and misperceptions--of community colleges and explores how these institutions fit into the overall landscape of higher education in the United States. It also looks at what community colleges are doing to combat some negative images that persist about them.

Big Pond, Small Fish
CURRENTS Article Large foundations are casting about for community colleges so their gifts will have a bigger impact. A parallel trend is two-year institutions creating their own educational foundations. The combination means greater funds for education improvement, research, and more.

The Advancement Myths of Community Colleges
CURRENTS Article This article shows how community college advancement is busting the myths about poor fundraising results, lack of alumni loyalty, and negative public perceptions. The reality is that development at two-year institutions is becoming more sophisticated and successful, alumni do stay engaged with their two-year alma maters, and the community college brand is coming into its own.

A Road to Be Taken
CURRENTS Article Michael Wall, director of alumni relations at Anoka-Ramsey Community College, discusses how alumni relations at communities colleges is not only possible but critical.

Career Path: The Perfect Fit
CURRENTS Article Sometimes a person outside of the field can make the best leader. That's what happened when a marketing professional became the head of the foundation of a large community college system.

Growing Giving: A Guide to Securing Private Support for Your Community College
Product As competition for state and local money mounts, community colleges must look beyond the public sector for funding: private support is needed. This book offers proven ways to grow relationships and identify giving opportunities.

Advance Work: Financial Aid Simplified
CURRENTS Article Pima Community College offers gift certificates to use for tuition or fees. They aren't the flashiest gifts to give, but they make sense.

Community College Advancement: Total Resource Development
Product This paper outlines an approach to total resource development, a framework for unleashing talent and sparking entrepreneurial energy based on four key elements: (1) clear and elevating goals, (2) a broad, integrated definition of potential revenue sources, (3) strategic engagement of investors and (4) clearly assigned and broadly distributed accountability. This is one of a series of electronic papers written for and by community college development professionals. The series covers annual giving, planned giving, total resource development, public-private partnerships and the role of the president in advancement. Community College Advancement: Total Resource Development will show you how TRD can help you maximize resources, minimize waste, and exploit every opportunity. Author: Mary Crabbe Gershwin. CASE, 2005

Community College Advancement: Public-Private Partnerships
Product This electronic paper outlines how community colleges can establish productive partnerships with businesses and other entities. In relating the genesis of the Dallas County Community College Foundation’s $30 million Rising Star scholarship endowment, author Betheny L. Reid outlines a nine-step program that create successful public-private partnerships for your institution. This is one of a series of electronic papers written for and by community college development professionals. The series covers annual giving, planned giving, total resource development, public-private partnerships and the role of the president in advancement.

Community College Advancement: The Role of the President
Product This paper discusses the vital role of community college presidents to the entire fundraising process, from the identification of prospects to stewardship of gifts. This is one of a series of electronic papers written for and by community college development professionals. The series covers annual giving, planned giving, total resource development, public-private partnerships and the role of the president in advancement.

Community College Advancement: Planned Giving
Product This guide walks the reader through planned giving programs at four community colleges, covering how and why they got started, how they've been successful and where they are headed. The authors discuss their own institution’s program in the greatest detail, focusing on Kirkwood Community College’s initial efforts and current practices. A look at the other institutions provides additional approaches and philosophies. Includes the full text of Kirkwood’s fundraising standards, gift policies, investment policy and more. This is one of a series of electronic papers written for and by community college development professionals. The series covers annual giving, planned giving, total resource development, public-private partnerships and the role of the president in advancement.

Community College Advancement: Annual Giving
Product The steps outlined in this paper are intended to help community colleges establish an annual fund or give an existing program a boost. Includes 10 ways to motivate annual gifts and a look at problems and pitfalls of annual giving programs. This is one of a series of electronic papers written for and by community college development professionals. The series covers annual giving, planned giving, total resource development, public-private partnerships and the role of the president in advancement.

Community College Advancement Series
Product This series of electronic papers is written for and by community college development professionals. It covers annual giving, planned giving, total resource development, public-private partnerships and the role of the president in advancement.

Holding the Line
CURRENTS Article It's the best and worst of times for U.S. community college leaders. Even as they enjoy attention and recognition from national leaders and enroll greater numbers of students--including students who could have attended four-year colleges--they must contend with state budget cuts, tuition increases that threaten access for low-income students, competitive pressures from nonprofit and for-profit education institutions, and calls for greater accountability.

AdvanceWork: Spinning Straw into Gold
CURRENTS Article A North Carolina community college successfully turned an abandoned textile mill into classroom, office, and community space. Local residents contributed generously to the $1.8-million campaign that made the conversion possible, and by restoring a site with significance to many in the area, the institution built stronger community relations.

Setting Up Shop
CURRENTS Article The author presents stories of how institutions, ranging from two-year colleges to independent schools, have launched or revived alumni associations. Alumni officers can adapt the strategies she describes to match the needs of their own campuses.

AdvanceWork: Fruitful Marketing
CURRENTS Article Last year, Silicon Valley community-college administrators became concerned that the region's four-year institutions were attracting potential community-college students by incorrectly implying that community-college courses take longer to complete and are less relevant to the job market. Administrators needed to get the word out fast that their campuses offer convenient, online, weekend, and evening classes and cutting-edge programs for Internet-related careers. This article describes a collaborative public-service campaign to solve the communication problem.

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.