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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.