Meeting Highlights Dec. 2010

Industry Advisory Council
Chicago
Dec. 12, 2010

Present Members: Fred Weiss, Dan White, Ed Siriano, Elizabeth Scarborough

Volunteer leader: Cassie McVeety

CASE staff: John Lippincott, Ron Mattocks, Lori Woehrle

Highlights

I. Call to Order and Welcome: F. Weiss called the meeting to order at 9 am and welcomed members and others, who introduced themselves.

(Several members planning to attend were unable to do so because of inclement weather throughout the Midwest region the day prior to and day of the meeting.)

II. President's Report: J. Lippincott talked about the "state of CASE" in terms of revenue, expenses, member retention, and major activities. Highlights:

• As of Dec. 1, 2010, CASE has 3,399 institutional members (up from 3,372 on July 1, 2009)
• CASE has 18,526 professional members (as of December 1, 2010), versus 21,660 on July 1, 2009
• CASE has 174 Educational Partners (on December 1, 2010), versus 197 on July 1, 2009. The drop is primarily among Bronze-level EPs.
• The CASE FY11 budget (July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011) is $15.38 million in operating revenue and $16.34 million in operating expenses, leaving an operating net of -$0.42 million.
• FY11 first-quarter results (July 1, 2010-September 30, 2010) were an operating net of $4.59 million, versus a budgeted operating net of $4.10 million.

Mr. Lippincott reported that CASE will be offering a new membership upgrade called "Premier Membership" as of July 1, which will offer a new set of benefits to individuals associated with member educational institutions. Benefits will be:

• a subscription to CURRENTS magazine
• personalized service from the InfoCenter
• monthly podcasts
• a weekly e-newsletter for managers
• special savings on conference attendance
• a matching gift smart phone app
• access to the member directory
• access to CASE whitepapers

Mr. Lippincott outlined recent and upcoming CASE activity supporting the CASE strategic initiatives of growth in target markets, recruitment of staff, advocacy for advancement, internationalized services and leadership resources.

For growth in targeted markets, CASE is launching a Center for Community College Advancement that will include specialized resources specifically for community colleges. In connection with recruitment of staff, CASE upgraded the functionality and reach of its online job listings program. CASE is working with other education and nonprofit organizations to advocate on the federal level in favor of charitable giving incentives. Among activities related to internationalizing services, CASE has been publishing more information in Spanish and Chinese. And by partnering with presidential associations, CASE is providing more advancement resources to campus leaders.

Major organizational goals for FY11 are to:

• Strengthen member service
• Continue strategic initiatives
• Grow CASE Asia-Pacific and Latin America
• Refine membership structures
• Develop new revenue streams

Mr. Lippincott noted that CASE Asia-Pacific is closely tracking the five-year business plan developed for that division, although momentum was slowed somewhat by a change in staff leadership at the Singapore office.

On the issue of global activity, Mr. Weiss noted that SunGard Higher Education is seeing an increasing interest in Latin America for advancement solutions, and E. Scarborough also is seeing increasing interest in Latin America for her firm's services (marketing and branding). D. White said his consulting firm is doing work in the Middle East, particularly with American universities that have a presence in the Middle East. Mr. Weiss said SunGard holds a customer event in Dubai and about 40 attended in December 2010.

Mr. White asked what CASE's requirements are for deciding whether to produce a conference in a given region. Mr. Lippincott said the decision rests in part on whether there is sufficient demand and whether - when entering new markets-the overall CASE model can be successful, such as whether it can be self-sustaining. He noted that in Africa, CASE activity is supported by the Carnegie Foundation. Other questions are whether there is sufficient volunteer support, whether a need exists for what CASE can offer, and whether educational institutions in the region are investing in advancement and therefore ready to support CASE activities.

L. Woehrle reported on the July 2010 launch of the new Associate Partner level of Educational Partner, created for single-person companies that want to associate with CASE. The level offers a low annual fee ($499) and a set of benefits identified through market research as being most important to firms of this size. The program has brought in 20 new Educational Partner firms thus far.

R. Mattocks reported on the CASE Board of Trustee decision to modify the CASE privacy policy to allow CASE to begin offering opt-in email marketing list opportunities via Media General, the third-party firm that manages CASE list rentals.

E. Siriano and Ms. Scarborough recommended that CASE use its own brand on the email marketing because they said that would make the email opportunity more valuable to their companies. Mr. Siriano recommended that CASE promote the CASE name on the emails rather than promote the email lists themselves.

III. IAC/District Chairs Council: Mr. White, who serves on the IAC/District Chairs Council Joint Task Force, reported on discussions held by that group. The task force was formed in July 2010 to review Educational Partner engagement in district conferences as exhibitors, sponsors, and speakers. The task force also will develop recommendations for common protocols and procedures that will enhance the engagement experience for both the districts and the Educational Partners. The task force will deliver recommendations to the District Chairs Council and the Industry Advisory Council.

Mr. White updated the IAC on task force activity, including creation of an inventory of district policies and procedures related to Educational Partners. He noted two big themes coming out of the conversations: (1) that in some instances it may make sense for various districts to have different pricing models and different practices because there are many ways to conduct business; and (2) that there has been a change in attendance patterns at district conferences and the perception among exhibiting and sponsoring companies is that fewer decisionmakers are attending than did so in the past.

IV. IAC Role: Mr. Weiss recommended that the IAC develop a code of conduct for all CASE corporate partners. Mr. Siriano noted that companies that are very engaged with CASE know what accepted behavior is (such as not selling from the podium if asked to speak at a conference) but other companies may not understand what the rules are. He said it may be useful to spell out those accepted and unaccepted behaviors. Ms. Scarborough noted that the message might be better heard coming from the IAC, made up of fellow company representatives, rather than from CASE as an organization.

V. IAC Liaison Report: David Lotz, IAC liaison to the CASE Board of Trustees, was unable to attend the meeting and reported on the November 2010 CASE board meeting via written report, below:

CASE Board of Trustees meeting highlights

Nov. 17-18, 2010

The CASE Board of Trustees met on Nov. 17 and 18 at CASE headquarters in Washington, D.C., to review and approve a significant number of items related to enhancing service to members and strengthening CASE's ongoing operations. Prior to the board meeting, trustees held a reception for participants in the CASE Minority Advancement Institute, and following the meeting, board members attended a luncheon and Capitol Hill reception honoring the 2010 U.S. Professors of the Year.

The board took the following actions during the meeting:

• Endorsed the creation of the CASE Center for Community College Advancement and approved a new dues structure for community colleges effective July 1, 2011.
• Endorsed a new model and value proposition for individual membership in CASE, to be called Premier Membership, and approved an annual fee of $95 beginning July 1, 2011.
• Approved a statement to provide guidance on supplemental compensation for institutional staff members engaged in fundraising; the statement has been added to previously approved statements on compensation for fundraising performance.
• Approved the 2011 U.S. legislative agenda, which guides CASE's government relations efforts and places particular emphasis on protecting the value of the charitable deduction, extending the estate tax, extending and expanding of the IRA charitable rollover and other items.
• Approved a policy statement indicating that CASE will take positions on public policy issues only when they relate specifically to the field of educational advancement or directly affect CASE's ability to serve members.
• Accepted the clean, unqualified external audit of CASE's consolidated financial statements for the 2010 fiscal year.
• Approved the formation of a charter for an investment subcommittee of the CASE Board's Finance and Audit Committee.
• Approved the investment of 10 percent of CASE's investment portfolio in two groups of hedge funds.
• Approved changes to the CASE Member Privacy Policy to allow for controlled, pre-approved, promotional emails to members.

Background: CASE revenue from traditional mail list rentals has drifted downward over the past three years. By keeping the traditional mail list rental program and adding email transmission program, combined revenue has the potential to rebound from current $35K level to $70-90K per year.

Revised policy approved at November meeting: "CASE may contract with a third party list processor to sell controlled, pre-approved email transmissions of professionally relevant information to members from Direct Marketers such as Industry Partners, organizers or vendors, but actual email addresses will not be released directly to the Direct Marketers. All such email transmissions will adhere to CAN-SPAM rules in the U.S. and to equivalent regulations internationally."

• Approved changes to the District VII Bylaws to update annual meeting voting requirements, move procedural details to an operating document, change the composition of the board and rename a board committee.

In addition to reviewing and recommending the action items noted above, board committees discussed a variety of other issues:

• The Finance and Audit committee reviewed in detail the 2010 fiscal year external audit, including financial trends over the past decade, discussed year-to-date fiscal and investment performance, and offered guidance on membership dues increases for the 2012 fiscal year.
• The Member Services Committee also discussed dues guidelines for the 2012 fiscal year and received reports on CASE programs and services as well as district activities.
• The Committee on the Profession received a report and recommendations from its awards subcommittee; heard updates on the work of the CASE commissions on alumni relations, communications and marking and philanthropy, including the work of the joint commission task force on social media; discussed the role of CASE in discussions about legacy admissions; and received reports on diversity, research and CASE ASAP initiatives.
• The International Committee discussed CASE activities in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and other parts of the world; reviewed the work and role of the committee; received a report on CASE initiatives in Africa; and discussed the creation of a panel on international scholarships.

V. Adjournment: Mr. Weiss adjourned the meeting at 11:30 a.m.