Read the news release about the 2019 awards >

Sustained Excellence Awards

Colby College
Creighton University
George Mason University
Harvard University
Northampton Community College
Northwestern Michigan College
Phillips Academy
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
The Citadel
The Thacher School
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Francisco
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Portland
University of Texas at Austin
Villanova University
Williams College

First-time Winners

Bridgewater State University
Buena Vista University
California State University, San Bernardino
California University of Pennsylvania 
Carson-Newman University
Central Washington University
Clayton State University
Dutchess Community College
Earlham College
Ferris State University
Fordham University
Grove City College
Marietta College
Otterbein University
Portland Community College
Portland State University
Ringling College of Art and Design
SUNY at New Paltz
SUNY Potsdam
The Gunnery School
The University of Findlay
University of Arizona
University of California, Davis
University of Central Florida
University of Houston - Downtown
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Vanguard University of Southern California
Walters State Community College
West Texas A&M University
Westfield State University
Worcester State University

From the Judges (Higher Education)

Fundraising success is measured in much more than who raises the most money. Again this year we recognize institutions that showed not just measurable growth, but also breadth and depth in terms of diversity of sources from which funds were raised. Judges also recognized institutions that over-performed, by ranking lower in terms of institutional budgets and enrollment, while ranking higher in terms of funds raised. 

Among the trends we noticed in this year’s judging was a general increase in support from parents across all categories and that institutions from the west coast appeared to dominate in several categories. We were especially pleased to see what we believe is a maturing of fundraising among community colleges. There are many examples of community colleges who have not only achieved steady growth, but a diversification of fundraising among a variety of sources. It was a very competitive cohort that was difficult to judge this year.
 
We also noted that alumni participation continues to decline, although the amount of money given by alumni continues to increase. This trend has held steady for the last several years, leading us to believe it is time to revisit how much weight we give to alumni participation in determining high-performing programs. 
 
We were delighted to welcome several “new faces” to the list of those being recognized. The beauty of this awards program is that we look at the data not knowing what institution is being represented. In showcasing these best-of-the-best programs, CASE helps its members identify institutions doing smart and innovative work from which everyone can learn. We not only encourage–we highly recommend–that you spend some time in the CASE VSE Data Miner to dive into details about what makes these programs aspirational.

From the Judges (Independent Schools)

The financial sustainability of independent school education depends on highly productive and efficient advancement programs. Fundraising success is measured by many variables, not only by which schools raise the most money. The CASE Voluntary Support of Education survey provides many different data points for measuring a school’s fundraising program over a three-year period.  Thank you to all of the schools that submit data, providing useful comparisons for improving all independent school development programs.

Again this year we recognize schools that showed not just measurable growth in dollars raised, but also breadth and depth in terms of diversity of sources from which funds were raised. The independent school chief advancement officers who served as judges recognized schools for excellence over a three-year time period. Each cohort (by endowment size) was very competitive.

Among the trends we noticed in this year’s judging was a general increase in total support from parents and alumni across all categories. We were especially pleased to see what we believe is a maturing of sustained and ongoing major gift fundraising. We were concerned about declining enrollments at more schools than usual. We also noted that alumni participation and the number of alumni donors continues to decline, although the amount of money given by alumni continues to increase. This trend has held steady for the last several years.

 In showcasing these best-of-the-best programs, CASE helps its members identify schools that excel in their outcomes and do so efficiently so that we can all learn from their best practices. We encourage and highly recommend that you submit your own school’s information next year and spend some time in the CASE VSE Data Miner to dive into details about what makes these programs worthy of recognition.

About the Awards