Awards and Scholarships
Institutional Awards
More Ways to Win—and a Simplified Nomination Process
We’ve combined the best of the District I Awards with the Circle of Excellence Awards to create a single, streamlined program that offers even more opportunities for recognition. When you enter the Circle of Excellence Awards, your submissions are also automatically considered for Best of District I honors—at no additional cost.
Award categories and judging criteria are regularly updated to reflect the latest best practices in advancement, and several categories are now tailored by staff size to ensure fair and meaningful recognition for institutions of all sizes.
Recent District I institutional award recipients
CHIEF EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP AWARD
The Chief Executive Leadership Award celebrates CASE member institutional chief executive officers, college and university system heads, and trustees for outstanding efforts in promoting the value of education and supporting advancement at their campuses. Recipients, through their ability to create a vision and inspire others, have established a positive image for their institution while leading it to even higher levels of success.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
The CASE Distinguished Service Award celebrates inspirational advancement professionals whose accomplishments and longtime service to CASE have made a significant impact on institutional advancement. The award acknowledges individuals whose embodiment of the spirit of CASE, particularly generosity in sharing knowledge with the community of practice, have earned the respect and admiration of fellow colleagues.
RISING STAR AWARD
The Rising Star Award recognizes the accomplishments of new District I advancement professionals who has:
- less than five years of advancement experience
- Demonstrates the potential for leadership in the areas of Advancement Services, Alumni Relations, Philanthropy, or Communications and Marketing.
It honors the accomplishments of those whose early success promises future leadership and achievement.
OPPORTUNITY AND INCLUSION AWARD
The Opportunity and Inclusion Award, established in 2022, recognizes an advancement professional who displays leadership in fostering inclusion and diversity within the profession, on their campus, and/or within the surrounding community.
Recipients will possess the following criteria:
- A demonstrated and sustained passion for the advancement of diversity.
- A demonstrated and sustained contribution to increasing diversity within their institution and community.
- A demonstrated and sustained commitment to the progression, career advancement, and promotion of diverse, new leaders in the profession.
- Achievements in support of diversity plan goals and/or demonstrated diversity improvement effort.
Scholarships
The scholarship covers the conference registration fee.
All CASE members are welcome to apply. Preference for scholarships will be given to people who meet any of these criteria:
- Never attended a CASE conference.
- New to educational advancement.
- New to a leadership role.
- Student who is planning a career in educational advancement.