I have just returned from CASE’s first Global Schools Summit, which was part of the CASE Europe Annual Conference in Birmingham, England. This new gathering brought together advancement leaders from across the world to explore the challenges and opportunities unique to schools. We heard from heads of school, seasoned fundraisers, and industry experts, many of whom have worked in several regions or contexts. The experience underscored for me that our work in advancement is both global and personal: while culture and context of a school are important to consider for each program advancement’s best practices remain the same. We need to make small, strategic adaptations to suit our school communities, but we do not need to reinvent advancement practices from scratch. And CASE is here to ensure you know the practices and have the community to support you.

When working with teams from newer advancement operations, I often hear frustrated or disappointed voices sharing “But that would never work at my school,” or “That is just not possible in our country/city/region.” I have even had a delegate insist that philanthropy is just illegal in their country. (I checked; it is not.) There is merit to these feelings. Introducing fundraising is not something to take on lightly and every school will have its own brand of challenges to overcome. And yet, the more opportunities I have to learn with delegates from across the world at gatherings like the Global Schools Summit, the more I am convinced that we can learn from each other and Copy And Share Everything we are doing to support our advancement community globally, despite geography. There are few challenges that we face that another school (no matter where they are in the world) has not already wrestled with and overcome, or at least learned something along the way. From changes in taxation on philanthropy to the establishment of endowments or the building of a culture of philanthropy—our work is possible in every context. There is also great value in the global conversations informing what we take back to our own campuses and adapt to fit our schools. 

I hope you will consider joining us to share and learn from schools both up the street and across the ocean from you. In December we will kick off the next season of the School Advancement Institute, closely followed by the CASE-NAIS Independent Schools conference in Seattle, Washington, U.S., in January 2026. And for our international schools, the third annual International School European Forum will be held in Madrid, Spain, in February. I am looking forward to seeing you there.