Three finalists were competing for a university's advancement vice presidency. One candidate was an alumni director at a U.S. public institution with more than 300,000 alumni. The other two had worked on campaigns and closed major gifts. The alumni director was a leader in his field, had built relationships and managed teams, and understood all aspects of advancement. He aspired to become a college president. Despite his qualifications, the search committee refused to gamble on someone who lacked fundraising experience.

Are some of your alumni more interested in turning through chapters than in leading them? Institutions have begun offering virtual and in-person fixes for the book addicts among their graduates. Most of the programs are no- or low-cost, easy to manage, and attract new pockets of alumni. 

For more than 25 years, Gary Toyn has worked with clients to enhance their member/donor acquisition, retention, and engagement. He is the lead researcher of numerous studies related to constituent engagement, including the Voluntary Alumni Engagement in Support of Education survey, which analyzes how institutions attract and engage their alumni. In a recent blog series, Toyn discussed the most beneficial and the "lamest" alumni benefits institutions offer.

How many times have you heard this: "I didn't plan on a career in advancement—I just fell into it"? Despite a growing need for fundraisers, recruiters are struggling to find talent. "The development profession is still a well-kept secret—and something we need to change," CASE President Sue Cunningham said during a recent CASE program. Degree programs in advancement remain rare (although notable ones include the U.K.'s University of Chichester's charity development degree and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University), and the field is frequently misunderstood.

Daniel Cohen and his father, Marcel, founded Graduway in 2009, which builds branded alumni networking and mentoring platforms to help institutions stay in touch with their alumni. Prior to that, Cohen worked with Merck & Co., serving most recently as its regional commercial and finance director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Marcel Cohen was the director of Imperial College's distance learning MBA program. The combined experience of father and son in education and finance helped the Cohens form Graduway. Daniel Cohen is the author of The Alumni Revolution: Re-Thinking Alumni Relations in a Digital World.