In 2007 the University of Colorado Boulder Alumni Association moved under the university's umbrella after the alumni members had spent 11 years under the CU Foundation. But there were two major catches. First, the chancellor wanted them to eliminate their membership dues, as he felt they competed with the annual fund. Second, he could only make up…

A survey of more than 35,000 alumni magazine readers conducted by CASE and more than 135 member institutions in the United States provides powerful evidence that, among the communications options in the advancement toolbox, magazines are one of the most effective ways to connect with, engage, and motivate alumni and other constituents. The CASE…

Even in the best financial times, the relationship between the development office and the alumni association can be uneasy. While some alumni leaders would never try to calculate an event's success in funds raised, others find that their most important and successful events happen with development goals in mind. There may never be a consensus…

There is growing acknowledgement in higher education, particularly among institutions experiencing a steady decline in giving by graduates, that alumni donors need to be cultivated while they are students. If a school wants to have a generous alumni body giving time and money once they graduate, they need to be aware of the importance of…

As the director of alumni affairs at the University of Waterloo, the author had two questions to answer: How engaged are the university's alumni, and how can advancement professionals double the current level of alumni engagement and alumni giving? The author explored these questions, found answers, and implemented the solutions. This was the…

Bit by byte, a new day is dawning in educational advancement. Fading fast is the era dominated by viewbooks, alumni magazines, and campaign brochures. Technology is reshaping the way colleges and universities teach students, communicate with constituents, relate to alumni, and appeal to donors. The way constituents communicate with each other is…

This article discusses Georgetown University's Discovery Initiative, an advancement program in which students and recent graduates meet with alumni who are not currently involved with the Washington, D.C., university. Currently, the Discovery team consists of 50 students who conduct interviews in the Washington, D.C., area during the school year…

Integration of alumni relations and development is vital to institutions. In this article, the author talks about integration and focuses on the functions of alumni relations and fundraising, and the symbiotic relationship between them. He suggests that the best alumni relations officers understand the direct relationship of their work to resource…

For the past couple of decades, customer relationship management has been quietly establishing itself as the way everybody does business. Migrating to the education community only in the past five years or so, it has acquired a more genteel transcription of its acronym: constituent relationship management. However one decodes the letters, CRM is…