Alumni Relations Coffee Chat (May 2026)-Presentation

Presentation

Pdf Summary

The document is a 2022 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) presentation about advancement across institutions, with a focus on alumni relations (AR) and how different functions work together strategically.

A central message is that advancement is a coordinated, institution-wide effort involving marketing, communications, content, alumni relations, fundraising, and operations. Success depends on collaboration, shared strategy, and understanding the institution’s culture and goals.

Several AR-focused sessions are highlighted:

- <strong>Communications:</strong> Great alumni communications should start with understanding the audience, building a compelling alumni narrative, creating engaging content, involving alumni as ambassadors, and measuring results. A key point is that institutions must earn alumni attention through relevant content, consistency, and authentic alumni stories.

- <strong>Volunteering:</strong> Effective volunteer management involves identifying the right people, matching them to the right roles, structuring and supporting their involvement, and retaining them through clear expectations and recognition. The long-term goal is to build lifelong relationships that lead alumni to become ambassadors and donors.

- <strong>Events:</strong> Events should be planned with a clear purpose, target audience, and method for measuring success. The presentation emphasizes starting with “why,” allowing enough preparation time, testing new ideas, and learning from others.

- <strong>Metrics and Reputation:</strong> A cross-institutional session discusses joining the dots through metrics, including CASE’s reputation framework, suggesting the importance of measuring brand and reputation impact.

- <strong>Working with Philanthropy:</strong> Success depends on strong communication, storytelling, understanding priorities, stewardship, and relationship management. Everyone involved should see themselves as a relationship manager.

Overall, the presentation stresses that advancement works best when all parts of the institution align around long-term relationship-building, strategic communication, and measurable impact.

Keywords

alumni relations

advancement strategy

institution-wide collaboration

alumni communications

volunteer management

event planning

metrics and reputation

philanthropy stewardship

relationship management

CASE presentation