Fall 2026 Small Shop Roundtable-Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

CASE’s fall small-shop roundtable brought community college advancement professionals together to share challenges, ideas, and resources.<br /><br />Participants discussed funding needs beyond scholarships, including student travel, conferences, competitions, internships, and emergency support. Suggested approaches included cultivating donors interested in specific needs, student-led fundraising, faculty mini-grants, and combining foundation and college funds.<br /><br />Staff capacity and retention were major concerns. Attendees described using data and fundraising plans to make the case for additional staff, setting priorities, and using work-study students for appropriate tasks. Retention ideas included structured onboarding, competitive compensation, supportive leadership, and small gestures of appreciation from colleagues and board members.<br /><br />The group also explored difficulties obtaining clear institutional priorities for fundraising. Strategies included persistently asking leaders about upcoming needs, aligning fundraising with strategic plans, and bringing college and foundation boards together to identify shared goals. Participants emphasized that building a culture of philanthropy at community colleges takes sustained advocacy.<br /><br />Other topics included measuring success through student and community impact, and whether to charge fees on restricted gifts. The meeting closed with a reminder that CASE’s new community college advancement survey is open through December 9 and designed to be quicker and more relevant than the broader VSE survey.

Keywords

community college advancement

fundraising

philanthropy culture

staff retention

student support

donor cultivation

institutional priorities

board collaboration

advancement survey