The Best Investment You'll Ever Make: Yourself A few people have recently reached out to me for professional advice—whether about navigating career transitions, refining their personal brand, or exploring new opportunities. And a common theme keeps coming up: career paths rarely go as planned. The destination will change. Probably a few times. Many of us build careers around institutions, believing that stability comes from tenure, loyalty, or reputation. But in higher education and the...
12 days ago • 4 min read
When the System is Broken, Everyone Loses Higher education is facing intense scrutiny and disruption—from political attacks to financial instability to public skepticism about its value. These external forces are real and putting immense pressure on institutions. While these challenges are very serious, I’ve been thinking a lot about how institutions can also be their own worst enemies: They operate in siloes. They chase prestige over people. They mistake motion for progress. (Because if the...
18 days ago • 5 min read
Alumni Engagement Trends: Are You Keeping Up? Traditional alumni engagement methods—large events, reunions, mass emails—used to connect. Now, they're broken. That’s the unsettling reality advancement leaders quietly acknowledge but hesitate to say out loud. Mass emails go unopened. Generic events have declining attendance. The "one-size-fits-all" outreach methods that worked in the past aren't cutting it anymore. You pour resources into alumni engagement, but participation rates keep falling,...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Defensiveness Won't Raise More Money—But Vulnerability Might Protecting yourself won’t deepen donor trust. And playing it safe won’t get your institution through this storm. Right now, higher education and nonprofit leaders are navigating turbulent waters. Many advancement professionals are in survival mode—sticking to what feels safe and hoping stability returns. But behind the silence in professional circles, there’s real anxiety: shrinking budgets, staffing reductions, donor fatigue, and...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Navigating Uncertainty & Strategic Shifts 🤔 Change isn’t coming—it’s already here. Leadership transitions, restructuring, mergers, and crises aren’t just possibilities for higher education and nonprofits; they’re now the norm. Meanwhile, the political landscape is shifting rapidly, with President Trump’s administration driving daily headlines that impact higher education and philanthropy. Policies, regulations, and donor behaviors are evolving at an unprecedented pace, forcing institutions to...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
The Advancement MarComm Shift: Support Function to Strategic Partner 🔑 At the CASE District II annual conference in NYC earlier this week, I posed a question to a room full of advancement marketing and communications professionals and their colleagues: "If you had 30 seconds to explain your team’s role to your president, what would you say?" The hesitation was telling. Too often, Advancement MarComm teams (inclusive of Development Comms) are essential but invisible—supporting fundraising...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Advancement: Higher Ed's Untapped Innovation Sandbox 💡 In higher ed, we love to talk about innovation. But when it comes to actually doing it? Many institutions are still stuck in the past. Regulations slow down enrollment strategies. Faculty governance keeps academic structures rigid. Central MarComm teams are often more focused on protecting the brand than pushing boundaries. But there’s one area with freedom—and urgency—to innovate: Advancement. Why Advancement Should Lead Innovation...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
The Silo Problem That's Costing Institutions Millions A university’s Advancement team has been nurturing a $5 million gift for months. The donor is engaged, excited about supporting student scholarships, and just waiting for the right moment to commit. Then, they attend an alumni event where the president’s speech—crafted by Central MarComm—focuses entirely on rankings and research growth, with no mention of the importance of philanthropy. The donor walks away wondering: Does the university...
2 months ago • 4 min read
This week, I’m trying something new. If you’ve read my first two issues, you’ve seen a mix of reflections, insights, tips, resources, and news. But early feedback suggests this might simply be too much. For Issue #3, I’m experimenting with a sharper, more focused format designed to deliver the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time. The goal? Just one big idea that can help inspire you or your organization to work a little differently. At the end of this email, there’s a quick poll to...
2 months ago • 4 min read