Key Findings

Selected Verbatim Responses

On Staff and Workplace Challenges

“Staff turnover is high because fundraisers have a lot of options right now. That’s a real issue given that we’re mid-campaign.” (Gift/Alumni Officer)

“My very best fundraising year was last year when most of my meetings were held virtually. I strongly believe that advancement offices will lose good fundraisers if they do not adapt to post-pandemic realities of flexible working situations.” (Gift/Alumni Officer)

“We are telling folks what we want to do regarding return to office and not surveying them, which I think may be a mistake. We are struggling with retention and burnout. Our institution is trying to be sensitive, but I fear we have too much of a one-size fits all approach.” (CAO)

“The lack of empathy and understanding by university and advancement staff about what [professional staff] are juggling and facing has been disappointing. It has created a culture of burnout.” (Gift/Alumni Officer)

CAOs on Evaluating Staff Under the Hybrid Work Model

“Development teams need to be out of the office to meet donors. As long as they continue to make visits and secure funding at a similar capacity as when they were in the office, they can work from home. Also, if employees perform better because of an increased sense of work/ life balance, it’s a win for everyone!”

“In the same manner we evaluated staff when they worked entirely in the office. If they are engaging alumni and meeting their goals, then they are effective in their jobs.”

“We are using the same metrics that we would if staff were in the office full-time. Their progress will be measured based on their ability to complete their project in a timely manner and at a level commensurate with past work effort.”

“We really do not have a system in place for evaluation, whether for advancement or the institution. The current hybrid model is not an ideal situation and ideally, we’d have the staff back on campus.”

Gift/Alumni Officers on How They Feel They Should Be Evaluated in Hybrid Work Model

“Honestly, the same way it is in the office. Sometimes I am able to get through more working from home because there are no office distractions or lost time walking across campus for meetings.”

“The same things as if in the office 100%. I have MORE time to work on these things when working a hybrid schedule and remotely because I’m NOT spending my time in a car where I can’t give 100% of my attention to my work because I’m driving.”

“Utilize the same metrics as before pandemic with broader definition of what qualifies as a “visit.” We now use phone calls and zoom conversations if they result in a “move” or significantly advance the philanthropic conversation.”

“The ongoing challenges of the pandemic — including not meeting with prospects face-to-face — is a more significant challenge than the issue of working from home or hybrid. For hybrid work, there may need to be some accounting for the challenges of transitioning between different work environments.”

“We have all been working from home for a year and a half now? I don’t understand why we’re pretending that we can’t do it and be as productive as we would in the office. We literally did it for 18 months. This question has come up a lot in our “hybrid transition” and I honestly find it a bit offensive.”

Biggest Challenges to Advancement Work This Time of Year

“Trying to get campus partners to think innovatively again. Everyone is in the dumps or paralyzed by uncertainty.” (CAO)

“A shift in energy and morale. We are ending a campaign and there is a far-reaching feeling of burnout. The burnout results from not only our work, but the times. We’ll need to find a way to gently push forward while respecting everyone’s personal situation.” (CAO)

“Having a very hard time building a team. Currently have five major openings in department. Everyone — three forward facing staff members are stretched.” (CAO)

“Increased staff burnout and fatigue – from a lingering pandemic, having so many open positions, and the demands of full-time return to work, for many. People are exhausted and see no relief in sight.” (CAO)

“My institution is not yet “out of the woods” with respect to financial fallout from the pandemic. As a result, budgets across campus are impacted and vacant positions have been placed on hold. Additionally, for the few vacant positions deemed essential and therefore able to be filled, recruitment has been a significant challenge.” (CAO)

Most Substantial Change to Your Work This Year (Gift/Alumni Officers)

“Being in the office every day. It is harder to have work-life balance. We exceeded goals last year but were told we were back in office 100%. Shows we didn’t learn anything.”

“The challenge between balancing institutional budgets post-pandemic and finding the resources/time for staff to move forward with innovation and institutional priorities.”

“Adding in-person meetings and events on top of the virtual programming we’ve adapted the last year and a half. Translation = more to do with as many or even fewer people.”

“The lack of flexibility in my office. There is no acknowledgement of the collective global trauma that the world has been through over the last two years. The university doesn’t believe in science and has not taken the pandemic seriously. It is short sighted. Our entire department is burned out and there is turnover.”

“Realization that our institution is not immune to the “Great Resignation” and hiring new staff will be very difficult.”

“Re-engaging donors since COVID. Many have lost almost 2 years of the engagement. Playing catch up for all that was lost during the pandemic without falling victim to burnout.”

Key Recruitment and Retention Strategies for CAOs

“We can recruit and cast a wider net for talent since we know some advancement positions can work for different locations. We are saying upfront that workers have options whether to work remotely.”

“Looking carefully and intentionally at skills and abilities vs. current job descriptions, with the notion of helping people use the majority of their strengths in their work. Being generally as flexible as we can with schedules and time.”

“We have reimagined the hiring process, first by creating a new hiring manual and second a hiring committee. We have enlisted a search firm for a number of director level positions. We are promoting from within when applicable.”

“Flexible schedule or work location opportunities. Communicating clear paths for advancement.”

Methodology

The WASHBURN & McGOLDRICK survey on advancement leaders was conducted online during the period of October 18 – November 2, 2021, with 455 respondents representing 119 institutions across the nation. The schools surveyed ranged in size from small private liberal arts colleges to independent schools and institutions to state and private universities offering masters and doctoral degrees, including eleven HBCUs. The margin of error was +/- 4.1% with a 95% confidence level.

Participating Institutions

• Academy of the Holy Names*
• Amherst College
• Appalachian State University
• Bates College
• Bentley University
• Bethune-Cookman University
• Binghamton University
• Bowdoin College
• Bowie State University
• Brewster Academy*
• Bryn Mawr College
• Bucknell University
• California State University- Chico
• Carroll University
• Choate Rosemary Hall*
• Colby College
• College of the Holy Cross
• College of Wooster
• Colorado College
• Coppin State University
• Davidson College
• Denison University
• Dickinson College
• Fairfield College Preparatory School*
• Fairfield University
• Florida International University
• Fordham University
• Franklin & Marshall College
• George Washington University
• Georgetown University
• Gettysburg College
• Harvard-Westlake School*
• Haverford College
• Howard University
• Illinois Institute of Technology
• Ithaca College
• Jackson State University
• Kingswood Oxford School
• Lafayette College
• Lenoir-Rhyne University
• Longwood University
• Loyola University Maryland
• Lycoming College
• Marist College
• Middlebury College
• Miss Porter’s School
• Moses Brown School*
• Mount Holyoke College
• Nazareth College
• New England College
• Norfolk State University
• North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University
• North Carolina School of Science and Math
• North Carolina State University
• Northeastern University
• Ohio University
• Ohio Wesleyan University
• Philander Smith College
• Philips Academy – Andover*
• Plymouth State University
• Pomona College
• Portland State University Foundation
• Prairie View A&M University
• Providence College
• Quinnipiac University
• Rollins College
• Rutgers – The State University of New Jersey
• Saint Anselm College
• Scripps College
• Siena College
• Smith College
• Smithsonian Institution
• Southern University and A&M College
• Southwestern University
• St. Andrew’s School*
• St. Francis College
• St. John Fisher College
• St. Lawrence University
• Stonehill College
• SUNY Potsdam
• Swarthmore College
• Syracuse University
• Texas Christian University
• Texas Tech University
• The Catholic University of America
• The Governor’s Academy*
• The Lawrenceville School
• The University of Baltimore
• The University of Maryland – Baltimore
• Towson University
• Trinity College (CT)
• Trinity University (TX)
• Union College
• University of California Santa Barbara
• University of Central Florida
• University of Chicago-Booth School of Business
• University of Houston
• University of Maryland – Baltimore County
• University of Maryland – College Park
• University of Missouri System
• University of New Hampshire
• University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
• University of North Carolina – Charlotte
• University of North Carolina – Greensboro
• University of North Carolina – Wilmington
• University of Pittsburgh
• University of Rhode Island
• University of Richmond
• Valparaiso University
• Vanderbilt University
• Vassar College
• Villanova University
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
• Washington University – Saint Louis
• Wesleyan University
• Western Carolina University
• William & Mary
• Winston-Salem State University
• Woodberry Forest School*

* Independent School