Takeaways from the CASE Conference for Community College Advancement
Community college foundations play an essential role in advancing institutional priorities, supporting student success, and connecting colleges with the communities they serve. Yet the professionals leading this work often have limited access to data and benchmarks that reflect the unique circumstances of their institutions.
That need was a recurring theme at the 2026 CASE Conference for Community College Advancement in Palm Springs, October 7–9. Conference sessions covered a wide range of issues, including investment policy statements, gift fees, fundraising strategies, board engagement, staffing, community partnerships, and more. Across these topics, community college foundation professionals consistently expressed the need for more relevant information to evaluate their practices, learn from peers, and make informed decisions about how best to support their institutions.
Community college foundations operate in a distinct environment, with different resources, staffing structures, institutional relationships, and community responsibilities than other college and university foundations. While broader data can provide valuable context, more participation from community college foundations is needed to ensure the available information reflects their specific experiences and needs.
The NACUBO–Commonfund Study of Endowments (NCSE) is an important resource for understanding endowment investment practices and performance across higher education, and it is the data behind a custom peer analysis of community college results. Broader participation by community college foundations would strengthen the representation of this sector and make the study’s data more meaningful for peer comparisons and analysis. Greater participation among institutions in this group would improve relevant peer benchmarks and offer a clearer understanding of the sector’s investment practices.
More comprehensive data can help community college foundation leaders and investment committees more accurately assess their investment and spending policies and inform decisions about governance and long-term financial sustainability. It can also provide a stronger basis for conversations with boards, institutional leadership, and other stakeholders about how endowment resources support institutional missions.
The industry is responding to this need. The NCSE is now complemented by a new annual CASE Insights survey for community college foundations, launched this month, that focuses on foundation structure, fundraising, staffing, and operations. The survey adds organizational and operational context to the investment data reported in the NCSE.
Together, these research efforts can provide a more complete picture of community college foundations and help leadership make more informed decisions, learn from peers, and strengthen their organizations in support of colleges, students, and communities. The response from the field is encouraging, and we are hopeful that more community college foundations will participate in both efforts. To help build that momentum, we are holding a webinar for community colleges on October 28, Empowering Community Colleges Through NCSE Participation (2026).
Community college foundations have an important perspective to contribute, and your voice matters. We want to include you in this effort to build a stronger, more representative understanding of the sector.
The 2026 NCSE is open through December 4, 2026. Sign up below to participate.