Almabase Spotlights Podcast | Featuring Advancement, Alumni Relations, and Fundraising Experts

Episodes

The Story of Engagement Metrics with Thomas McArthur

Thomas McArthur, Assistant Vice President for Alumni and Parent Engagement at The College of Wooster, Ohio talks about the intentional choices that have set him on this incredible career path where he has played a crucial role in countless projects - many way ahead of their time.

Building the Team Before the Goal: Advancement at a Small College ft. Anita Branch-Brown

Anita Branch-Brown is VP for Institutional Advancement at Hollins University. Her career spans student affairs, CASE, and several institution types, and she focuses on building the team and structure before the fundraising goal.

"From 32 to 4 Pillars": Redesigning Advancement for AI ft. Joe Manok

Joe Manok is VP for University Advancement at Clark University. He rebuilt the advancement org chart from 32 roles into four pillars, with AI agents working alongside his team.

"Philanthropic Matchmaking": Building Advancement From Scratch ft. Amber Countis

Amber Countis is VP for Advancement & External Relations at Texas A&M University-Victoria. She's building the university's first-ever 501(c)(3) foundation from scratch while navigating a full system transition.

"Primary Giving" Is Where the Next 30 Years of Donors Come From ft. Jay Davenport

Jay Davenport is VP for Development and Alumni Relations at Penn State. He's known for pioneering "primary giving" and his 1,000-day plan operating model.

The Middle Donor Problem, and How to Actually Bridge It ft. Nicholas Linde

Nicholas Linde is VP for Advancement at the University of Nebraska Foundation. He leads a data-driven, discovery-first approach to fundraising, focused on bridging the gap between annual giving and major gifts.

What Does "Alumni Success" Really Mean? ft. Kelly Holdcraft

Kelly S. Holdcraft is the Executive Director of Alumni Success at William & Mary. She focuses on building a community-first alumni experience, one that goes beyond event attendance and email clicks to real, lasting engagement.

Kalyan Varma from Almabase

Kalyan Varma

Kalyan believes in helping universities build lifelong relationships with their alumni by helping them increase participation. Through this podcast series, he aims to share the relatable stories and actionable ideas of various Alumni Relations and Fundraising professionals with their peer listeners.