Almabase Spotlights Podcast

Listen to Alumni Relations & Fundraising Professionals share their top advancement ideas that are making a difference

Episodes
Episode 
4

"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.
Episode 
1

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.
Episode 
2

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.
Episode 
3

"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.
Meet the host
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.
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