CASE honors Sweet Briar for superior fundraising

Sweet Briar College has received a 2017 CASE Educational Fundraising Award. CASE, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, bestows the honor to superior fundraising programs at educational institutions across the country.

Sweet Briar was selected to receive an Overall Performance and Improvement Award based on the judges’ analysis of three years of fundraising data, according to official notification from CASE.

The data is drawn from the Council for Aid to Education’s annual Voluntary Support of Education Survey, known as the VSE. The College was evaluated based on fundraising data from 2014-2016, in which Sweet Briar raised a total of more than $33.5 million.

“It is thanks to the devotion of our alumnae, faculty, staff and friends of Sweet Briar and their dedication to and belief in Sweet Briar that CASE has recognized the College’s extraordinary fundraising achievements,” said Mary Pope M. Hutson ’83, vice president for alumnae relations and development.

Brian Flahaven, senior director of advocacy for CASE, wrote in a letter to Hutson that Sweet Briar is “one of an exceptional group of colleges, universities and independent schools recognized for excellence in fundraising.”

He noted that Educational Fundraising Award recipients are evaluated in appropriate peer groups by a volunteer panel of judges.

“When reviewing data profiles, the judging panel does not know the name of the institution tied to the data,” Flahaven wrote.

The Educational Fundraising Awards program is designed to recognize “exemplary development operations at U.S. educational institutions,” according to CASE’s website.

For Hutson, the award is the culmination and validation of strategy, hard work and sheer grit that has resulted in the most successful period of fundraising in the College’s history.

“This award reflects the dedication, creativity and expertise of alumnae volunteers with careers in fundraising and the alumnae relations and development staff at the College working together,” Hutson said.

“Collectively, we are focusing on changing the paradigm of the College’s relationship with alumnae and supporters of Sweet Briar. This paradigm is shifting from the ‘old’ model of fundraising and engagement to one where we leverage each team member’s talents and strengths to connect with our Sweet Briar family.”