An AI-generated image of a college graduate in graduation gown and cap staring through doors at a construction site

Adventures In AI Image Generation

  • by Kenneth Setzer, Florida International University

In the constant search for impactful images, artificial intelligence may help—or at least amuse—advancement writers.

We’ve all been there: you are deep into writing a proposal or impact report to show a donor the positive effects of their past or potential philanthropy. Everything's going smoothly until you realize you don't have any decent photos. Or you are making a pitch for a building that doesn’t yet exist, and there are no renderings.

A collage of images including memorabilia and signage from the CASE District 2 conference and an informal image of Laurel Ode-Schneider and Caitlin Wood

Building a Professional Community from the Ground Up

  • by Laurel Ode-Schneider, UC Davis and Caitlin Wood, University of Miami

Our universities are on opposite coasts, so while we talk quite a bit as co-chairs, nearly all of our conversations to date have been virtual. This spring, we were delighted to have the chance to meet in person when we co-presented on the ASC Network at the CASE District III conference in Orlando. It was great to tell the ASC Network's story at this forum and meet with colleagues old and new—and we hope the coming months will bring more opportunities for network members to meet face-to-face! Meanwhile, here's a bit of the story we shared at CASE:

A daytime view of the Mondavi Center from the Vanderhoef Quad

Falling in Love With Philanthropy

  • by Sharon Knox, UC Davis
It can be hard to write about money–but it’s easy to write about what you love.

Like many in our profession, philanthropic writing was a career shift for me. I had worked in higher education communications and administration for more than a decade, occasionally helping a development officer find good stories, but philanthropy remained at a distance conceptually. While I enjoyed participating in Give Day and campus crowdfunding opportunities, the concept of naming a building or endowing a scholarship remained almost an abstraction.

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