Best of CASE District VII Award
 

Institution: University of California, Davis

Title of entry: ASC Network: A National Proposal Microsite Hosted at UC Davis

About this entry: Co-founded by colleagues at the University of California, Davis and University of Miami, the Advancement Strategic Communicators (ASC) Network is the national affinity group for higher education professionals working on philanthropic proposals and major gift writing. While proposal writing is critical to higher education fundraising, it remains low-visibility compared with frontline and broad-audience marketing and communications. The ASC Network seeks to fill that gap by connecting professionals at colleges and universities across the nation.

Since its launch in 2022, the network has grown to include nearly 200 members in 37 states. Our network is almost entirely virtual, with quarterly Zoom meetings and a biannual benchmarking survey. Membership is free, and the network is volunteer-run.

Launching a website was a critical step in our evolution. Our primary goal was to establish a presence allowing us to increase visibility, grow our network, and create community through shared resources and dialogue. Current members now have a centralized way to access resources, share best practices, and connect with colleagues beyond our meetings and LinkedIn group. Our next key audience includes fellow advancement communicators who are not currently in the ASC network. The website makes it easy to join.

The site was built on the UC Davis Sitefarm CMS platform as a collaboration between development proposal writing and digital marketing staff at UC Davis.

By hosting and developing this website, UC Davis has given a permanent presence to a national network of philanthropic writers that is ready to connect and grow. (https://asc.ucdavis.edu/)