Strategy. Savvy. Creativity. Confidence. Impact.

CASE’s Circle of Excellence Awards celebrate institutions that give life to these qualities through their outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing. Judged by peer professionals, the awards are open to professionals working at member colleges, universities, independent schools and their affiliated nonprofits around the world.

This year’s entries are due Friday, March 9, 2018. Here’s all the information you need to submit your work and help your entries shine.

Submitting Entries

• See our fact sheet for criteria and judging information.
• Review our list of categories, which are organized by advancement discipline and include: fundraising, publications, special events and more. New this year is our podcast category.
• Use this step-by-step instructions to submit.
• Having trouble? Review our FAQs or contact our member support team for help.

Tips and Resources 

• First, review last year’s winning entries. For each category, there’s a judges’ report. See those reports for insights on why certain entries stood out.
• Explore last year’s Grand Gold winners to learn about the very best of the best. This Currents article highlights projects from Columbia University, Aiglon College, the University of Melbourne and more that netted our highest honors in 2017. Here’s our roundup of 2016’s top winners.
• Keep entries succinct and use real statistics to demonstrate how projects met goals, suggests longtime Circle of Excellence judge Dalene Abner. Read her inside scoop on the judging process.
• Spotlight innovation and creativity in your entries. “To stand out, entries need to be creative without sacrificing quality,” writes Abner.