In Australia, university philanthropy is still finding its footing, which makes it one of the most interesting places to watch what comes next.

On this episode of Alumless World, Ryan sits down with Margo Powell, Chief Advancement Officer at La Trobe University, to talk about what it really takes to build a campaign in an environment where donor culture isn’t fully formed yet. Margo pulls back the curtain on La Trobe’s campaign, including the deliberate work behind aligning leadership, reshaping internal thinking, and building a culture of philanthropy from the ground up. Along the way, she makes a clear case that alumni are not just donors — they are connectors, advocates, and participants in a much broader exchange of value.

The back half of the episode leans into the harder questions: how to engage alumni who don’t feel connected, how to balance digital and in-person experiences, and what a modern engagement journey actually looks like when it’s built around the individual, not the institution. By the end, you start to see where this is going — toward a model where giving is a byproduct of relevance, not the starting point.

Alumless World is presented by Protopia, AlumnIQ, and Givzey, and Richmond Associates.

What does it take to truly align a campus around alumni engagement?

On this episode of Alumless, Ryan and Chris sit down with Kris Bosman, Chief Alumni Officer at the University of Utah, to explore how collaboration across campus can create scale and deepen alumni connections.

Using Utah’s 175th Anniversary as a case study, Kris shares how her team led a university-wide effort that brought together colleges, units, and athletics to create coordinated programming and shared momentum. The conversation dives into why collaboration is often so difficult in higher education and how leadership can reinforce a culture of shared ownership.

In the bonus segment, Kris highlights programs like Bringing the U to You and Ask an Alum as examples of scalable collaboration, discusses the role of volunteers in expanding reach, and reflects on how institutions can balance central strategy with local customization. She also looks ahead to what a fully collaborative alumni engagement model could look like in the years to come.

This episode of Alumless is made possible by our season sponsors Protopia, AlumnIQ, Givzey, with additional support from Richmond Associates.

In this special announcement, Ryan Catherwood introduces Speaking Engagement — a new professional development designed as a “conference on engagement that never sleeps.” Speaking Engagement brings together weekly Keynote interviews, Breakout conversations, articles, and live Agora events to create a continuous learning experience for engagement professionals. Instead of attending a conference once a year, this is an opportunity to stay immersed in ideas, trends, and strategies every single week. Ryan also shares how listeners can become part of the founding group — offering the first 50 Alumless listeners free lifetime access to the members-only version of the platform ahead of its official launch. If you’ve ever wished conferences didn’t end, this is your invitation to stay in the room.