ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT: BEST PRACTICES FOR UNIVERSITIES

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT IS CRUCIAL FOR BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALUMNI AS WELL AS INCREASING FUNDING FOR UNIVERSITIES. let’s take a LOOK AT SOME BEST PRACTICES.

What does alumni engagement mean to a college or university?

For some schools, alumni are a pot of gold at the end of a fundraising rainbow. For others, they are ghosts from the past. And for many, they are important stakeholders with a lot to give — often in ways that are more valuable than donations.

It’s this last group we’ll emphasize here. It’s been a concerning trend that, at least in some places, fundraising messaging has overwhelmed other aspects of alumni engagement.

In order to turn the tide on donation fatigue, we’ll start where any alumni engagement should start: goals.

FIRST, SET YOUR GOALS

Goal-setting and following are critical to any project. Yet inevitably, people start to drift away from them. Why does that loss of direction happen so frequently? Perhaps not all stakeholders were part of the planning.

Stakeholders often left out of planning processes include both current students and alumni. Planning groups tend to weigh heavily in favor of faculty and administrators. This is an oversight that can hurt the success of a program or event.

CONSULT

You need to consult with all your stakeholder groups before even starting to plan a fundraising project. And, by the way, any new fundraising campaign should begin following, not preceding, institution-wide strategic planning.

When strategic planning has reached the later stages–when teams are energized instead of tired and frustrated–is a good time to start reaching out more broadly to alumni (besides those who took part in the strategic planning).

BUDGET

Once you’ve drafted your fundraising campaign, you need to budget for what you’ve tentatively planned. The budget office might have some recommendations and requests, so be prepared to adapt.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE EXCELLENT STAFFING

Don’t even think about sending people who aren’t fully committed to the project into the field to interact with your valuable alumni. In fact, your most outgoing and personable current students tend to be excellent choices for this role.

A common mistake is to send recently hired fundraising experts out to interact with alumni. Alums will wonder, “Who are these people and why should I give them money?”

Unless they’re alumni themselves or long-time employees, experts are better placed supervising and mentoring student workers and professional staff, and handling other logistics.

ENACT

When everything feels ready, and the energy is palpable, go ahead! Use all the positive energy you have and get to know a little about your alumni before asking them for money. Show that you’re interested in them and what they do.

MONITOR AND CONSULT

Finally, don’t assume everything is working smoothly just because you’ve launched the fundraising campaign. Check in with people. Even do some random surveys with alumni who were contacted to find out about their experience.

FUNDRAISING SHOULD NEVER BE YOUR ONLY GOAL

Perhaps fundraising shouldn’t even be the primary goal. Have you considered the concept of friend-raising? Sometimes it seems that, fundraising has reverted to the days of cold, hard coercion to raise money and there is little care or concern for the alumna/alumnus being contacted.

THE BEST ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY: KNOW YOUR ALUMNI AS PEOPLE

Raw data about someone’s socioeconomic status tells you nothing whatsoever about their attachment to your institution. Maybe they had a terrible experience there and don’t want to hear from you again… ever.

But, then again, maybe they’re willing to put that in the past and offer something that will make the experiences of current and future students better. How would you know, though?

Wouldn’t it be great if students doing fundraising outreach to alumni could interact with them a bit? Maybe they should have coffee if they’re local, or talk by Skype if they’re distant.

Not only would a bond be established that ultimately might help the university, but also, a promising student would get to talk with someone who’s been through college and had some life experience. What could be better?

DON’T ASK FOR MONEY RELENTLESSLY

Let’s face it: the person you’re contacting might want very much to give to your institution but simply doesn’t have the money to give. None. 

Instead, this person may have a burning desire to engage with people and do some good in the world. They might even be willing to help with your campaign.

Considering the whole person, not just their pocketbook can pay some serious dividends in the long run.

SHARE STORIES FROM A VARIETY OF INTERESTS AND OCCUPATIONS

Remember that not all your alumni are high-earners, or ever will be. That doesn’t mean they don’t contribute much. And it certainly doesn’t mean that what they do has no interest or value.

If you have students on your campus who are aspiring writers or journalists, task them with writing captivating stories about different graduates, at different life stages, for the alumni magazine.

Talk about how to engage alumni! Not to mention what an excellent experience that can be for students. For an added element, be sure to get photos of these people in action–doing what they love.

What better message could you possibly send about your institution and its outcomes? And remember, there can never be too many visuals!

ALLOW ALUMNI AND OTHERS TO DONATE VOLUNTARILY

Many colleges and universities maintain pages that don’t actively solicit donations, but instead provide information on the various initiatives and campaigns, and give subtle yet easy access to an online donation page.

If your friend-raising efforts are truly doing what they should, people might spontaneously feel inclined to give what they can when they can.

SO, WHERE DO YOU SEE ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT IN FIVE YEARS?

Alumni and fundraising practices and principles change continuously. New alumni come along every year, representing different generations and different college experiences.

If these students enjoyed and benefited from their time at college, they’re likely to become good alumni and future supporters of the institution.  But if you pressure them from the start, they might not become the friends you want them to be.

Give your young alumni room to develop professionally and grow into their careers while tapping them for things like mentoring, internship connections, and volunteering.

This is more likely than anything else to not only form a bond with these young people but also give them the continuing support they need to eventually become good financial contributors as well.

We hope you’ll see and appreciate what great work we do for colleges and universities. Please give us a shout if you’re thinking about using our services!