Advancement

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Best Practices for Community College Alumni Relations and Fundraising

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Community colleges do some of the most important work in higher education in the country, and they have do it all on a shoestring budget.

The same is true of their alumni relations efforts.

We asked Doug Ferguson, director of alumni programs at Delaware County Community College, and Tobi Bruhn, associate vice president of advancement and executive director of the Foundation and Alumni Association at Bucks County Community College, to share what they've learned in their work.

Our Q&A is a preview of their CASE District 2 panel, "Best Practices for Community College Alumni Relations and Fundraising," which they'll be holding at 11:15 AM on Monday, February 8.

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How Babson Increased Reunion Class Giving Participation by 70% in One Year

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A few years ago, an alumnus at Babson approached the advancement office with an idea. He’d seen something similar at his prep school alma mater. “I think this can work at Babson,” he said.

The idea was a twist on the giving day formula: after alumni donate, encourage them to post memories, photos, and updates within their respective class year Facebook group. Donate, then connect. In FY 2015, Babson reunion classes saw a 70% increase in donors above the prior 5-year average for these classes.

Mike DeGuglielmo (Associate Director, Young Alumni and Special Gifts), Michael McPhillips (Assistant Director, Class Liaison), and Lindsey Athanasiou (Assistant Director, Class Liaison) presented on the strategy at the recent CASE D1 Conference in Boston. We asked them to share their takeaways.

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How Student Debt Threatens Alumni Engagement, and What You Can Do About It

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Student loan debt is on the rise. We all know that.

How, exactly, the $1.2 trillion in debt held by students and alumni nationally affects alumni engagement—and how to fix it—is more of a mystery.

American Student Assistance is a financial literacy nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of students and alumni with student loan debt. We spoke with Jonathan Sparling, a campus engagement and education consultant for ASA, to find out what increasing student debt means for alumni engagement.

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3 Infographics on Young Alumni Engagement Strategy

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Being a millennial isn't just about when you were born. Young alumni have needs, concerns, and dispositions that differ from other alumni demographics.

Switchboard helps colleges and universities engage their young alumni every day. We report back on our experience in these infographics.

"It is not from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are." —Wendell Berry