Cracks are showing in our traditional methods for engaging alumni. Alumni giving is down, fewer and fewer think their degrees were worth the cost, and they aren't giving for the same reasons. The fundraising landscape is changing, and so are public expectations of and perspectives on higher education.
In times of change like these, it's important that we examine—and challenge—our core assumptions.
So today we consider the funnel.
It's a simple question that every industry struggles to answer: Is what we're doing working?
As the public increasingly asks that question of institutions of higher education, those schools are turning to their offices and asking it in turn. We've all felt pressured to answer it, expected to, as if defining and measuring intangible ROI is easy.
But it isn't easy. Many offices aren't measuring their performance at all. Many of those that are are measuring the wrong things. And that makes impossible to answer the question.
This guest post was written by Victoria Barthram, a Senior Consultant of Graham-Pelton Consulting, a leading global fundraising and non-profit management firm.
A range of global changes and challenges mean that our leaders have an increased expectation that every institution should be implementing and investing in a comprehensive international engagement strategy, regardless of their team size, budget, and resources.
This is not only understandable, but also admirable – education has a powerful role to play in reaffirming the core values of our global society, and it is right that our leaders are looking for ways to step up and play their part. In fact, I have often referred to international advancement professionals as the ‘diplomatic corps’ of their institutions, with successful fundraising having a direct impact on advancing the mission, ethos, and vision that define our Schools and Colleges.
As advancement offices work to boost their young alumni giving rates, many are investing in efforts to increase student giving first. Senior class gifts are a natural way to introduce students to philanthropy and build affinity for their alma mater at the same time, but senior gift programs aren't always easy to pull off.
Hamilton College has found a way to make it work. The college's senior gift program has generated over 90% senior class giving rates for decades—and that giving rate doesn't drop off much for years after those seniors graduate.
We asked Hamilton's Assistant Director Annual Giving, Angela Suppa, to explain how they do it.
Printed alumni directories are largely a thing of the past.
But for one school that gets requests from alumni for printed directories every week, resurrecting the practice became an appealing way to satisfy their constituents and update their contact information at the same time.
Davidson College's Director of Alumni Relations Marya Howell explained why her office decided to take on the project.
