We’re trying something new on the EverTrue blog this week. We love talking with our partners and sharing the creative ways they approach fundraising and engagement, so we set up this video chat with Alex Eshelbrenner, director of alumni relations at St. Mark’s School of Texas, to hear about his school’s team-based approach to alumni events.
In the conversation, Alex shares how St. Mark’s approach to event planning creates alignment between major gifts, annual giving, and alumni relations. Representatives from each department work together to build attendee lists and invite Marksmen, and then they travel as a team to maximize their impact in each city they visit.
The St. Mark’s model takes extra work and communication, but the results are worth it as the team personally connects with every alumnus who’s either donated or attended an event within the last five years in each city. It’s not unusual for St. Mark’s to see one out of every three regional alumni turn out for an annual reception.
Watch and learn as Alex gives tips on how advancement offices can take a unified approach to event planning and alumni engagement.
If the video doesn’t load, click here to watch it.
(If you like this type of video chat and want to see more of these, let us know in the comments or write jenna.buckle@evertrue.com.)