How to Turn Young Alumni Into Volunteers
Most recent college graduates may not be in a position to make major gifts, but they’re perfectly suited to give their time in support of their alma mater. In fact, young alumni are in many ways the BEST possible volunteers. They’re close enough to the college experience to relate well with incoming students and current […]
The Biggest Challenge in Advancement? Alumni Data.
If you ask a room of alumni relations and development professionals, “What’s the biggest challenge in your life right now?” you’ll probably hear a variety of responses. Some common replies include: communicating with alumni through new and evolving platforms, identifying prospects with capacity and inclination to give, and positioning their schools as relevant and central entities […]
The Importance of an Alumni Association Blog
Alumni organizations have many constituents—first and foremost, alumni. Secondarily, alumni offices connect with students, prospective students, employers, faculty, staff, and community members. Tasked with representing the quality of a degree from their institution, they are constantly speaking to a variety of internal and external audiences. While many schools have strong alumni programs and networks, they don’t […]
And the March Madness Social Media Winner Is…
College basketball is in the air! As the NCAA Championship Game looms closer, let’s see how the Final Four teams stack up on a very different court—social media. In the below analysis, I took a look at each school’s follower count, voice, creativity, and level of engagement. Keep reading to see my pick for who came out on […]
6 Great University Pages on LinkedIn
Since 2013, universities have had the opportunity to brand themselves and connect with key constituents (including prospective students) through LinkedIn University Pages. These special profiles allow universities to post status updates, showcase the career paths of their alumni, highlight notable alumni, and feature official university groups. Schools can even share targeted status updates to niche populations […]
3 Tips for Higher-Ed Social Media Teams On a Budget
Unlike our Fortune 500 counterparts with small armies of employees dedicated to Twitter and Facebook, universities often assign social media responsibilities to just a couple staff members. Our budgets are not robust—particularly for those yet to show a direct ROI on social media outreach. Still, we need to communicate with large, diverse constituencies of alumni, donors, […]
Best of 2014: Social Media Innovation for Higher Ed Advancement
In 2014, I challenge you to find a major college or university without a social media presence. Unlike five years ago when social media could be written off as a passing fad, university leaders now seem to recognize its long-term value for marketing, recruitment, student engagement, and alumni relations — or at least they realize […]
Using Social Data to Build Relationships with Donors
There’s no doubt that social media presents a wealth of data about donors: their likes, dislikes, relationship ties, group affiliations, interests, professional accolades, and even their favorite flavor of ice cream. This data can be helpful in learning about a donor’s interests and determining his/her inclination and capacity to make a gift. Sarah Bernstein recently […]
How to Best Understand Your Institution’s Millennial Donors
Philanthropy among millennials is an exciting topic. The sheer size of the millennial demographic (80 million+ worldwide)—combined with our significant financial resources—position us as a generation whose support can make or break nonprofits in the coming decades. There’s been a lot of research into millennials’ giving attitudes and habits, including the Millennial Impact Report. So […]
How to Best Understand Your Institution’s Millennial Donors
Philanthropy among millennials is an exciting topic. The sheer size of the millennial demographic (80 million+ worldwide)—combined with our significant financial resources—position us as a generation whose support can make or break nonprofits in the coming decades. There’s been a lot of research into millennials’ giving attitudes and habits, including the Millennial Impact Report. So […]
How to Best Understand Your Institution's Millennial Donors
Philanthropy among millennials is an exciting topic. The sheer size of the millennial demographic (80 million+ worldwide)—combined with our significant financial resources—position us as a generation whose support can make or break nonprofits in the coming decades. There’s been a lot of research into millennials’ giving attitudes and habits, including the Millennial Impact Report. So […]
The Death of the Alumni Happy Hour: Building High-Value Events
Though happy hours have long been a tradition of the alumni relations world — and they do sometimes serve to ignite school spirit and spark connections — these and other “come one, come all” social gatherings are not the future of advancement. Alumni are busy people. If they live in major cities like New York […]
