Soapbox Engage Blog

When you think of university fundraising, most people immediately think of unsolicited phone calls where overly-caffeinated students recite talking points about your alma mater. The conversation almost always ends with an awkward--and sometimes wildly optimistic--request for a donation.

Cold calling alumni isn’t the only fundraising method universities use, but it seems to be the most ubiquitous. Many alumni are actually very willing and eager to support their alma mater but are turned off by fundraising methods that appear outdated and out of touch with reality. The result is too much donor funding is left on the table.

The good news: it doesn’t need to be this way! There are plenty of ways to bring university fundraising into the 21st century, improve overall giving, and build strong relationships with alumni. Here are four ways university fundraising can leverage an alumni network more effectively.

1) Use alumni prospect research to make appropriate asks

Asking a recent graduate who is just starting their career and saddled with a mountain of student loans to give a generous $500 shows that the university didn’t put much time, effort, or thought into their donation request. Asking wealthy, successful alumni for the same gift of $500 equally demonstrates that the university did not spend valuable time or energy on the donation request. Both asks are potentially offensive and build distrust with alumni.

All alumni are not the same, just like all customers are not the same for a business. Each person has a different giving potential based on a host of factors.

Many businesses and nonprofits use prospect research and wealth screening tools to learn about their customers and donors. Universities can use the same resources to make educated guesses about someone’s capacity to give and identify alumni with the most significant giving potential.

Dig into information about alumni with high giving potential so you can tailor your “ask” to their specific interests. Details about an alumnus’ college involvement, previous involvement in fundraising campaigns, business affiliations, and other information should shape how you fundraise from each alumni.

This type of alumni fundraising research can help you identify favorite causes they are likely to be excited to support. For example, if you are creating an alumni donor profile for an alumnus who was the senior class president, consider asking them to fund leadership development initiatives or student government costs. You can also avoid sending solicitations that this person might not be as interested in supporting.

Building profiles about alumni, especially those with more substantial giving potential, also allows you to shape requests around types of donations, such as major giving, planned giving, and in-kind gifts. You’ll be able to make appropriate asks from potential donors at every level, instead of asking for too little and leaving money on the table, or asking too much and risking not receiving anything.

2) Modify your university’s fundraising communication methods

Don’t just rely on generic mailers and awkward college fundraising cold calls. Use a wide variety of communication methods in your university fundraising efforts and track the results to identify the ones that get the best response. A CRM system can help you track which form of communication each alumnus responds to the best.

Make sure to also incorporate a healthy dose of online interaction. Many alumni who graduated long before the dawn of the social media age are still avid Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter users, so don’t assume age is the only factor in reaching your alumni.

You might be surprised how many older alumni are very active on social media and regularly read online content. For a minimal price, you can have daily digital interactions with alumni and potential donors!

Don’t overlook the power of content marketing--using blogs, videos, photographs, and other creative content designed with alumni and potential donors in mind. Bring alumni to your website by telling uplifting stories and sharing valuable information that caters to their interests and life stages. Once they’re on your site, you can subtly direct them to a variety of calls to action, like your donation page, social media, and upcoming alumni events.

Blogs and other content marketing strategies are excellent additions to your fundraising strategy. As people increasingly tune out irrelevant, offensive, and obtrusive marketing "noise" around them, they place increasing value on relevant, informative, well-crafted content. This makes it easier to connect with alumni on an emotional and an intellectual level.

3) Offer what your alumni want the most: advice

Have you read the book, First, Break All The Rules? In it, the authors reference a Gallup study that looked at what customers wanted from business across a wide variety of industries. Shockingly, the highest level of expectation customers have is advice! People feel a close bond to companies that helped them learn. (Fortunately, that’s why universities exist!)

The other three things customers want from businesses are partnership, availability, and accuracy. These four values should already be embedded in your alumni relations departments. When all four expectations are met, you create an environment where alumni are likely to develop into donors and advocates for their alma mater.

As you create content for your alumni, target these four values. Are you developing valuable information and resources that your alumni need and want? Do your alumni think of their alma mater as a trustworthy source for reliable information and advice?

The prospect of creating and updating content probably feels daunting, but you have dozens or hundreds of people on your campus who are experts at all sorts of things, from literature to tax law! Don’t be afraid to call upon, professors, students, and even your alumni to help you create engaging, relevant, and valuable information for your alumni.

4) Mobilize your alumni to lead the fundraising charge

Did you know there was a time when alumni approached their alma mater and said, "you should really ask us to give you money." Shockingly, that event actually happened in 1890, when a group of Yale alumni approached the university to ask Yale for a fundraising pitch!

That was probably a one-time occurrence, so universities shouldn’t wait around for their alumni to start calling. However, there are some things you can do to mobilize your alumni to lead the fundraising charge.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) fundraising is changing the fundraising landscape. In 2018, 46% of millennial donors and 45% of "GenX" donors gave to one or more crowdfunding campaigns.

Many professional fundraisers have begun to place P2P fundraising at the heart of their fundraising strategies. Universities that have extensive alumni networks can benefit significantly from this new fundraising strategy.

Social networks have become more valuable to fundraising than individual donors, thanks to peer-to-peer fundraising. A significant percentage of millennials say they are willing to raise money on behalf of an institution or cause that they value. Millennials are also comfortable sharing information about the cause on social media.

Providing your alumni the opportunity to fundraise on behalf of their alma mater empowers them to support their beloved school with whatever skills and resources they have. You can mobilize your younger alumni to lead the peer-to-peer fundraising charge. Invite older, wealthier alumni to help by creating matching gift programs that encourage more frequent or more substantial donations.

Peer-to-peer fundraising works at every level, from recent graduates to your most elderly alumni, and brings in more than just money! Millennials are tech-savvy and understand how to navigate social networks. They are probably able to help you reconnect with other alumni you lost touch with. They may also connect you with new potential donors you weren’t previously aware of.

Now that you’re ready to kick your university fundraising into high gear, here are three resources that will help you increase the quality and effectiveness of your fundraising efforts:

• Step-By-Step Guide To Creating A Giving Tuesday Campaign: Universities can leverage Giving Tuesday (and similar giving days) to engage alumni, highlight causes that the university is connected with, and even do a little fundraising themselves!
• 6 Cost-Effective And Creative Donor Thank You Gifts: It’s important to show gratitude and appreciation for your alumni and donors. Gratitude helps build stronger relationships and plays a vital role in motivating donors to continue giving. Here are some practical and creative ways you can thank your alumni and donors.
• How To Ask For Donations In An Email: The fundraising landscape might be changing. However, emails are still a useful tool for fundraising. Learn how to craft a well-written, effective fundraising email campaign.