Engaging College Alumni: How to Raise More Money by Asking Less

According to a report in The New York Times, alumni participation and average-gift-per-donor both continued their long decline in 2010, with most of the top 20 American colleges and universities raising less last year than they had the year before. 

At Blue State Digital, we specialize in developing and implementing exactly the sort of long-term relationship-driven online programs that reverse these downward trends — with every single client for which we led a fundraising campaign in 2010 surpassing its 2009 haul.

Colleges and universities are competing against a growing number of nonprofits for charitable donations. But donor engagement is a long game, and colleges and universities enjoy a unique advantage over other organizations because of their enviable position of having provided formative experiences to the young people who will become their future donors.  

Think about your favorite memories from college. Chances are that while your 80-page senior thesis may have been your greatest academic accomplishment, your fondest experiences actually took place while you were doing typical college activities with your classmates, like tailgating before a big game or relaxing in the quad on a sunny day.

Alumni nostalgia is an important tool in any college development office’s arsenal, and by focusing on cultivating and deepening this shared connection — rather than strictly on asking for money — a college can position itself as a place where memories are made and fostered, rather than as a direct-response machine. To many alumni, their alma maters represent values that run deeper than simple camaraderie and fond memories. Passionate alumni see that without the transformative educational experiences they had in college, an important piece would be missing in their lives. These alumni have learned to see the world in a richer way while at college, so that eventually the philanthropic opportunity within higher education — to provide the same experience to untold future generations of young people like they once were — is irresistible to them.

That's why our advice to most universities is to focus on building relationships before making the ask — you'll raise a lot more money that way.

Colin Stewart is a Client Manager at Blue State Digital. 

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