3 Ways to Maximize Alumni Support for Your School Fundraiser

The institution of higher education relies on funding from alumni to maintain the level of excellence it’s worked so hard to establish. When students graduate and go out into the working world, they’re putting the skills and knowledge that they built while in school to use. On an average, higher education graduates earn around twice as much in their lifetime than individuals with only a high school diploma or GED.

This means that your alumni are also the best people to reach out to for fundraising at your institution. Not only do they have a special connection with their alma mater, but as they grow in their respective careers and gain financial stability, they can contribute better to your cause — hence, it’s imperative to keep your alumni in the loop. Your alumni leverage the education they received from your institution. By donating to your school, they can give back to help others do the same.

What does this mean for your organization? It’s your job to help alumni see the benefit of contributing to your school and to develop relationships with them over time. We've curated 4 alumni fundraising strategies that are evergreen and will help you reap alumni fundraising success. However, keep in mind that some other details, such as trends in higher education fundraising, may change depending on the external circumstances in which you’re operating. Keep the latest alumni engagement trends in mind, but don’t forget the importance of lasting strategies as well. Let’s dive in!

1. Segment your alumni audience

Not all alumni are equal. This doesn’t mean you should completely ignore some of them, because they’re all important. However, you should approach them differently depending on who they are and their role in your organization.

For instance, you wouldn’t go to an average recent graduate and ask for a major donation of $1 million. Similarly, you wouldn’t go to a major donor and ask for $25. Instead, segment the supporters within your database. If you don’t yet have a database you like or are looking for a new option, Bloomerang’s donor database guide provides the following steps to find the perfect solution for any organization:

When you have an alumni engagement/fundraising software/platform that empowers the effective organization of alumni data, create segments based on the alumni’s giving recency, frequency, type, amount, reason, and interest. Let’s consider how different types of donors might show these items differently:

• Brand new graduates: These donors won’t have given as alumni before. They’re likely fresh in their careers and don’t have much of a capacity to give. However, they also likely feel a strong connection to the school having only just left it.

• Mid-tier existing alumni donors: Mid-tier donors are too often forgotten, generally due to an over-reliance on major supporters. According to Almabase, 95% of gifts made to higher education institutions come from only 5% of alumni. Mid-tier supporters have already shown they want to contribute and they’re the most likely to become major donors in the future.

• Major alumni donors: Major donors typically come from older alumni who are well-established in their careers. You’ve already developed a relationship with them and likely know these donors by name (some may even have buildings named after them!).

Understanding segments in your alumni database will help you reach out to alumni with messages most meaningful to their engagement with your school. This lays the foundation for an impactful relationship.

2. Leverage prospect research

Higher education institutions generally rely heavily on major giving from alumni. By leveraging prospect research, your institution can identify these valuable alumni and determine who will be most likely to give in substantial quantities to your school.

Prospect research will help you identify both wealth and philanthropic indicators to make this possible. Here’s a breakdown of the difference:

• Wealth indicators provide insight into the capacity that your donors have to give. This insight comes from their publicly available financial information such as real estate ownership, SEC holdings, and the size of previous gifts to other organizations.

• Philanthropic indicators provide insight into an alumna’s affinity to give to the institution. Information such as an alumna’s previous involvement at the school, their current involvement (such as serving on a board), and past giving, can provide insight into whether they’re likely to give. According to DonorSearch’s affinity to give guide, people who give $10,000 to $25,000 to other organizations are ten times more likely to make a donation to another organization than the average person.

This information is publicly available, so you could take a DIY approach to find it. However, it’s much simpler to use a prospect research database to learn more about prospective donors. Then, you can search your alumni database to find the perfect match for your next mid-tier or major donation.

3. Empower alumni to reach out on your behalf.

Average new alumni might not have the capacity to donate back to the school in large sums just yet. However, they may still feel a very strong connection to your school, having just graduated. Therefore, you should get them involved as soon as possible.

Ask new graduates to reach out on your behalf to get their friends, family, and connections involved with your institution. You may ask them to:

• Volunteer as a peer-to-peer fundraiser on your behalf
• Attend alumni chapter events and invite friends and family to join
• Serve as leaders of the local alumni chapter to reach other alums

Even if your alumni don’t have the capacity to give or don’t want to give yet, that doesn’t mean they can’t get involved! Encourage all of your alumni to get involved with your institution and to start giving back by reaching out on your behalf.

4. Focus on building relationships

It’s rare that an alumna will turn around to give $10,000 to your school out of the blue. Typically, large donations that exceed thousands or even millions are those that come from someone your institution has developed a relationship with.

Focusing on donor relationships will help keep your alumni coming back again and again, increasing your retention rate and helping you fundraise more. Higher donor retention lowers the cost of acquisition. Plus, alumni will tend to give in greater quantities over time as their capacity increases and their connections to the institution continue to grow.

To build these relationships, your organization should:

• Reach out regularly with updates about the school and its progress
• Call your alumni and engage in real conversations with them
• Show appreciation for all gifts made, no matter how big or small
• Schedule events and opportunities for get-togethers among alumni

Relationships build the foundation for all healthy and sustainable fundraising. By focusing on relationships rather than money, you show your alumni that you care about them, not just their wallets.

Your alumni are thankful for the time they spent learning at your school and developing skills that helped them make it in the world beyond. This connection to your school is special and strong. Therefore, take the steps necessary to build relationships with these important donors and reach out to them using the strategies in this guide for more successful alumni fundraising.

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Frequently asked questions

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1) How do you get alumni to donate?

Alumni donate to an institution and cause that they feel a personal connection with. Alumni donations involve require keeping them engaged, providing a smooth donation process, hosting events that resonate with them, and forming a community of like-minded donors.

2) Why is it important to engage with alumni?

Even the most generous alumni may miss out on an upcoming cause due to a busy schedule. Meaningful and personalized engagement not only keeps alumni in the loop with what's happening but also allows you to widen your reach for upcoming events and fundraisers.

3) What is the meaning of alumni engagement today?

Today, alumni engagement is a mix of online and offline engagement methods. You try to promote in-person interactions but also keep track of your email, social media, and alumni community interactions to keep your alumni base interested and informed.

4) What is the importance of alumni fundraising?

Fundraisers allow institutions to tap into the social goodwill of their alumni to achieve initiatives and events that they might have otherwise not had the funding or reach to accomplish. By maintaining this bond, fundraising also doubles as a crucial engagement channel between an institution and an alumni.

5) What are the benefits of an alumni association?

An alumni association provides alumni with access to career , mentorship, and networking opportunities while keeping them in touch with their fellow alumni. The institution in turn gains a central point of contact for their alumni outreach and communication needs through the association.

Most of your higher education donor prospects, whether they're first-time supporters or long-term donors, already have an affinity for your college or university. They might root for your sports team, champion academic research on campus, or want to pave the way for continued high-quality academics. 

While many supporters are emotionally invested in your institution, they may still hesitate to support your fundraising initiatives. They may ignore your Giving Tuesday email appeals, scroll past your social media posts promoting your recurring giving program, or think, “My alma mater always does the same old thing during Homecoming Week” when they receive an invitation to your annual benefit.  

So, in order to really grab your donors’ attention, you should plan fundraisers that they’ll be excited to participate in. Of course, there’s no need to throw out the current strategies that are working for your organization, like your graduation day email stream that always boosts your progress toward your annual fundraising goal or the Parents’ Week dinner that sells out every year. But you can fine-tune your strategies so that you always plan fundraisers your donors will love! 

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We’ll help you get started by covering three tips: 

1. Learn about your audience’s preferences. 
2. Offer easy-to-use fundraising tools. 
3. Have your campaign culminate in a fun event. 

As you set out to improve your fundraising efforts, consider working with a fundraising consultant. These professionals bring to the table a third-party perspective and years of experience, helping to improve your fundraising strategy in ways you may not have seen.  And their work goes beyond identifying problems—a consultant can help you brainstorm and implement positive changes to your strategy, setting your organization up for sustainable success and growth. 

Let’s dive into our three tips!

1. Learn about your audience’s preferences.

To plan a fundraiser that will resonate with your audience, you need to get to know your supporters and their preferences. 

The first place to look for this information is your organization’s CRM. Review the donor profiles saved in your CRM to identify trends in your audience’s demographics and preferences. For example, you might notice that most of your donors fall within the age range of 45-60. You might use this information to create a more targeted social media marketing plan for your next campaign, leaning into Facebook over a platform that younger generations prefer, like TikTok. 

Another source of information is donors themselves! Try surveying your donors to find out what they want to see in a fundraising campaign. For instance, you might ask your donors, “Where did you hear about our fundraising campaigns?” or “Which of the events listed below are you most likely to attend?” Show your audience that you care about their opinions while gathering ideas. This will help build and maintain stronger relationships with your support.

Leveraging your CRM and surveying your audience of supporters will empower you to step into your community members’ shoes and see your fundraising efforts from their perspective. This way, you can easily plan campaigns and events that they will be excited to participate in!

2. Offer easy-to-use fundraising tools. 

Having the right fundraising tools on your side will help you set up a campaign that is quick, easy, and hassle-free. And convenience will be a major deciding factor in how your supporters feel about your campaign!

Here are some fundraising tools for your next campaign, as well as how they can be used to streamline the process for everyone involved: 

• Online donation form: An online donation form allows donors to give to your campaign whenever they’re able. Make sure to keep the form short and to the point, only asking for necessary information. For example, essential information to collect includes the donation amount, payment details, and contact information. You can further optimize your form by adding a matching gift search tool so your donors can check their eligibility! 

• Crowdfunding page: With a crowdfunding page, you can collect lots of small donations that add up to great results. You’ll simply set up your page on a crowdfunding platform and share the link with your supporters over email, social media, and other online platforms. 

• Social media fundraising page: Many social media platforms now offer fundraising pages. For example, Facebook allows you to set up a fundraising page with a built-in fundraising thermometer that showcases your progress toward your goal. Because these pages are easily shareable and meet donors where they’re at, they can be extremely handy in helping you secure support. 

• Text-to-give platform: A text-to-give platform allows your supporters to give on the go. Donors simply text a designated keyword to a specific phone number. Their text is then returned with a link to your online donation form, which they can use to contribute to your campaign. 

With each of these fundraising tools, one of your main priorities should be to brand the tool to your organization. Even if you’re using an external platform, having your institution’s brand elements present on a fundraising page or other donation tool is imperative. Doing so can reinforce for your supporters exactly why they’re giving and can help establish professionalism and credibility with your audience.

3. Have your campaign culminate in a fun event.

One of the best things about fundraising for a college or university is the tight-knit community that your organization gets to interact with each and every day. So, why not level up your next fundraiser by having your campaign culminate in a fun event, where people who love your school can gather together and mingle? 

There are hundreds of options out there for fun end-of-campaign events. Here are a few of our favorites: 

• Walk-a-thon: According to Donorly, Walk-a-thon events are the perfect way to conclude fundraisers like peer-to-peer campaigns. This is because these events lend themselves well to pledges prior to the walk itself and they act as marketing for the event. For example, someone might secure a $5 pledge for every mile walked. After they walk 10 miles at the event, the person who pledged that amount would donate $50 to your college or university. 

• An evening of entertainment: For an evening of entertainment, recruit your school’s performing arts students to put on a showcase for your supporters. You can celebrate the end of a special campaign with an evening of music, dancing, and refreshments. 

• Meet-and-greet: Your supporters would love the chance to meet some of your star athletes or history-making researchers on campus. Set up a meet-and-greet and invite supporters who donate to your campaign to come and introduce themselves, get to know their favorite campus celebrities, and take pictures. 

Events like these can bring your community closer and help your supporters create lasting memories that they associate with your institution. To make your event a success, make sure to start planning early. You’ll need to secure venues, arrange catering, and recruit volunteers to make sure everything runs smoothly on the big day!

By using these tips, you can polish your college or university’s approach to fundraising and plan campaigns that your donors will love. As you do, remember to focus on building lasting relationships with your supporters. Show them that you appreciate and value them, and that you’re working to make sure your efforts resonate with them and what they love about your school. Good luck! 

Picture this: You’re the director of fundraising and development at a well-known higher education institution. You’ve recently had a ton of money coming in to support your larger-scale initiatives. A private grant-giving foundation is providing your team with the money required to open a high-tech computer lab, and a major donor is funding the building of a new wing at the school.

But what about your other day-to-day operations? You need funds to keep your institution above water, continue paying staff salaries, and invest in behind-the-scenes technology that allows your university to continue running smoothly. Oftentimes, major gifts and grant funding don’t cover those needs.

And that’s where your annual fundraising strategy comes in! In this guide, we’ll explore four powerful tips for boosting this particular type of fundraising. As you begin planning your upcoming campaign, be sure to:

1. Review your previous year’s strategy.
2. Set strategic fundraising goals.
3. Diversify your annual appeal channels.
4. Double donations with corporate matching gifts.

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All sorts of mission-driven organizations rely on annual fundraising to help ⁠manage their in-between needs—and when it comes to university and other education-based institutions, your alumni are likely to be your biggest supporters!

Are you ready to uncover how you can position your school for the greatest annual fundraising success going into 2022? Let’s get started.

1. Review your previous year’s strategy

Fundraising organizations have learned a lot about effective fundraising strategies (and the way that they’re always changing) from the highs and lows of 2021. And before that, 2020. Going in 2022, reviewing efforts and results from previous years can give you a head start toward success.

To get started, take a look at where your fundraising flourished in the past year, as well as where you see room for improvement. If you notice that your efforts in the corporate giving arena could use some extra work, for example, consider prioritizing corporate fundraising in the upcoming year.

Here are some other key performance indicators (or KPIs) you might look at:

• The total amount of fundraising revenue
• Total number of donors
• Average donation size (and average increase over time)
• Percentage of repeat donors vs. one-time and lapsed givers
• Donations made through your website, direct mail, in-person, phone, events, and more

As you craft your newest annual fundraising strategy, make sure to prioritize the avenues that have historically been your most profitable while also giving extra care to channels that may be lagging behind.

2. Set strategic fundraising goals

A significant element of successful fundraising involves setting fundraising goals beforehand. Otherwise, how will you determine “success” in the first place?

You’ll want to choose lofty objectives that inspire donors and fundraisers alike while ensuring you don’t aim too high that it can seem unrealistic or like a “lost cause.” To find the perfect medium between the two, the best and most effective goals often follow the SMART framework.

As you craft your upcoming objectives, make sure they are:

• Specific. Your fundraising team (and donors) should know exactly what the goal is and how to reach it.
• Measurable. Ensure you choose quantifiable metrics that can easily be measured to determine success.
• Attainable. Again, unrealistic goals can set you up for failure. Make sure your goal is attainable, given your team and available resources.
• Relevant. Your fundraising goals should be directly related to fundraising⁠—and specifically, your annual fundraising campaign.
• Time-bound. Set a clear time period in which your annual campaign will run. This instills urgency among donors and allows you to determine whether you’ve reached your goal by the end.

Here’s an example of a SMART goal for an upcoming campaign - “To collect $10,000,000 in individual contributions to fund university operations by 12/31/2022.”

To contrast, a poorly crafted goal might look like this - “To raise a lot of money in the next few months.”

The former sample is much clearer and will ultimately result in greater success, while the latter is subjective and vague. When your annual fundraising objectives incorporate each element listed above, you can ensure your team is positioned for success.

3. Diversify your annual appeal channels

The more fundraising strategies and tools develop, the more comprehensive your campaigns are expected to be. As a result, organizations are encouraged to integrate multiple channels to spread the word about their annual fundraising efforts far and wide.

The particular avenues you choose to leverage for your annual campaign can vary depending on your donors’ preferences and your team’s strong points. However, they will likely incorporate a combination of the following:

• Website
• Email
• Direct mail
• Social media
• Phone calls
• Text messages
• Face-to-face

Several years ago, you may have been able to reach your goals solely through phone and in-person solicitation efforts. Now, it’s essential that you take a multichannel approach⁠—both to meet donors where they already are and to stand out from other organizations seeking your audiences’ attention.

4. Double donations with corporate matching gifts

Did you know that more than 26 million people work for companies with corporate matching gift programs? It’s likely that many of these individuals are your alumni, donors, and other key supporters.

Before you can expect a solid flow of corporate matches coming in, however, you’ll need to enact specific matching gift marketing strategies to raise awareness of this powerful opportunity. Because although 26+ million individuals are eligible for company matches, more than 78% of this group is completely unaware.

To incorporate corporate matching gifts into your annual fundraising strategy, consider these best practices:

• Share general matching gift information on social media.
• Incorporate matching gift appeals in your donation solicitations.
• Highlight matching gift opportunities directly in your online giving process.
• Follow up with match-eligible donors after receiving their initial gifts.
• Provide company-specific matching gift program guidelines with donors whose employers you know.

For you, matching gifts mean that your school has the potential to collect two donations for the cost of soliciting one. And for your donors, they get to know their contributions went twice as far.

You can’t do the big things (like your overall mission impact) without being able to fund the little things as well. An effective annual fundraising strategy allows your team to collect the dollars you need to bankroll every part of your school’s operations⁠—from the most glamorous of tasks to the most mundane.

Luckily, integrating these best practices into your strategy will allow you to raise more funding for your institution and better situate your team for ongoing success. Good luck!