Your alumni are an essential part of your fundraising efforts—their loyalty to your school and investment in seeing future students have opportunities to succeed in their educational endeavors make alumni some of the most impactful supporters of your institution.

However, to ensure that alumni get engaged and stay engaged with your fundraising work, you need to master the art of showing genuine donor appreciation. This goes beyond a simple thank-you note—in order for you to establish and maintain long-term relationships rooted in trust, connection, and collaboration, you’ll need tried-and-true best practices on your side. Let’s dive into some of our favorites!

1. Personalize your thank-you messages

No matter what form your donor appreciation takes, your thank-you messages should always be personalized. After all, generic is never genuine!

Personalizing your messages effectively will require you to have a strong understanding of your alumni and their needs and interests. Ensure you’re consistently collecting data on each donor and updating their profiles so that you have access to up-to-date details. (Bonus: This will not only help you with recognition but also as you invite future engagement!)

Here are some specific details you can personalize your thank yous with:

• Donor’s name or preferred name
• Donation amount
• The program or initiative the donation helped support
• Reason for donation, if known (such as giving a donation in memory of a loved one)
• Future engagement opportunities the donor may be interested in (such as volunteering or attending an event)

For major donors, you will likely have a bit more information to work with when personalizing your messages, especially if you’ve had multiple face-to-face interactions with them. Take advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate that your institution truly sees and values them and recognizes the significance of their contributions.

2. Share stories of impact

One of the best ways to demonstrate genuine donor appreciation is to show donors how their support impacts your school.

To do this effectively, you’ll need to gather and analyze impact data that tells the story of how your organization is using donors’ contributions to get closer to achieving its goals, whether that means launching a new alumni-student mentoring program or providing scholarships to students in need.

According to UpMetrics’ nonprofit storytelling guide, one of the best ways to share impact information is to craft compelling narratives that include:

• A character your alumni audience can root for
• A setting where the story happens
• A plot, or sequence of events that takes place
• A conflict, or an obstacle the character faces
• A resolution, the final outcome of the narrative

For example, you might share the story of a student at your school who was struggling to pay for their dream study abroad program and was able to be part of the program thanks to a generous scholarship from your alumni network. You could include statements from the student and photos or videos of them on their study abroad, as well as hard data about the scholarship program, to paint a full picture of your alumni’s impact.

You can share impact stories like these in several ways, but embrace your creative side to make them especially engaging. For instance, you might create a short video or an interactive web page.  

3. Host exclusive donor events

According to Double the Donation’s roundup of alumni donation statistics, 72% of donors discard physical tokens of appreciation, like letters and gifts. Further, 90% of donors prefer experiential recognition instead.

Experiential recognition, like fun and exclusive alumni donor events, allows your alumni to come together and feel like they’re part of a community larger than themselves. Plus, it gives your fundraising team the opportunity to interact with donors one-on-one, which can be valuable as you steward their continued support.

Here are a few fun ideas to consider for your next donor event:

• VIP alumni reception with your institution’s president during your school’s homecoming week ‍
• Virtual or in-person wine tasting
• Themed donor gala with live music, formal dinner, and entertainment  
• Golf tournament
• Campus tours

In some instances, it may be beneficial to expand your event audience to include students, faculty, and staff. This way, your alumni can interact with the community they support with their contributions, which can deepen their personal connection to your institution.

4. Invite non-financial involvement

Many fundraising organizations make the mistake of asking for additional donations far too soon—sometimes within their appreciation materials! This pitfall can make you seem “all about the money,” even if you have urgent funding needs.

Resist the urge to issue donation appeals as part of your donor appreciation efforts. Instead, invite continuous involvement that has nothing to do with donating. For instance, consider inviting your alumni to volunteer at your next on-campus service project, fundraise for you during a peer-to-peer campaign, attend special events, or participate in mentoring and networking opportunities with current students.

While this isn’t necessarily a traditional way to show your donors that you appreciate them, it will help them feel more involved and connected to your institution. As a result, you’ll increase the goodwill between you and pave the way for future support when the timing is right.

5. Express appreciation year-round

Part of showing genuine donor appreciation is expressing your thanks consistently, even when a donor hasn’t just given a gift. This shows your alumni that they’re always top-of-mind and seen as valuable to your institution, and not just for their wallets.

Here are a few ideas for expressing appreciation year-round, even when donors aren’t expecting you to:

• Mail small, unexpected gifts like merchandise branded to your organization.
• Write letters that let your donors know you’re thinking of them and give them general updates on your alumni association’s work.
• Send holiday cards and birthday cards.
• Phone donors and ask them for updates on their own lives, like recent family vacations or professional milestones.
• Provide regular updates on projects your alumni care about, backing them up with impact data.

To cultivate a strong alumni community, the way forward is to focus on people first and donations second. Use the list of ideas above to get started, but remember to reach out in ways that you know your specific alumni will respond to best!

Donor appreciation, especially when it’s actually genuine, is an art form. Use the strategies explored above to improve your institution’s approach to celebrating and thanking its donors, and remember to rely on your donor data to take your efforts to the next level!

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About the author

Cait Abernethy is the Director of Marketing at UpMetrics, a leading impact measurement and management software company that’s revolutionizing the way mission-driven organizations harness data to drive positive social outcomes. With a wealth of experience across leading technology organizations, Cait is responsible for all aspects of marketing for the company and is passionate about helping the world’s leading foundations, nonprofits and impact investors to drive accelerated social and environmental change.