Is your university making the most of matching gift fundraising opportunities? Unfortunately, the answer is probably not. The truth is that matching gifts are a significantly underutilized form of funding for all sorts of schools, universities, and institutions. That means that to maximize your school’s revenue, the way you view and promote matching gifts to donors could likely use a revamp.

Matching gifts have the potential to fuel any organization’s fundraising efforts and help you secure the most revenue possible. Ready to drastically improve your matching gift marketing strategies and bring in more corporate dollars? Check out these five best practices if you’re looking to up your matching gift marketing strategies to encourage corporate giving participation among your university donors.

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1. Promote matching gift opportunities to alumni

Many alumni enjoy supporting the schools that helped pave the way for their success. Effective fundraising campaigns can be an excellent means for engaging these former students long after they leave your campus. And taking things a step further is matching gifts.
According to statistics from Double the Donation, more than 18 million individuals are employed by companies with matching gift programs. More than likely, a good amount of your school’s alumni are among those people.
However, the vast majority of match-eligible donors are unaware of the programs offered by their employers⁠ — which often puts it on the organization to market these opportunities effectively. If you’re looking to promote matching gifts, consider the following powerful marketing and outreach avenues to use:

• Email
• Newsletters (physical or electronic)
• Social media
• Direct mail

While it’s certainly a good idea to inform all sorts of people about the wide availability of matching gifts, taking an alumni-centered approach can be a great way to focus on these types of generous supporters and target your efforts accordingly.

2. Create a dedicated matching gifts page on your school website

Many donors use your university’s website to learn more about how to get involved and where to give as well as additional opportunities for support. As such, it’s important that you provide ample information about matching gifts on your site.

We suggest crafting a dedicated matching gifts web page with the following tips in mind:

• Incorporate a company search tool for users to quickly and easily research their employers’ matching gift programs.
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• Provide users with employer-specific next steps for completing the match request submission process. This might include links directing donors to their company’s online forms or downloadable PDFs.
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• Ensure it’s easy to navigate to this web page from your home page, menu, and more. This way, supporters interested in matching gifts will know exactly where to go to find additional information.

Then, direct supporters to this informative resource by linking to it in your matching gift emails, school-wide newsletters, social media posts, and other fundraising materials.

3. Incorporate matching gifts in the online donation process

Whether you’re looking to plan for a dedicated giving day or other fundraising occasion or simply optimize your long-term strategy, corporate matching gifts are a great way to go. When you integrate matching gift fundraising into your existing donation process, it allows donors to determine their own eligibility for a matching gift without ever having to leave your donation page.

Here’s how it typically works:

1.  A donor fills out your school’s online donation form.
2. The donor is provided with a simple company search widget embedded in the page.
3. The donor fills in their employer’s name and submits the donation.
4. The donor is provided with guidelines for their employer’s matching gift program on the confirmation screen.    

Supporters are usually at the peak of their engagement while completing your online donation form, so it makes sense that you’d want to incorporate matching gifts at this time. Plus, research shows that 1 in 3 donors report that they’d likely make a larger gift if they know it will be matched by their employer, which makes it an impactful strategy for increasing donation sizes as well.

4. Keep track of companies with matching gift programs

When it comes to matching gift fundraising for universities, one of the best things you can do to set your team up for success is to keep a detailed record of companies with especially generous matching gift programs. Then, you can compare this information against the companies that your alumni are working for to get a better idea of your existing match-eligible prospects.

After all, a significant part of effectively leveraging matching gifts depends on having and using the right data to drive your fundraising strategies. For matching gifts, donor employers are the most important metric there is.

5. Encourage match-eligible donors to submit their requests

Following up with supporters after they’ve made their gifts is one of the best ways to take your donor relations to the next level and maximize the number of donors who request corporate matches. We recommend segmenting donors by their likely eligibility for a match (based on information collected during the donation process) to ensure your messaging is as tailored and relevant as possible. Consider these examples:

• For a donor who is likely eligible for a match, you might provide them with direct links to their employer’s program guidelines and online submission forms.
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• For a donor who is likely ineligible for a match, you might encourage them to reach out to their employer to double-check for the existence of any matching gift programs.
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• For a donor who has unknown match eligibility, you might ask them to select their employer from a company search tool to determine whether they offer a corporate match.

Luckily, if you’d like to streamline this process and save time and resources for your school, you can automate the follow-up process from beginning to end. All you have to do is invest in a matching gift automation tool, and the software will do the rest!

Failing to promote matching gifts to supporters is essentially throwing away free donations. When you take a strategic approach to marketing, however, you allow your generous donors to make an even larger impact on your school, establish corporate partnerships with businesses in your network, and secure additional revenue for your university’s needs.
Just remember to inform alumni and other supporters of these exceptional giving opportunities, promote matching gifts through your school website and donation page and follow up with donors to drive match requests to make the best of your fundraising efforts.

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Your university’s brand is one of its greatest marketing assets and a key part of your alumni marketing strategy. For many alumni, the university they attend is a core part of their identity, and it’s common for alumni to remember their school’s colors, mascot, and theme song decades after graduation.

As such, universities looking to engage their alumni should leverage their brand to form a sense of community. When alumni then feel a sense of kinship with their former university, they’re more likely to donate, volunteer, and otherwise support you.

To help your university make strategic use of its brand, this guide will explore digital outreach strategies for higher education institutions.

1. Expand your brand beyond your logo and color palette.

Consider Nike’s branding. Beyond the memorable “swoop” logo, Nike’s brand is exemplified in its written messaging with the tagline “Just Do It” and its visual assets, which often depict the stories of everyday people pursuing greatness in their personal fitness journeys. Nike’s audience isn’t just professional athletes but the everyday athletes who aspire to something greater. The company built its brand on empowering and encouraging individuals to do just that with the aid of its products.

Nike is one of the most recognizable brands in the world, and it’s far from the only company to recognize that branding extends beyond logos and well-coordinated color palettes.

If your organization hasn’t refreshed its branding strategy in some time, it’s worthwhile to revisit your university’s current positioning and how you can further refine, expand, and elevate your brand. Address the following aspects of your brand:

• Visual Elements: This includes your logos, photo and video assets, color palette, and typography. Visuals are your strongest asset for evoking your audience’s emotions. When curating your visual brand, consider how you want alumni to feel when they receive your communications or visit your website. Nostalgic? Proud? Hopeful? Motivated?
• Messaging: What key phrases or topics do you want to be associated with your university’s brand? What is your brand personality when greeting alumni—formal and businesslike, or nostalgic and lighthearted?
• Channels: Consider how you will adapt your brand for various communication channels and platforms. These are minute differences that still pack the full power of your brand, such as using different abbreviated logos on social media posts.

When crafting any external outreach materials, consider how you will infuse your brand into them. This applies to everything from personalized emails that might include your logo in the heading to events with branded banners and posters.

For direct communication with individual supporters, such as email outreach, strive to create a personalized but branded experience. This means referencing specific details about that alumni’s engagement history while speaking to them with your university’s branded voice, whether it’s warm and friendly or formal and inspirational.

2. Conduct research to understand how your brand will perform.

Once you’ve refined your brand, research how it performs with your alumni audience by:

• Sharing surveys. Send out a preview of your organization’s updated branding to a sample of your university’s alumni audience. Attach a survey that asks respondents about their opinions on the changes, staying open to a diverse range of perspectives and responses.
• Conducting focus groups. Ask a few of your university’s most active alumni to participate in focus groups where they’re shown your brand and invited to share their opinions. Consider segmenting groups by different demographics, such as having a group full of recent graduates and a group of older alumni.
• Reviewing existing data. Review granular data from your previous alumni outreach campaigns, including those shared on your website, social networks, and via email. Which campaigns had the most positive responses? Which campaigns were largely unsuccessful? What made those campaigns unique, and how can they inform branding updates?

By conducting this research, you can understand what your alumni respond well to, whether it’s phrasing changes (such as leveraging a positive, upbeat tone) or content updates (such as highlighting workplace giving in fundraising appeals). With this knowledge, you can continue to develop and refine your branding strategy.

3. Highlight what makes your university and alumni unique.

When refreshing your branding for alumni outreach, highlight what makes your university and alumni unique.

Your alumni don’t feel a connection to your university simply because they attended it. It’s because of the experience they had while at your institution—the small, specific details that made up their time at your school and how they can help foster similar experiences for generations to come.

Consider how you can highlight that connection in your marketing materials, such as adding “throwback” images and stories from a memorable football season, hosting campaigns tied to the memory of beloved instructors, or even launching forward-thinking campaigns, such as one that highlights successful alumni and their careers after attending your institution.

To keep consistent records of your university’s marketing efforts, brand identity, and history, ensure you have software with cloud storage and extensive integration capabilities. For instance, universities that use tools like Salesforce Education Cloud can continually update and customize their technology as their school grows and evolves.

4. Tap into shared nostalgia.

Avoid considering your brand in isolation, and instead, think of what it means to your alumni specifically. Most alumni have or will develop a sense of nostalgia for your university, and you can tap into that feeling in your outreach strategy.

Associate your university’s brand with past positive experiences by:

• Sharing old campus photographs. Tell stories about past events accompanied by old photographs. Ensure your university keeps an archive of old promotional photos, and if it currently doesn’t, now is the time to start one. This not only helps with outreach but also preserves your university’s history.
• Incorporating past branding into new outreach materials. Give alumni a blast from the past by playing with old branding. For instance, on your university’s founding anniversary, you might create fundraising materials that showcase how your logo has evolved over the years.
• Connecting alumni with each other, not just your organization. Alumni are more likely to continue supporting your school if they are part of your greater alumni community. Encourage graduates to develop local alumni societies, offer excursions for former students and their friends and family, and host events that invite alumni back to campus.

Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, and the right branding strategy can leverage it to earn tangible support. When contacting alumni from specific graduating classes, reference campus events they’re likely to remember to transport them back to their time as students.

5. Connect your alumni brand to the future.

One of your university’s main marketing objectives is garnering support for future generations of students. Share this goal with your alumni to motivate them to help fund positive experiences similar to the ones they had.

For instance, you might invoke specific clubs or departments alumni were a part of, encouraging them to keep those organizations going far into the future. Use language like “Help secure the debate club’s future,” “Make an impact that lasts,” and “Keep our community going now and for years to come.”

As part of your marketing, you might even have current students get involved. Ask them to share their stories that explain how alumni contributions fund their current experiences. Then, have them sign messages with their name and future graduation year to emphasize your university’s commitment toward the future.

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Conclusion

Branding is one of your university’s strongest assets for inspiring support. Refine your brand identity by gathering alumni feedback, then create messages that invoke alumni’s past to encourage them to fund the future.

We’re already deep into the first quarter of 2024, and this year promises to be nothing short of exciting for Alumni Relations and Advancement. From transitioning towards a hybrid event model to placing emphasis on alumni and their needs, educational institutions across the country have slowly started rethinking events, and the way they engage with their alumni.

We’ve seen so many outstanding engagement ideas ever since the pandemic began in 2020, and so many teams have implemented out-of-the-box events that successfully engaged with alumni around the world. That’s when we realized we should compile some of these ideas that your alumni will LOVE.

Here are 12 alumni-centric engagement ideas for higher educational institutions that will inspire you in 2024.

Marietta College’s unique social media campaign to raise $192,000

Marietta College is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. They managed to raise over $190,000 for their Giving Day in 2020, from over 1,200 donors!

They achieved this magnificent feat through their #Luv4MC campaign on social media. The hashtag encouraged the College’s alumni community to come forward and show their support by sharing their most cherished stories and pictures of their alma mater.

We were inspired by the efforts of Kathryn Gloor (Senior Director of Annual Giving at Marietta College) and their amazing team, for rallying so much support to make their Giving Day immensely successful.

How Willamette University engaged with its alumni through a virtual content repository

Willamette University is a private university in Salem, Oregon. The University’s Advancement team managed to successfully engage with their alumni through a virtual content repository, called the WU Stream Initiative.

The initiative was based on the idea of providing an array of content to every alumni member in their community to choose from. This included virtual lectures, videos, podcasts, and an archive of content that serves the likes of every alum, no matter where they are and what they prefer.

A huge shoutout to Tyler Reich and their team for implementing such an incredible alumni-centric idea to engage with the University’s community.

Wesleyan College’s Informative “Lunch & Learn” series

Wesleyan College is a private, liberal arts women's college in Macon, Georgia. The College managed to keep their alumnae engaged and entertained through their unique “Lunch & Learn” series.

The College’s Office of Alumnae Affairs wanted to do something memorable to engage with their constituents during the pandemic. The series features one-hour Zoom sessions where the President or Provost and a faculty or staff member engage in meaningful discussions about relevant topics like diversity and inclusion on campus, and athletics during the new normal.

We love how Cathy Coxey Snow (Director of Alumnae Affairs at Wesleyan College since 1993) and their team have been creating meaningful engagement opportunities for the College’s alumnae during the pandemic.

Madonna University’s heartfelt messaging campaign to raise more funds

Madonna University is a private Catholic university in Livonia, Michigan. Ahead of the University’s St. Felix Day of Giving, the Alumni Office created a touching communication plan to encourage participation and raise more funds.

The pandemic forced the Office to rethink their strategies for the campaign, and they decided to keep the messaging behind the appeal simple and from the heart. By focusing on the immediate needs of current students, and the impact each gift would make on their education. The heartfelt communication clearly left a mark on the University’s alumni, as the campaign was a huge success.

A huge shoutout to Katie Dougherty and their team for putting together such an inspiring campaign in such a short timeframe.

The Evergreen State College’s campaign to raise awareness on issues that mattered

The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts and sciences college in Olympia, Washington. Their Return To Evergreen event featured an array of events that helped engage with their alumni, while also creating discussions and raising awareness on important societal issues.

The campaign included a few breakout sessions like Art in a Time of Resistance and Change, which served as a beacon to bring racial, cultural, and social justice to the forefront. Topics like wealth disparity, immigration, racism, climate change, and gun violence were a vital part of the conversations.

We love how Correan Barker (Associate Director of Events, Alumni & Donor Relations) and their team put together an event that managed to keep the College’s alumni engaged.

University Of The Ozarks’ jam-packed Virtual Homecoming

University of the Ozarks is a private university in Clarksville, Arkansas. Their Virtual Homecoming 2020 merged three distinct events – alumni weekend, family weekend, and homecoming, into one iconic week of virtual events.

The University’s Virtual Homecoming contained a plethora of fun-filled activities for alumni around the world to partake in, such as Virtual Campus Tours, Spirits Wars Launch, Virtual Bingo, and Ozarks Reunion. The new format enabled the University to engage with its large international alumni community, thereby making the event more accessible. Winners of certain events were also awarded with Ozarks gears and merchandise.

Putting together one virtual event can be a lot of work, so imagine putting together an entire week of virtual events for alumni! A huge shoutout to Justin McCormick (Associate Director of Alumni Relations) and their team for pulling it off.

How Whitman College used a Virtual Repository to engage with Alumni

Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. Amidst the pandemic, the Alumni Relations Staff wanted to engage with alumni meaningfully, which was how the idea for “Virtual Whitman” was born.

Essentially, “Virtual Whitman” is an online resource repository built with the intent of staying connected with each other during the pandemic. This initiative enabled the College’s alumni to have easy access to relevant resources such as recordings of past virtual events, historical archives about the college and the city, and kid-friendly science experiments for alumni to try out at home.

We love how Jennifer Dilworth Northam (Director Of Alumni Relations) and their team put together such an amazing initiative.

Wartburg College’s immensely successful crowdfunding campaign for new infrastructure

Wartburg College is a private Lutheran liberal arts college in Waverly, Iowa. The College’s Alumni and Parent Programs Office turned to their alumni to raise funds for various ongoing infrastructural projects, which turned out to be a huge success.

Wartburg College’s “Fund the Fortress” campaign was essentially an affinity-based campaign to raise funds for projects that alumni cared for. Some of the projects involved raising funds for exercise science equipment, and for a living classroom in honor of a late faculty member. The campaign turned out to be very successful, owing to how targeted and specific the asks were.

A huge shoutout to Robert Ruchotzke (Director Of Annual Giving) and their amazing team for putting together such an awe-inspiring fundraising campaign.

Michigan Ross’ value-driven mentorship program

The Stephen M. Ross School of Business is a business school operated by the University of Michigan. Their unique “Alumni in Residence” mentorship program focused on engaging with their alumni, while also creating value and opportunities for current students.

The “Alumni in Residence” program focuses on the concept of 1-1 flash mentorships, where each session lasts for about 30 minutes. While current students have wonderful opportunities to learn from their seniors, alumni also get to showcase their achievements in their respective fields and share their talents with the next generation.

Kudos to Caitlyn Johnson (Director of Alumni Engagement) and their incredible team for putting together a program that both current and former students of the School get to benefit from.

How The University of Georgia honored its alumni’s businesses

The University of Georgia is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia. The University’s Bulldog 100 celebrates top businesses operated or owned by the University’s alumni.

Every year, the Bulldog 100 ranks the top 100 businesses, based on CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) over the last three years. The list comprises businesses from over two dozen industries, including non-profits, healthcare, and software. The Alumni Association usually hosts a grand celebration for the Bulldog 100, where they count down the businesses that made the cut, until finally revealing the overall winner.

We love how Meredith Johnson (Executive Director of Alumni Relations) and their team are engaging with alumni by shining the spotlight on amazing business ventures.

California State University, Chico’s award-winning webinar series

California State University, Chico, commonly, Chico State, is a public university in Chico, California. Their “Wildcat Connect Webinar Series” was immensely successful in engaging with their large alumni community across the world.

Essentially a simple idea, the “Wildcat Connect Webinar Series” consists of a series of informative webinars that would benefit the University’s alumni. Topics for these webinars ranged from entrepreneurship and startups to career advice, to tips on financial planning. The series was a huge success, as over 1,200 alumni poured their appreciation and support. The initiative also won the coveted CASE Platinum Award in 2021, in the Best Practices in Alumni Relations category.‍

A huge shoutout to Tania Miranda Rueda and their incredible team for putting together an award-winning campaign to engage with so many alumni across the world.

Pittsburg State University’s idea of engaging with alumni through a road trip

Pittsburg State University is a public university in Pittsburg, Kansas. Their “Great Gorilla Tour” enabled the University to (quite literally) meet their alumni where they were, through an elaborately planned road trip across the country.

The most recent “Great Gorilla Tour: West Coast Edition” featured the advancement team in an amazing road trip where they met with alumni in different cities along the way. The trip lasted for over two weeks, and the team toured across nine cities in nine different states, not to mention the hundreds of alumni they got to engage with along the way.

We love how Danielle Driskill (Assistant Director of Alumni & Constituent Relations), Jon Bartlow (Director of Alumni & Constituent Relations) and the rest of their team put together this incredible road trip.

That wraps up our list of ideas to inspire you this year. Hopefully, you enjoyed these ideas just as much as we did. We can’t wait to see what this year has in store for us!

As we dive into 2021, alumni relations teams across institutions are gearing up to upgrade their programming for the year ahead.  

However, the stakes for this year are high – alumni relations professionals cannot rely on a set of strategies that have worked for them in the past. Thanks to the new normal they find themselves in, institutions need to come up with an alternate plan of action that will help them succeed. 

With the industry constantly evolving during these testing times, we understand the need for you to be on top of the latest trends and best practices. As you navigate this new normal, we bring to you top industry experts on LinkedIn who can help you find new strategies and get closer to your alumni engagement goals. These top 15 Alumni Relations leaders are helping revolutionize the alumni relations landscape with their valuable insights and thought leadership. 

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Without further ado, here are our top 15 Alumni Relations Leaders to follow in 2021, in no particular order. 

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1) Jay Le Roux Dillon, Ed.D. 

Dr. Jay Dillon has over 17 years of experience in alumni advancement in higher education. He is a skilled alumni strategist with expertise in alumni relations management, fundraising, and donor engagement. He has collaborated with renowned advancement professionals for multiple podcasts that are available on his website.  

Jay founded the Alumni Identity Fundraising Consultants in March 2018, a consultancy that helps educational institutions accelerate philanthropy and improve fundraising outcomes. He is presently serving as the Executive Director of Alumni Relations at The University of California, Berkeley.    

Here are some of our favorite picks from Jay’s library of resources on LinkedIn:

1. Is Fundraising more Science or Art? The results are in. ‍

2. Donor Demographics are the Enemy of Equity.

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2) Ryan Catherwood

Ryan Catherwood is currently the Assistant Vice President for Alumni and Career Services at The Longwood University in Virginia. He has hosted numerous podcasts on alumni management and advancement. His podcast series, Advancement Legends, features 36 episodes specifically aimed at alumni engagement and fundraising professionals in educational advancement. 

Ryan was the former host of Advancement Live, a part of Higher Ed Live (a network of professional development web shows and podcasts) which aired over 30 live episodes covering topics like digital engagement, reunions, and donor relations.

Ryan also specializes in digital marketing, public relations, content management, and community building, in addition to alumni relations management.

Some of Ryan’s resources on LinkedIn you might enjoy reading:

1. For alumni and donor engagement pros, asking questions is the answer‍

2. What's next for alumni and donor engagement post COVID-19 crisis?

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3) Don Philabaum

If you are looking for ideas to improve the impact of career services at your institution, then Don Philabaum is someone you should definitely follow on LinkedIn.

Don is the President and CEO of Talentmarks, a company that specializes in career and professional development programming for students, grads, and alumni. He has vast experience helping students find their career paths after graduation.

Don has authored six wonderful books. We highly recommend ‘Change It!: Create A Career Centered College Culture’ for colleges focused on becoming more career-centric.

Some of our favorite resources by Don:

1. What Should Your Alma Mater Focus On? Friend Raising or Career Raising?‍

2. What Do Alumni REALLY Want From Their Alma Mater?

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‍4) Mark W. Jones, J.D.

Mark W. Jones, who is currently the Principal and Founder of Flywheel Strategies, has nearly three decades of experience working in frontline fundraising and communication for higher education. He has worked at various leadership levels across different institutions, including serving as Chief Advancement Officer at four leading liberal arts institutions.

Mark’s experienced insights, teaching, and writing have cemented him as a thought leader in the philanthropic advancement field. He has abundant experience working with institutions in unlocking their philanthropic potential through strategic training plans. While working as the leader of Flywheel Strategies, Mark has helped over 20 schools and non-profit organizations with his consultation, facilitation, and coaching services.

Mark regularly writes resources on fundraising strategies, alumni engagement, and talent development. He is also the owner of the Higher Education Advancement Professionals (HEAP) group on LinkedIn.

A few recommendations from Mark’s resource library on LinkedIn:

1. Time + Training = The Two Keys to Sustained Fundraising Success‍

2. A Checklist: 11 Ways to Train and Develop Your Staff from Day 1

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5) Maria L Gallo

Maria is the Founder & Principal of KITE - Keep In Touch Education, a consultancy that is at the forefront of research and thought leadership in alumni relations, trends, and engagement. 

With over 20 years of experience working in various leadership roles in higher education and advancement, Maria brings expert insights and unique perspectives to the table through her resources. Besides having an active research portfolio, Maria also has several peer-reviewed academic journal publications in alumni relationships and philanthropy.

Through her publications, Maria expresses her strong belief in the power alumni networks possess. She also featured in a TEDx Talk in 2018 where she spoke about how one can make the most out of alumni networks. 

Here are some of our recommendations from Maria’s LinkedIn library:

1. Orchestrating Alumni Serendipity: Masterminding Alumni Relations of the Future

2. Why do we need to engage global alumni more than ever? 3 key takeaways from the CASE Working With Volunteers Keynote

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6) Jon Horowitz

Jon Horowitz has more than 15 years of experience in alumni and constituent relations, communications, and fundraising. He currently works as the Director of Market Research & Impact Insights for Advancement at Dartmouth College. He also hosts Advancement Live, a part of the Higher Ed Live network.

Jon is driven by the belief that the marriage of engagement analytics with a contextual understanding of constituent experiences and interests can yield powerfully dynamic intelligence about alumni and donors which, in turn, can drive advancement strategy that can profoundly transform their sentiment and involvement.

Before working as a director at Dartmouth College, he headed his consulting firm that focused on digital strategies for higher education advancement and engagement. He has previously also been acquainted with Princeton University and Rutgers University in implementing digital alumni engagement strategies.

Our top picks from Jon’s resources:

1. The Best Habits for Successful Digital Alumni Engagement‍

2. The Best Habits for Successful Digital Alumni Engagement, Part 2‍

3. The Best Habits for Successful Digital Alumni Engagement, Part 3

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7) Duane Wiles

Duane, who currently serves as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has 22 years of experience working in leadership roles in various institutions across the country. One of his numerous accomplishments include being named by Legacy Magazine Miami as one of South Florida’s 50 most powerful, influential black professionals.

Duane is an active board member of the Council of Alumni Association Executives (CAAE), and the organizations led by Wiles have received more than 10 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awards of excellence. He has also made contributions to resources on CASE. 

Besides his experience in the industry, Duane was also a former football player for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Here are some of the resources we loved from Duane’s LinkedIn library:

1. The evolution of virtual volunteering

2. Alumni chapters get creative throughout the pandemic

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8) Jason Lewis

If you are looking for expert tips and guidance on how to effectively raise funds for your campaign, then Jason Lewis is someone you should watch out for. 

Jason is the founder of Responsive Fundraising, a management consultancy that helps non-profit leaders find meaningful and sustainable ways of raising funds for their campaigns. His book titled ‘The War For Fundraising Talent: And How Small Shops Can Win’, is an amazing resource for small organizations aiming to fundraise better.

Jason hosts The Fundraising Talent Podcast, a 100-episode series that deals with  the latest trends in fundraising

Here are some of our top picks from Jason’s resources:

1. The Decisions Our Donors Are Making, Part 1‍

2. The Decisions Our Donors Are Making, Part 2

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9) Lyndsey Crum

Lyndsey, who has over 15 years of experience in university advancement, currently serves as the AVP for Alumni Relations at her alma mater. She has also served as an advancement leader at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado. 

She has worked in raising philanthropic support for educational advancement and also drove public relations and marketing efforts to boost the relevance and impact of higher education.

One of Lyndsey’s driving force is to work towards building a global network of alumni volunteers, donors, advocates, and friends to raise the bar for educational success and career outcomes of current and future students. 

Our top picks from what Lyndsey has shared on LinkedIn:

1. Dear Generous Donor

2. Making the Most of LinkedIn

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10) Andrew Shaindlin

Andrew is a non-profit leader with over 3 decades of international experience in alumni engagement, communications, and fundraising. 

Currently the Vice President for Alumni Relations at Brown University, he specializes in strategies for community-driven organizations and coaches education professionals on career success.

He is also a frequent international speaker and author on topics related to global non-profit strategies.

Our recommendations from Andrew’s library of resources that you might like:

1. Alumni Relations in the COVID Era‍

2. Democratizing Alumni Relations: The Shifting Balance in Engagement

11) Kathleen Loehr

Kathleen, who is currently the Principal at Kathleen Loehr LLC, has more than 35 years of experience working with university and nonprofit leaders as an advisor. Using her knowledge and expertise, she works with leaders who want to create a sustainable model of fundraising for non-profit organizations.

What makes Kathleen stand out as a leader is her impact on modern philanthropy, which puts the focus on women and their growing contributions. Her book, titled Gender Matters: A Guide to Growing Women’s Philanthropy, provides a detailed analysis of how women have taken the center stage in fundraising and also provides actionable insights for fundraising leaders to follow.

Kathleen’s women-centric philanthropy expertise comes from her experience in working with universities and nonprofit organizations to more deeply engage women donors.

What stood out for us among Kathleen’s resources:

1. As Women Surge in Leadership and Philanthropy, Are They Among Your Top Fundraising Priorities?

2. A Broader Definition of Philanthropy by Women

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12) Christopher Vlahos 

Christopher Vlahos is the Principal & Owner of Chris Vlahos Alumni Engagement Consulting LLC, a consultancy that helps institutions become more effective at alumni engagement. He is the author of multiple blogs and articles, most notably his work on the link between alumni engagement and fundraising.

Christopher’s experience and work are characterized by his emphasis on ‘purposeful alumni engagement’ - a metrics-based concept for institutional advancement that utilizes insight, strategy, and experience.

Heis a founding member of the Council for Alumni Membership & Marketing Professionals (CAMMP), a network of 450+ individuals committed to the needs of membership and marketing programs in alumni relations. Besides being an integral part of CAMMP, he has also maintained a long affiliation with the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

Some of Christopher’s resources on LinkedIn you might like:

1. The 12 Characteristics of a High Performing Alumni Relations Office‍

2. Alumni Engagement Strategic Planning: A Necessary Normal

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13) Lynne Wester

Lynne Wester is a well-known personality in the field of donor engagement and alumni relations. She is the Principal and Founder of Donor Relations Guru, a consultancy that helps non-profit organizations unlock their true potential for fundraising and donor retention. She strongly believes that donor relations hold the key to exceptional fundraising results. 

Lynne has helped top institutions in the country with alumni relations and management for over 16 years. She has authored numerous resources that help non-profit organizations and institutions improve their donor retention and engagement. 

Here are some must-read resources from Lynne’s extensive library:

1. Why You Need a Fund Audit‍

2. What you can do for your donors and others in Times of Crisis: COVID-19 Edition

14) Louis Diez

Louis Diez, who is currently the Executive Director of Annual Giving at Muhlenberg College, has 8+ years of experience working as a fundraising professional for various educational institutions. He is also the Principal of MarktLab, a non-profit management organization.

Louis is an expert at annual fund development, digital fundraising, and engagement strategies. He runs the Donor Participation Project, a group of fundraising professionals who take an active interest in the national decline in donor participation. 

Some of the resources Louis has written that we recommend:

1. Helpful articles for alumni relation professionals‍

2. How fundraising should be approached

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15) A Philanda Moore

A. Philanda (A.P.) Moore has served as the Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement at the University of Oregon for nearly 3 years. In his role, he serves as the point of contact for minority, special interest, and professional alumni constituency groups in the university. 

Recently, A.P. served as a panelist in a webinar that featured noteworthy leaders from the industry. The panel, titled ‘Alumni Relations & Diverse Populations - Reframing Engagement Towards Equity & Inclusion’, was a platform for him and other leaders to discuss how social science research has impacted the engagement of diverse graduates, and how advancement can be more inclusive. 

Our top picks from A.P.’s resources shared on LinkedIn:

1. Can colleges be saved in the COVID era?

2. The Coming disruption to colleges

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That about wraps up our list of the top alumni relations leaders you should follow on LinkedIn. 

We are immensely grateful for the overwhelming response that we received for this article. A special shout-out to all the advancement leaders for all the inspiration and support:

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Institutions will need to bring their A-game to stay on top of their goals for alumni engagement and advancement in 2021. We hope the resources shared by these experts can bring you greater success this year and beyond!

Having observed over a hundred schools successfully bring attention to their alumni events and reunions via social media, we have sufficient evidence that it is one of the most powerful mediums to promote your alumni reunion successfully. A little creativity and event marketing can go a long way in making sure that the maximum amount of alumni notice and engage with your upcoming reunions.

With that being said, here are 7 tested approaches to promote alumni reunions on social media:

1. Showcase alumni experiences at past year reunions

Sharing photos and videos of previous years reunions on your social media page is one of the best ways to attract attention to your alumni reunion event. While alumni may love hearing about wonderful stories about your previous reunions, these stories become all the more engaging when they hear it from their friends or peers. Encouraging alumni to share their own experiences from previous years reunions, has proven to be highly rewarding for reunion success.

2. Ask your faculty to share their experiences

If a large amount of your alumni base is still in touch with your faculty or staff, asking faculty members to share updates about upcoming reunions or their experiences at past year reunions is a best practice you should follow.

3. Encourage alumni to take action

Another way to encourage alumni engagement and participation is by creating opportunities for alumni to take some action on your post. Here’s an example: create a simple graphic post with the tagline - “Just three days to go!! Tag 3 people you are looking forward to meeting at the reunion.”

Here’s how William Peace University drew the attention of its alumni and got them talking about their upcoming reunion.

4. Create something similar to the ‘10-Year Challenge’ on Facebook

It's generally a good idea to see which alumni event ideas are gaining traction. Take for example the widely popular 10-Year Challenge on Facebook where you can request alumni to simply post two photos, side-by-side, taken at least ten years apart. Alternatively, you can use photos from yearbooks and current profiles of alumni to create ‘10-year challenge’ posts. However, in the case of this approach, consent needs to be established before using an alum’s personal photos.

5. Evoke nostalgia with yearbook, graduation photos, and countdown posts

Instead of promoting your alumni event the traditional way, capture the attention of your alumni by constantly staying in their social media feed and reminding them of the wonderful memories they’ve had over their time spent at their school. Here’s how McCarthy Alumni Association gets this right.

6. Share Alumni Testimonials on Social Media

Create a campaign asking alumni to respond to “What's something you loved about your Class of 10 Yr Reunion?”. Share the positive feedback you receive from the campaign and from past year reunions on your social media pages, tagging those alumni who’ve provided feedback, thus ensuring a wider reach for your campaign.

7. Keep your alumni hooked with ‘Guess who is coming?’ posters

Pick images of 3-5 alumni, combine them to create a collage with question marks on top of each image, and then post it as a challenge for alumni to guess the names of the people mentioned in the post. To make it more interesting, provide hints. For example, if one of the names to be guessed is "Sarah", you can drop the letters ‘S’, ‘R’, and ‘H’ as a clue. Such campaigns not only get you visibility but also encourage your alumni to take action by responding to the challenge you’ve thrown at them.

Best social media platforms to promote alumni reunions

To effectively promote alumni reunions, institutions today have a good variety of social media platforms, each offering distinct advantages for outreach and engagement.

• LinkedIn: This platform is ideal for professional networking and reaching alumni in various career stages. Universities can create dedicated alumni groups, share professional development opportunities, and post event details directly within a professional context.
• Facebook: With its broad user base, Facebook remains a strong choice for fostering community and nostalgia. Creating private alumni groups, sharing throwback photos, and utilizing event features can drive registration and engagement.
• Instagram: For visually compelling promotion, Instagram excels. Universities can use high-quality photos and videos of past reunions, campus scenes, and alumni spotlights to evoke nostalgia and showcase the event's atmosphere.
• TikTok: To engage younger alumni, TikTok offers a dynamic platform for short, creative videos. Universities can leverage trends, showcase campus life in a fun way, and highlight reasons to attend the reunion through engaging video content.
• YouTube: For longer-form content, such as highlight reels from past reunions or interviews with alumni, YouTube is a valuable platform. Videos can be shared across other social media channels to provide a more in-depth look at the reunion experience.

Social media tips for driving alumni engagement

• Create Dedicated Alumni Groups: Establish private groups on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook. These provide a focused space for alumni to connect, share updates, and network with peers.
• Share Compelling, Nostalgic Content: Post throwback photos, videos, and stories that evoke fond memories of campus life. Encourage alumni to share their own experiences using relevant hashtags.
• Highlight Alumni Success Stories: Regularly feature accomplishments of your alumni in various fields. This inspires pride and demonstrates the value of their alma mater.
• Host Virtual Events and Live Sessions: Offer webinars, online networking mixers, or Q&A sessions with notable alumni. Live streams can bring the campus experience to alumni globally
• Utilize User-Generated Content (UGC): Encourage alumni to share their current endeavors, campus visits, or reunion experiences. UGC fosters authenticity and broadens reach.
• Offer Value and Resources: Share content relevant to alumni's professional and personal lives, such as career development tips, job opportunities, or industry insights.
• Promote Events with Clear CTAs: Use engaging visuals and direct calls-to-action for reunion promotions, mentorship programs, or fundraising campaigns.
• Personalize Communication: Segment your alumni audience and tailor content to their interests, class years, or geographical locations for more relevant engagement.
• Engage with Comments and Messages: Respond to alumni interactions promptly and thoughtfully to foster a sense of community and show appreciation.
• Leverage Interactive Features: Use polls, quizzes, and Q&A stickers on platforms like Instagram and Facebook Stories to encourage direct participation.
• Consistent Posting Schedule: Maintain a regular posting cadence to keep your alumni community informed and engaged.
• Analyze Performance: Use social media analytics to understand what content resonates most with your alumni and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Conclusion

When it comes to promoting your alumni reunions, there’s no limit to all that you can do. Here’s a list of techniques for increasing alumni participation to your reunions that have brought success to over a hundred institutions.