Build lifelong relationships

Many of your university’s alumni are on social media every day, making it one of the most convenient tools for keeping their alma mater top-of-mind and spurring continued support.

However, alumni giving trends reveal that institutions are increasingly moving beyond simply asking for donations. Instead, these universities position their requests for support as an invitation to be part of a continued journey of progress and shared achievement.

This shift means universities must revisit their social media strategies to deeply engage their audiences. In this guide, we’ll review how you can do just that by implementing four effective tips.

1. Prioritize young alumni.

Recent graduates are among the most supportive of your alumni. Filled with school spirit after a bittersweet farewell at their graduation ceremony, these individuals likely take pride in their alma mater.

Cultivating these relationships is crucial to securing long-term support. While most recently graduated students won’t have the capacity to give major gifts yet, continued engagement over time can turn them into avid event attendees and advocates for your school. Younger generations are also the most active social media users, meaning they likely account for the majority of your university’s social media audience.

Try these tactics to engage young alumni on social media:

• Invite them to events. Promote an event across your social media channels, limiting the guest list to graduates from a specific year or cohort to provide a sense of exclusivity. Incorporate a fundraising activity into the event, such as a raffle or an auction. You can even leverage auction software to gather data about attendees and personalize future communications with them.
• Show them what your school can still offer them. Promote networking opportunities, social events, or advice about postgraduate success. By showing young alumni you can still help them thrive, you’ll make them feel more connected to your school and more willing to give.
• Create content they’ll want to share. Most young alumni keep up with some of their college friends and peers, especially recent graduates. Create content that inspires sharing, such as high-quality graphics with useful information for young alumni. When they share the post, they’ll inspire their friends to be more involved with your university, too.
• Use interactive stories to encourage engagement. Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok all include story features for sharing content quickly and easily. Take advantage of story features encouraging direct interaction with your followers, such as questions, polls, and quizzes. Keep the conversation going at every opportunity!

Remember that every social media channel has unique strengths when implementing these strategies. For example, TikTok is ideal for video storytelling, while Facebook is a better platform for text-based posts. Adjusting your content to leverage these strengths will maximize the success you see across channels.

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2. Highlight how easy it is to give.

One of the simplest ways to increase your fundraising potential on social media is to raise awareness of mobile giving methods.

Alumni are less likely to donate if they have to jump through multiple hoops to find your donation page. Text-to-give makes it easy to donate by texting a keyword to a designated phone number. Alumni will then receive a text with a direct link to your donation page. If your online donation platform includes text-to-give functionality, make sure your supporters are aware of this opportunity to give more easily.

To promote mobile giving on social media, Snowball Fundraising’s text-to-give guide recommends:

• Sharing updates regarding your fundraising progress on social media.
• Creating posts that supporters can easily share with their followers.
• Using visuals, such as compelling photos and videos.

Additionally, some social media channels offer fundraising tools within the platform itself. For example, Facebook fundraisers allow users to donate to a cause without leaving Facebook, making it an easy way for alumni to give as soon as they feel compelled by your posts.

3. Show alumni your appreciation.

Thanking your supporters is an important part of any donor retention strategy. For universities, alumni often feel gratitude for their educational experiences, and showing appreciation for their generosity fosters a mutual sense of community and respect.

Start by segmenting your alumni audience to determine which groups your appreciation messages should target. After all, one alumnus in the larger student population won’t feel appreciated by generic messages such as, “We love all our students!” or “Thank you for attending our university!”

Use social media to emphasize the impact of alumni involvement and contributions. Recognize specific contributions when possible and celebrate broader donation milestones. For example, create a shout-out post on Instagram when the class of 2002 reaches $50,000 raised. Include a photo from their graduation ceremony to remind them of their fond memories of your school.

Showing appreciation on social media can inspire increased donations, but don’t forget to thank your donors often and in a variety of ways. Social media marketing works best when you supplement it with other communication methods, such as a personalized eCard or virtual donor wall.

4. Use data to guide your efforts.

Tracking social media metrics alongside fundraising data can help your university draw correlations between your posts and alumni engagement. Your team can go directly to its social media accounts to find relevant data, such as likes, shares, views, and follows.

Consult any fundraising solutions you may use, such as an auction website or event management platform, for fundraising data. These tools track key performance indicators (KPIs) such as attendance rates and donation amounts.

Analyze this data, extract insights from it, and apply your findings to your social media strategy. For example, did a post with educational infographics and credible statistics garner more support? Consider posting similar content in the future, especially when promoting specific fundraising campaigns.

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Be creative with the content you post and the fundraisers you promote. For example, alumni entering the workforce for the first time may be newly eligible for (but unaware of) matching gift opportunities. Encourage alumni to explore this new form of involvement with your institution.

Above all, highlight your alumni’s unique role in supporting the university moving forward and improving their alma mater for other students. After all, your university’s success depends on theirs, both inside the classroom and after they leave.

As a fraternity or sorority leader, you know just how much of an asset your alumni are. Not only are alumni involved in fraternities or sororities more likely to donate, but they also provide in-kind support as well. They make valuable volunteers, can help with recruitment, and provide networking opportunities for current chapter members, so you’ll want to nurture your relationships with them. That’s where alumni events come in.

When you hear that term, you might think of college sports watch parties or a fancy dinner. If these types of gatherings aren’t your chapter’s preference or you want to try something new, don’t worry. Luckily, there’s no one right way to host an alumni event—your chapter has the freedom to make it your own. 

However, there are some best practices to follow that will make your alumni event run smoothly. Here are three tips for boosting your alumni event attendance and invoke nostalgia. 

1. Segment your alumni for more effective outreach. 
2. Try a hybrid event format. 
3. Offer exclusive fundraising opportunities. 

Let’s explore how to optimize your alumni events to raise more money and sustain long-term support.

1. Segment your alumni for more effective outreach. 

One of the biggest challenges in outreach is hooking your target audience. After all, you have a mere 8 seconds on average to get their attention, which leaves you very little room for error.

The best way to get your alumni interested in attending your events is by writing specific messages that resonate with them. Since your alumni base is likely quite diverse, both in background and interests, it’s difficult to write an email that appeals to all of them. Luckily, you don’t have to. 

Segmenting your alumni is a great way of sending targeted messages that pique your alumni’s interests. It’s crucial to keep your data input methods standardized. There are numerous criteria you can use to segment them by, such as: 

• Current profession/employer
• Age
• College graduation class
• Place of residence
• Nonprofit affiliations
• Income, if known/estimated
• Preferred mode of communication
• Amount donated
• Past involvement with the organization

This is a lot of information to keep on hand for one person, let alone hundreds of your alumni. That’s why fraternity and sorority management software comes in handy during the segmentation process. According to OmegaFi, fraternity and sorority management software is tailor-made to help you store alumni data. Seamlessly send promotional event materials and create segmented mailing lists that will boost registrations. 

But be mindful to always include the essential need-to-knows in your materials regardless of how specifically you’re tailoring your message. Start by including your fraternity or sorority’s branding, such as your logo, slogan, and photos of your chapter members in motion. This will not only help your alumni identify who you are, but it’s also likely to bring up great memories from their time in the chapter. Furthermore, personalizing your alumni communications is key. Use mail merge templates to include the alumni’s name on the message, or you could include photos from their time in the chapter. 

2. Try a hybrid event format. 

Though in the past in-person events were the norm, times have rapidly changed. Now, with interactive communications platforms right at our fingertips, you can host events with attendees all over the world without them needing to leave the house. But, if you do have alumni in the area who want to come in person, you can have the best of both worlds with a hybrid event.

Hybrid events are the most flexible and inclusive type of get-togethers you can throw for your alumni. As long as they have an internet connection and a device (which is over 90% of the population), any alumni can attend your event. Here are some great hybrid events to try:

• Webinar or panel. Your fraternity or sorority likely tackles big issues through your philanthropic work. A webinar and panel discussion with thought leaders will not only raise awareness for your cause, but it’ll also spread the word about your current campaigns. You can host an in-person component with the speaker and attendees present while broadcasting to online viewers. If possible, try to recruit alumni to speak on your panel so they can promote the event to other chapter members.

• Career fair. One of the best advantages of joining a fraternity or sorority is access to a valuable network of brothers and sisters. Take this opportunity to host a career event exclusive to your alumni and current members. Add a hybrid component by creating a conference call with breakout rooms so members living anywhere can join in. 

• Class reunion. For a more traditional taste of college life, throw a class reunion where alumni can reconnect with their brothers and sisters. You can hold both in-person and virtual receptions to involve the most people possible. Incentivize them to attend with fun games, entertainment, and prizes.

Nobody knows your fraternity or sorority quite like you do, so ask for their input during the planning process. Ask your current members or involved alumni which events were successful in the past, and consider adding a hybrid element to it going forward. Adding a hybrid component will broaden the possibilities and allows you to incorporate the best elements of both event types. 

3. Offer exclusive fundraising opportunities.

It’s easy to forget that your alumni want to support your current members and shape your future. But, it’s up to your chapter to put on attractive events that encourage alumni to get involved. Catch their attention by offering opportunities and rewards for giving that they can’t get elsewhere. Some exclusive items include:

• Experiences. As a fraternity or sorority, you likely have access to fun outings around campus. Perhaps you can offer free college sporting event tickets to everyone who donates above a certain threshold. You can also turn to your community for interesting experiences, such as concerts, cooking classes, or free restaurant meals.

• Branded merchandise. A core aspect of your fraternity or sorority’s identity is your distinct Greek lettering. Consider offering exclusive branded products so your alumni can show their membership with style. Stand out from other organizations by offering unique items, like water bottles, and phone accessories.

• Prize baskets. Branded merchandise aren’t the only goods you can offer to your alumni. Themed prize baskets are a great offering because your organization can target certain alumni based on their interests. For instance, you could curate a nature lover prize basket complete with hiking supplies and a donation to a nature preserve in their honor. Brainstorm some ideas with your team to determine the best themes for your alumni.

Whether you’re throwing an auction complete with a paddle raise or a casual peer-to-peer event, you should incentivize your alumni to become recurring donors. Part of this process is offering them useful prizes as a reward for their support, so make a concerted effort to access the most desirable items and experiences around.

Chances are, your alumni joined your chapter for lifelong friendships and to make an impact on their community. Leverage this fact by reminding them of the great work you’re doing and the amazing people they’ve met through the organization. After your event, be sure to show your appreciation for their support and connect them with awesome opportunities. They’ll appreciate that you value their membership, even after graduation. 

About the Author

Fred Maglione, Chief Executive Officer
With primary responsibility for leading the day-to-day operations of the entire OmegaFi Company, Fred’s duties vary from one moment to the next. Advising nonprofit organizations on operational efficiency, expanding payment processing solutions, developing database management systems, raising money and enhancing our customer’s experience are all part of his job. As an attorney with nearly 20 years of experience in the nonprofit management industry, Fred has earned the prestigious designation of "Certified Fund Raising Executive" from CFRE International. He voluntarily serves as the House Corporation President for the Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega, and is licensed to practice law in the states of Florida and Georgia. Away from work Fred, enjoys time with his wife and their two energetic sons. As often as possible, they travel to visit their extended family scattered throughout the United States. Fred also finds time to cheer for his favorite football team – The Florida State Seminoles!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for alumni communication!

Double the Donation reports that over 30% of total annual giving takes place in December, with around 10% of all donations coming in the last three days of the year. That said, it’s an excellent opportunity for educational institutions to engage with their alumni, highlighting last-minute fundraising initiatives and wrapping up other loose ends.

If you’re looking to finetune your communication strategy this year-end giving season, particularly regarding alumni supporters, here are five key practices that your team can consider:

1. Highlight opportunities for support.
2. Communicate gratitude.
3. Share year-end updates.
4. Promote workplace giving opportunities.
5. Look forward to the new year.

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Optimizing your communication strategy going into the last few weeks of the year makes a huge difference in terms of overall engagement and support. By incorporating these tried-and-true tips, you can set your team up for impactful conversations that position your organization for a successful new year as well.

1. Highlight opportunities for support.

Because the end of the year is such a significant period in terms of fundraising efforts, you likely have a lot going on. It’s important that you use your alumni communications to promote ways in which your supporters can get involved.

This may include:

• Contributing to your year-end giving campaign;
• Requesting a matching gift for a previous donation;
• Participating in a peer-to-peer fundraising initiative (as a fundraiser or a donor);
• Volunteering in various ways within the school;
• Attending a fundraising event such as a walk-a-thon, auction, or gala;
• Joining an alumni association.

Regardless of the engagement opportunities hosted by your institution, be sure your audience is aware of the various ways to support your efforts⁠—especially when you know they’ll love the fundraisers you choose. Otherwise, you may have a sizable group of alumni who are eager to participate in the season of generosity; they’re simply unaware of how to do so.

2. Communicate gratitude.

You don’t want to move on to a new year without thanking those that played a role in getting your institution where it is now. And in the spirit of the holiday season, there’s no better opportunity to show appreciation for your alumni⁠—especially those who have supported your fundraising and engagement efforts this year.

Ways to do so might include:

• Mailing a handwritten letter thanking individuals for their support;
• Crafting a personalized acknowledgment email highlighting specific engagement details;
• Making a phone call to thank donors for their involvement;
• Sending customized swag or school merchandise;
• Publicly acknowledging key supporters online using social media, digital newsletters, or your website;
• Highlighting specific individuals within your donor or alumni wall;
• Inviting alumni to attend exclusive stewardship events.

When displaying gratitude to your alumni and other major contributors, make an effort to do so using the methods they tend to respond to best; that way, your communications will be all the more meaningful.

3. Share year-end updates.

More than likely, a lot has happened within your school community in the past twelve months. As you’re looking to communicate with alumni in the final weeks, providing year-end updates can be a great way to go.

Consider these ideas as you craft your messaging regarding updates from the previous year:

• Total amount of fundraising revenue collected;
• Percentage of alumni engaged with the institution;
• Number of students graduating;
• Highlights from noteworthy alumni;
• Progress or completed campus updates or renovation projects;
• Awards, accolades, and rankings presented to the school.

Your alumni care about the goings-on at your school, and keeping them in the know about current happenings is essential. By providing key updates surrounding your institution, you can help maintain that vital feeling of connection, regardless of the length of time an alumnus has been gone.

4. Promote workplace giving opportunities.

Your alumni have gone on from your institution to work for a wide range of businesses. More than likely, a significant portion of that group is now employed by companies that offer workplace giving programs. And those giving programs have the potential to benefit your school.

If you’re not already doing so, now is the time to begin promoting these corporate fundraising opportunities. And if you are already doing so, the end of the year is the perfect time to increase your efforts.

Why? Corporate matching gifts are one of the most popular and most-offered forms of workplace giving. When donors qualify for the programs, they are able to request a matching donation from their employers, often at a dollar-for-dollar ratio for their own. This allows supporters to amplify their own giving impact without reaching back into their own wallets.

And luckily, many individuals who have given to your school previously in the year will still qualify for corporate matching, despite not being aware of the opportunity or completing the matching process earlier. Similarly, alumni who have engaged with your institution as volunteers in the past year may qualify for corporate volunteer grants as well.

As you follow up on these opportunities, keep in mind that you may want to include a sense of urgency in your year-end workplace giving reminders, as many companies set their submission deadlines in line with the end of the calendar year! But don’t fret⁠—matching gift software, such as Almabase’s integration with Double the Donation, makes triggering automated follow-ups as easy as can be.

5. Look forward to the new year.

While looking back at the past can be an excellent way to acknowledge support and wrap up the previous year, looking ahead to the new year can aid in inspiring alumni with ideas of what is to come.

Here are a few examples to show how your team can look forward to the new year by:

• Comparing objectives and successes ⁠— “In 2022, our school raised over $100,000. In 2023, we’re setting a lofty goal to double that figure. Keep an eye out to see how you can help us reach $200,000 in giving revenue next year!”
  
• Reminding of upcoming events ⁠— “With the end of the year coming to a close, don’t forget about our upcoming engagement events that will be here before you know it! Mark your calendars for Alumni Reunion Weekend, February 10th - 12th.”
  
• Providing updates for ongoing projects — “We can’t wait to see where our school will be at this time next year. For one thing, our library renovation will be complete, empowering more students with access to innovative new resources.”

This type of messaging can even spill over into the new year as you continue encouraging your audience of alumni to get and stay involved.

As the end of the year comes to a close, it’s important that you and your team make the most of every opportunity available to you⁠—whether that’s following up on previously-made donations or highlighting chances to further support your institution. Your alumni support your cause, and keeping them involved throughout the year is essential. Good luck, and happy holidays!

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About the author

Adam Weinger is the President of Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift tools to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. Adam created Double the Donation in order to help nonprofits increase their annual revenue through corporate matching gift and volunteer grant programs.

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Digitization has changed the definition of engagement. We have emerged to live in a new digital ecosystem, where everything important to us must be in our grasp, and engagement must feel easy and personal.

Alumni Relations are not exempt from these expectations. And so, to our best efforts, we leverage solutions to give our alumni experiences that align with their expectations.

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Where, then, may the gap exist?

It's in how we limit our lens to view their engagement in sign-ups, gifts, and event registrations. But, Alumni Relations have a much larger scope.

Showcase a more accurate picture of engagement that is more than just "Sign-ups."

Sign-ups are a critical measure of how well our constituents have adopted the platform, but they tell us only half the story.

They don't give us a holistic view of engagement, which can mean many more activities beyond sign-ups, event registrations, and gifts - activities that happen only once a year, disregarding the many other ways they engage with us.

Moreover*, sign-ups* don't align with the tendencies of our alumni; our alumni sign up on the platform, but how often are they logging in to engage?

To overcome this, Almabase enables constituents to engage without necessarily going through the hassle of logging into the platform every time.

Making the most of our efforts: Viewing engagement as a continuous phenomenon.

Our alumni are engaging with us in many ways throughout the year; they are replying to emails, liking social posts, visiting a job board, or viewing an archive of newsletters - all of which have taken much effort from the Alumni Relations office to set up.

Each interaction tells us so much more about them, giving us additional opportunities to engage them further.

And yet, these engagement activities don't show up in our reports, leading us sometimes to wonder why our efforts don't lead to higher engagement.

A step towards continuous engagement with a revamped admin dashboard.

Almabase will soon revamp its admin dashboard to start helping us shift from focusing solely on sign-ups to viewing results of everything our alumni do across channels and programs, all at our fingertips.

This change will give us a view of how many alumni have engaged and in which ways, showing us an instant view of the value we create for alumni and a better sense of direction for us.

Stay tuned for early access to the revamped admin dashboard, which will come your way shortly.

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Nonprofit and university websites have made significant strides in the past several years to improve the accessibility of their websites. Web accessibility means that your organization’s website pages, including your online donation page, are usable and legible for all visitors. 

Making your donation page more accessible involves following accessibility guidelines, but it also includes your efforts to make your donation form more visible and recognizable across your website and other digital platforms. 

Specifically, we’re going to look at four ways to craft a more accessible donation page: 

1. Follow accessibility best practices.
2. Make your donation form mobile friendly. 
3. Use calls to action to drive traffic. 
4. Ensure your branding is accessible. 

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Offering supporters an accessible, easy-to-use donation process is the first step of your overarching donor stewardship plan. When your donation form is easy to use, donors will face fewer barriers to giving, providing them with a positive experience. 

1. Follow accessibility best practices.

The first step in making your organization’s online donation page more accessible is following the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These are universally-recognized regulations for creating web content that’s usable for all. 

When it comes to nonprofit and university web accessibility, these guidelines provide a clear checklist to review when updating your organization’s website. Here are just a few of the features your online donation page should include, according to the WCAG: 

• Alt text for images
• Captions for videos
• Simple navigation
• Descriptive form labels 
• Sufficient color contrast (at least 4.5:1 for normal-size text and 3:1 for large text) 
• Keyboard navigation functionality
• Descriptive section headings and labels

A WebAIM study of the top 1,000,000 home pages found that the most common accessibility errors include low-contrast text, missing alternative text for images, and empty links. The study points out that addressing just a few of these most common errors would significantly improve accessibility across the web. 

The same concept is true for your organization’s donation page. Just a few quick updates can dramatically improve the accessibility of the page, making it available to a wider audience. 

2. Make your donation form mobile friendly. 

Another aspect of making your donation form more accessible is ensuring that it’s usable on all devices. This includes desktops, tablets, and mobile phones. 

Bloomerang’s guide to donation page best practices recommends the following tips for creating a mobile-friendly donation form: 

• Use a minimalist design. Keep the form uncluttered and use plenty of white space to eliminate distractions. 
• Optimize and compress images. A fast load speed is critical for mobile websites, and compressing images greatly improves their load speed. 
• Ensure text and images resize properly. View and edit your donation page in the mobile format to make sure all images and text resize properly. 

With a mobile-friendly donation page, your audience members can give online whenever they want without having to pull out their laptops. 

3. Use calls to action to drive traffic. 

Calls to action (CTAs) are links, buttons, and other digital elements you use to direct traffic to your online donation page. CTAs make your donation form easier to find, reducing the time required to submit an online donation. 

Your digital fundraising strategy should include a variety of CTAs across your online marketing platforms, including: 

• Links in your website’s navigation menu and homepage buttons
• Social media posts with links to your form
• Email updates that include buttons and links to your form

Use eye-catching colors and large font sizes to make your donation page CTAs stand out. Also, make sure any buttons you create follow the recommended WCAG color contrast guidelines. 

You can also use strategic wording to vary your CTAs. For example, instead of saying “Donate Now” on every CTA, you might say “Show Your Support” or “Leave a Legacy.” This catches donors’ attention and helps draw the connection between their donations and your organization’s ability to make a positive impact.  

4. Ensure your donation page includes your organization’s branding. 

Supporters will feel more comfortable filling out your donation form when it’s fully branded to your organization. Including your organization’s branding makes it clear that donors’ gifts will go directly to your organization. 

Familiar branding makes your donation page more trustworthy for supporters, especially first-time donors who aren’t as familiar with your organization’s donation process. 

For example, your donation form should feature your organization’s recognizable:

• Logo
• Fonts
• Colors
• Tone of voice

Ensure that these branding elements adhere to accessibility standards. For instance, make sure your font is large and legible, use simple language in your written copy, and ensure there’s sufficient color contrast between your brand’s foreground and background colors. Include accessibility policies in your web style guide so that all of your online branding is uniform and accessible. 

Creating an accessible donation page can improve your organization’s fundraising results for any campaign, from your annual fundraising efforts to your giving day and more. Your accessible donation page will make your giving options available to a broader audience, creating a more user-friendly experience for your supporters. 

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! 

Read Blackbaud's official statement here.

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Ten months into an eventful 2022, we’ve got some big news to share. Blackbaud, the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, and Almabase, the world’s most loved digital-first alumni engagement solution, are here to officially announce an expanded partnership. This will provide a modern solution for advancement teams to unlock higher alumni engagement and better fundraising.
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| “Our vision at Blackbaud is to put our customers’ needs first and provide innovative solutions for the market by creating the best outcomes across digital engagement, Advancement CRM, and financials. Our partnership with Almabase is an integral part of that vision.”

Chris Krackeler, President and GM of Higher Education at Blackbaud‍

| “Our mission at Almabase is to make education affordable by helping every institution increase alumni participation. The education fundraising landscape is evolving rapidly, and the best institutions are proactive in engaging their alumni, using data to drive decisions, and meeting alumni where they are. Our expanded partnership with Blackbaud and strong integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT will be a game changer for any institution that wants to create a constant pipeline of donors and drive more donations.”

Kalyan Varma, Co-Founder and CEO of Almabase

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How the expanded partnership will impact our industry

Even before the expanded partnership, both brands have closely worked with each other over the last few years, trying to perfect their industry-leading integration with Raiser’s Edge NXT (more details below).

Here’s why the partnership’s timing is opportune – in the last two decades, alumni donor participation has halved, and the reason is hardly surprising. In a digital-first world, your alumni want more from the relationship with their alma mater – more tailored programs, and engagement that puts value at the front.

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Almabase and Blackbaud’s Expanded Partnership, powered by a digital-first solution and a connected Advancement CRM, aims to reverse this downward trend. The partnership puts you in the driver’s seat, letting you take control of your data, craft personalized alumni experiences at scale, and unify your advancement team’s efforts. 

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A digital-first solution for advancement teams

In a nutshell, we believe that a digital-first engagement platform, coupled with a strong fundraising CRM for higher-ed, is the game-winning combination you need to drive value-led alumni engagement and fundraising.

Blackbaud has a suite of digital tools that are popularly used by advancement teams across the country. Several of Almabase’s partner institutions today use Raiser’s Edge NXT as their Advancement CRM. Both our teams have been hard at work, creating seamless integrations that enable advancement services professionals to move constituent, gift, and event data between systems, without friction. With the expanded partnership, the capabilities of these integrations are only going to grow more powerful.

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Two intelligent systems, one source of truth

Almabase’s integration with RE NXT has already received an exciting (and heavily requested) feature that we can’t wait to talk about. Almabase and RE NXT can now sync bi-directionally, meaning constituent data can move both ways (i.e., from Almabase to RE NXT, and vice versa). This is applicable to basic data fields like constituent name and DOB, and also other properties like education/employment information, and even a few custom fields. 

We don’t want to bore you with the technical details of how this works (here’s a detailed article if you’re really interested), but all we’d like to say is that this a first-of-its-kind for the industry.

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The future of alumni relations and fundraising

Almabase and Blackbaud continue to work towards a larger objective – unifying advancement teams with modern digital tools that unlock higher alumni engagement and better fundraising. 

Having inked this partnership, we’re making a bold prediction – the industry is stepping into a new age of alumni relations and fundraising. One where your alumni will be at the heart of your programming. Advancement teams need to take a value-driven, engagement-first approach if they want to build stronger relationships.

Homecoming or Alumni Weekend days are one of the most significant events in an institution's calendar. These are opportunities to create memories and meaningfully engage with alumni across age groups, gather up-to-date data, as well as build lasting relations, hoping they’ll come back later for another milestone event.

As an advancement professional, we understand that you’re constantly looking for ways to improve engagement, retention, and fundraising drive.

Here's how some colleges leverage their creativity to make the most out of their homecomings and alumni weekends/reunions.

1. Robert Wesleyan College

The Robert Wesleyan College Homecoming is a weeklong extravaganza of all things fun.

They have an exciting array of events planned for alumni and students alike, from live music performances and soccer games to reunions and awards ceremonies.

They also have panel discussions on navigating your next career change for middle-aged alumni, brunch and campus tours for older alumni celebrating their 50th reunion, and giant lawn games and an inflatable obstacle course for the younger ones. Truly alumni-centric!

But don't take our word for it—just look at all these events.

2. Greenwich Academy

Everyone knows a party is all the more fun when you’re around someone you know. Similarly, the most effective way to get more alumni to attend your event is to ensure you know who else is attending.

Greenwich Academy leveraged this and displayed who else is attending the event by class years. This created FOMO for those who couldn’t attend and encouraged more alumni to show up!

3. College of Idaho

Yes, that was our reaction to seeing the Homecoming schedule of the College of Idaho.

When all of us were on a break from the real world, cooped up at home in 2020, the College of Idaho hosted a friends-themed Homecoming - “The one where everyone stays home.” They were on point, from the color schemes to the events and messaging!

4. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics

Institutions often struggle to build and maintain a consistent relationship with their alumni. In an interesting response to this problem, NCSSM encourages alumni to volunteer as class representatives. These reps serve as ambassadors, help bridge the communication gap between the alumni office and alumni, and encourage their peers to participate.

You can see how they did it, here.

5. University Of The Ozarks

Homecoming is an exciting event for students, alumni, and parents alike. Homecoming 2020 at the University of The Ozarks struck the perfect balance of events for all its constituents through an amalgamation of three major events that are celebrated at the University - Alumni Weekend, Family Weekend, and Homecoming.

6. Trinity University

Trinity University’s Alumni Weekend is a three-day spectacle full of activities that host anywhere between 1000-1500 alumni across all age groups. They host their signature event -Block Party Reunions by allocating dedicated space for various class years.

Another cherished occasion when alumni and faculty members can meet is the ‘Fiesta with Faculty’. Alumni can meet former and current faculty members over a drink and enjoy a wonderful afternoon together. They also invite notable alumni writers and artists to participate.

Also popular is Alumni College. Without the grades and tests, it's exactly like going back to school. Who says learning needs to stop at college?

Here’s where you can find their schedule.

7. Misericordia University

We’ve all heard of experts. But have you heard of Axe-perts? The folks at Misericordia University certainly have!

They have been throwing the best tailgates for years, and it has only gotten better this time. Their Homecoming is a mix of fun activities like Axe-throwing, caricature drawing, balloon art, and DJ music that'll keep everyone entertained for hours. They also honor alumni who've done extremely well academically and athletically.
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8. Murray State University

The Alumni Relations team at Murray State, in collaboration with the Campus Activities Board and Racer Athletics, crafted a week-long hybrid homecoming - Healthy at Home(coming).

It included virtual 5k runs, reunions, campus visits, and more. The week's activities had the Racer spirit screaming from every corner. Healthy competition between the students and alumni made their e-sports tournament a huge hit!

9. Evergreen State College

Despite being stuck at home during the pandemic, Evergreen State College ensured its alumni and students had meaningful experiences, through their virtual alumni weekend -Return to Evergreen 2020.

It featured four carefully curated programs (breakout sessions) that bring together alumni and faculty leaders to tackle social challenges through the lens of racial justice and equity. Issues such as wealth inequality, immigration, racism, climate change, and gun violence were integral parts of the talks.

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Want more such ideas for your homecoming? You can watch our latest LinkedIn Live with Ryan Finnelly (Trinity University) and Mike Gombita (Misericordia University) where we spoke about the factors behind a successful Homecoming event.