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Blackbaud recently announced that support for Raiser’s Edge NXT’s database view and related functionality will end on September 15, 2027, affecting several Blackbaud products. These include Blackbaud Online Express and Blackbaud NetCommunity (BBNC). For advancement teams that have spent years building forms, pages, workflows, and other processes around the platform, this means choosing and migrating to a new platform. The prospect can feel like a lot to take on, especially if it wasn't something you'd anticipated.
If you're looking for an alternative, Almabase can help you replace the functionality you currently rely on across these products. We've already covered why teams might be thinking of a move off BBNC and how the main alternatives compare. In this article, we’ll be focusing on what happens once you've made that decision: what the migration process looks like, what your team can expect along the way, and how Almabase approaches the move.
In case you’re evaluating how Almabase stacks up against BBNC, check out our comparison blog here.
There’s also another question that comes up around a platform migration: How much is this going to cost?
This question extends beyond the immediate, visible technical costs. In fact, the technical side of the move might just be the simplest to figure out. It’s the broader, more abstract elements like shifting scopes, changing requirements, or even figuring out the right set of requirements in the first place that could end up costing the most amount of money and time, if not approached thoughtfully.
That's why we want to walk you through the Assisted Fast Pass Migration process upfront: what happens at each stage, what your team is responsible for, what our migration team handles, and where costs may come into the picture. We hope to give you a clear idea of what the move to Almabase will look like before you get started, so there are fewer surprises along the way.
Why transparency matters during a migration
A migration project always begins with an agreed-upon plan. But it’s also very likely that, a few weeks in, you discover a form that needs some additional customization or a request that seemed straightforward seems to fall outside the original scope, on second thought. These are perfectly reasonable hiccups during the migration, but if work is already underway, it could seem harder to understand what you're paying for, and even harder to plan around the rest of the project.
Clear expectations are at the heart of our migration approach, starting with total transparency around what extra requirements cost. With Almabase’s Assisted Fast Pass Migration, each stage gives you a chance to understand what's being proposed, what falls within the standard migration, and where something would require additional work.
Basically, you shouldn't find out about an extra requirement after the work has already been done. Your approval and sign-off comes first. The five steps in the migration process are built around this intention. Let’s get into them.
1. Kickoff: Getting the project off on the right foot
The migration process starts with a kickoff between your team, a dedicated CSM, and an implementation specialist. This is where we get the groundwork in place. This is usually access to your current site, your branding assets, and the dates your team needs to work around.
Another important step here is understanding your calendar and priorities. Your Giving Day, reunion, fiscal year-end, or another major event may determine what needs to happen first and we would be building the migration calendar around it. So, the migration sequence might look a little different for each institution, as each gets to choose which product goes first.
The kickoff is also a chance to flag anything unusual about your current NetCommunity setup.
After years on a platform, it's normal for your setup to have accumulated a few workarounds, custom configurations, or integrations that made sense when they were created. We don't need to solve all of those questions in the first meeting, but we do need to know about them.
That way, we can account for them during the next stage: the inventory. 🤗
Your team mainly needs to provide:
- Key dates and deadlines
- Relevant branding assets
- Access to your existing NetCommunity site
- Any known custom configurations, integrations, or unusual workflows
From there, you can let us take on the heavy lifting.
Your dedicated CSM and implementation specialist work with you throughout the migration, while your team focuses on the decisions and approvals. A migration shouldn't require your advancement team to take on managing a project full time on top of everything else they’re already handling.
Your data doesn't have to wait for the build
Your data migration is handled alongside the rest of the process. Almabase's bi-directional TrueSync integration connects with Raiser's Edge NXT and supports two-way syncing for configured entities and fields, including constituent, event, and gift data.
Admins can also decide which fields update automatically and which should be reviewed before they're pushed or pulled between systems.
That means your team doesn't have to wait until every page and workflow decision has been finalized before thinking about what happens to your data. The data side of the transition can move forward alongside the rest of the migration, with real time decisions being made.
2. Discovery and inventory: weeks one and two
Once kickoff is complete, your implementation specialist carefully starts building a complete inventory of what's currently running on NetCommunity: pages, forms, events, programs, memberships, and other key components of your site.
This process is useful in its own right, especially when taken on by someone external. After years on a platform, it's easy for a site to accumulate things that no one thinks about anymore, simply because they’re too involved in the process. The inventory gives you one place to see what's actually there, anything you might’ve forgotten about, and to make decisions about what needs to move vs what can be left behind.
Probably the most effective part of this is that it's a shared inventory that you can review alongside your specialist. If something looks outdated, doesn't need to move, or needs a closer look, you can flag it before it moves to the new product.
The inventory can surface things like:
- Duplicate or unused event pages
- Old forms or pages that are still live
- Site elements that don't need to be carried into Almabase
- Custom fields and configurations that don’t make sense on the new platform
This idea is to document your NetCommunity site so well that both teams end up on the same picture of what exists and what needs to happen next. The Almabase team handles the actual inventory work, and all you need to do is review the inventory and flag anything that should be changed, removed, or investigated.
3. Sign-off: deciding what moves forward
At this stage, the migration project starts taking on a more defined shape as you decide what you need to bring into Almabase. You and your implementation specialist review the inventory, decide what carries forward, and establish what the finished version should look like.
For each item being migrated, the team, along with you, defines the acceptance criteria before the building begins. If your existing alumni directory has eight fields and three filters, for example, those requirements can be documented as part of the scope. By the end of this discussion, everyone has arrived at the same definition of what needs to be delivered.
This is also where you’ll be able to clearly separate standard migration work from anything that requires additional effort.
If something falls outside the standard scope, you'll know before the work begins:
- What the additional work involves
- What's included and what's excluded
- The estimated effort
- The associated cost
You won’t have to decipher this from the invoice later on, because the work only moves forward once you’ve signed off on the scope.
This is exactly why your input here matters most. The Almabase team handles the building, but it’s you and your team deciding what is important enough to carry forward and what “done” needs to look like, within the standard process or with additional effort layered on.
4. Build and launch: 30 days for each product
Our team takes up building only once you’ve greenlit the scope. Each product gets its own dedicated 30-day track, with the order of products taken up built around your events and fiscal calendar.
This is to accommodate your calendar: giving days, reunions, Homecoming, we’ll build that product first so you’re ready in time for go-live day. If your immediate priority is your broader alumni site, we might begin with building that instead. The point is, even at this pace, you’re not forced to adopt a one-size-fits-all solution. Your implementation team works with you to determine what needs to come first.
The build itself happens on your Almabase pages, so you can review as it gets built while also familiarizing yourself with the new platform.
The timeline typically looks like this:
- 30-day build track: Each product moves through its own focused build.
- Weekly working session: Your team meets with the implementation team to review progress, provide input, and make decisions.
- Training as you go: Your team gets hands-on experience with the platform during the build, rather than waiting until everything is finished to start learning it.
- First launch: The fastest migrations can have their first product live around 45 days from kickoff, depending on the scope and sequencing of your project.
Having the scope agreed upon shows up in smoothness at this point: you can expect fewer decisions to make from scratch during this stage. Your team knows what's being built, your implementation specialist knows what they're working toward, and everything can move as planned, on track.
5. Cutover: moving from NetCommunity to Almabase
As you get closer to launch, the focus shifts from building to making the transition itself as smooth as possible.
The most important part of that is making sure people can still find the things they've been using. Your team receives a redirect map that pairs each carried-forward NetCommunity URL with its new Almabase destination. You'll also want to review where those old links appear outside NetCommunity: your main institutional website, email templates, QR codes, printed materials, and any other places where an old URL may still be in circulation.
The redirect map gives you a clear list of what needs to change and no one has to discover old links one by one after launch.
Before each product goes live, your team gets to review it thoroughly and explicitly approve the launch.
The aim, with these five steps, is to get your Almabase programs ready before your NetCommunity access ends, so the transition remains smooth and doesn't become a last-minute scramble.
What happens when something doesn't fit the standard scope?
Not everything that comes up during a migration falls neatly into the original plan. But there's also an important conversation to be had: what counts as additional scope and what is a limitation in the platform itself?
If something requires work beyond the standard migration scope, that's identified and quoted before the work begins. You can then decide whether you want to take it on.
But if there’s a requirement you have that Almabase cannot support yet, we’ll be fully transparent with you. Essentially, you haven’t asked for too much, we’re just not there yet. Depending on what you need, the team can look at a workaround or determine how the functionality could be addressed after launch.
This conversation is also one of the reasons the earlier stages matter. The shared inventory, defined acceptance criteria, and upfront scoping give everyone a common reference point throughout the project.
That's really the principle behind the entire migration process. You're not expected to know every detail of what needs to happen before the project starts. The process itself is designed to show you those details early, give your team a chance to make the calls that matter, and keep the build moving while minimizing unexpected, last-minute surprises.
Ready to make the move?
A BBNC migration may not have been on your roadmap, but that also doesn't mean it has to become a project that takes over your team's calendar.
With a clear process, an agreed scope, and the right support, you can move the parts of NetCommunity that matter to your team and work for your institution without having to figure everything out as you go. The Almabase team handles the build and migration work, while your team stays in complete control of the decisions, priorities, and final approvals.
And because the scope and any additional costs are addressed before the work happens, you can go into the migration knowing what to expect.
If you're planning your move away from BBNC, let's talk about what it could look like for your institution.
Talk to the Almabase team about your BBNC migration →
Moving from BBNC to Almabase: The Assisted Fast Pass Migration
Blackbaud is sunsetting support for Raiser’s Edge NXT’s database view and related functionality in September 2027. Learn how Almabase replaces your current functionality and how our Assisted Fast Pass Migration makes for a smooth switch without disrupting your campaigns or operations.
Anwesha Kiran
September 10, 2026
12 minutes
A paddle raise (also called a fund-a-need) is a great and simple fundraising format for nonprofits. It is easy to host, fun, and similar enough to auctions that if you have experience in one, you can easily incorporate the other.
All this is to say that, with proper planning, it is one of the most effective ways to get donations for your nonprofit or a particular project.
In this blog, we’ll look at what makes a typical paddle raise work, its benefits, and the essential steps to start hosting one on your own.
What is a Paddle Raise?
A paddle raise, also often called fund-a-need, is a live, direct appeal during a fundraising event such as a gala where donors pledge a financial contribution to a nonprofit, charity, or a particular cause. This is usually done by raising paddles containing varying numbers or ‘levels’, or through bidding devices and software.
Unlike charity auctions though, there aren’t any items or art involved, and attendees will not be bidding on a piece. An ask is made, and donors willing to contribute that amount raise their paddles. Due to the simpler setup and direct contributions, paddle raises have high ROI and are generally considered to be very effective.
How does a Paddle Raise work?
Usually taking place at the peak of the fundraiser, a paddle raise takes around 10-20 minutes (it happens quite quickly). This is typically how it unfolds:
- A designated speaker or emcee gets the event rolling by showing a video or narrating a quick story that introduces and emphasizes the impact of your mission.
- The emcee announces the fundraising target for the night, or if there are multiple causes, the goals for each.
- Tiers of contributions are planned beforehand ($10k, $7.5k and so on), and the emcee starts with the highest tier and works their way down to the lower tiers. When they ask for contributions, attendees express their willingness by raising numbered paddles.
- Volunteers and staff keep track of all the pledges and note it down.
- After going through all the tiers, the pledges are processed, and the total amount raised is announced. Attendees are thanked for their contributions and the event draws to a close.
Now that we’ve gone through what a paddle raise is and how it usually plays out, let’s get to how you can run one of your own.
How to Run a Successful Paddle Raise (Step-by-Step)
While paddle raises are simple enough in concept, they do require proper planning and coordination to capture pledges accurately and create good energy overall.
Here’s how you do it:
1. Pick the right cause/project for your targets and set your targets
Paddle raises are a lot more effective if you can tie them to a specific initiative that makes donors feel like they’re making a meaningful impact. It could be an annual raise for cancer, providing education to underprivileged children, etc.
Set a tangible goal and be clear on where the money goes. Sharing this with your donors builds trust. The goal shouldn’t be so high that hitting it feels impossible. All in all, you want to set a realistic but fairly ambitious figure.
2. Decide the contribution levels or tiers
You should aim for 5-10 levels and make sure it’s inclusive of everyone’s giving capabilities. You can discuss with your pre-committed donors (more on that later) to decide amounts for the higher giving tiers (or conversely for lower giving tiers depending on the situation).
This is where having a regularly updated donor database helps greatly, as you can base your levels off of giving history and data.
A basic example would be to have $15k as the highest tier, followed by $10k, $5k, $2k and so on all the way to $50. Remember that you have to be inclusive, so don’t skimp out on small or micro-level contributions.
3. Pick your emcee or host
The emcee is critical in setting the stage and the energy before the raise begins. An enthusiastic crowd can make a massive difference in contributions. If possible, hire a professional emcee who has been on the mic for other charity events before. You know your donors best; use that knowledge to pick out a host that can connect with them and elevate the room accordingly..
Alternatively, if your organization has deep ties with the attendees, you could consider a leadership figure (directors, chair, etc.) for familiarity. Of course, they need to be a good orator as well.
4. Decide the schedule and script
Since a paddle raise is relatively short, decide when the paddle raise should take place during your fundraising event or gala. You should aim to host the raise during the peak of the fundraiser, when everyone is energetic and receptive to instructions from you or your host.
Come up with a script, including your opening statement, tier announcements, anecdotes, and expressing gratitude at the end. Have alternative scripts ready for different scenarios since you can’t always predict if you’ll hit your target, overshoot it, or come close.
5. Pick the right tools for your event
You can choose to host your paddle raise with either physical paddles or through bidding software, though incorporating the former is heavily recommended.
You’ll need to assign numbers to each attendee and give them a paddle with the corresponding number. When a certain giving tier is called out, they can choose to pledge that amount by raising the paddle while volunteers keep track of it.
If you’re opting for a digital process, look for mobile-friendly bidding platforms. There are some other options as well like scanning QR codes to pledge. However, keep your attendees’ preferences in mind and try to find a balance between their experience and your team’s feature set. This is important, since the bidding and giving data will need to be synced to your CRM.
6. Running the paddle raise itself
When opening your event, it helps to set the energy high. Start with the mission statement and targets you set earlier. Here’s where the emcee does the heavy lifting. Videos and stories with emotional angles work really well at establishing a connection with your donors and creating empathy for your cause. If you have first time donors in the mix, a quick explanation of how the paddle raise works would also be helpful.
Make sure your volunteers are in place to clearly record everything. The emcee announces the levels in succession, starting with the highest one and working their way down.
Seeing major contributions right at the start might encourage the others to go beyond what they had originally planned. Make sure that the emcee acknowledges and celebrates pledges briefly for each tier before moving on to the next one.
How your staff records the pledges is up to you. You can use an app, spreadsheets, or simply pen and paper. Choose whichever would be the most convenient and accurate for your team.
7. Gratitude and stewardship
After going through all the levels, tally the total amount raised and announce it as the event draws to a close. Celebrate the impact everyone has created on the day. Tying the money raised to a tangible outcome (for example, 50 scholarships granted for struggling children, or feeding 100 people) creates even more positivity and really drives home a sense of accomplishment and giving.
After your fundraising event, follow up with your attendees to collect the pledged amounts, preferably within a day. Include key details like their paddle number, amount they pledged, and multiple payment options. Thank all the participants, regardless of whether they donated or not.
A Few Tips to Enhance Your Paddle Raise
Here are a few extra things to ensure you get the most out of your paddle raise(s):
- Pre-committing a handful of donors: Reach out to some of your long time supporters, and ask for an early commitment to a particular level, especially the higher ones. Hesitation in the opening rounds of the raise can affect the overall contributions negatively. When attendees see paddles being raised immediately even at higher tiers, it gives them confidence to donate more.
- Host it at the right time: If your paddle raise is part of a larger fundraising event (as is most common), avoid doing it right after a meal break when attendees are a bit languid, or at the very end of the event when a lot of them have left already.
- Celebrate milestones during the raise: Every time you get significantly closer to hitting the day’s target, celebrate it. For example, if your goal is to raise $30000, then announce and celebrate when the contributions reach $5000, $15000, maybe hit a gong at $25000, and so on. Also, make sure to recognize all contributions, big or small, with equal excitement.
Almabase - A Powerful Tool for Hosting Your Paddle Raise
At its core, a paddle raise is fairly simple. But behind that simplicity is a lot of manual tracking like volunteers noting down pledges, someone tallying totals, and follow-up calls or emails to actually collect what was pledged. This is usually where a platform like Almabase can take some of that load off your team.
Instead of clipboards and spreadsheets, Almabase gives you a real-time dashboard of the event as it unfolds, so pledges don't need to be re-entered after the fact. Since collecting payment is often the trickiest part, you can also capture a guest's card at registration and charge pledges automatically once the raise wraps, rather than chasing donors down individually.
A couple of other things worth mentioning: contributions can be routed straight to the fund or project they were raised for, and everything syncs directly with your CRM so your donor records stay accurate without extra data entry.
None of this replaces a great emcee or an emotionally engaged room, but it does mean less time spent staring at numbers, and more time celebrating what you raised.
Request a personalized demo to see how this would look for you!
How to run a successful paddle raise (fund-a-need) at your event
Learn what a paddle raise is, how you can run one successfully, as well as a few tips to make your paddle raise stand out.
Hari Govind
September 4, 2026
12 minutes
Modern donors expect deeply relevant, personalized communications, especially when it’s alumni hearing from their alma mater. Generic messages won’t cut it, but it can also be difficult to make your appeals stand out when you’re making the same ask every year. To develop annual fund appeal letters that drive revenue and deepen relationships, you need a strategic approach.
Annual fund appeals succeed when they have refined messaging, emotional resonance, and enough variation to win donors’ support outside of flashier, major campaigns. In this post, we’ll explore a few key ways to elevate your university’s next ask.
1. Center Authentic Student Storytelling
Donors give to people, not institutions, making personal narratives one of the most effective fundraising and marketing strategies you can use. By shifting the focus from university-wide achievements to the tangible success of individual students, you foster a direct emotional connection with your audience and demonstrate the real, lasting impact of their donations.
Instead of relying on generic asks for annual fund appeal letters, incorporate the stories of individual students and the scholarships and programs that empower them to thrive. For instance, you might share how a first-generation nursing student used a grant to complete their clinical rotations, or include a quote from a scholarship recipient about how attending your university made their dreams a reality.
No matter how you incorporate storytelling into your appeals, Meyer Partners recommends using the three R's of storytelling to make them as impactful and ethical as possible:
- Resonance: Every story should include real, humanizing details that resonate with donors. Let students tell their stories in their own words, and pair testimonials with photos whenever possible.
- Relevance: Make sure the donor can clearly understand their role in the story. Use donor-centric language that appeals directly to supporters’ values, inspiring them to become the changemakers who support the next generation of students.
- Respect: Respect both your readers and your storytellers by maintaining authenticity. Be direct and honest about what donations can achieve, and always focus on positive emotions like empowerment rather than guilt or scare tactics.
Incorporate these stories into multiple elements of your annual fund campaign to ensure maximum visibility and consistency. For example, you might include quotes from a student in your direct mail appeals, then post a selfie video of the same student telling their story on social media.
2. Highlight Impactful Giving Opportunities
To maximize revenue and increase average gift sizes, ask for more than standard, one-time cash gifts in your annual appeal letters. Offer additional giving options that provide greater flexibility and can increase donors’ long-term impact. These opportunities are often more compelling, especially for young alumni looking for accessible options and for high-capacity donors looking to make the most of their donations.
Specifically, use your annual appeals to highlight opportunities like:
Matching Gifts
The easiest way to make supporters’ donations go further is to double them. Typically, donors can double the impact of their gifts at no extra cost in one of two ways:
- Your university offers a matching donation challenge. Organizations often partner with a major donor who commits to matching every dollar donated within a set timeframe, up to a certain amount. These challenges motivate individual donors to give urgently so they don’t miss out on the match.
- Donors request corporate matching gifts from their employers. At any time, donors who work for participating companies can independently request matching donations from their workplaces. If the request meets the employer’s guidelines (e.g., a donation between $10 and $100 to a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit), they’ll match their employee’s gift.
Either way, donation matching is a powerful motivator, especially during year-end giving season. Feature matching gifts prominently in your annual fund appeals, explaining how to participate and why these donations are so impactful.
Recurring Giving
Imagine you’re a recent graduate just starting your career and trying to pay off student loans. You wouldn’t want to donate $1,000 to the university you left last year, but it might be feasible to give $20 a month. In this case, you’re much more likely to respond to an appeal that highlights recurring giving.
Recurring gifts offer a more manageable opportunity to support your university while deepening donor relationships. In your annual fund appeal letters, include the option to give monthly and provide several accessible donation tiers.
Legacy Giving
Plant the seed for long-term support by introducing planned giving and bequest options in your annual appeals, too. These avenues empower alumni to leave a lasting mark on your institution without requiring an immediate, large-scale donation.
Even if most donors aren’t ready to commit to a legacy gift right now, just including information about planned giving in your appeal can get them thinking about it. Include links in emails and QR codes in direct mail letters so supporters can easily learn more on your university’s website or request a meeting with your major gifts officer. Note each donor who shows interest in the program so you can cultivate the relationship over time.
3. Leverage Donor Data for Highly Personalized Appeals
The best fundraising strategies reflect the unique relationship each supporter has with your university. Highly personalized appeals show each donor that you value them as an individual and respect their unique contributions.
Use your donor and alumni data to tailor your asks as much as possible. Go beyond addressing recipients by their preferred names—reference their specific past involvement, giving history, and personal connections to the university. Acknowledging that an alumnus was on the debate team or that a donor consistently supports the engineering department validates their identity and gives them clear, specific reasons to give again.
Segment your donor lists in several ways to maximize relevancy, and regularly audit your donor database to ensure all contact information and engagement records are accurate before sending appeals.
If you aren’t sure how to best segment your audience, hone in on the highest-value potential donors, or match supporters with the right requests, consider professional donor analytics services. Experienced fundraising consultants who specialize in data analysis can help you optimize your strategy for this year’s annual fund appeal and well into the future.
An effective annual fund approach relies on deep personalization, authentic narratives, and a variety of flexible giving options tailored to your audience. Upgrading the underlying strategy of your communications with these tips will help you build stronger relationships with alumni and secure the financial future of your core programs.
3 Ways to Build a Better Annual Fund Appeal for Higher Ed
Asking for donations to your annual fund can feel repetitive, but your appeal letters shouldn’t be. Learn how to develop better annual fund appeals here.
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Alyssa Jefferies
September 3, 2026
12 minutes
LinkedIn continues to stay relevant for alumni outreach in 2026 as it is one of the most comprehensive self-updating directories from an advancement standpoint. Over 50% of LinkedIn’s user base holds a higher-education degree, and ~53% of US college graduates are active on the platform.
That means your alumni not only present but also likely engaging with a variety of content. But as far as reaching out to them goes, being present on LinkedIn and being reachable are two different things, and the wrong outreach strategy can disinterest or even alienate alumni.
In this blog, we’ll go through whether LinkedIn is worth your time for alumni outreach and how you can get your alumni’s attention effectively.
Is LinkedIn outreach worth the investment?
Let’s start with understanding why LinkedIn is different from the other channels
LinkedIn InMail gets a 10–25% response rate while cold email, by comparison, sits at 1–5%. The platform’s natural context is also a big factor here because when an alum receives an InMail from their alma mater, it’s in a different environment to when they’re sorting through personal emails and family messages. They log on to LinkedIn with a certain mindset, which makes them more open to professional conversations.
LinkedIn also gives outreach teams more context about who they’re reaching before they begin the process such as:
- Where an alum works currently
- What they’ve recently posted
- What groups and communities they’re in
- Who the common connections are
That’s a lot of helpful material to tailor the first message that will hopefully be the start of a donor’s journey. Combine all of this with the social media nature of the platform and you get a channel that has a lot of potential if you approach it right.
LinkedIn Alumni Outreach Strategies
Now that we’ve established that LinkedIn is at least worth a look, let’s set your team up for success so that your messages don’t go ignored.
1. Build an Active Presence Before You Send a Message
Advancement teams (and most teams in any field, to be fair) tend to treat LinkedIn outreach the same way they’d treat a cold email campaign. They find the person, write the message, hit send, and hope for the best.
But LinkedIn is, at it’s core, a social network. Your alumni notice who’s following you, who’s commenting on your posts, and whether your institution has a solid presence on the platform. If your university’s LinkedIn page hasn’t posted in months and the last post was a stock photo of a campus building, it hurts your cause already.
Before you start an outreach campaign, make sure you tick all these boxes::
- First, make sure your institution’s LinkedIn page is active. Posting once per weekday helps you reach 60% of your followers in a month. You should be aiming for consistent presence over viral content.
- Secondly, look for mutual connections, a shared connection increases reply rates by 27%. If a colleague or another alum is already connected,
- Thirdly, follow the alum you plan to message and leave a genuine comment on something they’ve posted. If possible, build and nurture your online relationship with them. You should be looking to gain a follow-back. This can be crucial since alumni who already follow your institution are 81% more likely to respond to your InMail.
2. Build a Segmented List
Use your CRM along with LinkedIn's alumni search tool to understand who you will be sending your messages to. Many alumni engagement tools also allow you to better find, segment, and automate outreach to the right people.
The segmentation itself will be crucial as personalization is a big part of making your message stand out (as we will explain later), so take your time and make sure all your segments and alumni information is updated, synced, and ready to go.
3. Get the Subject Line Right
LinkedIn InMail by default gives you a 200-character subject line limit. When an alum receives your InMail as a notification, they see roughly 25 to 40 characters before the preview cuts off.
For this reason, short, specific, and personalized subject lines can work really well. For example: “A quick question from [University]” or “Connecting with [Name] re: mentorship”.
What won’t work on the other hand, is anything that sounds like a mass email campaign. Something like “Exciting news from the alumni office!” might feel generic or may confuse recipients.
4. Keep the Message Short and Simple
LinkedIn’s own data shows that InMails under 400 characters get higher response rates. Many institutions sometimes write messages much longer than this and have their messages scrolled past.
For your first message, your alums only need enough to understand what you’re asking and if it's worth their time. If you have more context to give and more reasons to say why this outreach matters, that can follow later.
Write a ~300-character message that asks one clear question. The message can address the basics such as who you are, why you’re reaching out, and your one specific question.
5. Personalize Beyond the Name
Alumni can tell if a message was written for them or if someone just replaced a mail merge field, so you’ll want to go further than just swapping people’s first names. Here’s a few things that might help with personalization:
- Spend a couple of minutes on the alum’s profile; personalized InMails increase acceptance rates by about 40%, according to LinkedIn data. Mention a recent post they made, a project they were publicly credited for, a career transition they just went through, or a shared connection.
- Find a good natural connection between what you discover about them and what you’re reaching out about. If you’re inviting them to a career mentorship panel and they’ve been posting about early-career development, mention that. If you’re reaching out around their 10-year graduation anniversary, you definitely want to acknowledge it.
- Avoid mentioning generic and obvious things like “I see you graduated from [University].” Good personalization shows you’ve paid attention to their life after graduation and you have a brief window that you want to make the most out of, especially for less-engaged alumni.
6. Templates for Common Outreach Scenarios
Here are some templates that you could borrow and build on to personalize your next outreach message on LinkedIn:
General reconnect:
"Hi [Name], congrats on the move to [Company]. I'm on the alumni relations team at [University]. We're putting together a small group of alumni at your career stage to get some honest input on our programs. Would a 15-minute call work?"
Mentorship opportunity:
"Hi [Name], I work in alumni relations at [University]. Saw your recent post on [topic] and thought you'd be a great fit for our mentorship program. We're matching alumni with students in [field]. Would you have 30 minutes to hear more?"
Upcoming event:
"Hi [Name], I'm with alumni relations at [University]. We're hosting a small dinner for [City] alumni on [date] and wanted to make sure you were on the list. Can I send you the details?"
Giving day:
"Hi [Name], [University]'s giving day is [date]. This year all gifts are going toward [initiative]. Wanted to reach out personally before things kick off. Can I send you a bit more context on what it supports?"
What each of these has in common is one clear ask and customization that shows the sender did their homework before reaching out.
7. Time Your Outreach Well
LinkedIn data shows that Friday and Saturday see 4% and 8% fewer than average responses, respectively. Your alumni may want to relax and disconnect from the professional world on the weekends, so Monday through Thursday is a good window. However, depending on your event calendar, and past alumni engagement data, this can vary a bit so do double check!
Going back to the mentioned window, Sprout Social's analysis of nearly 2 billion engagements across major social platforms points to Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., as LinkedIn's peak activity window. That's when professionals are most actively checking and responding on the platform, so it's your best shot at being seen before your message gets buried.
8. What to Do When Alumni Reply
Your next message after an alum replies sets the tone for the entire conversation that follows and the subsequent relationship. So here’s a few things to keep in mind:
- Reply quickly, ideally within a few hours of seeing their response.
- Thank them by name and reference something specific from their reply.
- Remember that this is a conversation on a social platform.
The goal should be to establish that your team and, by extension, your institution has a real interest in keeping in touch with them after graduation. For this reason, you’ll want to:
- Find out what they’re working on.
- Ask follow-up questions.
- Make it clear that there is no immediate ask attached.
💡This doubles as an opportunity to get updated information in case their profile information hasn’t been updated in a while.
Alumni who are connected to their institution are 23 times more likely to donate than those who aren’t. That connection, however, has to be built through consistent, genuine interaction over time. So, when it’s time to make an ask, it’s coming from the context of the conversation.
Build a LinkedIn Alumni Community (and not just another contact list)
At the end of the day, one-on-one outreach can only take you so far. Advancement and alumni relations teams that are able to keep alumni engaged are also building environments where alumni feel like they want to stay engaged.
If we are sticking to the platform at hand, LinkedIn Groups are a great way to do this. You can organize alumni groups around:
- Your institution
- Graduation cohorts
- Academic departments
- Regional chapters
- Donor groups
- Matching gift opportunities
…and much much more
AdvancementForm looked at what the institutions running active alumni groups have in common. Here are the main takeaways:
- Stay active every day: Keith Hannon of Cornell University shared that two-thirds of alumni relations professionals running thriving LinkedIn communities log in daily. That includes posting, answering questions, responding to comments, and engaging with what other members are sharing.
- Give alumni the spotlight: Spotlighting a graduate's career achievement or resharing something they wrote brings their audience into your content. Even the simple act of tagging alumni where needed will ensure that their network is notified as well.
- Share career resources such as job postings, industry reads/insights, career advice for alumni at different stages and make sure they are updated frequently. This is the content that consistently performs well as it provides a clear reason to engage.
- Mix up your content formats: Posts with images get a 98% higher comment rate than those without, and posts with YouTube videos (that play directly in the feed) get a 75% higher share rate. Varying your formats will keep the feed from feeling like a broadcast channel.
- Ask alumni to help current students: Academic Impressions flags this as an especially meaningful way to engage alumni because it gives them an opportunity to give back give back, even without a financial element. Posting something like "What do you wish someone told you in your first year in [industry]?" gets replies from alumni who would otherwise never comment on, say, an event announcement.
- Run polls: Lebanon Valley College asked their alumni "What career field are you currently in or looking to enter?" and it sparked a lively, ongoing discussion among their alumni. Polls can be a great icebreaker and contextualizing them to recent events, career stages, or other segmented needs is even better!
- Add in the nostalgia angle: Questions and posts about campus memories or institutional history give alumni interactive content that serves as a break on their feed from the usual LinkedIn content while also reminding them of why they feel connected to their school.
Finally, if you're thinking about content ratios, keep it weighted toward value-first content, career resources, alumni recognition, and conversation, with campaigns and event promotion playing a supporting role, not leading the feed.
Measure Your Progress and Know Your Blind Spots
You need to know whether your efforts are paying off. So, if you’re running structured outreach campaign on LinkedIn, here are the metrics which will help you track what's working:
- Connection acceptance rate: You generally want to aim for ~20% or above. If you're below that, check whether you're warming up contacts before sending requests and whether your institution's page looks active and credible.
- InMail response rate: With personalized, well-targeted outreach, this should sit between 10–25%. Single-digit numbers are an indication to look at your message length, your subject line preview, and how specific your personalization is.
- Conversation-to-action rate: This tracks what percentage of replies converts into whatever your goal is, whether that’s an event registration, a scheduled call, or a gift.
The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) tracks alumni engagement across four modes: philanthropic, volunteer, experiential, and communications.
LinkedIn activity can feed into your experiential and communications metrics. If you’re not tracking LinkedIn engagement as part of your overall alumni engagement scorecard, you should consider starting now.
A few common blind spots that can be avoided include:
- Reaching out only when there's an ask: If alumni only hear from you around giving day or annual fund season, the outreach feels transactional. Only 27% of alumni who donate give to their alma mater. The most common reason others don't give is because they don't feel connected enough to make it a priority.
- Writing LinkedIn messages like emails: Avoid long messages, formal language, attached PDFs when LinkedIn is conversational. Keep messages short, and the tone conversational.Save the documents for follow-up conversations.
- Ignoring alumni who engage with your posts: When an alum comments on something your institution shared, respond to them, thank them by name, and if appropriate, send a connection request with a brief personal note referencing what they said.
- Not knowing what comes next when someone replies: Replying to a message without a clear next step might waste the opening you had spent time and effort on. Know what you’re trying to accomplish before you send the first message so that when someone replies, you’re ready to take the conversation forward.
Final Thoughts
We hope we’ve been able to give you and your team plenty of things to keep in mind. While LinkedIn outreach may seem like a simple game of numbers at first glance, any outreach campaigns involving social media rarely tend to be so predictable and you definitely want to keep that in mind.
To wrap things up, keep personalization (and segmentation by extension) at the heart of your strategy, have a consistent presence on LinkedIn just as you probably do with Facebook or Instagram, and make sure you are thinking about how to take the conversation forward many weeks ahead of time so that alumni feel appreciated after reacting to your outreach.
If you are looking for an alumni engagement platform to help you plan, execute, and measure your alumni outreach and engagement strategy, Almabase is built just for that so feel free to book a personalized demo with us!
How to Reach Out to Alumni on LinkedIn and Get Responses
Our article takes you through LinkedIn alumni outreach and how your team or institution can ensure that your alumni don't ignore your messages.
Prajnya Yelamali
September 2, 2026
12 minutes
These are both exciting and nervous times for Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States as they go through a tremendous transformation in the way they approach, engage, and stay connected to their alumni. The pandemic almost makes it look like the world has hit the pause button but, for alumni relations professionals who have invested years in building meaningful relationships with their alumni, putting everything on hold is not an option.
Alumni Relations teams at Liberal Arts Colleges are going above and beyond to keep delivering value to their communities with incredibly creative digital engagement strategies. As we looked at the data based on strategies adopted by Liberal Arts Colleges in 2020 so far, we were able to put together some emerging trends.
While the future is still volatile and the long-term impact of the pandemic is highly debatable, here’s a closer look at the 5 emerging trends at Liberal Arts Colleges that are here to stay.
1. Event strategies will be reshaped
Events have always been at the heart of any alumni engagement program at Liberal Arts Colleges but COVID-19 completely transformed the way events are now being approached. As strict social distancing measures make it impossible to host in-person events, the pandemic paved the way for virtual events. A majority of institutions have already adopted this new format and hosted a slew of successful virtual events for their alumni.
While Alumni Relations teams at Liberal Arts Colleges may be embracing the shift to virtual events, most of these institutions are apprehensive about going fully virtual while planning their events calendar for this year. Some feel that virtual events can never substitute the feeling that alumni share at in-person events and also are apprehensive about security concerns such as Zoombombing. However, this new world order is gradually prompting many teams to think differently and explore all options.
So, while Liberal Arts Colleges might not shift to virtual only, 2020 is definitely going to see a lot of them. And, as institutions continue to experiment, events strategy, going forward, will most likely be a combination of both virtual and in-person events - the best of both worlds.
2. New alumni that have never engaged will emerge
As virtual engagement strategies open up new avenues, Liberal Arts Colleges are now able to tap into a wider network of alumni. A large part of traditional alumni engagement strategies involved trying to get alumni back to campus for reunions, homecomings, or chapter meetings. Going to campus for these occasions was only possible for alumni who lived in the vicinity or had enough resources to travel from afar to attend. This way, a large segment of alumni were left unengaged.
However, with the adoption of digital engagement methods such as emails, social media, online communities, and virtual events, Liberal Arts Colleges no longer face this challenge.
Liberal Arts Colleges are now able to target alumni living miles away from their campus and invite them for a virtual reunion or homecoming. They can also easily stay connected to their younger alumni via social media, rally more support for their virtual events or giving campaigns, and build a loyal community online. Alumni relations teams will now see newer alumni that have never engaged in the past start to engage.
3. Fundraising asks will no longer be the same
As a consequence of the pandemic, we saw countless fundraising campaigns getting postponed and cancelled but, on the other side, we also witnessed millions of people expressing their generosity on the global day of unity and giving - #GivingTuesdayNow. While most of the initial fundraising campaigns amidst the pandemic were student emergency campaigns or appeals that urged alumni to donate in kind, this seems to change as we move into the latter part of 2020.
Sure, institutions will still be apprehensive about asking their alumni to donate money but, that doesn’t mean that fundraising will be halted altogether. Here are the 3 major changes in the way Liberal Arts Colleges will fundraise going forward:
1. As things slowly resume to normalcy, fundraising will pick up the pace with one major change - it is not going to be as aggressive as it used to be.
2. As millions of people face pay cuts and undergo furloughs due to the economic crisis at hand, Liberal Arts Colleges will prioritize cultivating relationships and providing value to its community over chasing short-term fundraising goals.
3. Liberal Arts Colleges will continue to garner monetary support from their alumni but, the intent will change. 2020 and the future will see institutions urging their communities to come forward in order to support their alma mater and help them raise money to power through the economic crisis.
With the approach to fundraising changing, the outcomes will too. The economic impact of COVID-19 will leave a devastating impact on the total dollars raised but, as Liberal Arts Colleges continue to ramp up engagement & value-add services, relationships will grow stronger. While these loyal supporters may not be able to contribute big, institutions will see a rise in participation and the number of volunteers.
4. Valuable on-demand alumni services will be launched
Traditional ways of adding value to alumni included organizing local mixers, career networking events, and workshops on campus but social distancing measures have put an end to all of these in-person activities. As Liberal Arts Colleges strive to keep their alumni digitally engaged and informed, closed affinity groups and online communities play a critical role.
Many Liberal Arts Colleges are adopting creative strategies to drive participation amongst these close-knit affinity groups and encouraging alumni to get more deeply involved. With recent reports showing over 21 million Americans as unemployed, industry based affinity groups will see a massive spike with alumni counting on their peers to navigate the tough job market.
The pandemic has also wreaked havoc on the United States’ mental-health system as the country witnesses a historic wave of mental health problems approaching. While the social distancing norms are creating a lot of mental health challenges, the dire situation of the economy is adding to that stress. Liberal Arts Colleges realize the immense need for alumni to connect virtually to get through these testing times, as a community.
5. Virtual engagement metrics will no longer be ignored
Prior to COVID-19, a lot of Liberal Arts Colleges measured alumni engagement based on a set of parameters such as in-person event attendance or volunteer participation. With the pandemic forcing these colleges to function completely virtually since the past 5 months, engagement metrics have changed.
As alumni outreach initiatives shift to the virtual format, Liberal Arts Colleges are rapidly evolving to measure the outcome of each of these initiatives accurately.
The Liberal Arts Colleges that previously reached out to their alumni once a month via a monthly newsletter, have now ramped up the frequency. Colleges that were inactive on social media now take to Facebook live to announce an upcoming virtual event or a giving campaign. Liberal Arts Colleges are adopting tons of creative ideas to get accustomed to the new normal. Here are some of the virtual engagement metrics that will no longer be ignored:
1. Virtual event attendance
2. Email opens & click-through rates
3. Social media impressions, likes, and shares
4. Volunteer participation measured via online requests
5. Digital donors
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5 emerging Alumni Relations Trends at Liberal Arts Colleges
As Liberal Arts Colleges in the United States go through a tremendous transformation in the way they approach, engage, and stay connected to their alumni, here’s a closer look at the 5 trends in 2020 that are here to stay.
Alumni Engagement
The pandemic has caused job loss across the country. Within advancement, more specifically, it's the alumni relations staff that have suffered the most. We've created this new service to support alumni relations efforts across the country by loaning well trained staff to your institution, at a fraction of the usual cost.
The best team and the best coach can’t win a game of football if they only put 5 players on the field.
Think of us as substitutes, ready to come in whenever you need us, able to help with whatever you need to succeed.
Why do you need additional staff on-demand ?
For every 100 alumni relations staff in 2017, there are only 82 in 2020. An alarming 18% drop in less than 3 years! This data is from a survey done before the pandemic, and we all know that several alumni staff were furloughed or laid off since then. [Source: 2020 VAESE Alumni Relations Benchmarking Study]
At this rate, the alumni relations profession is under threat. If you don't act now, all the incredible work done to engage your alumni over the years will be undone very soon and it would take years to get back on track.
Your current budget doesn’t allow you to hire additional full time staff members. Our on-demand staff come in at a fraction of the cost, and are already trained, so you don’t have to spend much time and money on recruitment & training.
How does this work?
What services are provided ?
Here's a list of specialized services that we provide. If you have a requirement that is not covered here, just let us know and we'll be happy to discuss it. We are flexible to work on anything that is helpful for alumni shops.
Ongoing Services
Monthly email newsletters
We’ll design the newsletters based on your branding, iterate with your team, and send it out on time every month. This includes creation of the template, designing graphics, and the underlying software to send out the newsletters. We will hunt valuable articles from the internet based on your theme if you would want those included but we will not write specific articles for you.
Alumni spotlight program
We will reach out to alumni, research the internet, to find stories from alumni that are worth highlighting to the community and get them published wherever alumni can see them. We’ll setup the interviews with alumni and share a template but the interviews will be conducted by you. The underlying software is included.
Mentorship program
We'll handle end-to-end management of the program once the goals are agreed upon. The underlying software, marketing of the program, signing up mentors and mentees, matching the right pairs, ensuring conversations happen, measuring outcomes, etc.
Class notes program
This can be combined with the alumni spotlight program or managed independently. From designing the forms and marketing collateral to organizing the responses and distributing them to alumni, we will run the program end-to-end. The underlying software comes included.
One-time services
Data enrichment
You provide list of alumni records with current info from your database, and the list of details you are interested in adding to those records. Our staff will do the research to find you updated data of those alumni.
Converting yearbooks to spreadsheets
You provide us images/PDFs of your yearbooks and we’ll convert the data from there into spreadsheets so that you can import it back into your database.
Alumni surveys
End-to-end management of the program. We’ll start with consulting on the outcomes and figure out how to structure the survey based on best practices. Then we’ll reach out to all your alumni with well-designed communications for maximum participation. We’ll also create beautiful dashboards to present the data easily to your boards and presidents.
Marketing collateral
We’ll have a designer work with you to create graphics, spruce up your webpages, events pages, fundraising campaigns, etc. based on your branding.
Virtual event management
Once an event is decided by your team, we will create the event page, run the marketing with specific attendance goal across email & social media, approve/disapprove registrations, provide regular reports of attendance, and finally import the data into the database. The underlying events software is also included.
Alumni awards program
Once we agree upon award categories and nomination criteria, we will create the marketing collateral, run the process of collecting nominations, conduct surveys, and provide all the information necessary for the committee to pick the winners. We will not conduct the actual awards program itself.
Data Analysis
You will provide us raw data for our data analysts to analyse and provide reports back to you so you can draw insights out of it. This can be used for donation data, engagement data, etc.
How do you avail this service?
We are starting off with an early access program with just 10 institutions so that we can work closely with them and deliver success before allowing more institutions to join. Institutions that are part of the early access program can avail these services at half the regular price.
If you're interested in applying to the early access program, please submit your information here immediately.
By submitting your information, you are indicating interest and this does not require you to purchase the service.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can you coordinate with these external staff?
Our staff will send you email updates regularly so you are always aware of how we are progressing. You are also allowed to schedule phone calls with the staff you hire.
How does the refund policy work?
We charge upfront for the service based on the agreed proposal. At the end of the work, if you feel like the work did not meet your expectations, we will refund the full amount you paid for that specific service. Almabase is the world’s most loved alumni management software, because we understand how to treat our customers with respect. We are confident in our ability to deliver high quality service to exceed your expectations.
Can you end the service anytime?
Yes. Although there is a minimum commitment period for recurring jobs to ensure the expectations are fair on both sides, we are able to cancel anytime and refund pro-rated for any extra amount you have paid upfront.
How do we ensure that there is no misuse of alumni data?
We’ve worked with hundreds of institutions over years and understand the need for a high level of privacy with your alumni data. Our staff are trained to get your approval before sending out any communication to your alumni. Nothing goes out without your approval. We also ensure that data is not misused by these staff using industry standard privacy policies.
What kind of work is not done?
Firstly, we only work with alumni relations and development offices at educational institutions. Our staff are trained for that.
We also cannot provide staff who are available in-person. All our staff are available only remotely. So we cannot work on anything that requires a person to be available at a specific location.
You are an existing Almabase customer and already have an account manager assigned. Will that change?
An account manager’s job is to understand your challenges and provide the best possible solution. If you already have an account manager within Almabase who is helping you with the Almabase software, then that person will continue to work with you on this service too.
You need help but you don't see the service listed here.
When you submit your information above, let us know what help you need. One of our experts will get on a call with you to understand your needs and suggest the way forward. Our services are not just confined to what we have listed above.
Even if we cannot help immediately, we’ll certainly keep that in mind for future or point you in a direction where you can get the help you need.
Alumni Staff as a service: Access well-trained staff on-demand for your alumni programs
Get access to Almabase's on-demand alumni staff. Pay a fraction of the cost, for highly skilled alumni relations staff. Build, manage, and grow your alumni program.
Product updates
Engaging alumni has been a critical part of your alumni programming but, the bigger question here is - how many of these initiatives are truly accessible to every single one of your alums?
Traditional alumni engagement initiatives include organizing local mixers, career networking events, and workshops on campus but 2020 has put an end to all of these in-person activities. While these initiatives will continue to be an integral part of your alumni program in the longer run, the one downside that has become evident in these past few months is that they’re not accessible to everyone.
If your programming involves quarterly class reunions on campus or Friday night happy hours at a nearby club, alumni who live far away are most likely to miss out. Also, some of your busier alumni might not have enough time to come to your in-person event and some may not see enough value in providing their services as a mentor. Various factors such as location, time, and the right value are crucial in defining how accessible your alumni programming is.
As advancement teams increasingly need to think out of the box in order to penetrate wider segments of alumni, institutions have found the perfect way to make their alumni programming more accessible to everyone - On-Demand Alumni Programs. On-demand alumni programs are services that any alum can access from anywhere, ideally anytime they want.
As 2020 throws one curveball after another, here’s a closer look at how your peers are fighting these challenges by implementing on-demand alumni programs.
1. Virtual Events
Events have and will always be at the forefront of your alumni programming. However, the pandemic has completely transformed the way alumni events are now being hosted. An increasing number of institutions are choosing to include virtual events in their alumni programming owing to strict social distancing measures in place.
Virtual events allow more flexibility and that’s also a major reason behind this format seeing a huge traction over the last few months. As your alumni mostly stay confined to their homes, time and location are no longer a constraint when it comes to participation. Moreover, events like social mixers and happy hours hosted virtually are also helping institutions provide their alumni with some much-needed respite in the face of rising anxiety and stress due to isolation.
2. Career support networks
Career support networks offer incredible opportunities for alumni and students to interact with one another, increasing the chances of students landing job offers, internships, and finding the right mentors. For your alumni community, a career support network acts as a great source for professional networking opportunities and helps alumni make valuable connections to further accelerate their careers.
With unemployment an ever-looming problem on the horizon for students and alumni alike, career support networks have become even more relevant in 2020. As alumni and students count on their peers and alma mater respectively to navigate the tough job market, career support networks should be a mainstay feature to your alumni programming in 2020.
While traditional job fairs or in-person networking sessions are currently on hold due to the pandemic, institutions have switched to the virtual format to host these events.
3. Alumni Business Directory
Alumni business directories are a great way to empower businesses owned by your community members. These directories are perfect for showcasing your solidarity with budding entrepreneurs in your community and help uplift their efforts by leveraging the power of your alumni network. Not only do these networks help promote local alumni businesses, they’re also super helpful in building avenues for collaboration between alumni business owners.
According to data from Yelp, a platform used widely by local businesses to advertise their services in the US, nearly 66,000 businesses have folded since March 1. Researchers at Harvard believe that the rates of business closures across various markets are likely to be even higher. (Information source: The New York Times)
If the above data is to be believed, investing in an online alumni business directory for your alumni may no longer be an option but a necessity in 2020.
4. Continued learning programs
If your institution believes in providing value to alumni and foster lasting relationships, you have to find ways beyond the traditional. Continued learning programs are a great way to ensure that your alumni stay actively engaged with you long after they’ve left campus.
While you may already have monthly guest lecture programs or seminars where your notable alumni come to campus and share their experiences with invited community members, just imagine the impact of doing all of this virtually. If you share the same resources in an educational webinar, podcast, or video format and live-stream it, or just publish it on your alumni website, your alumni community will be able to access all this information anytime they want, at their own convenience. More importantly, they can always come back to these resources and even re-share them with their own networks, helping you tap into a wider network of alumni.
The best way to identify what learning resources your alumni find valuable is by asking them. You could start by conducting a short survey to gauge their interest in different topics ranging from professional to personal development.
Take inspiration from Fielding Graduate University’s Alumni Association that did a phenomenal job of providing on-demand learning resources to their alumni community in the form of webinars, virtual workshops, and learning guides amidst COVID-19. Head over to Fielding Graduate University’s alumni website to learn more.
5. Online Mentoring Programs
From increasing meaningful engagement to facilitating professional development for your alumni and students, a mentoring program is a great addition to your alumni programming. While some of you might already have this in place, how much of this is truly accessible for every single one of your constituents?
Do you have a mentoring program where your alumni have to visit your campus to talk to students or answer their questions, even if it is for a couple of days in a year? What if this process could be completely moved online adding more flexibility? Digitizing your mentoring program means increased flexibility for both alumni and students as they get to avail the benefits of this program right from their homes at their own convenience.
How to leverage your alumni network
Now that your alumni program is accessible and easy to engage for all your alumni, let’s look at some of the things you can do with it.
1. Alumni engagement and community building
Alumni programs readily lend themselves to alumni engagement strategies. Your emails, newsletters, social media posts, and online communities all combine to keep your alumni engaged while providing a sense of community. What sets an accessible alumni program apart is its ability to provide personalized, two-way communication channels that make alumni feel valued and, therefore, willing to support.
💡Check out how Almabase empowers your alumni relations efforts
2. Fundraising & Philanthropy
Alumni who are actively part of your program are more likely to have a personal connection and sense of loyalty. Nurturing these sentiments is a huge part of any institution’s fundraising strategy. An accessible alumni program should also help you nurture first-time donors and turn them into loyal supporters.
💡 Check out how we helped Boyd-Buchanan School turn alumni engagement into fundraising success.
3. Events & Reunions
Alumni programs provide a pool of well-nurtured contacts and probable volunteers for upcoming events such as your homecoming and reunions, among others. These programs become increasingly important for hosting affinity reunions or special events meant for a specific segment of alumni.
4. Mentorship and Career Services
Your alumni should be able to easily see opportunities to help your next wave of graduates, either by providing mentorships or sharing career opportunities. A well-functioning and accessible alumni program reinforces a sense of lifetime partnership between your institution and your alumni to motivate both alumni and current students to get involved.
5. Curriculum and academic involvement
Alumni are not only stakeholders and supporters but can also be organic partners in shaping your educational programs. Your alumni program could either invite feedback or have a formal structure through, say, an **alumni advisory board** for specific departments or courses. Thesis assistance, curriculum enrichment, and extracurricular assistance are some other avenues through which your alumni program can become a valuable pool of educational partners.
Conclusion
An accessible and well-run alumni program naturally develops into a long-term partnership with a body of loyal supporters and advisors who share a common educational and philanthropic goal with you.
Today, there are a lot of tools and platforms out there that will help you build that partnership and nurture it. If you’re looking for a platform that integrates with your CRM, springboards your engagement, and streamlines your fundraising goals, why not give Almabase a try? 👇
5 ways to make your alumni program more accessible to all your alumni
Looking to make your alumni programming more accessible? Here are 5 ways to make alumni programs accessible in schools, colleges, and universities in the US
Alumni Engagement
If you’ve never heard of the term “on-demand alumni programs or services”, don’t be alarmed. The term in itself is relatively new but, in practice, on-demand services are rapidly becoming a part of alumni programming for advancement teams across the country.
What is an on-demand alumni program?
An on-demand alumni program is one that can be accessed by any of your alumni wherever they want, whenever they want to.
There are two aspects of this, as you can see:
1. Accessibility: Available to everyone
2. On-demand: Available anytime
Both factors are important, but accessibility comes first. The idea here is to avoid building walled gardens when it comes to alumni programming. For example, if you have an alum delivering a guest lecture on campus, how many alumni can actually access it ? Very few. Can other alumni benefit from it if they’re not available at that time ? No. What if you recorded it and made the recording available for any of your alumni to watch, whenever they want. That’s what an on-demand alumni program looks like.
Why is an on-demand alumni program important in 2024?
When was the last time you drove to a Blockbuster store and rented a DVD to watch the latest movie? I bet that thought doesn’t even cross your mind anymore. Today, we access the latest movies and shows on our television, whenever we want to, with personalized recommendations. Netflix’s programs are designed to be accessible and available on-demand to all its consumers. It’s not just the entertainment service industry that has caught on to this trend, this is now a universal phenomenon.
Over 50% adult Americans have used on-demand services in the last year. Every industry is changing. From hailing cabs, to ordering groceries, to even educational courses, we live in an on-demand economy.
Your alumni are the same people who access all those services and programs wherever they are, whenever they want to. So, are on-demand services a part of your alumni programming yet?
How to create on-demand alumni programs?
Making your alumni programs accessible and available on-demand needs a mindset shift from the alumni office. Rather than starting from the staff and programs you currently have, you have to start from thinking about the needs of your alumni.
With alumni at the center, you need to create services and experiences that are available to all your alumni wherever they want, whenever they want to. Think of your staff and programs as resources primarily meant to facilitate these experiences and services.
Let’s go through a couple of examples of how to think about transforming your programming to become available on-demand.
1. Move away from the traditional mentoring programs:
A traditional mentoring program where alumni visit your campus on a couple of days during the year and answer questions that your students have is great but it is not really available on-demand for all your alumni as it excludes those who cannot come to your campus. To make your program more accessible, consider moving the process online. In addition to hosting the mentoring sessions online, you can also publish stories of how different alumni helped different students on your website and make this information accessible to all alumni and students. Digitizing your mentoring program means increased flexibility for both alumni and students as they get to avail the benefits of this program right from their homes at their own convenience.
2. Make useful resources accessible on-demand
If you’re starting an alumni guest lecture program, think of ways to make the resources shared during these lectures - videos and study materials, available for all your alumni and students to consume whenever they want to. You can even organize these resources by topics your alumni care about and market them accordingly. This will now create a valuable set of resources for your alumni to access on-demand.
Conclusion
While on-demand alumni programs are definitely a step up, you shouldn’t expect that 100% of your programming will become available on-demand to all your alumni. There is always space for those events which bring in a limited set of people that are able to drive deeper engagement and so the idea is not to convert every single program.
However, it is important to think about your alumni programs in a truly global way as a default, thereby encouraging more alumni to participate. With the pandemic, everybody has become more comfortable with online participation, and that has created a huge opportunity for alumni shops around the country. Don’t let your institution be late to react lest your alumni start engaging with other organizations that are more accessible.
What are on-demand alumni programs and why can’t they be ignored in 2024?
Read more about on-demand alumni programs & learn how they help in making your alumni programs accessible to all your alumni.
Alumni Engagement
These are both exciting and nervous times for Alumni Relations as schools and universities around the world go through a tremendous transformation in the way they approach, engage, and stay connected to their alumni. The pandemic almost makes it look like the world has hit the pause button but, for alumni relations professionals who have invested years in building meaningful relationships with their alumni, putting everything on hold is not an option.
Alumni Relations teams are going above and beyond to keep delivering value to their communities with incredibly creative digital engagement strategies. As we looked at the data based on strategies adopted by Alumni Relations teams in 2022 so far, we were able to put together some emerging trends. Watch our Alumni Relations Trends for 2022 webinar here.
While the future is still volatile and the long-term impact of the pandemic is highly debatable, here’s a closer look at the 5 emerging trends in Alumni Relations that are here to stay.
1. Event strategies will be reshaped
Events are at the heart of any alumni engagement program but COVID-19 completely transformed the way events are now being approached. As strict social distancing measures make it impossible to host in-person events, the pandemic paved the way for virtual events. A majority of institutions have already adopted this new format and hosted a slew of successful virtual events for their alumni.
While Alumni Relations teams may be embracing the shift to virtual events, most of these institutions are apprehensive about going fully virtual while planning their events calendar for this year. Some feel that virtual events can never substitute the feeling that alumni share at in-person events and also are apprehensive about security concerns such as Zoom bombing. However, this new world order is gradually prompting many teams to think differently and explore all options.
So, while Alumni Relations teams might not have shifted to virtual only, 2022 is definitely going to see a lot of them. And, as institutions continue to experiment, events strategy, going forward, will most likely be a combination of both virtual and in-person events - the best of both worlds.
2. New alumni that have never engaged will emerge
As virtual engagement strategies open up new avenues, Alumni Relations teams are now able to tap into a wider network of alumni. A large part of traditional alumni engagement strategies involved trying to get alumni back to campus for reunions, homecomings, or chapter meetings. Going to campus for these occasions was only possible for alumni who lived in the vicinity or had enough resources to travel from afar to attend. This way, a large segment of alumni were left unengaged.
However, with the adoption of digital engagement methods such as emails, social media, online communities, and virtual events, Alumni Relations teams no longer face this challenge.
Institutions are now able to target alumni living miles away from their campus and invite them for a virtual reunion or homecoming. They can also easily stay connected to their younger alumni via social media, rally more support for their virtual events or giving campaigns, and build a loyal community online. Alumni relations teams will now see newer alumni that who never engaged in the past start to engage.
3. Fundraising asks will no longer be the same
As a consequence of the pandemic, we saw countless fundraising campaigns getting postponed and cancelled but, on the other side, we also witnessed millions of people expressing their generosity on the global day of unity and giving - #GivingTuesdayNow. While most of the initial fundraising campaigns amidst the pandemic were student emergency campaigns or appeals that urged alumni to donate in kind, this seems to change as we move into 2022.
Sure, Alumni Relations teams will still be apprehensive about asking their alumni to donate money but, that doesn’t mean that fundraising will be halted altogether. Here are the 3 major changes in the way schools and universities will fundraise going forward:
1. As things slowly resume to normalcy, fundraising will pick up the pace with one major change - it is not going to be as aggressive as it used to be.
2. As millions of people face pay cuts and undergo furloughs due to the economic crisis at hand, institutions will prioritize cultivating relationships and providing value to its community over chasing short-term fundraising goals.
3. Schools and universities will continue to garner monetary support from their alumni but, the intent will change. In future, we will see institutions urging their communities to come forward in order to support their alma mater and help them raise money to power through the economic crisis.
With the approach to fundraising changing, the outcomes will too. The economic impact of COVID-19 will leave a devastating impact on the total dollars raised but, as institutions continue to ramp up engagement & value-add services, relationships will grow stronger. While these loyal supporters may not be able to contribute big, institutions will see a rise in participation and the number of volunteers.
In April 2020, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine launched a network of volunteers, staff, students and alumni, to devote small amounts of time to crowd-sourced work. The institution received overwhelming support from over 1200 volunteers.
4. Valuable on-demand alumni services will be launched
Traditional ways of adding value to alumni included organizing local mixers, career networking events, and workshops on campus but social distancing measures have put an end to all of these in-person activities. As Alumni Relations teams strive to keep their alumni digitally engaged and informed, closed affinity groups and online communities play a critical role.
Many institutions are adopting creative strategies to drive participation amongst these close-knit affinity groups and encouraging alumni to get more deeply involved.
With recent reports showing over 21 million Americans as unemployed, industry-based affinity groups will see a massive spike with alumni counting on their peers to navigate the tough job market.
The pandemic has also wreaked havoc on mental-health systems as we witnessed a historic wave of mental health problems approaching. While the social distancing norms are creating a lot of mental health challenges, the dire situation of the economy is adding to that stress. Alumni Relations teams realize the immense need for alumni to connect virtually to get through these testing times, as a community.
5. Virtual engagement metrics will no longer be ignored
Prior to COVID-19, a lot of institutions measured alumni engagement based on a set of parameters such as in-person event attendance or volunteer participation. With the pandemic forcing Alumni Relations teams to function completely virtually since the past 5 months, engagement metrics have changed.
As alumni outreach initiatives shift to the virtual format, Alumni Relations teams are rapidly evolving to measure the outcome of each of these initiatives accurately.
The institutions that previously reached out to their alumni once a month via a monthly newsletter, have now ramped up the frequency. Institutions that were inactive on social media now take to Facebook live to announce an upcoming virtual event or a giving campaign. Alumni Relations teams are adopting tons of creative ideas to get accustomed to the new normal. Here are some of the virtual engagement metrics that will no longer be ignored:
1. Virtual event attendance
2. Email opens & click-through rates
3. Social media impressions, likes, and shares
4. Volunteer participation measured via online requests
5. Digital donors
5 emerging Alumni Relations trends that are here to stay
Here are 5 emerging trends - reshaped event strategies, young alumni engagement, short-term fundraising, virtual engagement metrics, and on-demand alumni services.
Alumni Engagement
The journey from being a student to an alumnus is a memorable one. Alumni leave their definitive footprints that fuel the growth of their institution or university. And all the alumni who spend a considerable amount of time and money at their institutions would definitely want to feel valued by it.
Let’s be honest, universities and schools attain an impressive social ranking with the help of alumni to attract students from all around the world. Therefore, it becomes essential for institutions to honor their contribution.
And, it all boils down to one thing: communication.
Choosing a mode of communication is a critical standpoint. And sending out genuinely crafted emails can make you the winner. Email marketing is one of the best ways to engage all your alumni. But blasting them with bulk emails is not the road you want to take, for you will just end up annoying them altogether. Moreover, all your emails might just end up in the spam box.
To give you an insight, a well-crafted personalized email makes alumni feel valued than sending the same email with a general template to your entire alumni base.
So, the question is, how can ensure top-notch alumni email open rates and boost your overall email engagement metrics? Here’s your answer:
Segment! Segment! Segment!
You might want to segment your alumni base according to your different target audience. Which translates to segregating your alumni base into different groups and sending out the emails accordingly.
For instance, would you put a 1990 grad who listens to Guns N' Roses and a 2016 grad who listens to Billie Eilish in the same category?
Probably not!
Segmenting your alumni base helps in curating personalized messages according to the target group. It doesn’t matter if you have a small email base, what matters is segmenting it into different groups. It might take some effort in the beginning to sort out the contacts and create separate email lists but the end result will be worth it. And this one-time effort can help you achieve more engagement and open rates.
There are ample email marketing tools that can make this segmentation process a breeze. While many choose to go in for a popular tool like Mailchimp (learn about their new pricing) you can consider other alternatives that provide many refined features at affordable prices.
After picking up the best-in-class email marketing tool, you may make your target lists according to the year, course, subjects, seniority, career/job field, time zone, or more. When you successfully segment your alumni email base, you can work on your key messaging and tone of the content according to the interest level of the target groups.
Pro Tip - Keep updating your alumni email lists at regular intervals
Now let’s hop on to the format of your emails.
Stop Sending All Your Emails in a Newsletter Format
I know. It’s super easy to pick a standard newsletter template, change the content, throw in some pictures, and voila! Your email is ready to send.
Please don’t do this. There are high chances for your email to remain unopened or even land up in the spam box.
With a definitive hike in the number of email marketing software, almost all your alumni must be aware of the “standard newsletter template” you are using daily. Even if you spend a good amount of time writing the content of your email, it might get ignored due to the format you used.
A decent email marketing tool comes with a variety of options and pre-made templates to suit your needs. But don’t go for just any tool, rather, do your research, take free trials, consider your budget, and then carefully make a decision.
Speaking from experience, don’t believe the first thing that shows up in your search results. Choosing a newsletter tool that is tailor-made for niches like schools and universities will go a long way.
Change the format and see the wonders!
Pro tip - Keep a clean design with minimal graphics and a uniform font style to make your email look mature.
Understand the Meaning of Personalized Emails
Crafting personalized emails is an art. And marketers are trying their best to master it. So personalized emails entail three touch-points:
1. Including the name of the recipient as well as the sender
It is recognized as an engaging practice to include the name of the recipient in the subject line. It has a positive effect on the open rate of the email as “Personalized subject lines can increase open rates by 50%” (Source).
While people are accepting this practice, including the sender's name also makes your email more personalized. For instance, include the name, designation, and a picture of the sender to make the email look more authentic. Consider it like an author’s bio.
2. Key messaging and content
You have included the name of the recipient in the subject line and sprinkled it here and there. Now what? How could you make it more personalized?
While sending out weekly updates or monthly newsletters is necessary, you may also consider sending birthday wishes, specialized holiday messages, virtual postcards, calendar invitations for alumni events, etc. to add more value and personalization to your email campaigns.
3. Timing of your email
This is a key strategy to follow if you want a significant boost in your email open rate. Your alumni might be all over the world. Then why do you send emails to your entire alumni base at one particular time? Before you say anything, I have come backed by a fact.
To determine top open and click-through rates, research was carried out by sending 21 million messages from US email accounts. The results? If you send messages between 6 am and 12 pm, it would lead to inbox clutter, thereby decreasing the open rates. Following the same, if you want the best results, try sending them out in the early afternoon. (Source)
Pro Tip- Keep a tab on the analytics and messaging style of all your email marketing campaigns and compare them to find the roadblocks.
You have chosen an email marketing tool, segmented your alumni base into target groups, and optimized your subject line, content, and timing. Now it’s time to work on your CTA.
The Art of ‘Call to Action’
The first insight to master this art is to decide the purpose of the email campaign. If you have that purpose clear, you will easily nail the ‘call to action’ phase. Including a lot of options, buttons, and unnecessary links might lead to a lower engagement rate.
Use this mantra: “One purpose, one action”.
For instance, if your purpose is to get maximum contacts for your alumni base or to create an exclusive alumni community, don’t include multiple CTAs like joining in for an event or a donation drive. Keep it for a separate email campaign.
Moreover, don’t keep a complex CTA format. You don’t want your alumni base to jump from one form to another. Rather, keep it a one-step process. This practice would surely pull up your dipping engagement metric.
Pro Tip - You may include a special “What’s ahead” section with one-line information as to what your next email shall entail improving your engagement metric. (P.s.- This needs a lot of planning)
The goal was to paint a clear picture of what maintaining relationships with alumni through email communication entails. And if you follow these touch-points religiously, then you can definitely see a boost in your open rates and engagement metrics.
About the author
This blog is written by Shivani Srivastava. A content marketer by heart, Shivani is passionate about writing anything in the field of the technological landscape. She's written this guest blog for SendX: Email Marketing Software.
How to Improve Alumni Email Open Rates and Engagement
Looking to improve your alumni email marketing campaign? Find the best practices & strategies to boost alumni outreach, email open rates, and alumni engagement.
Alumni Engagement
The graduation season is upon us and it usually brings with itself, accompanying feelings of nostalgia and happiness. As graduates move towards a new chapter in their lives with the blessings of their beloved teachers, graduation is one of the happiest moments in a student’s life.
But, is the world still the same place since the last graduation season?
The upcoming batch of graduates is being deprived of once-in-a-lifetime moments like dancing the night away at their senior prom, walking across the stage to receive the diploma that they spent countless hours of hard work on, and even a chance to simply say goodbye to the people that have been an important part of their lives - friends, mentors, and beloved teachers.
On top of this, these young graduates find themselves thrust into the worst job market in modern history. Many of them have lost their on-campus jobs, internships, and are already witnessing dwindling job opportunities.
Now more than ever, the graduates need to know that their alma mater and alumni have their back. In a post-pandemic world, it is imperative that the university community join hands to help soon-to-be graduates, and eliminate the risk of a lost connection with them.
Here are 5 ways in which alumni can get involved and help the next batch of graduates overcome their unique challenges during these testing times.
Offer one-on-one support to graduates
The post-pandemic world keeps throwing oddballs at all of us, and it’s only natural that your graduates need some additional help. Whether it’s emotional support from a friendly alum or an alum that can offer career guidance, your graduates need all the support they can get to power through this crisis. As the situation at hand is unique, encourage your alumni to go the extra mile and offer one-on-one support to your graduates.
Facilitate direct conversations between alumni and graduates via emails or social media, or create an affinity group to connect graduates with alumni who can cater to their needs. While enabling group conversations is a good approach, in these challenging times, a little one-on-one treatment might go a long way in building deeper connections and imbibing a greater sense of loyalty in your new alumni.
Barcelona Graduate School of Economics facilitates a unique one-on-one chat experience to help graduates, students, and candidates applying to the institution via an online chat platform.
Share job and internship opportunities from their companies
Your alumni network is a valuable resource for your upcoming graduates who are currently on the lookout for job and internship opportunities. These networks also serve exclusive job and internship listings in cases where they’re not widely published elsewhere, giving graduates first dibs. Additionally, having an alum guide these graduates with their job search and provide an endorsement at their companies greatly improves the chances of the latter landing a job offer.
Welcome your future alums with heartfelt video messages
In case your graduates have to miss their traditional end-of-year programming and brace themselves for a plethora of challenges coming their way, it is all the more important that they hear encouraging words of wisdom from their seniors. Urge your alumni community to create short video messages, offering words of encouragement, praises, and congratulations to the young graduates.
Add an element of surprise by getting a star alum to make an appearance on the video.
Read how Carnegie Mellon University roped in 13 high-profile alumni to surprise their Class of 2020 graduates during their virtual conferral of degrees ceremony. Head over to CMU’s website to read more.
Provide virtual job shadowing services
Job shadowing plays a pivotal role in career development and discovery as it helps a graduate gauge and identify their field of interest, assess if they are the right fit for a particular position or industry, learn skills via hands-on experience, network and build relationships with relevant professionals, and receive invaluable career advice from experienced alumni. Give your graduates the opportunity to explore different career-fields and gain real-world experience in the field of their choice by matching them with alumni hosts interested in job shadowing.
You can facilitate job shadowing by using an online network that automatically matches alumni and graduates based on their needs, interests, and other relevant criteria.
Boston College’s Eagle Exchange Job Shadowing Program is an exclusive online platform that matches students with college alumni who serve as hosts for one-day shadowing experiences. Alumni hosts represent diverse industries and job functions. Read more about the Eagle Exchange program here.
Host AMAs on specific topics
As your graduates come to terms with a hostile job market and mourn loss of traditions, there’s so many questions that these new graduates need answered. Provide value to your new graduates by organizing an Ask Me Anything session by roping in expert alumni to answer specific questions. If your graduates are concerned about getting a job in this bad economy, get career specialists in your alumni community on board and schedule an open AMA session to allow your graduates to ask away.
Washington State University Alumni Association’s hosting weekly AMA sessions with alumni employers who are ready to talk to all majors in the fields of arts, science, and health. Head over to WSU’s alumni website to read more.
To the next batch of graduates, hang in there, as this is only the ending of the first chapter of a grand adventure. And to all our incredible partners who are going above and beyond to help and support their young graduates, we stand with you and promise to continue delivering the best ideas and strategies to make your job easier.
How your alumni community can support new graduates
Here are 5 ways in which your alumni community can support the Class of 2020 graduates overcome their unique challenges during the COVID-19 crisis.
Alumni Engagement
For schools and universities around the world, the ongoing coronavirus crisis has shortened the semester and put a hard stop to all planned events and gatherings. The worst hit by this series of events is the Class of 2020 as their final months on campus are snatched away from them and commencement ceremonies either stand cancelled, postponed, or moved online.
These new alumni experience mixed feelings as one of the happiest moments of their life - their day of graduation that they worked so hard to get to, is now replaced with sadness and disappointment over not being able to celebrate this joyous day with friends and family.
As these new graduates launch themselves into the worst job market since the Great Recession, amidst anxiety and fear over revoked job offers and huge loans, your role as their alma mater could define their lives for decades to come.
Here are 5 thoughtful ways to welcome your Class of 2020 alumni to lift their spirits and ease their way through this transition.
Video messages from alumni
One thing that your new graduates would definitely appreciate is hearing from their seniors! Have your alumni community create short video messages to welcome the newest members with the most thoughtful messages, praises, and words of wisdom to encourage them as they embark on a new journey.
Even better, surprise your newest members with a special video appearance from a star alum!
To brighten up the virtual graduation ceremony for their newest alumni brethren, St. Francis High School encouraged its alumni to create short videos to welcome the Class of 2020. The video compilation also included a special appearance by the school’s longtime community member, Fergie, former Black Eyed Peas music band member who dropped in to congratulate the new alumni.
Honor each of your grads with customized yard signs
The Class of 2020 has already been robbed of a conventional commencement ceremony and definitely deserve some extra love and attention. Honor each one of them for the sacrifices they’ve had to make and celebrate their achievements and success with customized yard signs.
Yard signs with pictures of alumni are a unique way to display support for your graduates and publicly announce their accomplishments.
Nicholls State University Alumni Federation arranged to have yard signs made to honor each and every graduating senior and encouraged them to drop by the Alumni House on campus to click a picture with their customized signs. The pictures taken by young graduates were then shared on social media and the memorable souvenirs were later on taken home by alumni.
Bring back memories of the year with a Spotify playlist
Give your new graduates a chance to bond again over music that will forever stay close to their hearts. Have your teachers and students put together a Spotify playlist featuring the Class of 2020’s favourite tracks define their campus experience and surprise them by playing the tracks during their virtual commencement ceremony. Also, make the playlist available via a link on your alumni website.
University of Maryland Alumni Association created an exclusive Spotify playlist to celebrate their Class of 2020. The university also added a link to the playlist on their alumni website.
Dedicate a week of events for Class of 2020
As the Class of 2020 misses their traditional end-of year programming, many schools and universities are hosting virtual events to honor this important milestone in the lives of their new graduates.
North Allegheny School District went a step further and dedicated a week of events to celebrate their new alumni. From a car parade to a virtual dance party, the institution meticulously planned multiple themed events in the spirit of graduating seniors. North Allegheny Foundation, NA Alumni Association, and NASD also started a fundraiser to raise money for this special gift to their graduates.
Get your alumni to offer guidance and advice to support the Class of 2020 through the economic crisis
The job market is extremely hostile and your new graduates are reeling under the pressure of rescinded job offers and canceled interviews. As this crisis unfolds, one way of welcoming your Class of 2020 is by offering them the support of those who’ve had first-hand experience dealing with a similar situation.
Yes, we’re talking about your Class of 2008. While the circumstances may be largely different, your Class of 2008 comes closest to understanding what the Class of 2020 is going through. Make it easy for your new graduates to interact with your graduates of 2008 by creating an affinity group on your alumni website or a community on Facebook or LinkedIn.
The College of Idaho created a closed community on their alumni network inviting graduates of 2008 to help out their newest alumni members. The private community has a total of 341 members.
As the Class of 2020 learns to adapt and overcome the challenges thrown at them, the onus is on schools and universities to ensure that these young graduates come out strong. So, we hope you make the most of the ideas shared in this blog post and welcome your Class of 2020 as alumni to your institution with pomp and gaiety!
5 ways to welcome Class of 2020 alumni amidst COVID-19
The Class of 2020 graduates missed out on their much-awaited traditional send-off. Here are 5 thoughtful ways to welcome your Class of 2020 alumni to lift their spirits.
Alumni Engagement
See how leading institutions put these ideas into action
