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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
Schools around the world invest greatly in building ‘personal relationships’ with alumni but, when it comes to outreach, many often overlook this critical aspect.
Have you also been taking the umbrella approach and using generic messaging for your constituents?
In today’s digital age where we receive hundreds of spam emails daily, the chance of your generic email cutting through the clutter is low.
Let’s look at another situation: would a 1970 grad feel the same way as a 2010 grad about your upcoming K-Pop music night event?
You get my point.
So, what’s the best approach for reaching out to diverse alumni?
Alumni segmentation.
Instead of the usual marketing email blasts, we’ve witnessed schools achieve greater success by incorporating personalized email campaigns for targeted groups of alumni.
Why should you segment your alumni population?
To provide maximum value to alumni
Each segment of your alumni population will have different needs and would engage more with your institution if you catered to those needs. For instance, alumni who just graduated from the university might be interested in internship updates via emails but the same outreach will be ineffective for older alumni who are already well settled in their careers.
To receive maximum value from alumni
Each segment of your alumni population can give back in different ways to the institution. Older alumni who are at respectable positions in their careers are more likely to respond to giving asks. On the other hand, younger alumni who are fresh out of college are more likely to provide value to their alma mater in the form of volunteer support.
What are the different ways to segment alumni?
1. Class Year
Segregating alumni on the basis of class years is a common approach employed by institutions worldwide. Here’s how Samueli Academy, a free, public charter high school in Santa Ana, targeted its Class of 2019 alumni with a personalized email campaign and witnessed increased alumni engagement.
2. Industry
Creating content and valuable resources based on different industries or specialties alumni work in is a great way to keep alumni engaged. This allows alumni to connect and network with fellow alumni for professional development, new business opportunities, etc. Take a look at how Loma Linda School of Medicine creates groups based on its alumni’s work specializations.
3. Affinities & interest groups
Another way to segment alumni is on the basis of shared interests. For example, all former football players can be engaged with content around the current team or exclusive fundraising campaigns asking for their contributions to the sports fund. See how Tennessee State University utilizes affinity groups to segregate alumni based on their interests.
4. Location
Alumni segmentation on the basis of the location is especially of great value when you want to do an event in multiple locations. Some institutions have formal alumni chapters but some also have regional alumni volunteers who help engage alumni in their location.
Take a look at Archer Center’s city-wise alumni chapters below.
How many alumni segments should you create?
While there is no limit to the number of alumni segments that can be created, it is vital to consider these two factors before you get started:
Availability of staff & resources
Some institutions might have a large staff handling advancement whereas some might just be a single-person advancement shop. The number of segments you can handle is largely dependent on the staff members and resources available to manage the unique engagement needs of these groups.
What your alumni relate to the most
The most important aspect of creating an alumni community is identifying what your alumni would benefit from. For instance, if your school had an active photography club, chances are, your alumni would love to reconnect with fellow alumni who were a part of that club.
While all of this may sound overwhelming, alumni community platforms like Almabase can simplify the entire process for you.
Why is it important to segment your alumni population to serve their needs more effectively?
Read how personalized, targeted emails and alumni segmentation can help improve your outreach and boost open and click-through rates for your alumni email campaigns.
Alumni Engagement
Alumni reunions are one of the best ways to get your alumni’s attention. Period.
But, what would you say is the best way to get your alumni’s attention for them to participate in these reunions?
Alumni reunion promo videos, YASS.
The first peek into your upcoming event, alumni reunion promo videos are a great way to capture your alumni’s attention, evoking curiosity and nostalgia. Often, such videos are meant to be a teaser to your main event, giving away only small bits of information and hooking your audience with an incentive to reveal more soon.
Why do alumni reunion promo videos work?
According to a study conducted by Forbes in 2017, viewers are 95% more likely to remember a call-to-action after watching a video, as compared to 10% when reading it in text format.
In addition to videos being the most powerful content format in the digital age, alumni reunion promo videos work because of the high level of personalization involved. A massive benefit of using the video format in your marketing plan is that it’s easy to share via social media channels and personal networks. Even if you have limited alumni contacts to send your promo video to, your alumni can further share it within their networks, influencing a much broader reach.
While promo videos may not actually reveal a lot, they act as the perfect way to set the mood for your upcoming event. Here’s how Greater Atlanta Christian School created an alumni reunion promo video, perfectly capturing the spirit of their upcoming event, Alumni Weekend 2018.
What makes an alumni reunion promo video awesome?
While alumni reunion promo videos sound exciting, there’s a lot of planning and prepping that needs to be done well in advance. From identifying the location of the shoot to the people who are going to feature in it, everything needs to be well thought out.
Here are the key elements pivotal to making an awesome alumni reunion promo video:
1. Feature recognizable and relatable people in your video
Featuring those who are recognizable and relatable to your alumni is critical to your video’s success. You could choose to feature anybody, be it professors, students, or maybe even an influential set of people who your alumni might feel delighted to hear from.
2. Shoot your video on campus
The best location to shoot your reunion promo is your own campus. Shooting the video in multiple locations within your school campus adds a nostalgic factor to it and helps your alumni relate better.
3. Ensure maximum reach
Work doesn’t stop once you’re done creating the video. The next step is to maximize its reach. Ensuring your alumni don’t miss out on this video is integral. Other than sharing it on social media and emails, and encouraging alumni to share it within their networks, try to publicize this video in alumni groups, to reach maximum people.
How to make an awesome alumni reunion promo video
Alumni reunion promo videos are a great way to capture your alumni’s attention. Here are some key elements to making an awesome alumni reunion promo video.
Events
The benefits of alumni reunions can be reaped by schools long after they’re over. Reunions offer alumni the chance to look back at the good old days and also act as a golden opportunity for making lasting relationships with their alma mater and fellow alumni.
While alumni reunions are clearly awesome, ‘when’ you choose to organize your reunion plays a pivotal role in its success.
After observing over a hundred schools organize successful alumni reunions, we’ve finally settled on the end-of-the-year/holiday season as the best time for high school alumni reunions.
When are high school reunions usually?
High school reunions usually happen in the of Summer (June - August) or towards the end of the year (September - November). What works best for your alumni may vary from school to school but we'll make our case on why we think you should consider the latter part of the year.
Why is end-of-the-year a great time for high school alumni reunions?
Whether your alumni live in another state or halfway across the world, the end-of-the-year/holiday season is when they come home for homecoming and to spend time with their friends and family. It is therefore highly likely that your alumni will be in town to be able to attend your event.
With most offices already closed for the holiday season, alumni have abundant time on their hands to socialize and are often in the mood to meet classmates and revisit fond memories.
November (46.2%) and December (30.8%) are the most popular months for making year-end asks, but 7.7% of organizations start as early as September!
- Jeff Gordy
Co-Founder of Z2 Systems, Inc.
Since the end of the year is peak fundraising season, coupling your alumni reunion with a fundraising campaign can be highly effective for your institution. With the holiday season ringing in and alumni meeting up with old friends, there can’t be a better time to ask them to donate toward your cause.
If you're already prepping for your end-of-year alumni reunion for your school, here are some great tips on increasing alumni donations during the event.
Conclusion
While the best time of the year ultimately depends on your alumni base and can certainly vary from year to year, the end of the year lends itself to some great engagement and fundraising strategies that are exclusive to the fall season. If you've mostly been a summer reunion school, we hope you'll give fall a try this year.
Frequently asked questions
When are high school reunions usually held?
High school reunions are typically held 10, 20, or 25 years after graduation, often during the late summer or fall.
What month is best for high school reunions?
September or October are popular months for reunions as the weather is pleasant and schedules are less hectic.
Why is end-of-year a good time for reunions?
The end of the year is ideal because many people visit home for the holidays, making it easier to gather.
Should I plan a summer or holiday reunion?
Plan a summer reunion for outdoor activities or a holiday reunion to coincide with people’s travel and festive spirit.
Why is the end-of-the-year best time for high school alumni reunions?
Discover the best time to host a high school reunion, why end-of-year works so well, and how to turn it into a powerful alumni fundraiser.
Events
If you’re involved in fundraising efforts for your school, chances are you’ve already been hearing a lot about Giving Days. With this year’s #GivingTuesday i.e. December 3rd fast approaching, it’s likely you won’t stop hearing about it any time soon.
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Giving Day was first introduced in 2012 and has since helped institutions around the world boost their fundraising efforts tremendously. A well-planned Giving Day can entirely transform your fundraising approach by helping you acquire new donors, enrich the giving experience, and instill a culture of giving in your constituents.
However, the success of a Giving Day depends not only on planning but equally on its promotion. While there are many ways to promote Giving Days, in this blog post, we’re looking at the 8 most effective ones that have helped our customers achieve Giving Day success.
1. Make your donors believe in your cause
One of the best means for influencing donors is by carefully selecting a cause that they relate to and would most likely contribute towards. Making donors believe in your cause is pivotal to your fundraising efforts. Here’s how Archbishop Riordan High School targeted its alumni by asking them to contribute towards campus improvements.
2. Create a catchy hashtag
If you’re on social media, you obviously know how hashtags can boost your marketing efforts. While #GivingTuesday is a generic hashtag that almost everyone follows during the Giving season, creating a unique hashtag, relevant to your cause is highly recommended. Using your own unique hashtag makes it easier for your community to share your posts on their network, and for you to effectively monitor and further promote your social message. Calvert Hall College High School made great use of a unique hashtag. Check the full post here.
3. Plan ahead with countdown posts
You might have seen a lot of people use countdown posts as a part of their social media marketing plan. They have proven to be highly effective as they help serve as constant reminders for the upcoming event and also arouse curiosity.
Here’s how Scranton Preparatory School got this right.
4. Provide donors with opportunities to actively engage with you
A great way to capture the attention of donors is to create opportunities that influence them to actively engage. Unlike fundraising campaigns that are run over a period of time, Giving Days provide an opportunity for your constituents to donate to your cause within a 24-hour time frame. Other than the sense of urgency already being created, any low-effort activities on your part can help channel your donors toward making a contribution.
For the college’s 3rd Annual All Day Hall Day campaign, Calvert Hall College High School asked its followers on Facebook to show support by applying the All Day Hall Day filter to their profile pictures. Calvert Hall’s followers loved this approach and many took to applying the filter to their profile picture and pledging support to the Giving Day campaign. Here’s how Calvert Hall creatively provided an opportunity for its Facebook followers to actively engage & support the upcoming Giving campaign.
5. Incorporate videos into your social media marketing plan
As of 2022, videos are undoubtedly the most powerful marketing tool.
People gaze five times longer at video than at static posts on Facebook & 71% of people have increased their online video viewing in 2018 alone.
As users on social media increasingly prefer the video format, it is a good practice to incorporate more videos in your Giving Day marketing strategy. Here are some ways in which schools have leveraged videos on their social media:
a. Give a passionate pitch to donors by linking your legacy
Creating a video that boasts of your school’s legacy is a great way of showing donors why their contributions matter. In this video, Calvert Hall College High School’s CAO/Director of Advancement, Joe Baker talks about all that Calvert Hall stands for and passionately urges donors to contribute to keep the tradition of the school intact. View the post here.
b. Create a slideshow video capturing the essence of the campus & showcasing students and faculty members
If you’re worried that a professional video might be too expensive or time-consuming, a simple slideshow video is the next best thing! Including pictures of students and faculty members clicked on-campus in the video can be a great way to influence participation from donors. Calvert Hall created an amazing music slideshow video for its 3rd All Day Hall Day giving campaign.
c. Go live during the event
Going live on the day of the event is one of the most commonly employed methods to promote Giving Days. This helps donors view real-time progress and get an inside picture of the events and activities planned during the day.
According to SproutSocial, Facebook users spend 3X more time watching a live video than a pre-recorded one.
Here’s David Lin, Director of Boarding at Archbishop Riordan High School going live on the school’s campus, during 2019’s Giving Day campaign. View the post here.
d. Make updates fun
When it comes to sharing updates about your giving day via videos, go beyond the usual formula of simply announcing these updates. Check out how Calvert Hall College High School created an awesome video, sharing updates from its 2018 All Day Hall Giving Day campaign.
6. Showcase the team behind the cause
The team responsible for running your giving campaign definitely deserves a special shout-out for their endless dedication and hard work. There’s no better way to do this than showcasing their efforts for donors to see. This creates a sense of gratitude and acts as a strong incentive for people to do their part by contributing towards a noble cause. Here again, Calvert Hall wins our hearts by creating a beautiful video dedicated to its passionate team members.
7. Create an email outreach campaign that is relevant and personal
Email marketing continues to play a crucial role in the success of Giving Days for most schools.
Here’s a look at how email marketing has been leveraged by schools to boost Giving Day donations:
a. Create awareness much ahead of the Giving Day campaign
While schools start planning their Giving Days much ahead, why don’t a lot of them recognize the need to market their campaign in advance? From the initial announcement informing potential donors about the campaign right down to the thank-you email to all participants, every email must be well-timed and carefully crafted. At the same time, be careful not to overdo it by sending too many emails. Take a cue from Scranton Preparatory School’s immaculate planning for the school’s Giving Day 2022 campaign.
b. Ask for early bird donations by providing incentives
In addition to generating awareness about the upcoming Giving Day via emails, another way of capturing donors is by informing them of incentives. By providing exclusive benefits to select donors, the chances of securing early bird donations significantly increase.
c. Personalized email campaigns
Your approach to marketing a Giving Day can vary greatly depending on who you’re reaching out to. Long-time donors, for instance, are the most loyal of your followers and therefore, it is best to personalize your approach while asking for their contribution. Here’s how Scranton Preparatory School created a customized email invite for its Class of ‘79, asking for their support during the school’s Giving Day 2019 campaign.
8. Leverage peer-to-peer fundraising
Peer-to-peer fundraising has proven to be highly effective for most schools. Emails or referrals from peers help create a personalized touch and act as a strong incentive for fellow alumni to contribute.
8 Proven Ideas for Promoting Giving Days
The success of your Giving Day depends not only on planning but equally on its promotion. While there are many ways to promote Giving Days, in this blog post, we’re looking at the 7 most effective ones that have helped our customers achieve Giving Day success.
Fundraising
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a powerful social giving tool that many educational institutions have employed to increase their donations while expanding their donor audience. Through peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns, these organizations empower their supporters to raise money on their behalf.
While peer-to-peer fundraising is an effective fundraising strategy especially for nonprofits, other forms of educational institutions too have raised a lot of revenue for their programs and missions by leveraging social networks.
Here’s how to get started with a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign:
1. Develop a campaign page featuring your institution's fundraising goal
2. Recruit supporters (e.g., current students and alumni) to create their own campaign pages that demonstrate their personal tie to your institution's cause
3. Share their pages with friends and family and encourage them to donate
4. Provide them with the tools to make peer-to-peer fundraising social, mobile, and fun!
Peer-to-peer fundraising is a great way to maintain relationships with alumni. To get the most out of it, there are certain strategies you should incorporate to ensure success. These include:
1. Using a peer-to-peer platform
2. Offering training
3. Promoting on and offline
4. Leveraging giving days
5. Using gamification
6. Combining with events
Are you ready to take a closer look at peer-to-peer best practices to grow your fundraising? Get ready to take some notes!
1. Use a peer-to-peer fundraising platform
Providing an easy giving experience is one of the most important things you can do when launching a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign for your institution. This means offering easy-to-use donation pages that provide a mobile-optimized experience and an overall convenient process.
Why is mobile optimization important?
The majority of the population owns a cell phone and with mobile users increasing, donors are also starting to prefer making contributions via their mobile devices. Therefore, your cause needs to meet supporters where they are: on their phones, giving them the tools to donate anywhere and anytime.
To provide the easiest experience, it’s critical to invest in a peer-to-peer fundraising platform. Peer-to-peer software will allow your institution to:
1. Easily set up a main donation page for your fundraising goal
2. Let your college supporters create personal pages that harness their social networks
3. Track your progress and analyze important data
A peer-to-peer fundraising platform streamlines your fundraising process and expands your potential donor circle, introducing friends, family, and other alumni to your cause.
2. Offer training and support
When you prepare to launch a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, it’s important that you offer training opportunities to your supporters. Most of your supporters might not have a ton of experience as fundraisers, so getting them set up on the platform and providing tools will boost results and engagement.
Managing your modern day alumni relations is a great way to encourage alumni to become fundraisers for your cause. To make fundraising easy for them, be sure to provide the following resources:
1. Training: Educate supporters about your cause so they know exactly what they’re fundraising for. Make sure you have access to your platform’s tools and resources so you can pass along training knowledge to your supporters.
2. Mission and impact: Tie supporters to your cause and help them understand why this campaign matters. Social donors prioritize understanding the mission and impact of their efforts, as key motivators for fundraising.
3. Templates. Social media and email templates are an excellent way to give your supporters the materials they need to get the word out. This makes it easy for them to share the campaign and ask for donations while still adding their own personal touch.
4. Ongoing support: Regularly check in and monitor the progress of your supporters. Offer words of encouragement where needed and recognize high-performing fundraisers for their achievements.
5. Customizable pages: Give your supporters the ability to customize their individual campaign pages so they can demonstrate their connection to your cause. Allow them to upload photos, for example, and create their own content to tell their story.
Offering training and support is a surefire way to set supporters up for success. In order to reach your institution’s fundraising goal, your supporters must communicate to their networks in the way you need them to, while offering their own personal touch to the campaign. This will encourage donors to pay attention and give to the causes their friends and family care about.
3. Promote both online and offline
While your students may be online constantly, it’s a good practice to diversify your promotional strategies to create maximum reach. According to the OneCause guide to peer-to-peer fundraising, this means using a mix of traditional and modern marketing methods.
Donor and alumni networks consist of different generations, so be sure to encourage your peer-to-peer participants to meet all of them where they are. Use multi-channel promotional strategies, including:
1. Social media
2. Email
3. Direct mail
4. Printed marketing materials
5. Phone calls
While the above list is a combination of all the approaches that your peer-to-peer participants should leverage, which approach works best needs to be identified with respect to your donor audience. If your older alumni prefer direct mail or email, that’s what your participants must resort to. Similarly, if your younger alumni prefer social media, that’s how they should be pursued.
4. Leverage giving days
Giving days are designated days of the year where donors will contribute to a cause or institution they care about. These are often virtual fundraising campaigns with a 24-hour time-frame to capitalize on donations.
The most popular giving day is, of course, Giving Tuesday. Widely recognized as an annual day of giving, Giving Tuesday has helped universities engage with potential donors and raise the money they need. Paired with a peer-to-peer fundraiser, you can raise even more.
In order to make the most of Giving Tuesday and your peer-to-peer campaign, you should:
1. Plan ahead: While giving days are only one day out of the year, there’s a lot you can do to plan ahead and make sure donors know about your institution's giving campaign and ways to get involved. This ranges from social ads to printed marketing materials and ensuring your internal operations run smoothly. Prepare your peer-to-peer participants to make use of these materials.
2. Create a compelling campaign theme: A compelling theme will help your donors connect with your cause and inspire. Create a unique hashtag and make your campaigns easy to share among peers.
3. Call on your top supporters: Solicit personal appeals from famous alumni, board members, and other influential people associated with your institution. These peer-to-peer participants will further encourage donors to give. One thing that has worked well for institutions is "Gift Unlocking". Influence your top donors to pledge a donation based on a goal. For instance, once your Giving Day hits the 500 donor mark, a donation of $5000 will be made by the donor who had taken the pledge.
4. Show gratitude: Be sure to acknowledge those who contribute to your institution on Giving Tuesday. Appreciation goes a long way toward ensuring donors know their gift will go to good use and encouraging them to give again in the future.
Giving days can make a huge difference in donor acquisition and retention rates, and are a great way to spread the word about your institution and fundraising mission, especially during a peer-to-peer fundraiser. Explore even more ways you can leverage Giving Tuesday with best practices like gamification and others with this guide by OneCause.
5. Use gamification
Who isn’t motivated by a little friendly competition? Donors love to be recognized for their contributions, and your institution can benefit from leveraging gamification tools throughout your peer-to-peer fundraising campaign.
Gamification tools include:
1. Influencer dashboard (Reward those who influence donations)
3. Matching gifts
4. Fundraising thermometers
Gamification motivates supporters through friendly competition. These peer-to-peer tactics create and sustain momentum, inspiring donors to continue giving so you can reach the next benchmark in your fundraising progress.
By incorporating gamification tools into your institution’s peer-to-peer fundraising campaign, you’ll encourage more giving, more participation, and boost your chances of reaching fundraising goals.
6. Combine your campaign with an event
Peer-to-peer fundraisers work well with events. Whether you’re planning a walkathon, gala, or other engaging event for your institution, there are many ways your peer-to-peer fundraiser can boost engagement and promote your event. For example, people who donate to their friend’s peer-to-peer campaign will also be more likely to attend the event.
In addition to this, you can leverage:
1. Recognition: Events are a great way to recognize your fundraisers. Highlight some of your top supporters at your event to show them how much you appreciate their effort.
2. Merchandise: Set up a table at your event to sell items that promote your institution’s cause. You can even offer free event merch to your top peer-to-peer participants. This will also help raise awareness after the event when people walk around wearing your merch!
3. Social elements: Peer-to-peer fundraising campaigns pair well with active and community-based events such as 5K races, obstacle courses, walkathons, and others. Encourage friendly competition and teamwork, just like the campaign itself!
4. Wrap around events: “Wrap around” events are usually managed by teams and individual participants and can include smaller events like car washes and garage sales, or larger events like auctions. These activities foster a community vibe and attract new donors.
Pairing your peer-to-peer fundraiser with an event is an impactful way to bring your campaign full circle. You can even set the event date as the last day to fundraise to drive a sense of urgency in your supporters and encourage them to reach the goal.
About the author
Joshua Meyer
Joshua Meyer brings over 14 years of fundraising, volunteer management, and marketing experience to his current role as the Director of Marketing for OneCause. Currently, as a member of the OneCause sales and marketing team, Josh manages all of the firm’s marketing efforts. He has a passion for helping to create positive change and loves that his current role allows him to help nonprofits engage new donors and achieve their fundraising goals.
Peer-to-Peer Fundraising in Higher Education: 6 proven strategies that bring success
Here's our detailed guide on how to get started with a peer-to-peer fundraising campaign and proven strategies that can boost your fundraising.
Fundraising
San Francisco, CA (2nd October, 2019) — Alumni engagement and online giving expert Almabase has launched a new partnership with Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift and volunteer grant solutions to nonprofits and educational institutions. This features a new integration between Almabase online giving pages and 360MatchPro by Double the Donation.
Trusted by hundreds of Higher Ed & K12 institutions, Almabase is transforming the world of alumni fundraising. With the ability to integrate with various gift processing systems, Almabase provides a one-stop solution for achieving fundraising goals, acquiring new donors, and enhancing the online giving experience for donors.
The 360MatchPro platform actively identifies donors who are eligible for employer matching gift programs, provides their company’s specific matching gift next steps, and then follows up with them automatically to drive additional revenue to nonprofits. The integration with Almabase automatically adds an employer field onto online giving forms, jumpstarting the matching gift process.
“The schools fundraising through Almabase are all in a unique position to take advantage of employer matching gift programs,” said Kalyan Varma, Co-founder and CEO of Almabase. “Integrating with 360MatchPro allows those schools to automate their matching gift opportunity identification and outreach. This is a huge value-add for schools without adding time-intensive administrative efforts.”
Setup of the integration is easy and only needs to be completed once. After setup is complete, schools have the capability to customize the matching gift follow-up that donors receive.
“Lack of donor awareness is the main contributing factor to schools falling short of their matching gift fundraising potential,” said Adam Weinger, President of Double the Donation. “Using 360MatchPro, schools start to close the $4-7 billion gap in matching gifts left on the table each year.”
360MatchPro identifies more matching gift opportunities than schools could do so manually, then actively and automatically follows up with them to drive a higher percentage of matches to completion than possible with manual outreach. Connecting 360MatchPro to Almabase giving forms ensures that no matching gift opportunity goes unclaimed.
Learn more about Double the Donation at https://doublethedonation.com/ or schedule a private demo of 360MatchPro at https://www.360matchpro.com/demo-request/.
Learn how Almabase transforms online giving: https://www.almabase.com/.
Almabase and Double the Donation Announce Integration with 360MatchPro Matching Gift Platform
Almabase has launched a new partnership with Double the Donation, the leading provider of matching gift and volunteer grant solutions to nonprofits and educational institutions. This features a new integration between Almabase online giving pages and 360MatchPro by Double the Donation.
Product updates
Alumni are an institution’s most precious asset. However, the reality is that while alumni will often have a sense of belonging to their alma mater, a constant connection is needed to cultivate this relationship. While there are a bunch of ways to achieve this, today, we’re focusing on one of the most effective communication methods employed by schools and universities around the globe – email communication.
While there’s a plethora of information on best practices for email marketing, our experience with various schools has helped us understand email best practices specific to alumni.
Email has an ability many channels don’t: creating valuable, personal touches – at scale.
- David Newman
While email communication plays a crucial role in the digital engagement strategy of many institutions, the rate of success for each school may differ greatly. The difference lies in the approach that each school takes. Here’s a list of tested techniques that have brought success to most schools:
Maintain an updated email list
To be able to engage alumni via emails, it is pivotal to maintain updated email lists. Over time, alumni contact information is bound to get outdated. For your email campaigns to have higher alumni engagement rates, it is integral that your emails reach the right people, and that’s only possible if you have updated information about your alumni.
Whether you’re a small school or a larger university, there are various ways to keep your alumni database up-to-date. Tap on the banner below to read more about the complete list of all the database update techniques that are typically employed by schools and their relative benefits.
Focus on personalizing your outreach
While creating an email, it is important to be able to evaluate what alumni would value. Sticking to a template might look like the easiest route, but schools have witnessed greater success with personalized email campaigns. One way of personalizing your emails is by segmenting alumni based on gender, class year, and other relevant criteria.
Put a face and a name to the sender of your emails
It’s always a good practice to use a real name as opposed to a common name such as ‘Your Alumni Association’ as the sender of your emails. Using a person who your alumni may already be familiar with is ideal. You could even add in a picture and signature of the person at the end of the email to make the email seem more genuine.
Ensure that there’s a clear call-to-action
Other than the high risk of your alumni email landing in spam, adding multiple links often comes at the expense of having an unfocused message, severely impacting your click-through rates. Sticking to a clear call-to-action button is the best practice.
Mercy High School, Burlingame does an amazing job at targeting its alumni with emails that have a clear call-to-action.
Provide value in the form of monthly newsletters and weekly updates
While we discussed how personalized email campaigns can help boost alumni engagement rates, monthly alumni newsletters and weekly updates have also proven to be highly effective. Monthly alumni newsletters and weekly update emails act as a source for alumni to stay updated with all that’s happening at their school and often evoke nostalgia and a sense of pride.
Here’s how Upper St. Clair School District & Taylor’s University keep their alumni engaged with informational monthly newsletter emails.
Optimize your emails
This is probably the most basic yet the most essential part of creating a successful email campaign. Optimizing your emails so that they appear in your alumni’s inbox at the right time and in the right format is critical to your campaign’s success. Here are some key aspects that should be ensured with respect to email optimization:
1. Ensure that alumni receive your emails during their active hours. If your alumni are in a different time zone, scheduling your emails is highly recommended. Analyzing past email delivery statistics might help in scheduling the timings for your new campaigns.
2. While attaching any images to your email, it is recommended to stick to a maximum file size of 1 MB.
3. Subject lines play an integral part in the success of any email marketing campaign. Including your alumni’s first name within the subject line is a great practice that we’ve seen schools achieve success with. Adhering to shorter, to-the-point subject lines is also highly recommended.
When it comes to engaging subject lines, QuestBridge Academy hands-down wins the game. For its September Bar Night event, the institution reached out to its alumni with a simple, yet highly effective subject line:
5 Alumni Outreach Email Templates
Here are some outreach email templates to kickstart your emails:
1. Networking & Career Advancement
Subject: Connect & Grow: Your [Institution Name] Network
Dear [Alumni Name],
Hello from [Institution Name]! We hope you're doing well.
Did you know your connection to [Institution Name] offers a powerful way to boost your career? Our alumni network is full of people in many different fields, ready to connect.
We've made it easy for you to use this network:
- Network Platform: [Link to platform] - Join our special online platform to find and connect directly with fellow alumni for advice, opportunities, and shared experiences.
- Virtual Event: [Link to event details] - Sign up for our next online networking event. It's a great chance to meet alumni working in specific areas you're interested in.
- Career Help: [Link to career services page] - Visit our career services page just for alumni. You can find job postings, get tips, and learn about workshops to help you move forward.
Make the most of your [Institution Name] connections today.
Best regards,
The [Institution Name] Alumni Relations Team
2. Giving Back & Philanthropy
Subject: Support [Institution Name]: Help Students Succeed
Dear [Alumni Name],
We're reaching out because you can make a real difference at [Institution Name]. Your time here helped shape your path, and now you can help shape the path of current students.
Supporting [Institution Name] is a direct way to invest in the future. Your contribution, no matter the size, can help provide essential resources:
- Give Now: [Link to donation page] - A financial gift helps fund scholarships for deserving students, support important research, and improve campus facilities.
- Volunteer: [Link to volunteer page] - If you have time to share, consider volunteering. You could mentor a student, help at an event, or offer your professional skills.
Every bit of support helps us give students the best possible experience.
Thank you for considering how you can help.
With sincere gratitude,
The [Institution Name] Advancement Team
3. Staying Connected & Community
Subject: Stay Connected to [Institution Name]
Dear [Alumni Name],
Life after graduation takes you to new places, but your connection to [Institution Name] and the people you met here is still important. We love sharing what's happening and hearing about your journey.
Here are a few simple ways to stay part of the [Institution Name] community:
- Read Our Magazine: [Link to magazine] - Check out the latest alumni magazine for campus news, stories about fellow graduates, and updates on upcoming events.
- Follow Us: [Links to social media profiles] - Connect with us on social media for daily updates, photos, and a chance to interact with the wider community online.
- Find a Local Chapter: [Link to chapter list] - Look for an alumni chapter in your area. It's a great way to meet up with other alumni near you for social events and activities.
- Update Info: [Link to update form] - Please take a moment to make sure we have your current contact information so you don't miss out on important news and invitations.
We value your connection. Stay in touch!
Warmly,
The [Institution Name] Alumni Relations Team
4. Learning & Professional Development
Subject: Keep Learning with [Institution Name]
Dear [Alumni Name],
The world keeps changing, and learning new things is key to staying ahead. As a graduate of [Institution Name], you have access to special resources to help you keep learning and growing in your career and personal life.
We offer opportunities designed just for our alumni:
- Online Courses: [Link to course platform/library] - Explore our library of online courses to learn new skills or brush up on topics relevant to your field.
- Webinars/Workshops: [Link to events page] - Attend online sessions led by our faculty or industry experts on a variety of interesting topics.
- Library Access: [Link to library access info] - Access many of the academic databases and publications available through the campus library from wherever you are.
- Mentorship: [Link to mentorship program details] - Whether you want to share your experience or learn from someone further along in their career, our mentorship program connects alumni.
Keep your mind sharp and continue your learning journey with [Institution Name].
Sincerely,
The [Institution Name] Professional Development Team
5. Institutional Pride & Advocacy
Subject: Share Your [Institution Name] Story
Dear [Alumni Name],
Your time at [Institution Name] gave you unique experiences and memories. Your positive stories are the best way to show others what makes our institution special and why it's a great place to learn.
We invite you to share your pride and help us tell the [Institution Name] story:
- Share Your Story: [Link to testimonial submission form or social media hashtag] - Tell us about your favorite memories or how [Institution Name] impacted you. We might feature your story!
- Represent Us: [Link to volunteer page] - Volunteer to represent [Institution Name] at college fairs or other events to talk to prospective students about your experience.
- Engage Online: [Links to social media profiles] - Like, share, and comment on our social media posts. This helps our news reach more people.
- Refer a Student: [Link to referral form] - If you know a student who would be a great fit for [Institution Name], encourage them to apply and let us know.
Your voice is important in helping us build a strong future for [Institution Name].
Best regards,
The [Institution Name] Communications & Alumni Relations Team
Conclusion
We hope we’ve given you some new ideas and motivations to make the most out of your email channels. If you’re looking for a tool to streamline your communication efforts, let us know and we’d love to show you how we can help.
6 ways to increase alumni engagement over emails
Find the email best practices to increase alumni engagement for your school, college, or university. Here's the list of techniques for alumni email marketing
Alumni Engagement
If your organization deals with customers/clients/alumni who reside in the European Union (EU) or The European Economic Area (EEA), you might already be aware of GDPR.
What is GDPR?
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a data privacy law that was enforced by the EU on 25th May 2018.
An iconic move that shook the internet, GDPR was introduced to unify all EU member states’ approaches to data regulation, ensuring all data protection laws are applied identically in every country within the EU. It protects EU citizens from organizations using their data irresponsibly and puts citizens in charge of what information is shared, where, and how it’s shared.
Why are we talking about GDPR?
Complying with GDPR is vital. GDPR binds organizations to implement new rules and regulations that define the way personal data is collected and used. Any business found not abiding by the rules could be charged fines of up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s global annual turnover, though the toughest fines will be reserved for the worst data breaches or data abuse.
According to a recent research report published by TrustArc, only 20% of companies have fully completed their GDPR implementations.
Do non-EU colleges and universities need to worry?
On the face of it, GDPR only affects EU countries, but the law is more complex than that. Even if a school doesn’t have an established presence in the EU but its data subjects reside anywhere within the EU, the school is liable to comply with GDPR. For instance, any non-EU based college or university storing and processing personal data of alumni who could potentially live in the EU region are subject to GDPR. So yes, it is always safer to be GDPR compliant even if your organization is not based in the EU.
How do I ensure our advancement operations are GDPR compliant?
For a better understanding of whether or not your advancement operations is GDPR compliant, let’s delve deeper into these 3 segments:
1. Understanding Personal Data
2. Keeping your alumni informed
3. Tracking all forms of consent
Understanding ‘Personal Data’
Under the current EU Directive on Data Protection, and the existing UK Data Protection Act, personal data is broadly defined as:
Any information relating to a living, identified or identifiable natural person.
While this can be quite vague to decipher, here’s a detailed infographic on what personal data with respect to your alumni means:
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Now that we’ve gone over what data is protected under GDPR, how do you ensure that you’re protecting the rights of your constituents and complying with GDPR?
Keeping your alumni informed
The first and foremost step is to create a Privacy Notice, accurately describing the nature of personal data that you store, why you need to store it, how it’s used, and where and when this data will be shared with third parties. This Privacy Notice must be shared with all alumni, staff, and your mail recipients. Keeping your alumni up-to-date about how their data is being used is vital not only with respect to GDPR but also, to maintain a lasting relationship.
Tracking all forms of consent
To safeguard your organization from any penalties, it is advisable to hold records of all opt-in activities of your alumni. Each time any form of personal data gets collected from alumni, they are asked to opt-in or consent to share this information by either typing in their email, name, card details, or more. Keeping a repository of records that prove that alumni’s consent was obtained by you, is a practice you should adhere to.
Almabase as a data processor for your constituent data is GDPR compliant. Before purchasing any software solution that deals with your constituent data, make sure you check whether they are GDPR compliant.
Your constituent data is an asset to your organization. While GDPR is accelerating the need to comply with standards, you would be well served by seeing this as an opportunity. It is an opportunity to show your constituents that you recognize this responsibility and care about their data. This is an opportunity to foster stronger bonds with their constituents.
How your advancement team needs to handle GDPR compliance
While the deadline for GDPR compliance has long passed, only 20% of companies have fully completed their GDPR implementations. Here's a look at what GDPR means for schools around the world and the steps that need to be taken to be GDPR compliant.
Fundraising
See how leading institutions put these ideas into action
