So how can you help ensure people receive the emails you send them? To find out, we talked to a few experts with considerable experience in the area of bulk email delivery. We also created an email deliverability study. What we learned—and what we didn’t—surprised us.

Understanding and Improving Email Deliverability | Idealware.

From Nell Edgington for Social Velocity. . .

November was another great month in the world of social innovation.

http://www.socialvelocity.net/2011/12/10-great-social-innovation-reads-november/

Here’s a great example of a school reaching out to alumni.  Recently Egg Harbor Township High School offered a tour to alumni to see the new school.  Here’s a copy of their e-mail blast announcing the event:

Egg Harbor Township High School Alumni – Egg Harbor Township, NJ

Please consider attending our Alumni Open House and Tour of the new High School from 3 – 5 p.m.,  Wednesday, November 23, 2011.

Continue reading →

Have you looked at your alumni and giving data?  You might just notice two patterns that sum it all up.  Review this paper by Peter B. Wylie to see the two patterns that every major giving professional should see  . . .

via Where the Alumni Money Is.

All words beginning with alumn …

alumnaholics – Those alumni who judge the success of an event solely on the amount of free beer provided.

alumnanchu – Alumni from the Fourth Ming Dynasty.

alumnaplomb – Pomp surrounding special alumni events.

alumnarcs – Our security guards at reunions.

alumnaroo – (foreign) Female jumping alumna.

via Alumni Dictionary.

According to a number of dictionaries, the word Alumni means a former student, or pupil, and comes from the Latin alere, to nourish a foster-son or pupil. Because Latin is such a structured language, we can define which gender each word refers to.

Make sure you always use the proper definition when writing, using as report headings and when using in other communications.

via Word on the Word Alumni.

Finding lost alumni is one of the hallmarks of a successful records tracing strategy.

Here are some ideas to use to increase your effectiveness in this activity.

via Finding Lost Alumni.

With more than 750 million people signed up for Facebook alone, there’s little doubt that social media can be a powerful part of most organizations’ communications mix. But what can it be used for—outreach and engagement? Event management? Advocacy? How about fundraising? For many nonprofits, it’s far more obvious that such tools can be useful than how to use them.

Idealware created the Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide to help organizations like yours determine what results and benefits you can reasonably expect from social media, and to guide you through the process of identifying the right channels for different goals.

The Nonprofit Social Media Decision Guide | Idealware.

As budget cuts strain schools across the country, more districts are looking for ways to bring in the big bucks on their own. PTAs, PTOs, and booster clubs may make cash from car washes and catalog sales, but as an administrator, it’s time to think on a grander scale. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a million dollars for a technology initiative? How about half a mil for an arts program? This doesn’t have to be wishful thinking.

via Budget Sinking? Create a Foundation. | Scholastic.com.

According to Inside Higher Ed, community colleges are paying more attention to fund raising, which means trying to reconnect with alumni and build relationships.

Community College Alumni Relations & Development – alumni futures.