A group of Delaware State University graduates is starting an association targeted at helping younger alumni stay connected to the school and contribute to its future.The Young Alumni Alliance plans to focus its programs on recruiting and retention by providing networking, social and fundraising opportunities to alumni who earned their diplomas within the past 10 years. It will work cooperatively with the existing Alumni Association, but will be its own distinct organization.

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If one were to classify college fundraising, it’d likely fall under the heading of an art, not a science.As colleges and universities find fundraising an increasingly vital source of their operating budget, it’s not surprising that they’re trying new methods to get some green. But Lindenwood University in St. Charles has devised one of the more curious schemes yet: It’ll pay for alumni to have their wills prepared, provided they bequeath at least $1,000 to the college in return.

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Calvin Tyler cut half-million dollar checks to his alma mater, Morgan State University, in 2001 and 2003. This year, the retired UPS executive upped his gift to the historically black school to $1 million.Faced with shrinking budgets, an increasing number of publicly funded historically black colleges and universities are turning to older, successful alumni like Tyler.

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A note to people who read the “Class Notes” section of their college alumni magazines: You never know where those tidbits are coming from. Two male New York graduates of American University filed a lawsuit claiming theiralumni magazine falsely stated they were just-married life partners.The Post describes the plaintiffs as “Ross Weil, 29, and Brett Royce, 28, college buddies and former New York housemates” who are now looking for $1.5 million in damages from American University’s American Magazine for “gross negligence.”The Class Notes stated that Weil and Royce had married last year and were “leaders of a nonexistent group called the Gay Rights Brigade.”

Weil and Royce’s lawyer said told the Post his clients didn’t submit the information, “No one contacted my clients to check the information…It has nothing to do with homophobia.” No – not there’s anything wrong with that! Anyway, American Magazine says it does checkthe information, but that’s a lot of legwork for those class notes. For instance, are they going to make sure that all ten graduates ofthe same class were at the same wedding?

In this article, from Fundraising Well, Robert Burdenski explains how to benefit from “connecting” your fundraising efforts and shows us what information we should really be tracking about donors. While aimed specifically at alumni programs and annual giving, the following tips apply to fundraisers from all areas.

Evaluating Your School’s Alumni Program

Classmates, MySpace, Facebook and others may be stealing your alumni and the longer they are away, the harder it will be for you to get them back.

We would like to draw your attention to a report by the IAC that outlines how a new breed of commercial Web site has jeopardized the historical relationship between alumni associations and graduates.

Although originally written in 2000 for colleges and universities, the report is just as relevant today to schools in the K-12 arena (public and private).

IAC’s report has been compiled to expose alumni professionals (and school administrators) to a paradigm shift that is moving forward and gaining speed. The report is based on a thorough review of information publicly available on the Internet.

Armed with a better understanding of the Internet as well as alumni needs, these commercial sites have secured upwards of $20 million to develop engaging, interactive Web sites of interest to alumni of hundreds of colleges and universities, both public and private. And now, K-12 schools and other organizations are being targeted.

The premise of this report? That alumni associations (and parent organizations) who do not build a more relevant official Web site and vigorously promote it, will find their alumni frequenting myriad unofficial sites, and as a result, will:

• Lose the ability to communicate frequently and effectively with an increasing number of their own alumni
• Experience a painful and protracted loosening of the common bonds that alumni share with their alma mater and some classmates
• Sustain a diminished role in a variety of otherwise “official” activities such as reunions, mentoring, career development and merchandising
• Suffer a decline in alumni contributions

Unofficial alumni Web sites with concerns poles apart from alumni associations are cherry picking alumni each day. Officials at institutions of higher learning are urged to respond swiftly.

Over two years ago, Merrill Lynch advised their clients, “Get online or perish.” This report urges educational institutions and their affiliated alumni associations to act now, or risk relying on investor-supported commercial Web sites to access fundamental information about their own graduates.

Who should read this report:

• Principals/Presidents/Chancellors/Heads of School
• Advancement Staff
• Alumni Personnel
• Business Managers
• Assistants

Unofficial Alumni Web Sites and Their Effect on Alumni Relations

Day schools often face formidable obstacles when trying to engage powerful or influential alumni/ae or former trustees who live at some distance from the school. One possible solution is a national Alumni Advisory Council (“council” versus “board” to avoid any confusion about role or expectations). The following is a model and some suggestions for an Alumni Advisory Council (AAC) designed to maintain contact with distant alumni and former trustees.

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Building the Case for an Alumni Program By Paul J. Clifford
Copyright © by CASE, 2007. All rights reserved.

Alumni relations is a 19th century practice that has evolved into a cornerstone of advancement operations for institutions of higher education worldwide. Before the car, before the phone and before the light bulb, institutions have placed a value on maintaining relationship with their alumni. In today’s world, nobody questions the relevance of the car, telephone or light bulb, and yet here we are discussing the relevance of alumni relations and how we build a case to convince our institutions of its value.

As a 19th century invention, how can we advance the concept of alumni relations to meet our 21st century needs? American institutions like professional baseball, another 19th century invention, have survived, remained relevant throughout the 20th and into the 21st century for two main reasons . . .

Full Report in English >
Full Report in Spanish >