CHERRY HILL, N.J. – Alumni Channel, a web provider of online alumni communities for schools and other non-profit organizations, announced today that the East Brunswick Education Foundation, New Jersey, is relying on the company’s online community solution to develop closer relationships with its alumni.
Doug Schorpp, alumni coordinator for the foundation, made a commitment to begin implementation of the Alumni Channel for their online alumni community. The East Brunswick Education Foundation is an independent, non-profit corporation established in 1993 by parents, citizens and members of the local business community to support programs designed to enhance and enrich the curriculum in the East Brunswick Public Schools. The site will be home to the 30,000 to 50,000 East Brunswick graduates across the United States and worldwide. With a growing base of graduates, the foundation wanted to cultivate stronger bonds with and among alumni that would lay the foundation for fundraising in support of critical programs such as scholarships and the endowment. EBEF needed a technology solution that would enrich its existing Web site while avoid costs associated with direct mailings. This would enable the foundation to provide an interactive, customized experience for each visitor, including opportunities to connect with each other, view school and class events, and eventually make online donations.
To this end, EBEF deployed the services of Alumni Channel for online community building. The school now has a single point of entry that allows alumni to self-maintain their profile information which can then be used to communication fundraisers, events and campaigns.
“Schools and foundations face a real challenge in keeping connected with alumni who, after graduation, scatter throughout the world,” said Chris Gehringer, president of Alumni Channel. “East Brunswick is taking a leadership position in how it uses technology to give its alumni – regardless of whether they live in central New Jersey or the Far East – an easy way to stay involved.”
Empowering Graduates through Alumni Channel
With Alumni Channel, East Brunswick High School will soon be able to replace a static Web site of reunion data with an interactive online community and enhanced electronic communications. Like most other organizations launching a new Web site, getting people to visit the site is a key step. With hardly no e-mail addresses on file for its 30,000 to 50,000 alumni, the foundation will implement many of the steps in Alumni Channel’s “Success Plan” to increase awareness and introduce the benefits of registering on the new site. Included in EBEF’s service is a new web site address that can be used on all marketing to promote use of the site. Through this effort, the number of email addresses will increase over time.
“We hope to have 5000+ alumni registered by the end of the year. For us, going with the Alumni Channel was a ‘no-brainer’ due to the amount of features we get for the right price,” remarked Doug Schorpp after Gehringer’s presentation to the EBEF Wednesday evening.
To visit the East Brunswick High School Alumni Channel, go to http://www.EBHSalumni.org.
About East Brunswick
Built in 1958, East Brunswick High School is a comprehensive public high school in East Brunswick Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey. It is part of East Brunswick Public Schools. The school has been recognized by the Blue Ribbon Schools Program. From the first graduating class in 1962, EBHS now graduates over 700 students each year. In the 2008-2009 school year, EBHS will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. In celebration, the name “Grizzly” was selected for its mascot, the Bear. The school stadium, Jay Doyle Field, has been renovated with artificial turf, a new track, and other minor enhancements. The foundation’s web site is: http://www.ebef.org/
About Alumni Channel
The Alumni Channel online alumni system is designed to increase alumni connections through a secure online alumni directory that will help connect an organization’s entire membership. Alumni Channel offers alumni a community of their own to contact each other, plan reunions, share stories and photos, and it enables the parent organization/school to maintain and build an alumni database providing with valuable alumni contact information. Schools have the ability to not only announce upcoming events and campaigns on the site itself, but also customize and send mass e-mails, run reports, export data and distribute surveys. Founded in 1998, Alumni Channel is headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. For more information, visit www.alumnichannel.com.