Alumni Relations Communications

For so much of what we do in the online world we tend to focus on the fundraising aspect of the communications. I would like to suggest that inclusion in a linked, comprehensive campaign of pieces and communications that are strictly Alumni centric rather than part of an engagement effort driven by the annual giving program is a critical portion of creating the online community that we are all seeking to aquire.

As someone who has programmatic responsibility for both areas, I am a huge believer in tying them together and combining the communications into an "institutional stream" rather than trying to build up two distinct individual branches on the same tree. I do this in the phone and mail programs through integration of event information and invitations into the phone calls (every record loaded in the phone program has the unique set of events that individual will be invited to over the next 3 months loaded with it) and in the mail program through what we have come to call solicitivations - invitations that include a clear, direct ask and a reply slip for making a gift.

Online, we should begin to take that same approach - use of microsites that provide engagement with the institution but just as importantly with other alumni can play a huge role in providing the connections that help to build and sustain a successful alumni program. The use of email and crossing the platforms into social networking as a way to get folks to pay attention allows for communications to reach folks who are already engaged with you. Just as important though is inclusion of these efforts in print materials - provide links and stories in the magazine, include buckslips in your mailings pushing folks toward these communication channels.

At the end of the day, our alumni are becoming increasingly savvy to our efforts to engage and drive them into making a gift. The best and most effective way to work with that is to coordinate our programs and tools such that we are providing them with a single stream of communication that contains multiple opportunities and options for engagement at many levels and in many ways. Please keep in mind that for most of us, the stated goal of the advancement shop is to provide and maximize the resources available to our students from external audiences, doing so does not always mean cash in the door.