The relationship that a college or university has with its alumni is
not unlike a first true love – one that lasted a few years, they had
tons of fun with, grew up a little, learned a lot and spent a good
portion of their time either drunk or rolling around in bed. The
nostalgia is heavy and the emotional ties are strong, two things that
give alumni fundraising campaigns a serious advantage over, say, the
Adopt-a-Highway Program (unless you’re an ex con who experienced a
particularly touching community service moment that conjures up warm
memories every time you see a discarded Burger King wrapper on the side
of the road). People are often eager to give back to the school that
made them who they are today and gave them so many great years.
Still, this plum position doesn’t exempt Alumni associations from THE
HUSTLE. They have some pretty hefty monetary demands, providing
scholarship resources and many significant contributions to the
institution. Alumni fundraising plays a huge part in any university’s
financial agenda, and as with any fundraising campaign it’s important to
stay on your toes and make it as easy as possible for people to donate
their hard-earned cash money. It’s really important to know how to reach
out to people in the right way and spread the word like glorious
wildfire!
1. Have you noticed that sports fans can be, how do you say…crazy?
No, the word would be “passionate”. Passionate and loyal and totally
diehard (yippee kai yay m——r f——r!). All of these things are PURE GOLD
for an alumni fundraising campaign. Alumni involved in the college
sports community tend to be the most lively, active and reliable
members, so make sure to get in touch with them, as they can be great
influencers for your cause. There’s little doubt they’d be pumped to
donate what they can as well as help organize you fundraising efforts.
Coordinating your alumni fundraiser with a sports event or team allows
you to reap the benefits of both a built-in fan (read: donor) base and
the media coverage that accompanies college sports events.
2. Get the inside advantage by fostering a good relationship with the
college administration. They’re the gatekeepers to a lot of contacts
and information you can benefit from (note: spring for the good gift
basket. They’ll be able to tell you re-gifted one from a car dealership
when it shows up with a couple granola bars, some nondescript Polish
cookies and a pencil.) A huge chunk of your potential donor base lies
outside of the association itself and the administration has access to
many of these sources. And while you’re on a campus tour, reach out to
school media outlets like the newspaper and campus radio. Much of what
you’re doing benefits them directly – it’s just one big incestuous
agenda. And that’s a good thing! Odds are they’ll be more than happy to
pimp your cause and help you get the word out.
3. That isn’t to say that outsiders aren’t welcome in your alumni fundraisingcampaign.
Get in touch with members of the media outside the school and form an
alliance between the Alumni association and the surrounding region by
showing that it’s active within and loyal to the community. Schedule
interviews on
radio stations and arrange for stories in the local paper
to be written up about youralumni fundraising campaign to reach out to
the surrounding community for support. Often, college towns strongly
identify themselves with the school and take a lot of pride in it, so
aligning yourself with the betterment of the university and the overall
community will only win you brownie points (and donors! And MAYBE
they’ll send you actual brownies! One can dream.).
4. This one’s a biggie: before you buy that raving sports nut a beer,
slip the school secretary a fiddy or start calling radio stations
during request hour for an interview (that’s not exactly how it works.
We’ll talk later.), give your alumni fundraising campaign a nitrous
oxide boost by setting it up on an online platform. It’s the easiest and
quickest way to reach tons of people and spread your message to every
potential corner of your donor base by posting it on Facebook, Twitter,
sending out emails and the like. Register online where you can manage
your social media campaigns from one hub, as well as receive donations
directly to your account – making every aspect of your alumni fundraiser
a lot simpler for you to manage, and lot easier for your donors to give
to.
Alumni associations have a very special relationship with their donor
base that’s ripe to be taken advantage of (“Don’t you LOVE ME?”), meant
in the best possible sense. The college experience is one that can’t be
replicated and most people look fondly back on with little kegs dancing
in their heads. But that’s not to say trying out different alumni
fundraising ideas and reaching outside the association to expand your
donor base as much as possible isn’t welcome – any source of donation
should be explored. Don’t worry, it’s not cheating if you’re in a
different zip code.
Raise money online for your alumni fundraiser the easy way today with
free fundraising tools that allow you to create and manage a number of
alumni fundraising campaigns while tracking their success.
Alumni fundraising online is easy with access to all the fundraising
tools offered by a free and simple-to-use online fundraising platform.
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