As soon as the last Independence Day firecracker pops, it seems everyone shifts into “back to school” mode. The end of July signals the end of summer for many, as students, faculty, administrators, and staff head back to campus in August.

If you work with a school or university donor development team, you’re probably already planning for the new school year. Getting alumni to give back is likely a core part of your advancement strategy. How will you engage alumni this year?

Why Alumni Give and Don’t Give

What motivates alumni to give to their school or university? Before you launch an alumni giving campaign, it’s important to answer this question.

A 2015 Corporate Insight study while nearly 80 percent of alumni feel positively about their schools, only about 22 percent report making a donation in the last 12 months.

Exploring this disconnect, the study found several reasons why alumni give and don’t give:

• Reasons For Giving

Alumni who give say they have emotional connection to their university. Eighty percent say they felt they received some type of personal benefit from association with their alma mater. Donors also said that their school in some manner helped advance their careers.

• Reasons For Not Giving

More than half of study respondents say they do not give because they cannot afford to, while 28% of survey respondents felt there were other worthier causes to support.

Almost half of the respondents said they never received any communication via social media from their school, and 31% do not receive invitations to alumni events and activities. Forty-four percent of non-donors say they receive no information on current school programs. Thirteen percent of non-donors believe their college or university offers no alumni services at all.

The bottom line: When alumni see a direct benefit and have an emotional connection to the school or university, they are more inclined to donate.

While every school is different and there are countless creative ways to engage alumni, there are some basic methods/best practices that consistently work for alumni giving campaigns. It’s as easy as A-B-C:

• Annual Campaign: Alumni appeals typically perform best when they are centered around an annual campaign. This campaign should have a unique theme or brand and it should be specific to alumni giving. It should be used for at least one school year. 

• Big Pushes Twice a Year: This campaign should be actively pushed twice a year – once in the spring and once in the fall. These pushes should last for about three weeks each. If possible, tie these pushes into events on campus that carry strong memories for alumni or that bring alumni back to campus, such as opening weekend, homecoming, or graduation. These pushes can include direct mail, email appeals and reminders, social media, phone calls, and more. 

• Community Connection: At the core of a good alumni giving strategy is a good alumni relations strategy. Alumni give when they feel loyalty and affinity to their schools and when they feel as though they have received benefits from the school. Also, the theme of the giving campaign should have a community theme, such as #UMassGives (something that sends the message that “people like us give to things like this”).

Once your database is full of alumni donors, it will be important to treat that group as special. Make sure you continue to nurture those relationships, helping to ensure alumni donations for many years to come.