ALUMNI RELATIONS & FUNDRAISING

The challenges and the successes

WHY HAVE ALUMNI RELATIONS?

Alumni Relations can play key role in underpinning your institutional effort

Alumni are ready and waiting to be engaged – a wonderful time, advocacy and funding resource

The more alumni feel engaged and in touch the more inclined they are to donate and to open their networks

KEY INGREDIENTS

Know and understand your audience – (research and data, data, data!!)

Have a plan to keep alumni in touch It’s all about being flexible and

thinking laterally – can’t do it all in isolation

Have a balanced programme – events, communications, volunteering, benefits and services

THE ALUMNI COMMUNITY

150,000 alumni who live in 180 countries. This will rise to c.175,000 by 2015. Two thirds of alumni live in the UK.

It is estimated that UCL is in touch with 70% of all living UCL alumni

Over 50% of all alumni graduated within the last 15 years. Top three largest departments – Faculty of Laws, Faculty of Built Environment and School of Life and Medical Sciences

CONTACTABLE ALUMNI BY DECADE OF GRADUATION

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Myriad of different motivating factors that drive ongoing alumni connections to UCL

These factors range from a connection to courses/departments, clubs and societies, halls of residence and classmates through to academic staff.

EXAMPLE: STUDENT / YOUNG ALUMNI ACTIVITY

To develop a supportive alumni community you need to start with the student experience and develop a habit of involvement immediate after graduation

Dominant aim is to weave alumni and alumni relations into the fabric of student life

Experience has shown that success in this area is derived from providing tangible benefits to the student community

ALUMNI RELATIONS & FUNDRAISING

It is a two way relationship – both need one another to be a success

Interest, involve and commit - the more engagement alumni feel the more inclined they are to give money/time to an institution

It’s a long-term business Team work – shared objectives and goals –

Alumni team needs to consider fundraising as part of their activities and fundraisers must think about alumni and wider school activities

EXAMPLES Fundraising messages are integrated

into UCL alumni communications and events

Academic speakers at events will ask alumni to consider donating to UCL

Alumni contacts can provide opportunities to engage key donors and prospects

Alumni can also identify ‘lost’ class mates who may be good prospects

NETWORKING Clubs and societies Award-winning

professional networking events

Alumni-led reunions

Departmental events

International events

COMMUNICATIONS Redesigned ‘UCL

People’ - backbone of printed communication which all alumni receive

Alumni email newsletters, the Alumni Web Community, Alumni Website, Social networking presences and Online Surveys

VOLUNTEERING Careers mentoring –

over 300 alumni currently act as a careers mentor and speak at UCL events (e.g. graduation ceremonies)

250 alumni act as International Contacts – involves them in acting as a local contacts for alumni, organising local alumni groups and assisting with student recruitment

REGULAR GIVING

Why engage alumni? To translate engagement into

multiple levels that includes giving to your university

But why do alumni give?

What motivates giving

Pride Acknowledgement for what they

gained from their experience at UCL

Desire to protect what they value

Commitment to social mobility and how education is the key to this

Commitment to the transformational impact of education

A Case Study

Ralph – donor, volunteer and son studying at UCL today

Initially identified by regular giving as a donor with capacity to give more

Engaged by alumni relations as a mentor Asked to sign appeal letters and attend a

CASE event to provide a donor testimonial Started giving £40 pm – now giving £2K per

year

Fundraising is telling stories

We use students and key members of staff to tell stories to our alumni about the need for their support (using the hooks of what we know motivates giving)

Ask multiple times throughout the year – telling different stories and using different signatories

People give to people – for us we have found that students receiving scholarships and key academics generate the most response from alumni

What is your university’s story – where do the key relationships with alumni lie?

Get them while they’re young

20-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 61-70 over 70 unknown0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

Donor age group - change by financial year

2008-09

2011-12

QUESTIONS?