“I think what it means is a school needs to make sure they establish that emotional connection post-graduation and to maintain that emotional connection,” Ellison claims.
Donations for alums are also emotional according to the report. Some 41% of respondents said they were excited to “pay it forward.” Meanwhile, 38% said they were excited about the donations they made because they would help a student in need and feel like they’re making a difference in the university.
Besides building an emotional connection with the alumni, Ellison says knowing your alumni and viewing interactions with them as a relationship and life cycle is key.
“In business there’s a thing called KYC, or know your customer. And I think schools need to consider KYA, know your alumni,” Ellison reasons. “Because you can’t just send out one message to your entire alumni base. You need to do what you can do, know them, find out are there drive points, or things that help them connect to the school. And you segment your methods of communication based on that.”
It also comes down to offering services instead of just asking for money. According to the research, alumni would like to see there alumni offices offering more discount and membership programs and community networking events. Ellison says these are ways for schools to build the relationship and trust for those alums that had good college experiences and maybe take another swing at those who didn’t.
“A good college experience is important, but I don’t think if they’ve had a bad experience or the happiest experience all four years they were there, that person will be lost forever,” Ellison believes. “I think there are opportunities for schools to engage alumni post-graduation.”
Ellison suggests offering job placement programs post-graduation to help with job transitions or assistance if an alum is laid off. “It’s providing these types of services that even if you missed them as a student, you can reconnect as an alumni,” he reasons.
Indeed, the survey suggests alums would rather get involved with their former schools through ‘soft skills’ like mentoring. Only 20% of respondents said they were looking at getting more involved through fundraising. Yet, 27% said they’d be interested in mentoring current students as a form of involvement.
Conversely, nearly two-thirds (61%) of the respondents said their alma maters use fundraising as the main way to offer involvement. Only 36% believed their schools were using mentoring as a way to involve their alums.
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