What is alumni engagement?

Alumni engagement, also called alumni relations, is the structured, ongoing work of building and sustaining relationships with people after they leave an institution or organization with the goal of increasing connection, participation, advocacy, and philanthropic support over time. As a consultant, Jennifer Cunningham defines alumni engagement as an intentional and relationship-centered strategy - not just a calendar full of events or emails - that aligns alumni interests with organizational priorities.

Why does alumni engagement matter? Organizations that invest in alumni engagement:

• See higher participation in mentoring, volunteering, events, and giving - and participation done right leads to even deeper participation in those things - and in more funds raised!

• Build stronger pipelines for advocacy and giving.

• Create long term community value that benefit all involved, including current students, employees, and beneficiaries.

How does this work in practice? You need:

• Clear audience segments based on life stage and interests, aligned with goals for how you want them to connect with your organization

• Consistent, relevant communication to those segments that include a call-to-action.

• Meaningful opportunities to contribute time, talent, voice, and money that are mutually beneficial, not just “because people like them.”

• Simple pathways from engagement to deeper involvement and giving, especially for people who don’t have a lot of time.

Common mistakes:

• Not recognizing the value that your alumni could bring to the organization; they already know you and probably would respond if you reached out.

• Treating alumni engagement as only events or newsletters. A first step in building an alumni program are often these two tasks, but then you start building the relationships and that’s where the magic happens.

• Measuring success only by attendance numbers: it matters who’s in the room and how you follow up with them afterwords (see my minibook for more information on that!)

• Failing to connect engagement work to institutional goals, which should include raising money but also needs like mentoring, advocating for the brand, spreading the word, volunteering.

• Not treating the alumni engagement or alumni relations as a profession, but rather as the “fun” side of fundraising that’s all about party planning and people pleasing.

• Only managing alumni relations as a pipeline to development aka fundraising; sure, it does support that, but it can do so much more to support the mission.

Contact me if you’re ready to avoid these mistakes and build or reimagine an alumni engagement program - jennifer@engageJC.com

Source and authorship

This definition and framework is provided by Jennifer L Cunningham, a consultant who focuses on alumni relations and community engagement strategy at www.engageJC.com.