fiVe.www.ideas
Using Flash to solicit for the annual fund
Have you used a Flash presentation — or some other electronic method — to solicit for your school's annual fund? Kenyon College (Gambier, Ohio) used a stirring Flash presentation in December 2004 to those who hadn't contributed. In the days after the appeal, Kenyon received more than $40,000 in online gifts. Do you have a similar success story to share? Or, did you try something only to discover you would do it differently the next time around?
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Raising money from Millinnials
Your campus admissions staff marketed to them in different ways. Now, how do you get them involved in fund raising? The Millennials — those graduating in the 2000s — are more numerous, more affluent, more ethnically diverse and better educated than generations before. How are you reaching out to them? What are you doing to correct recent graduates' negative perception of fund raising?
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Increasing alumni association membership
Can committees actual accomplish something? One that has is the Membership Committee of the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Alumni Association. Since the group formed in 1998, membership has grown by more than 410 percent — thanks in part to the dedicated volunteers who strategize ways to involve alumni and secure membership. The committee initiated an ice cream social on move-in day, a travel program, affinity programs and more. The group’s efforts were recently recognized by The Membership Management Report. Share your success for ways to increase membership.
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Connecting to current students
How are you connecting to your students on campus? Many campuses have begun periodical e-newsletters. Others communicate via paper. Still, some do it the old-fashioned way: spending time directly with students. What have you done to communicate to students effectively? What's working, and what doesn't?
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How's your online directory and Web-based store doing?
Has your school developed an efficient online alumni directory? What about an online store for alumni clothing? Share your work on these projects — or post your questions on how to get them going, or improve them.
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Do you have a gift annuity record holder?
How many gift annuities has your campus received from one individual? Is there any listing — online or other — that has this information? Nelson Rediger, William Taylor Foundation at Taylor University (Upland Ind.), has one friend of the university who has taken out 39 gift annuities, all with one staff person. Share your thoughts and ideas on this accomplishment.
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Branding your institution ... is it just like herding cats?
Have a faculty member who would turn the Golden Arches upside down and paint them pink if they worked for McDonald's? Institutional branding challenges seldom go away. Share your success branding your school, or post your questions about answers for what you're doing wrong.
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Has your alumni travel program taken off?
Do you have a successful travel program? How did you start it? Make it grow? Share your success, or question others about their success.
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Interactive recruitment: share your ideas!
Student blogging and podcasting. Is it working for student recruitment? Ball State University Communications staff shared their interactive recruitment project at the CASE V conference. They armed 12 students with iPods, iTalk, digital cameras and accessories so they could post their personal thoughts and experiences online. (See it at
www.bsu.edu/reallife.) Take a look and share your thoughts. What's working on your campus? Have you tried some other online recruitment?
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Raising money in times of crisis — what works?
We had serious natural disasters in 2005 (the Tsunami and hurricane Katrina to name only two) that have received an outpouring of generous donations. How did those natural disasters impact your fund-raising capabilities? Did you somehow tie giving to these with giving to your institution. What worked? What didn't?
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Finding marketing success for millenials
You have a good idea on what's needed to attract millenials (those born between 1980 and 1996) in your admissions pieces: stay away from boring school colors, get their attention and direct them to the Web. Then, your institution's leader complains that he hasn't heard your latest recruitment ad air. How do you — in a polite way — tell him that means you placed it right? It's time to share your battle stories on how you're finding marketing success in recruitment pieces.
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What works for Homecoming?
Fall may be more than a half a year away, but it's not too early for Homecoming plans. Andrews University (Berrien Springs, Mich.) has moved its annual parade from Sunday to Friday and is offering $50 stipends to those making floats. At the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, alumni staff are gearing up for the fourth annual "Eagle Eye Medallion Hunt," which introduces campus history and the Alumni Association to students seeking the medal for a $200 prize. It's quickly become Homecoming's most popular event for students. What's working for you? Share your best ideas by clicking on the "comments" link below.
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