Category: Fundraising

What Teaching First-Year College Writing Taught Me About Major Donor Communications

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Writing is a social act. Sometimes, we get so bogged down in the solitary process of writing that we forget that we are, essentially, communicating. Even if I’m just journaling, I’m communicating with myself and trying to make sense or meaning of an issue. Many of the lessons that I’ve learned about what makes writing… Continue Reading What Teaching First-Year College Writing Taught Me About Major Donor Communications

Press Release: ALUMinate Launch

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For Immediate Release Chicago Company Reshaping Alumni and Donor Engagement Chicago, March 15, 2019—​To address the changing landscape and needs of higher education fundraising efforts, innovative approaches are essential. ALUMinate, a Chicago based company, provides turnkey solutions to help schools supercharge their alumni engagement and major gift fundraising. The company is pleased to announce innovation… Continue Reading Press Release: ALUMinate Launch

3 Ways to Increase Alumni Engagement with Human-Centered Design

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Is it time for your institution to embrace human-centered design to increase alumni engagement and alumni philanthropy? I read recently that just 5% of alumni from public universities gave back to their alma maters in 2017. This statistic makes me nervous for the future of higher education. Why aren’t more alumni giving back to their… Continue Reading 3 Ways to Increase Alumni Engagement with Human-Centered Design

Forget Those Cliché Resolutions: 4 Goals for High-Impact Fundraisers in 2019

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It’s the second week of February. According to U.S. News and World Report, if you’re like most people, you’ve probably already failed at 80% of your New Year’s resolutions. I love this time of year for this reason. When we start to struggle with our cliché or unrealistic resolutions, we get the chance to have… Continue Reading Forget Those Cliché Resolutions: 4 Goals for High-Impact Fundraisers in 2019

Stop Wasting Your Gift Officers’ Time: Interview with Joseph Volin on Engagement Metrics

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What if you could figure out exactly how undergraduate involvement influences future giving and use it to find alumni donors and leaders waiting for your call? Fundraising in higher education is hard. Not only is it challenging to identify donors with the capacity to give, you have to find those who also want to give.… Continue Reading Stop Wasting Your Gift Officers’ Time: Interview with Joseph Volin on Engagement Metrics

Finding the “Lowly” Million Dollar Donor (Part 2 of 2)

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Part 2: The Nitty Gritty Financial Side of Major Gifts Last month, we laid out ways to identify and cultivate major gift prospects, especially those living far from campus. But the work isn’t over once you cultivate a major gift, in fact, this is when the real fun starts! As summarized in last month’s blog,… Continue Reading Finding the “Lowly” Million Dollar Donor (Part 2 of 2)

Finding the “Lowly” Million Dollar Donor (Part 1 of 2)

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This month and next we’re talking about major gift prospects. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 48% of the $5.6 billion that America’s 50 biggest donors gave in 2016 went to colleges and universities.   While these super-rich donors are the dream of every university advancement leader, the success of college and university capital campaigns… Continue Reading Finding the “Lowly” Million Dollar Donor (Part 1 of 2)

2 Ways to Radically Rethink Career Services for Alumni

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Institutions say they want to offer better career services for alumni, so why aren’t they? This spring we conducted a nationwide assessment on the state of career services for alumni (a topic our Research Consortium members requested) and the results are in! One of the most concerning trends from that data was how many institutions… Continue Reading 2 Ways to Radically Rethink Career Services for Alumni

Higher Ed Fundraising in Times of Division and Upheaval: 3 Insights from the ABA Development Conference

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How do we demonstrate the authentic value of philanthropy during the uncertain temper of our times? Earlier this month, ALUMinate took part in the American Bar Association (ABA) Law School Development Conference in Chicago, which was attended by advancement staff and law school deans from major institutions across the country. Both ALUMinate co-founders spoke at… Continue Reading Higher Ed Fundraising in Times of Division and Upheaval: 3 Insights from the ABA Development Conference

Do You Really Need Tech for Alumni Philanthropy? How Indecision Could Hurt You

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In the age of digital disruption, how do you cut through the noise to identify which major technological trends have substance?   Recently, my colleagues and I had a discussion about PowerPoint. In the beginning, PowerPoint was lauded as a breakthrough solution in business communication. In fact, it became downright pervasive. Then PowerPoint faced a… Continue Reading Do You Really Need Tech for Alumni Philanthropy? How Indecision Could Hurt You