After graduation, your alumni lead busy lives, and higher education institutions need to get creative to maximize their fundraisers. Fortunately, with a combination of today’s technology and time-tested outreach strategies, universities still have a range of successful outreach strategies to choose from. 

But just what strategies will help boost your alumni donor retention rate? Ultimately, the answer depends on your unique school community. However, there are a few engagement strategies we’ve seen find success time and time again, and we’re here to share them with your university or college. Let’s get started. 

1. Send eCards for special occasions. 

Mailed cards have a personal touch often lost in the digital age that can make your alumni feel special. On the other hand, it’s hard to beat the speed and convenience of email communication, allowing you to connect in seconds on special occasions. 

eCards combine the benefits of both methods, creating a fast but memorable experience for your alumni community. eCardWidget’s charity eCards guide walks through how nonprofits like your university can use this communication method to connect with donors:

• Design your eCards. Most eCard platforms provide basic design tools and image options, but your university can make your cards fully your own. Upload custom design assets like your brand elements and imagery that reflect your university. 
• Personalize your message. eCards are ultimately digital postcards, and the message you write next to your design is a key opportunity to connect with donors. Create a message template depending on the occasion you’re reaching out for, whether it’s a birthday, graduation anniversary, or holiday. 
• Schedule delivery. Create your eCards in advance and then schedule them to send later. This can help your team juggle your workload ahead of key fundraisers like Giving Tuesday. Get your cards ready early, then sit back and trust that your eCard platform will deliver them at the right time. 

Another benefit of eCards is the diverse ways you can send them. Send your eCards through email, text message, or social media to communicate with your alumni via their preferred outreach channels. 

2. Share student stories. 

Why do alumni give to your university? Each donor likely has their own specific reasons, but in general, most supporters give to universities for two reasons: they are grateful for the experiences they had, and they want to recreate them for future students. 

Capitalize on this and continue giving updates on your university simultaneously by having students share their stories. Ask your current students to write up their stories, explaining their reasons for attending your university, the memorable experiences they’ve had so far, and what they hope to accomplish before graduation. At the end of these stories, ask them to emphasize how their positive school experience is enabled by the generosity of the university’s alumni community. 

Formatting these stories as emails gives you plenty of space to add context, details, and fully get your message across. But you can also recruit students to send abbreviated text messages or call to talk with alumni one-on-one. 

If possible, pair students who attend the same clubs or have the same majors as the alumni they’re contacting did. This can help strengthen your alumnus’ connection to your university and lead to additional support beyond the occasional donation. 

Current students who participate in your fundraising efforts can be volunteers or part of a student work-study program to help them earn a little money while helping your university earn the funding it needs to continue creating a great experience for them. Be sure to review their stories before sending them to alumni. Ensure each student has the opportunity to tell their unique story while also creating a consistent message to share with your greater alumni community. 

3. Host a variety of events. 

Alumni become stalwart parts of their school’s community when they have more involvement opportunities. Invite your alumni back to campus or get them involved online by organizing virtual events. 

A few types of events you might host include:

• Speeches and lectures. Call upon your community of experts and scholars to continue educating alumni with engaging speeches and lecture series. Vary your speakers to cover various topics, ranging from evergreen presentations about intriguing academic topics to topical, energized speeches that touch on current events. 
• Networking events and skill-building workshops. College years are students’ prime opportunity to expand their professional networks and develop their skills. Make sure your doors are still open to alumni interested in expanding their resumes by hosting professional conferences and workshops for your entire community, including graduates. 
• Volunteer opportunities. Give your alumni a variety of ways to give back. Offer volunteer opportunities and work with alumni to find roles that benefit your university and are also interesting to alumni. For example, you might offer skill-based opportunities, like helping coordinate an awareness day for student mental health.

These types of events help you engage alumni and keep them a part of your community, so you can eventually encourage them to donate. For fundraising-specific events, there’s still even more to explore. Auctions, galas, and sports-related events can all bring in alumni who are specifically interested in giving back. 

4. Gamify the giving process. 

With gamification, you can turn donating to your university into a fun activity in and of itself rather than a chore. 

Gamification is the process of adding “game-like” elements to an activity to encourage increased participation. This might be something as simple as an animation and celebratory jingle that plays when a donor gives to entire event engagement strategies, such as creating a donor leader board during a fundraiser. 

Gamification can be especially effective for engaging alumni during virtual events where they are otherwise distant from your university. For example, during a virtual auction, you might use software to send them a red “danger” text alert whenever they get outbid. Or, for a pledge fundraiser, you might create a virtual leaderboard to push alumni into friendly competition with one another. 

Your alumni community is one of your university’s biggest assets for raising funds, building your reputation, and creating a network that prospective students will want to join upon graduating. Stay in touch with your alumni by reaching out in creative ways and sharing the same heartfelt emotional stories that have helped you cultivate support for years.

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