Who Gives? Alumni, That’s Who. Here’s How.

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One of the biggest challenges that day schools face is how to increase alumni donations. Data from the 2011 PEJE Challenge Award shows that alumni, and their families, are an untapped market. Of the over 6,000 gifts recorded in the Challenge Award Impact Tracker, only 2 percent came from alumni:

Where Do Grads Give??

Of the 1,000 Day School alumni surveyed in the Measuring Success Alumni Impact Surveys last year, only 2 percent rate their day school as being a top priority for donations, and only 14 percent rate it in their top three.

How Satisfied Are Alumni?

We know that in fact many alumni are actually very satisfied with their JDS experience—64 percent, in fact, would recommend their JDS to a friend.  

Data from the Measuring Success Alumni Impact Surveys show that JDS alumni who strongly recommend their school are twice as likely to rate the school as their highest donation priority (4% vs. 2%, and 26% in top three). In addition, alumni who strongly recommend the school are also more likely to engage in recruiting or speaking to families interested in applying to the school, attending social events like homecoming and reunions, and fundraising on behalf of the school.

Schools that continue to communicate with alumni who had a great experience at the school can find various ways for grads to give back to their school.

What Can You Do with This Information?

• Build Your Alumni Army. Actively recruit enthusiastic grads to spread the word about your school. Work that alumni database and set yourself recruitment goals. For instance, you might want to shoot for converting, say, two of every 10 enthusiastic grads into ambassadors.
• Network with ‘em! Provide your alumni who are less enthusiastic with chances to do professional networking. Host a series of alumni networking events at your school. Invite local business leaders to give inspirational talks—with a chance afterward for young alumni to mingle with the CEOs. You might also try alumni-network speed-dating, in which you have a group of alumni introduce themselves to a group of local biz folks.

Measuring Success creates quantitative performance tools and models to help managers and boards enhance their organizational effectiveness. Contact us at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .