ALUMNI GIVING INFLUENCES (PART II): SPORTS AGAIN!
In the last
edition we shared from our AlumniPoll 2002 survey
which experiences alumni have as students
that motivate them most to give. (Don't remember? CLICK
HERE to check out the summary chart.)
In this edition, we show you which aspects of their
alumni experience most correlate with giving. Yes, active alumni are more likely to give than inactive
alumni,but what kind of activity best correlates with
giving? Once again, the top influence on giving is:
- Following
an institution's athletic teams.
This is closely followed by:
- Keeping
up with the "latest happenings".
Several other alumni behaviors are also positively
linked to donations. These include (in order of influence):
1)Keeping in touch with college friends
2)Participating in alumni activities
3)Encouraging people to attend the institution
4)Helping students or alumni benefit from one's skills
and experiences.
Interestingly one area of activity had a negative
influence on giving behavior: Pursuing continuing learning
opportunities.
It appears that those who continue to pay for education
are less likely to give. That is not to say that continuing
education is bad -- net tuition revenue may well exceed
net donor revenue. But don't expect alumni to give
more to you simply because they're taking classes.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT?
What does all this mean for development professionals?
Here are a few ideas:
- Use affinity
scores to prioritize alumni prospects based on
their level of activity. Consider weighting
the affinity database elements based on the full
chart of results, which can be VIEWED
HERE.
- Keep alumni
informed about institution news via e-mail newsletters
that link to institution web site.
- Assist
alumni in keeping in touch with other alumni. An
online alumni directory is not only a great service
for alumni, but it can enable you to identify which
alumni are "looked up" most often, another
clue for identifying good giving prospects based on
how connected they are with other alumni.
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