WHERE ARE YOUR EFFORTS MOST LIKELY TO PAY OFF WITH
YOUNG ALUMS?
LEGACY BUILDING AND OLD-FASHIONED ASKING Campbell Rinker’s Young Alumni Value Model™ reveals that your institution can best influence young
alumni to give by:
1. encouraging them to fulfill their desire to be generous,
and
2. encouraging them in their desire for their children
to attend their alma mater.
In the last
issue, we looked at the degree to which 10 alumni
activities and intentions influence donor
status. But if you can’t motivate alumni to increase
their participation, does it really matter?
That’s
where the Young Alumni Value Model comes in, by locating
the intersection of INFLUENCE and OPENNESS
TO CHANGE. This intersection is where alumni officers
will find the best return for their efforts.
For example,
we’ve been talking about the correlation
between donor status and following athletics. But can
you really motivate non-fans to begin attending games
and checking scores? Only occasionally, say young alumni.
Other activities, such as mentoring students, offer
good room for improvement, but little influence on
donor status.
(Aside:
for many institutions, increasing alumni participation
may be a worthy goal regardless of donor status, and
The Alumni Report supports that perspective. But those
that can’t justify an investment of time or budget
resources without an expected payoff in donor income,
the Alumni Value Model provides a solid guide for allocating
energies.)
The model suggests that good, old-fashioned personal
solicitation is at the top of the effectiveness heap.
Efforts to encourage alumni to achieve the giving level
that they already desire is worth the investment and
should never be compromised.
However, taking practical steps to encourage the development
of alumni legacies may (depending on the admissions
selectivity of your institution) be even better for
the bottom line, as it can yield benefits via both
increased alumni giving as well as tuition dollars.
Activities with a meaningful -- but less-dramatic
-- effect include young alumni participation, keeping
young alumni informed, and promoting athletics to young
alums.
While these results were developed based on a broad
North American sample, you may wish to set priorities
based on your own survey and modeling. Try it yourself – or
get assistance from people who have “been there
and done that” by calling Campbell Rinker.
An initial consultation costs nothing, just call
888-7CAMPBELL. Our President, Dirk Rinker, would
be glad to share ideas with you.
METHODOLOGY NOTES
Data drawn
from AlumniPoll(TM) 2002, Campbell Rinker’s
syndicated online survey of more than 3,000 alumni
from four-year and two-year institutions across the
U.S. and Canada. Data were weighted to match national
proportions for public/private and four-year/two-year
enrollment, as reported by the Chronicle of Higher
Education. “Relative Influence” on donor
status was measured using discriminant-function analysis,
with donor status (never given vs. current & lapsed)
as the dependent measure. “Willingness to Change” is
measured by the proportional gap between current and
desired involvement in an activity.
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