How the Digital Revolution Can Reverse Declining Alumni Participation

What are the latest trends in alumni participation? How can we better engage

alumni as the digital revolution takes hold?

Let’s let the statistics speak.*

*Statistics via Alumni Access’ 2015 Update unless otherwise noted.

One of the biggest challenges in advancement today is a decline in alumni participation and engagement.

The Facts

● Alumni participation rates have decreased by 4.6% for the

top 50 public institutions over the last five years.

● 8.3% was the national rate of alumni participation last year.

This is down from 8.7% in 2013 and 18.1% in 1990.

As for young alumni...

24% of organizations struggle with

attracting and engaging young alumni, up

from just 17% the previous year.

● 55% of member-based organizations experienced a drop in new member

acquisition last year. That number was 42% in 2013 and 37% in 2012.

● 75% of members don’t renew because of three key reasons:

And alumni association membership...

1. Lack of engagement with the organization (31%) 2. Lack of ROI (25%) 3. Lack of value (19%)

The wealth gap is growing, and schools are focusing on major

gifts rather than activating participation in young alumni.

● 28.6% of all higher-education gifts are given to the top 20 educational

institutions.

● 12 monster gifts accounted for 33.4% of all gifts reported

in 2014.

67% of organizations say their top

goal is to increase engagement

BUT...

27% admit to having no dedicated

strategy to boost engagement.

Shouldn’t this call for a new strategy?

How can we turn these trends

around?

Investing in digital is a great start.

Key Social Trends

There are 360+ million professionals

on LinkedIn... and that number

continues to grow.

Only 10% of constituents responded to a telephone solicitation in 2014.

78% of member associations report that email is their most effective

marketing channel.

10% of millennials have given via direct mail in the past two years.

○ 40% of Baby Boomers gave in response to an email request and 42%

gave online, according to the 2013 Blackbaud survey.

The Digital Revolution

Only 35% of organizations

update their Facebook

page once per day.

33% report once per week.

61% of associations report they use

LinkedIn to engage their members.

78% of associations report that

their biggest boost in member

engagement came from

participation in a public social

network.

Did you know...

Your constituents (even the wealthy ones!) are engaged online and using social platforms...

50% of wealthy individuals now

engage/give online, as compared to 15%

just eight years ago.

87% of association members report they

use Twitter, up from 84% last year.

91% of association members report they

use Facebook, up from 88% last year.

Why it’s important for your organization to monitor LinkedIn...

On Facebook...

Millennials are the most prevalent generation on

social media...

...but they have the lowest giving rate.

via EverTrue data

Socially Engaged Constituents Are More Likely to Give

via EverTrue data

There is a positive correlationbetween Facebook engagement and donor participation.

Millennials (ages 18-34) account for 1/3 of

the US workforce with 53.5 million people,

making up the largest cohort group and

surpassing Gen Xers.

By 2020, Millennials will

total more than $1.4

trillion in spending/giving

power.

● Millennials are 262% more likely to be

influenced by mobile apps and

advertising than the general population.

● Millennials are 247% more likely to be

influenced by blogs and social

networking sites than the general

population.

What You Need to Know About Engaging Young Alumni in the Digital World

62% of millennials say that if

an organization engages

with them on social

networks, they are more

likely to be loyal.

What You Need to Know About Engaging Young Alumni in the Digital World

63% of millennials respond

positively when the content

they receive is tailored to

their cultural interests.

44% of millennials expect

businesses/organizations to

engage in open dialogue

through social channels.

54% respond

positively when the

content they receive

is tailored to their

age.

Engagement &

Personalization are KEY!

73% of millennials report wanting to receive an email from their alma

mater at least monthly with featured events, stories, and needs on

campus.*

Millennials want to feel a personal, emotional connection with the

organizations they give to.*

Millennials Want Personalization

*2013 Achieve Study

Key Takeaways

● Low alumni participation isn’t going to fix itself. We need to address the issue head-on before it’s too late.

● Make sure to incorporate digital channels into your engagement strategy.● Experiment with social media and other online platforms to engage young

alumni.● To boost participation, educate young alumni early on about the

importance of giving back to your institution.● Take a more targeted, personalized approach to soliciting young alumni.● Adjust your solicitation methods based on generational preferences and

giving habits.

How can EverTrue help you drive alumni participation?

EverTrue’s web & mobile software helps you connect the dots between institutional data and social/professional

data from leading modern sources.

● Get easy access to donor data and increased insight into alumni capacity and affinity.

● Quickly segment your alumni base to identify up-and-coming donors and build your donor pipeline.

● Connect your investment in social media to dollars raised.

With EverTrue You Can...

About EverTrue

Since 2010, EverTrue has been empowering fundraising teams with intuitive web and mobile software. Today, 350+ nonprofit institutions, with a combined $20 billion of giving data (and counting!), rely on EverTrue to identify, prioritize, and manage their prospects.

With EverTrue, fundraisers spend less time and effort getting the answers they need. We surface insights from your database as well as from our powerful integrations with Google Maps, LinkedIn, Facebook, Zillow, and more. And instead of waiting days for information and reports, fundraisers equipped with EverTrue can find prospects in milliseconds, whether for portfolio-building, moves management, trips, campaigns, or events - all in one intuitive platform. EverTrue is headquartered in Boston, MA and is a Bain Capital Ventures-backed company.

To learn more, contact EverTrue at sales@evertrue.com.