Today’s post is the fourth of four articles [Read Part I, Part II, Parts IIIA, and IIIB here.] on K-12 alumni engagement. I hope you have enjoyed our discussions on just who alumni are, why bother to connect to them, how to overcome the barriers to starting a program, and basic steps to creating a plan of action.
While this effort (and these articles!) may seem overwhelming, please, please remember that the future YOU will be thankful for your efforts now. Good alumni engagement takes time and investment. Alumni engagement must be a part of an overall, methodical, comprehensive fundraising plan. Also remember that everyone’s job is alumni relations; alumni may reconnect to your school via a phone call, a chance meeting at a conference networking session, a website search, even an impromptu drive while in the area visiting relatives.Also, someone must own the process, whether it be a development or alumni director, school board member, even an admissions staffer. We do not suggest the principal or pastor to manage the effort, but must certainly be involved. Last, give the effort a budget and give alumni engagement the tools to be successful. One final point on engaging and fundraising from alumni to keep at the forefront of your efforts: You should not Ask –If you have not Engaged You cannot Engage –If you have not Connected You cannot Connect –If you do not have a Database You cannot have the Database –If you have not done the work to collect names, addresses, etc. You cannot collect the names, addresses, etc. –If you do not startWe are done! Did we miss something? Should we have included the answer to a question you have? Please contact us at 260-203-4510 or jond@tlspartnership.org with any comments or questions.P.S. It’s still all about the warm-fuzzies and our K-12 schools have a unique opportunity to keep the fuzzies warm. Go forth and engage!Picture Source: Time-Life Archives on Google, “James Linen’s Party for Hotchkiss Alumni”
