ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT IS AN INVESTMENT IN THE FUTURE.

Strong alumni engagement programs deliver big results: increased participation in annual giving, a robust major donor pipeline, and access to active and effective volunteers. Most importantly, a strong alumni engagement program ensures that you build lifelong relationships with former students. 

Campbell & Company studied some of the best alumni engagement programs in the country and learned what it takes to build these long-term relationships. We can guide you through a comprehensive assessment of your efforts, scoring your program, identifying strengths, and pinpointing critical areas of opportunity.

Contact us to learn more

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT RESOURCES

Campbell & Company has dedicated significant resources to researching and analyzing alumni engagement best practices. Below are links to a selection of the thought leadership produced by our firm:

  • Based on conversations with six best-in-class programs, our alumni engagement report compiles a comprehensive series of strategies that institutions can use to improve their efforts to engage former students.
  • Our proprietary maturity model allows institutions to score nine different areas of their alumni engagement program on a four-point scale, from under-performing to best-in-class. 
  • The Engage Alumni Online strategy sheet shares eight ways colleges and universities can develop closer bonds with alumni online.
  • Creative Digital Engagement Strategies for Colleges and Universities shares examples of engagement strategies from higher education institutions across the country, plus implementation tips.

 OUR PROCESS

Our Approach: An in-depth dive into your efforts.

Our alumni engagement assessment analyzes the structure and function of your program.  

Stage 1: DISCOVERY

This step will orient us to your alumni engagement program, collecting data and soliciting feedback from internal stakeholders. We will:

  • Review relevant program materials, including staffing structure of Alumni Relations and Career Services; event, volunteer, and regional chapter information; giving data; and social media metrics
  • Conduct internal interviews across teams and departments, including Alumni Relations, Career Services, Annual Giving, and Major Gifts 
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Stage 2: RESEARCH

We will conduct research that will be critical to informing our recommendations, including:

  • Benchmarking your institution against its peers, using our existing data and identifying peer insitutions to engage in in-depth conversations about alumni engagement practices and innovations
  • Conducting one-on-one interviews with both highly engaged and disengaged alumni from your institution, gathering their opinions on what areas of programming and communication work well and what can be improved
  • Sending an electronic survey to a broad selection of alumni, gauging how engaged they feel, what types of events they're interested in, how connected they feel to classmates, and what would compel them to give
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Stage 3: REPORTING

Our team will deliver a score, rating the maturity of your program, and we will outline steps you should take to move closer to a best-in-class program.  

The report we prepare will provide actionable recommendations in the following areas:

  • Staffing and systems
  • Student philanthropy
  • Volunteer opportunities
  • Event strategies
  • Case messaging
  • Collaboration across departments
  • Alumni engagement scoring
  • Involvement of institutional leadership
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Your Outcomes: A 360° strategy to move the needle. 

Post-assessment, you will be prepared to grow your alumni engagement program on every front. 

MOBILIZING STAFF

You will able to make strategic investments and adjustments to Alumni Relations staffing and involve institutional leadership to advance alumni engagement efforts.

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REFINING SYSTEMS

Moving forward, you will be ready to make necessary changes to alumni relations systems, marketing and communications strategies, and procedures for cross-departmental collaboration.  

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ENHANCING OUTREACH

You will have the tools to strengthen key alumni engagement opportunities, from your student philanthropy program and alumni volunteer offerings to social media outreach and alumni events and chapter activity.

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TRACKING PROGRESS

Following the assessment, you will have clear benchmarks to guide your program’s goals and guidance on how to create or enhance the scoring system to track alumni engagement.

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OUR ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT TEAM

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PETER FISSINGER
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Throughout his 30-year career in institutional advancement, Peter has designed and implemented major capital fundraising, annual giving programs, planned giving programs, and marketing and publication efforts.

A member of CASE, he has deep expertise in the higher education sector—both as a consultant and as a frontline fundraiser—and years of experience counseling clients on enhancing alumni engagement programs. 

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CAITLIN BRISTOW, JD
SENIOR CONSULTANT

Caitlin brings a unique combination of development experience and a legal training and education to the Campbell & Company team, as well as a passion for the higher education sector.

She leads our firm's alumni engagement thought leadership efforts and has worked with a wide variety of higher education institutions. Caitlin is an alum of the College of the Holy Cross and remains active in the Chicago Holy Cross Alumni Association. 

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ADAM WILHELM
VICE PRESIDENT

A hands-on collaborator and thought leader in the education sector, Adam engages organizational leadership and volunteers and translates their visions into implementable activities for fundraising staff.

Adam has helped a number of higher education institutions reach ambitious fundraising goals, including College of St. Benedict, Drew University, Lawrence University, and Marquette University. He is a St. Olaf College alum and serves as the Chair of the St. Olaf Fund Board. 

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Carrie Dahlquist
Director, Strategic Information Services

Drawing on 18 years of development and analytics experience, Carrie helps organizations understand how data can drive strategic planning and campaign management and provide accountability and transparency. 

Before joining the Campbell & Company team, Carrie worked at the University of Chicago in a variety of leadership roles in advancement, including strategic planning, campaign management, annual giving, and major gifts.

aj-kane_180502_elizabeth-suffredin-boyle_1x1-crop[1]ELIZABETH SUFFREDIN BOYLE
Senior CONSULTANT

Elizabeth has 12 years of development experience, including numerous leadership roles in the higher education and healthcare sectors.

Elizabeth held multiple roles in Loyola University Chicago’s School of Law for nine years, culminating with her service as Associate Director of Development. In this position, she worked closely with the Dean to implement the school’s fundraising program.

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DAMIEN BERLIET
ASSOCIATE CONSULTANT

Damien draws on a dynamic background spanning the nonprofit and professional services sectors in his fundraising work at Campbell & Company.

Previously, he served as Special Assistant for Executive Communications in the Office of the President at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Damien plays a central role in our firm's alumni engagement research; he co-authored our thought leadership report and co-led a CASE webinar on engaging alumni.  

RECENT CLIENTS

We have helped a number of colleges and universities refine and strengthen their alumni engagement efforts. Below are some of the institutions that have benefited from our alumni engagement services.

Baldwin Wallace University
Bon-Secours-Memorial-College-of-Nursing
College-of-Saint-Benedict
John-Carroll-University

We look forward to partnering with you to advance your alumni engagement efforts. Together, we can lay the groundwork for long-term, meaningful relationships with your alumni.

Contact us to learn more

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