Dive Brief:
- North Carolina Central University has increased its alumni giving rate, in part, thanks to more than 20% of its total gifts coming from graduating classes finishing in the last 16 years.
- The university exceeded a $6.5 million fundraising target by nearly $500,000, thanks to its 'Every Eagle, Every Year' engagement initiative.
- Officials credit competitive giving challenges established by alumni of campus-based fraternity and sorority chapters, student government and academic divisions for the successful engagement of younger alumni.
Dive Insight:
As state appropriations dwindle and college options increase for incoming students, cultivating relationships with young alumni is critical in demonstrating institutional support to corporate donors, boosting endowments and generating scholarship opportunities for incoming students. High rates of alumni giving, more than high amounts, demonstrate to potential external donors that graduates of the institution believe the school worth investing in, and often can be a determining factor in whether corporations or private philanthropists give as well.
Several small colleges have bolstered fundraising by encouraging philanthropy in silos, instead of asking large communities of individual members to invest in the institution or a capital campaign at large. Hollins University has re-imagined small, women’s college philanthropy with targeted philanthropy goals of supporting students, upgrading facilities and more. Florida A&M University has also set new records in giving, as it looks towards an ambitious $100 million capital campaign goal.