Life or Death…Investing in
Your Alumni
Mark Luellen, VP Business
Development
www.affinityconnection.com
Begin with the end in mind…
• Where will your organization be in 5 years? How about in
10 or 25?
• How will you get there?
• Who will have the courage to take the lead and organize
others to follow?
• What can be done to sustain the results of their hard
work?
www.affinityconnection.com
What does success look like?
• A full, engaged volunteer board with clearly outlined roles and
responsibilities
• Leaders who are willing to set goals, reach out to other members
and lead projects
• 30% alumni participation in the annual fund
• 15-20% alumni participation in annual events
• Good address information for 90% of your living alumni
• Email addresses for 75% of your living alumni
• An active network of alumni who can reach out to other alumni from
their decade or in the area where they live
• A close working relationship with the active chapter
• A house that can compete with other student housing options
• Financial reserves
www.affinityconnection.com
It won’t be easy…here’s what you’re up against
What alumni are saying about their houses, their chapters,
and their willingness to give back:
• “It was terrible, just awful! It looked like a crack house.”
• “The chapter has deteriorated and it isn’t something
worth giving money to.”
• “I would consider giving but would need to know the
strategic plans, short-term and long-term goals, and
specifications first.”
• “We’ve done campaigns before and it appears we do the
same things over and over. We’re getting cynical
because we aren’t getting anywhere.”
• “I would be interested ONLY if they turn things around.”
www.affinityconnection.com
Growing and sustaining a Greek
organization in the 21st century…
• Meeting increasingly higher standards for leadership
development, scholarship and service
• Taking more responsibility for risk management and
member behavior
• Adapting to student needs, university expectations and
local requirements for housing and property
management
• Selling benefits to potential members and their parents
• Motivating alumni, your most valuable asset, to
engage in the present and the future of the
organization
www.affinityconnection.com
Alumni relations: a marathon,
not a sprint…
• Success=SUSTAINABLE RESULTS
• Delivering value to your alumni members must be an
ongoing process, not a short-term project
• Annual fund must acquire, retain and grow donors to
progress naturally into major fundraising (kerosene vs.
building a fire)
• Building a member-to-member network builds a strong
chain for obtaining feedback and advancing goals, ideas
and projects
• An intrinsically stronger organization is positioned
for long-term health
www.affinityconnection.com
Focusing on meeting member needs has
a lasting return…
• Facilitating member-to-member relationships
and providing opportunities for alumni
experiences—Homecoming, reunions, contentsharing
• Managing relationships to engage alumni as
donors, volunteers and active participants in
events, communications, and projects
• As the heart and constant of the
organization, members drive growth from the
inside out
www.affinityconnection.com
Adhering to a marketing
communications plan…
• Segmented and personalized appeals—targeted
messages based on individual giving history (nevergiven, new donor, repeat donor, lapsed donor, reclaimed
donor)
• Regular print and electronic communications with
effective content:
– Your accomplishments, vision, needs, operational efficiency
– Recognize donor and volunteer contributions
– Use effective headlines, short articles, pull quotes, photos and
subheads to impact the reader
– Convey urgency and enthusiasm
• A Web site that drives member participation
www.affinityconnection.com
Key Web elements…
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•
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•
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Donation capabilities
Member address and biographical updates
Searchable member directory
Event registrations
User-generated content
www.affinityconnection.com
The volunteer as hero…
• Understanding opportunity costs—managing the details
of database maintenance, gift processing, project
management, print production
• Embracing best practices for marketing and fundraising
• Focus on your value-add:
– A spokesperson for the vision
– Person-to-person outreach, building relationships, and
establishing a solid network of alumni leadership and member
support
– Providing guidance, support and education to chapter
• Utilize tools to manage your volunteers and their efforts
www.volunteersupportcenter.com
www.affinityconnection.com
Online Volunteer Management
-Prospects and their
contact info
-Contact log
-Tickler file
-Resource section
-Message board
www.affinityconnection.com
Does this describe your organization?
• Volunteers burned out from trying to handle so many
details
• Board members fed up from dealing with problems
• Alumni database old and out-of-date and getting worse
• Weak relationship with the active chapter
• House in disrepair or not up to current standards
• Alumni with negative attitudes and unwilling to get
involved or provide financial support
You CAN turn it around, but IT WON’T BE EASY!
www.affinityconnection.com
About Affinity Connection
• Role of personal trainer, consultant and coach for
adherence, deadline management and results tracking
• Team model provides specialist attention and insight to
key areas (chapter consultation, lead gift and solicitation
consulting and training, marketing, etc.)
• Resources for board and volunteer recruitment, plus
volunteer training and management tools, like online callmanagement system for volunteers
• Infrastructure for database management, gift processing,
web technology, print and mail production to alleviate
volunteer burn-out
• Consumer marketing approach motivates members to
form a bond with the organization
www.affinityconnection.com
Start-up Package #1
Database and Web site Services
• 6 months of database services free ($720 value)
– Months 1-6: $250/month
– Months 7-24: $370/month
– Includes no-charge financing of:
–
–
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$2,500 Web site set-up
$500 database set-up
24 months of Web site maintenance at $125/month
18 months database services at $120/month
www.affinityconnection.com
Start-up Package #2
Database and Appeal Letters Financing Package
• Months 1-6: $250/month
• Months 7-24: $575/month
Includes:
– No charge financing of $500 database set-up fee and
monthly database services fee at $120/month
– No charge financing of two annual giving appeal
letters at $1,500/piece
www.affinityconnection.com