Time is valuable, and that is what makes volunteering such an impactful component of alumni engagement. Creating volunteer opportunities for alumni to connect with students, the university, and each other is the ultimate win-win proposition. Over the past year, the Colorado School of Mines (Mines) has grown participation in its volunteer program by more than 70%. This growth in volunteerism can be attributed to increased access to opportunities, establishing expectations, tracking participation, and consistent stewardship. Mines is a mid-sized university with around 8,000 students and 40,000 alumni. The Mines Foundation and Alumni Engagement shop align with the university in both size and budget. To optimize for our size and staff bandwidth, we have developed techniques that increase our impact while maintaining a small to mid-sized team. Developing a robust volunteer offering has improved our collaboration with university partners and elevated the Mines signature student experience. Volunteerism has cultivated stronger alumni connections with the university and advanced individuals through the donor continuum.

The NDSU Foundation strives to create to the pinnacle volunteer experience for their Trustees. That is no easy task with over 70 Trustees. Learn how they have implemented personas and metrics to measure and personalize the volunteer experience.