When they sang their blockbuster hit “We Are Family” in 1979, Sister Sledge was not talking about the world of advancement. Nonetheless, their refrain is apropos when it comes to discerning how to best operate a development and engagement program at any level.

There was a time when the world of alumni relations was all about traditions and doing the same things over and over again until alumni and the institution came to both expect and respect them. Programs such as homecoming, reunions, Founders Day, and many others became the traditions used by alumni leaders to engage alumni and, to a great extent, justify their existence and importance in the growing world of development.

Today there’s a new norm in alumni relations, just as there’s a new norm in society. Actually, there was a new norm in alumni relations and society before the world was enveloped by a pandemic. But the new norm in alumni relations is that there is no norm. 

I was the executive director of the University of Connecticut’s Alumni Association when Facebook was created, and I remember hearing our students talking about the site as if it was the greatest invention ever. I figured that I shouldn’t bother getting an account because by the time I learned how to use it, it would likely be extinct. How did that prediction work out for me?

Fortunately, I not only got on Facebook, but I’m also now on Twitter (@johnfeudo), Instagram, and LinkedIn, and I even have a Snapchat account (which I only check every holiday when I get a nice greeting from Team Snapchat). And just yesterday I watched a dog jump over several rolls of toilet paper on TikTok. I may have “arrived” (or maybe not), but the point is that we all need to adapt to the changing world around us.

In 2001, on a sad September day, the world around us changed forever. I sat in the UConn Alumni Center watching in disbelief with my staff as a second plane hit the World Trade Center in Manhattan. Not only did the world change that day, but many industries changed with it. 

Alumni relations was one of those professions that saw great change after the terrorist attack. Alumni stopped traveling, so alumni tours ceased. People started staying home more to be with their families, realizing how precious life truly is, and volunteerism for one’s alma mater decreased in the subsequent months.

Then we found our country in a recession in 2008, and income became an issue. People didn’t have as much disposable income to use on events, merchandise, athletic tickets, or even philanthropy. Many people lost their jobs, had to change jobs, or were forced to get second jobs to make ends meet, so event attendance and volunteerism suffered accordingly. I distinctly remember a number of donors asking to rewrite their pledge agreements to backload payments and give them time to rebuild their investments.

But we found a new normal, and then 2020 hit. And it hit hard. 

 

A History Lesson 

Aficionados of higher education advancement history know that the first “fundraisers” in education, dating back more than a century, were alumni and staff emboldened with an alumni relations title such as alumni director or alumni secretary. Their duties included inviting alumni back to campus for social events, but they later expanded to include asking graduates for a few dollars to help with the costs of these events or with other operational needs at the institution. 

Records were handwritten and kept on index cards stored in a file drawer, and when someone made a donation, the amount was noted on the index card next to the person’s name. If they gave a second time, that amount got printed right next to the previous amount. Thus began “loyal donors” and the initial thrill of “retention.”

Fast-forward decades later. Once those schools saw the growth in private giving and realized the incredible potential of dollars in the door, fundraising responsibilities were handed over to staff and volunteers charged primarily with building philanthropic giving. The engagement work remained with the alumni director, at least in some cases. 

In full disclosure, I began typing “those fundraising responsibilities were handed over to professional fundraisers charged primarily with building philanthropic giving,” but I quickly realized what an insult that was to those of us in the industry whose titles may say “alumni relations” but whose roles have always included fundraising. And that means most of us.