It’s a perennial question for advancement teams: what are the latest activities (that actually work) to engage this generation of young alumni? In the CASE Communities online discussion boards, alumni relations professionals shared these ideas. 

The CASE Library maintains this collection of young alumni samples. It includes samples from awards programs, advisory boards and councils, young alumni giving initiatives, and events and alumni programming. Materials from the CASE Circle of Excellence Awards are included as available.

The CASE Library has created this collection to help members develop programming to teach students about the importance of private support for their institutions and encourage student giving.

Combining data and storytelling in meaningful ways can be a challenge in advancement. Let the following key concepts of data-driven storytelling be your guide—and see how other teams have applied them to reach their donors, alumni, and other key stakeholders.  

The CASE Library maintains this collection of online samples for all CASE members. It includes examples of homecoming and reunion planning and communications materials as well as CASE Circle of Excellence Award winning examples from the alumni relations and special event categories.

CASE’s 50th anniversary is also a time to look to the future. Five advancement leaders share thoughts on the challenges ahead, along with what makes them optimistic in this roundtable discussion.

The most recent classes of graduates, shaped by pandemic interruptions to their campus experiences, present a unique set of challenges when it comes to reconnecting with their alma maters. Find out how alumni relations teams are rising to the challenge, with innovative programs and strategies for engaging their newest young alumni.

Members often ask about student philanthropy and ways to engage students in fundraising while they are still on campus. The resources in this bibliography discuss the depth and breadth of the topic—from student philanthropy groups and student giving programs to research on the impact of student experiences on future alumni giving and engagement.

Institutions’ Circle of Excellence Award-winning projects used nostalgia to engage alumni in fun, new ways. Explore how advancement teams broadly balance looking back and looking forward, why nostalgia works well to engage alumni, and what takeaways advancement teams can apply to their own work.

There’s no doubt that communicating with your alumni (especially recent grads) on social media is effective. Alumni are already familiar with their alma mater, but they may lose their immediate connection once they have graduated. Keeping you alumni community engaged on your institution’s social media channels helps connect them to your institution, while keeping them in touch with fellow alumni. Connect with alumni on social media and you will engage with them on platforms where they already spend time.