The document highlights a significant decline in alumni participation in engagement and giving, with participation rates dropping from 18.1% in 1990 to 8.3% in recent years. It suggests that higher education institutions need to adapt their strategies, particularly by investing in digital engagement platforms to connect with younger alumni, who respond positively to personalized content and social media interactions. The document also outlines how Evertrue's software can help institutions boost alumni participation by providing insights and data-driven strategies.

1. How the Digital
Revolution Can
Reverse Declining
Alumni Participation

2. What are the latest trends in alumni
participation? How can we better engage
alumni as the digital revolution takes hold?
Let’s let the statistics speak.*
*Statistics via Alumni Access’ 2015 Update unless otherwise noted.

3. One of the biggest
challenges in
advancement today is
a decline in alumni
participation and
engagement.

4. The Facts
● Alumni participation rates have decreased by 4.6% for the
top 50 public institutions over the last five years.
● 8.3% was the national rate of alumni participation last year.
This is down from 8.7% in 2013 and 18.1% in 1990.

5. As for young alumni...
24% of organizations struggle with
attracting and engaging young alumni, up
from just 17% the previous year.

6. ● 55% of member-based organizations experienced a drop in new member
acquisition last year. That number was 42% in 2013 and 37% in 2012.
● 75% of members don’t renew because of three key reasons:
And alumni association membership...
1. Lack of engagement with the organization (31%)
2. Lack of ROI (25%)
3. Lack of value (19%)

7. The wealth gap is growing, and schools are focusing on major
gifts rather than activating participation in young alumni.
● 28.6% of all higher-education gifts are given to the top 20 educational
institutions.
● 12 monster gifts accounted for 33.4% of all gifts reported
in 2014.

8. 67% of organizations say their top
goal is to increase engagement
BUT...
27% admit to having no dedicated
strategy to boost engagement.
Shouldn’t this call for a new strategy?

9. How can we turn
these trends
around?

10. Investing in digital is
a great start.

11. Key Social Trends

13. There are 360+
million professionals
on LinkedIn... and
that number
continues to grow.

15. Only 10% of constituents responded to a telephone solicitation in 2014.
78% of member associations report that email is their most effective
marketing channel.
10% of millennials have given via direct mail in the past two years.
○ 40% of Baby Boomers gave in response to an email request and 42%
gave online, according to the 2013 Blackbaud survey.
The Digital Revolution

16. Only 35% of organizations
update their Facebook
page once per day.
33% report once per week.
61% of associations report they use
LinkedIn to engage their members.
78% of associations report that
their biggest boost in member
engagement came from
participation in a public social
network.
Did you know...

17. Your constituents (even the wealthy ones!) are engaged
online and using social platforms...
50% of wealthy individuals now
engage/give online, as compared to 15%
just eight years ago.
87% of association members report they
use Twitter, up from 84% last year.
91% of association members report they
use Facebook, up from 88% last year.

18. Why it’s important for
your organization to
monitor LinkedIn...

19. On Facebook...

21. Millennials are the most
prevalent generation on
social media...
...but they have the
lowest giving rate.
via EverTrue data

22. Socially Engaged Constituents Are More Likely to Give
via EverTrue data
There is a positive correlation
between Facebook
engagement and donor
participation.

23. Millennials (ages 18-34) account for 1/3 of
the US workforce with 53.5 million people,
making up the largest cohort group and
surpassing Gen Xers.
By 2020, Millennials will
total more than $1.4
trillion in spending/giving
power.

24. ● Millennials are 262% more likely to be
influenced by mobile apps and
advertising than the general population.
● Millennials are 247% more likely to be
influenced by blogs and social
networking sites than the general
population.
What You Need to Know About Engaging Young Alumni in the Digital World

25. 62% of millennials say that if
an organization engages
with them on social
networks, they are more
likely to be loyal.
What You Need to Know About Engaging Young Alumni in the Digital World
63% of millennials respond
positively when the content
they receive is tailored to
their cultural interests.
44% of millennials expect
businesses/organizations to
engage in open dialogue
through social channels.
54% respond
positively when the
content they receive
is tailored to their
age.
Engagement &
Personalization
are KEY!

26. 73% of millennials report wanting to receive an email from their alma
mater at least monthly with featured events, stories, and needs on
campus.*
Millennials want to feel a personal, emotional connection with the
organizations they give to.*
Millennials Want Personalization
*2013 Achieve Study

27. Key Takeaways
● Low alumni participation isn’t going to fix itself. We need to address the
issue head-on before it’s too late.
● Make sure to incorporate digital channels into your engagement strategy.
● Experiment with social media and other online platforms to engage young
alumni.
● To boost participation, educate young alumni early on about the
importance of giving back to your institution.
● Take a more targeted, personalized approach to soliciting young alumni.
● Adjust your solicitation methods based on generational preferences and
giving habits.

28. How can EverTrue help you
drive alumni participation?

29. EverTrue’s web & mobile software helps you connect the
dots between institutional data and social/professional
data from leading modern sources.

30. ● Get easy access to donor data
and increased insight into alumni
capacity and affinity.
● Quickly segment your alumni
base to identify up-and-coming
donors and build your donor
pipeline.
● Connect your investment in social
media to dollars raised.
With EverTrue You Can...

31. About EverTrue
Since 2010, EverTrue has been empowering fundraising teams with intuitive web and
mobile software. Today, 350+ nonprofit institutions, with a combined $20 billion of
giving data (and counting!), rely on EverTrue to identify, prioritize, and manage their
prospects.
With EverTrue, fundraisers spend less time and effort getting the answers they need.
We surface insights from your database as well as from our powerful integrations with
Google Maps, LinkedIn, Facebook, Zillow, and more. And instead of waiting days for
information and reports, fundraisers equipped with EverTrue can find prospects in
milliseconds, whether for portfolio-building, moves management, trips, campaigns, or
events - all in one intuitive platform. EverTrue is headquartered in Boston, MA and is
a Bain Capital Ventures-backed company.
To learn more, contact EverTrue at sales@evertrue.com.