The sixth of Richardson and Basinger’s laws of fundraising was:
Law #6: You can’t thank a donor enough. We must remember that donors are people. Even when they are disguised as foundations or corporations, there are people behind the gifts. One of the fundamental attributes of human nature is that people like to be appreciated. It is imperative that you express gratitude for each and every gift. Once is not enough. You must keep on expressing that gratitude in a number of different ways.
This post will consider how this principle fits into the processes of student recruitment, retention and alumni development.
Recruitment: It is difficult for a school to thank prospective students and their parents too much. However, a contact every day may be over the top. Nevertheless, multiple contacts from multiple offices keeps prospective students interested.
Prospective students are interested in a number of different aspects of college life. This opens the door to many different offices or individuals to contact prospective students and their parents, offering information and appreciation.
Prospective students want to know about academics and majors. This opens the door for faculty and current students to contact the prospective students with pertinent information from their different perspectives. Prospective students want to hear what faculty expect of students. They also want to know how current students see the school and the academic programs.
Parents of prospective students tend to be most interested in financial arrangements and career possibilities. This opens the door to the financial offices and career services to provide pertinent information and show appreciation for the interest shown by the prospective students in the institution. However, this needs to be done very carefully because the prospective students must be made to feel and believe that they are in charge of their lives.
Prospective students want to know about the campus residential, social, and athletic life. Christian students want to know about spiritual life and opportunities on campus. These provide opportunities for residential and social life personnel to explain their programming. Current students can provide a distinct view of campus life. Coaches and current athletes provide excellent voices for athletic programming. Chaplains, spiritual affairs, and current students can speak to questions about spiritual life on campus.
All of these communications must serve two purposes. They should provide information to prospective students. However, they must also be composed in such a way as to express appreciation to the prospective students for their interest in the institution.
Retention: Once a student is enrolled, the institution is not off the hook. It must continue to make the student feel as if they are appreciated. Each and every employee must treat current students as if their jobs depend upon the satisfaction of the current students with the service and treatment these students receive, because they do. If current students feel they are not appreciated and not getting satisfactory service, they will find a college at which they feel they are appreciated.
Providing great service and a sense of appreciation does not mean that an institution has to give away the store. The institution should strive to provide a quality education at a fair price. The purpose of institutional offices is to serve the students and meet their needs. Faculty should be there to help students learn. If students get the feeling that they are an after thought and an inconvenience to the faculty, they will become an after thought and go somewhere they can learn and feel appreciated.
Alumni: Alumni are people and need to feel appreciated. If all the communications they received from their Alma Mater are requests for more money, the facade of appreciation disappears quickly. Alumni Offices must help alumni remember what they have received from their Alma Mater. They must celebrate the alumni accomplishments. They must thank the graduates for sharing their talents with the institution and society at large. As long as the signs of appreciation seem real, the institution is then in position to encourage alumni to give back to their Alma Mater so that the next generation of students can experience the same benefits that they experienced. In making such appeals, the institution should highlight prospective and current students showing their appreciation to the alumni for the opportunities which they are receiving because of the generosity of alumni, and the trail blazing that alumni have done in opening career paths and doors to those that are following.
Alumni are the fruit of an institution. They are living billboards for their Alma Maters and free advertisements. An institution must continually thank and keep alumni involved with the institution. The best way to thank alumni is to provide ongoing services, such as life-long learning opportunities; campus services like ongoing career counseling, computing services, health services or job placement file services; access to campus facilities such as the library, gym, or bookstore; or reduced-price access to cultural or athletic events.
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