The fourth of Richardson and Basinger’s laws of fundraising was:
Law #4: People only give to people. People do not typically give to causes. They may think about giving to grand ideas, impressive buildings or heroic organizations. However, in the end, people give to people who are changing lives, making a difference, and changing the world.
This post will consider how this fits into the processes of student recruitment, retention, and alumni development.
Recruitment: Parents of prospective students want the best education possible for their children. Prospective students and their parents will devour electronic and printed materials about colleges and universities, looking for the perfect institution. Thus, colleges must make sure their materials are high quality and easily available. The college must make sure that the materials accurately and completely portray the institution. Students want to be able to picture themselves as part of the campus life. Therefore, the pictures and descriptions must be real. Prospective students can easily see past “smoke and mirrors.”
However, no matter how good an institution’s material is, prospective students will really only use the recruiting material to eliminate some options. They will not make their final choice based solely on electronic or printed material. The second point of elimination is a campus visit. Institutions must make campus visits show the reality of campus life. Prospective students and their parents can tell a “snow job” when they see it, and will run in another direction.
After gaining a prospective student’s interest, it is up to real people to complete the sale. Prospective students only respond to real people. They need a name, a face and a voice that they can identify as their contact with the campus.
Retention: Once a student enrolls, the job is still not done. Continuing students need to know that they are “at home.” They want to be part of a family. They want to be surrounded by people that know their name, know their story, and with whom they have developed a rapport. Continuing students want to be able to talk with someone who cares for them and will service their needs. Automated systems may provide convenience and be helpful in certain campus situations. However, convenience only goes so far. A personal touch is an absolute necessity and will be greatly appreciated.
Alumni: We have repeatedly made the point that people relate to people. To keep alumni engaged and active, it is necessary that they can relate to specific individuals. It is ideal, if these contacts were also part of the support team for the alumni when the alumni were students. These contacts can be former classmates, faculty, advisers, coaches, resident counselors, professional office staff, or various non-professional staff, including dining service, housekeeping or maintenance personnel. This means that every one at an institution is not only responsible for an assigned job. They are also part of and working for the admissions, retention and alumni offices.
Leave a Reply