1. Alumni Motivation
Under the Microscope
Presented by
Ann Oleson, Chief Visionary Officer
Converge Consulting

2. Someone sleeping in class

4. Why Do We Do What We Do?
Motivation
1. The reason or reasons one has
for acting or behaving in a
particular way.
2. The general desire or
willingness of someone to do
something.

5. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

6. What Motivates Your Alumni?

7. Our Time Together
• The higher education
fundraising marketplace
• Why we completed a lifestyle
segmentation study
• The top findings from the study
• Application of findings to your
alumni/donor communication
strategies

8. Changing Landscape of Fundraising

9. Changes in Fundraising
• Rise of the non-profits
• Non-funded written marketing plans
• Younger donors
• Female donors
• Technology

10. The Rise of Non-Profits
Over __________ non-profits
competing for donated dollars
The 2009 report presented by the National Center for Charitable Statistics, number of 501 c 3 organizations risen 31% from 1999-2009

11. No Written Communications Plans
Nonprofit Marketing Guide indicates that _______% of
those interviewed had no formally approved marketing or
communications plan

12. Changing Face of Wealth: Younger Donors
Younger donors are becoming more
significant as they take on leadership
roles and assume positions of greater
influence in their workplace and
communities
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana
University found that those who are
between the ages of 18-30 are:
More __________ing savvy and more
cynical than predecessors
Less trusting
More service-driven
More interested in playing active and
consequential roles in advocacy of
causes that they believe in

13. 2010 study by Engagement Strategies Group
Many among this generation of donors considers the cost
of ______________ as well as the perceived overall
wealth of the college or university that they attended to be
perfectly valid reasons for lack of support
Changing Face of Wealth: Younger Donors

14. Changing Face of Wealth: Younger Donors
2009 article “Donors of the Future”
by Growth Design
Holding institutions accountable for
their decision-making
The timeliness of the decisions they
make
Partnering and engagement
opportunities they offer: expected
with organizations they support

15. Earning power of women and ability to give
increases
Significant and increasing impact of women
Women outnumber men on college
campuses/across the nation
60% of all master’s degrees awarded in the
2008-2009 academic year went to women
30% increase of women with college degre
since the late 1970’s
Changing Face of Wealth: Women
2008 Center for Educational Stati

16. Changing Face of Wealth: Women
Current IRS “Personal Wealth Tables”
__________% of nation’s top wealth holders
(those with assets exceeding 1.5 million) are
women
Women have moved from “influencer” role to:
• Significant force
• Established professionals who are
financially independent and who offer
support and resources ON THEIR OWN
TERMS.
• Viewing giving as Millennials: focused on
supporting issues that impact the world
• Inclined to focus efforts and resources on
helping other
• Disposed to giving in relational ways
through personal involvement in activities

17. Influence of Technology
Most critical factor that successful fundraisers will need tomorrow
___________% of U.S. population now connected via the internet
Digital media is critical: few fundraisers have embraced social media,
mobile applications, and other online spaces as communication
vehicles
Use to:
Inform thinking
Shape fundraising strategies
Measure success of online initiatives

18. Photo of all alums from one pager
Who are your alumni?
What do you know about them?

19. Meet Jennifer
• 35 years old
• Vice-President of
Sales
• Student Government
Officer
• Honors Student: 3.9
GPA
• Full pay student
• Not engaged with her
college

20. Meet Jennifer
• Future leader of her company
• Married to an attorney
• HHI Volunteer of the year
• Gives 10% of income to charity
• Engaged with 3 networking
groups
• Serves on a number of
community boards
• Has great feelings towards her
college but not engaged
• Will inherit significant family
wealth Gets 50 pieces of mail
every week from non-profits
• No home phone number
• Has never been asked to engage

21. Meet Jennifer
Just because Jennifer is
able to give does not
mean she is motivated
to give.
How do we understand
who Jennifer is, what
she cares about, and
how to reach her?

23. Research Objectives
• Develop a motivationally-based
segmentation model
• Uncover the motivations that drive the
different types of relationships
• Prioritize which alumni segments provide
the best opportunities for colleges
• Provide recommendations regarding how
these different alumni segments should be
managed to optimize their individual
likelihood of donating
• Develop a predictive model and applied
tool to classify alumni into segments
based on a minimum number of questions

25. A Motivational
Segmentation of
College Alumni
Segmentation Method and Analysis

26. “Nowhere in the field of mass communication research has the
concept of `lifestyle' been so prominently and fruitfully used as in
the field of marketing communication, where it has been shown
that lifestyles influence both consumption patterns and the
processing of different forms of marketing communication.
Therefore, the lifestyle concept has become the core of a special
kind of segmentation research called `psychographics'. This
psychographic or lifestyle research usually takes as its point of
departure extensive and ad hoc AIO (activities, interests and
opinions) surveys, which then lead to often very colourful and
useful lifestyle typologies using the technique of cluster analysis.”
From: Lifestyle Segmentation: From Attitudes, Interests and Opinions, to Values, Aesthetic Styles, Life Visions and Media Preferences
Patrick Vyncke, Ghent University, Department of Communication Sciences, Universiteitstraat 8, 9000 Gent, Belgium,
Lifestyle Segmentation Research

27. Questionnaire Development
Secondary Research
Over 250 research articles concerning college donating and charitable giving
were reviewed to identify current issues, trends, and alumni motivations.
– The following variables were identified in the literature and provided guidance
for the questionnaire design.
Demographics College Experience College Relationship Charitable Giving
• Age • Type of college • Personal identification • Personal values
• College prestige • Pride
• Gender • Perceived need • Religious values
• Professors
• Income • Campus/facilities • Benefits from giving • Political orientation
• Marital status • Activities • Uniqueness of college • Tax benefits
• Employment • Grades • Obligation or duty • Networking
• Education level • Time to graduation • Professional benefits • Life satisfaction
• Tuition • Current involvement
• Ethnicity • Trust • Perceived need
• Scholarships/grants
• Religious affiliation • Family legacy • Prioritization
• Academic major • Recognition
• Residence • Gratitude
• Placement
• Student loan balance
• Social experience

28. Sample Characteristics
Who answered the questionnaire?
• 2,050 college alumni participated in a web-based survey during July, 2011.
• Participation criteria were established to correspond with known college
population estimates.
– Female: 56%
– Advanced Degrees: 31%
– Institutional Type: 65% Public
– Married: 59%
– Employment Status: 25% Retired
– Ethnicity: 87% White/Caucasian
– Average Household Income: $74,285
– Religious Orientation: 67% Christian
• Sample estimates across numerous variables of interest in this research
are consistent with statistics found in the US Census or other published
surveys.
– These findings provide us with confidence that inferences drawn in this
sample are valid for the overall college alumni population.

29. Segmentation Alternatives
A Priori Segmentation
A priori segments are usually based on college major or demographic
variables. However, such descriptive variables are known for being poor
predictors of behavior.
Do they donate
Does he donate
because they
because he is a
are married?
man?
Does she donate
because she is
over 65?
Does he donate
because he majored
in History?

30. Segmentation Alternatives
Tailor Strategies to What Motivates Alumni
Colleges using post hoc segmentation develop strategies specific to the
motivations of their alumni segments. Fundraising programs become more
successful because they target what motivates different groups of alumni.
College Different
Fundraising Messages
Gratitude
Program
Hypothetical
We’ll put your name on a brick! Recognition Alumni
Segments
Privileges

31. • Insert slide from page 3 of white paper
segmentation measures

32. • Insert slide from page 4 of white paper graph

33. Persona Development
The national study identified three segments of
alumni respondents that vary significantly in
terms of their attitudes and motivations
associated with giving to their alma maters:
• Champions
• Friends
• Acquaintances

34. Pull image from page 5 of the white
paper

35. Major Differences Among Segments
• Average income between three persona
groups varies by less than $8,000
• Champions are the only segment with a male
majority
• Friends are the most philanthropic segment,
overall
• Champions give in the highest amounts
among those who donate

36. Major Differences Among Segments
• Champions have given the most in the last five
years
• 49% of Champions have never given
• 56% of Friends have never given
• 86% of Acquaintances have never given

40. Motivation to Give
• Champions are motivated by giving
opportunities that allow them to have their
names visibly associated with their donations
• Friends would rather receive a personal
“thank you” note from a dean or faculty
member and want to make a significant
impact on the world
• Acquaintances are not likely to be motivated
to give or engage

41. Summary of Findings
Implications
– Colleges are better at managing relationships with ___________ than
they are with _____________.
– Colleges ineffectively manage the _______________ segment.
– Colleges spend as much money contacting Acquaintances as they do
either Champions or Friends. This is a waste of scarce resources that
would be better spent enhancing programs targeting other
segments.

42. Summary of Findings
If Institutions can cultivate
relationships with Champions and
Friends, they could then realize:
1. Additional prospects for
major gift
solicitations/planned giving
2. Additional opportunities to
increase annual fund
participation rates
3. Additional understanding of
Alumni Association and
how/why alums engage
Identifying Acquaintances can
help institutions reallocate
resources more effectively
Overall impact = Smart Marketing

43. A First Glance
SEGMENT PROFILES

44. Segment Profiles
Average Donation Size Among Donors
The average donation from Champions is over 75% greater than the average
donation from Friends and over eight times larger than the average donation
from Acquaintances.
Average Annual College Donations 2006 – 2010
(among alumni who donated)
$400
$354
$350
$300
$250
Mean
$197
$200
$150
$100
$45
$50
$-
Champions Friends Acquaintances
Sample Size = 708 Note: Alumni who only donated in 2011 are excluded in order to provide complete years.

45. Segment Profiles
Total Charitable Giving
Friends donate substantially more dollars to charities than Champions do.
College donations are part of Friends’ giving program rather than the focus.
Earning a larger share of Friends charitable giving budget could provide
considerable rewards for colleges.
Q56. Please estimate the total dollar amount of your donations to charitable organizations during the past year.
$3,000
$2,750
$2,500
$2,000
$1,603
Mean
$1,500 $1,300
$1,000
$500
$-
Champions Friends Acquaintances
Sample Size = 2050

46. Segment Profiles
A Relationship Goes Both Ways
Champions are more likely to have a
reciprocating relationship with their college where Reciprocating
they both give and receive. Relationship
 Donating to my college is
more important to me
than donating to any
3.5 other charity.
3.1  I feel like I can influence
3.0 policy at my college.
 I enjoy the social
opportunities donating to
2.5
my college provides.
Mean Response
2.0  Financially supporting my
2.0 college is a priority to me.
 I have maintained
1.5 1.4 relationships with faculty
from my college.
 I like having others know I
1.0 contribute to my college.
 My college is one of my
0.5 favorite charities to
support.
0.0
Champions Friends Acquaintances
Sample Size = 2050

47. Segment Profiles
The Benefits of Donating
Champions believe that donating to charities can
advance their careers. Professional
Benefits
• My involvement in
charitable organizations
3.0 may someday lead to
3.0
advancement in my
career.
2.5 • People I met through
charitable giving have
turned out to be helpful
2.0
2.0 in my career.
Mean Response
1.7 • Making new business
contacts is a strong
1.5 benefit from charitable
giving.
• My employer expects me
1.0 to donate time and
money to charities.
• Other people will think
0.5
more highly of me if I
donate my time and
0.0 money to charities.
Champions Friends Acquaintances
Sample Size = 2050

48. Segment Profiles
Life is Good
Friends are very satisfied with their lives.
Research finds that happy people are more
Life Satisfaction
confident, outwardly focused, and willing to help
• I am very satisfied with
others. my life.
• My life has turned out
5.0 worse than I expected.
4.5 (Reversed)
4.5
4.0
3.5 3.2 3.2
Mean Response
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Champions Friends Acquaintances
Sample Size = 2050

50. How can you classify your alumni?
Discriminant analysis was performed to find a small subset of
questions that could accurately predict segment membership
(predicts with 80% accuracy)
Alumni Donor Five Question Classification Tool
Classification Questions
Please rate your overall level of agreement with each of the following statements Response
Agree completely
Donating to my college is more important to me than donating to any other charity.
Disagree completely
I like having others know I contribute to my college.
Agree completely
I donate because charitable donations make the world a better place.
Disagree completely
My involvement in charitable organizations may someday lead to advancement in my career.
Agree completely
I am very satisfied with my life.
Segment Friends

51. Targeting and Messaging
DISCUSSION

52. Why Target?
Better use of resources
Better use of time
Better ROI

53. Champions are the most
important segment for colleges
Targeting Priorities to target and manage.
– These alumni donate the
most frequently and make
the largest average
donations. They are the
foundation for alumni giving
programs.
• Although we did not focus
on major gifts, financially
able Champions have the
passion to make major
donations.
– Champions are the low
hanging fruit for fundraising
programs. Colleges who
already have proactive
alumni relations programs
are likely enjoying at least
some success with these
alumni through self-selection.

54. Friends are the second most important target
for colleges.
Targeting Priorities – Like Champions, Friends donate
frequently. But their average donation is
much smaller.
Friends provide outstanding opportunities for
revenue growth.
– Friends donate much more to charities
than any other segment, but only
devote7% of their charitable giving
budget to their college .
– Even small increases in the proportion
of Friends charitable budget being
allocated to their alma mater would
provide substantial rewards.
Friends are already in the habit of giving to their
college and other charities.
– Colleges need to do a better job
persuading Friends that their college
deserves more of their support relative
to other charities.

55. Messaging
Champions
– Champions agree with Friends and Acquaintances that messages based on tax
benefits, giving back to the college, and solving an important human problem
are the most compelling.
– In contrast to other segments, Champions also find messages based on donor
recognition, special donor benefits, improvements to facilities, and personal
satisfaction to be nearly as compelling.
– The key is that Champions have complex relationships with the college that are
not dependent upon any one benefit. Colleges should not ignore benefits such
as recognition and donor privileges. These appeals provide opportunities to
strengthen relationships with Champions.
– Removing these benefits could endanger a college’s relationship with
Champions since these alumni already enjoy and expect to receive these
benefits.

56. Messaging
Friends
– The most compelling appeal for Friends is that the college needs help to solve
an important human problem or create opportunities for current students.
– Friends do not seek more contact with the college or value recognition for their
gifts.
– Appeals to Friends that focus on external reinforcement for giving are likely fail.
Similarly, unfocused messages that include non valued benefits along with the
key core message of helping people are also more likely to fail. Finally, Friends
are not motivated to increase their college donations to support abstract
academic research.
– Fundraising messages directed toward Friends should prominently feature and
focus on the college’s accomplishments that improve the world in general and
help people.

57. Messaging
Acquaintances
– No comments are
provided since
Acquaintances are
unlikely to respond to
fundraising requests
regardless of the
messages being
used.

58. Application

59. Examples from Audience
How are you using information about
your alumni to segment the
communications that they receive?

60. How Can a School Utilize This Research?

61. How Can a School Utilize This Research?
Segment alumni who are not alumni association
members to:
– Increase dues paying alumni association
membership
– Increase engagement

62. How Can a School Utilize This Research?
Survey to classify alumni as
Champions, Friends, Acquaintances and to
identify communication channel preferences as
well as philanthropic interests in order to:
• Increase annual fund participation
• Find more major gift prospects pre-campaign
• Determine who should go and visit
• Create a customized messaging strategy

63. How Can a School Utilize This Research?
Classifying alumni, identifying their communication
channel preferences and philanthropic
interests, and enabling them to provide
unstructured feedback enables schools to:
Create segmented communications that:
– Are delivered via the preferred channels of different
segments
– Contain messages that resonate for different
segments

64. How Have Schools Already Utilized This Research?
Several colleges and universities across the country
have:
• Classified their alumni as
Champions, Friends, and Acquaintances
• Identified the communication channel
preferences of their Champions, Friends, and
Acquaintances
• Identified the philanthropic interests of their
Champions, Friends, and Acquaintances
• Collected Open-Ended responses from all
respondents

65. Findings from the Field
Percentage of Champions, Friends, and Acquaintances at three
universities across the United States as well as from the national study
National Study College 1 College 2 College 3
Champions 31% 31% 49% 32%
Friends 36% 41% 41% 60%
Acquaintances 33% 28% 10% 8%

69. Data Analysis
School Study Respondent Demographics
Champions Friends Acquaintances
14,806 27,508 3,438
Average Age 44 51 49
Male 54% 54% 57%
LSA 40% 39% 39%
Members of Alumni 42% 35% 27%
Association
Participations in the 3.4 3.1 2.9
Past Year
Live in State 38% 40% 41%
Have Ever Donated 63% 69% 55%
Donated in 2011 29% 28% 16%

71. Noteworthy Open-Ended
Responses from Champions
Comments Positive Negative
Sentiment Sentiment
Sometime I don't hear about all the events so post on Facebook and email more
often! I really enjoyed the Sugar Bowl tour, the flight was great, loved the football
buses, all the events were amazing including the paddleboat, tour and best of all the 5 -1
fabulous tailgate party and big win at the Sugar Bowl. I plan on donating more and
being more active after meeting all of you. Thank you so much!
Attending XXX had a major influence on my life. I absolutely loved every minute of it
and would encourage anyone to go there.
5 -1
I loved my time at XXX and am happy to be able to contribute to its successful future.
4 -5
I don't need all the prodding I get from various parts of the University with respect
to contributions and I absolutely hate phone calls. Thank you
I work for a non-profit organization in Cambodia and fundraising is also part of my
responsibility. I've found that knowing a little bit about my donors and customizing
the message is important to be effective due to the overwhelming amount of
requests people receive. That would be difficult with a donor/alumni base as large
4 -3
as XXX's but information gleaned from social media and online surveys could be
helpful. Good luck! Christina

72. Noteworthy Open-Ended
Responses from Friends
Comments Positive Negative
Sentiment Sentiment
The robo-calls I was getting every single night at around the same time, from a # that I could not
reach a human being at when I tried to call back, were VERY unwelcome!! I would get a call and
would see the "734" area code and those four zeros at the end of the # and I knew it was yet
another fundraising call from a xx undergrad in a college/program completely different than the one
I was in when a student at xx...calling to ask for money under the guise of being interested in me
and my experience at xx, life post-xx, etc. I had already had a long conversation with such a student
and explained that I didn't have the funds to donate, yet she got me to say I might be able to pledge
$25 in the future (then kept trying to "up-sell" it to $50...sounded like she was reading a script she
had been trained to read, on how to try to get more money than the alumn was willing to give). At
that point I almost just hung up on her, but politely told her to just send me info. in the mail and
leave it at that. I got the info. in the mail and proceeded NOT to donate, as I told her would likely be
the case (poor finances but more than that, being so disgusted by the nature of the call I received).
Then, I started receiving the daily "follow up calls" (seriously, I had a missed call from that "0000"
number on my cell phone just about every day until finally I answered the call and told the 4 -5
student caller to remove my name completely from the list, which he said he would do). Bottom
line: for alumni, this is a VERY unprofessional and ineffective way to promote a good feeling
about our alma mater, xxx--not to mention raise funds! It leaves a very bad taste in my mouth,
and I bet many other alumni feel the same. I loved my school (Natural Resources and
Environment, SNRE) and I loved xxx--all four years of my time there. If I had ample funds (which I
do not and am not likely to have anytime soon), I'd consider donating money directly to SNRE--but
there is no way in hell I'd donate *anything, ever* via the crazy telefund system xx is currently using.
I certainly understand the need to raise funds--but that is NOT the way to do it!!
Thanks for allowing me the chance to send feedback on this.

73. Don’t Miss Out on Valuable Opportunities
From a Friend:
“In 30 years since my graduation from college
(Under Grad and MBA) and being a senior
executive at a company in the Area, I have
NEVER been contacted to help support the
college and their graduates get placed at XXX
XXXX. I find this insane.”

74. Messaging is Everything
From an Acquaintance:
“I do not appreciate the fact that you care
nothing about me and my life except that as a
graduate I could be seen as a funding source.
The only time I hear from you is when you want
money that I don't have. You could disappear
and I could care less.”

75. Friend
• From a Friend: I am a Head of School for an independent school in -
--------, --, and therefore have quite a bit of experience in
fundraising, just having raised $21 million for our capital campaign.
I am retiring in June 2012 and will be returning to -------, where I
have a home close to. After taking some time off I intend to get
more involved with the institutions I attended in the area. You
may contact me after June 2012.

76. Recommendations
• Take Champions and Friends who are not giving, but who
have expressed positive sentiment and pilot test campaigns.
• Visit/call any Champion or Friend who had wanted to give in
the past but who was turned away because his/her specific
cause couldn’t be supported.
• Identify Champions/Friends who support education but not
your college and develop messages that resonates.
• Develop a social media strategy to engage Champions.

77. Recommendations
• Develop messaging (both verbally and
visually) that speaks to what different
segments care about.
• Test offers with Champions and Friends that
are more specific to the causes and issues
that are close to their hearts.
• Conduct a communications audit to see how
you can use the web to
integrate, coordinate, and evaluate your
communications efforts.
• Continue to gather updated contact
information at all points (e-mails).
• Continue to conduct qualitative and
quantitative research with alumni. They want
to be heard!

78. To Continue the Discussion
@AnnCOleson
White Paper
Webinars
ann@convergeconsulting.org

79. Questions?