Awesome Alumni Fundraising Ideas
Alumni fundraising campaigns are common for university students and alumni associations at college campuses nationwide. Alumni fundraising initiatives may be designed to bring in funds to support student scholarships or the development of projects for the university or to help fund programs for student groups they were involved in, such as fraternities, sororities, poetry clubs, political groups, sports teams, and more.
Targeting alumni for fundraising efforts is an excellent idea and an important part of alumni engagement. The pride one carries from graduating from a higher education institution is considerable, and alumni often have a deep desire to give back to their alma mater. After all, the university provided them with life-changing experiences, an education, and a solid skill set to earn a living, so alumni are at the top of the list of potential university donors.
7 Best Alumni Fundraising Event Ideas
Alumni fundraising events can be quite lucrative while providing college faculty and students an opportunity to network with alumni and build long-lasting relationships. Alumni fundraising events can be held at the university, especially around class reunions and Homecoming events. For larger universities, special events can be hosted around the country when an institution has a large alumni base. For example, a large New England-based college can host a fundraising golf tournament in San Diego if this allows the fundraising event to be more accessible to some alumni.
Giving alumni recognition opportunities provides a strong incentive for them to become donors. For example, if a new library is under construction, offer to recognize contributions at a certain level by imprinting donors’ names on a brick used in the building or on a Featured Donor Wall. This gives alumni bragging rights and they will love seeing they have a place in the history of the college or university.
Below are some popular alumni fundraising ideas that have proven successful for alumni associations and university groups across the country.
Alumni Networking Luncheon with Guest Speaker
If you intend to target alumni for a specific fundraising project, consider your target audience and what is important to them. For example, business school graduates may be interested in attending a monthly luncheon that features an influential speaker discussing recent economic trends or thriving business opportunities. By inviting alumni to attend a luncheon that provides value through knowledge learned from the featured speaker, they might be more inclined to attend. A networking luncheon allows alumni to mingle with fellow alumni and keep fresh with what’s happening in the business world. Don’t forget to use your luncheon as an opportunity to promote future fundraising events and initiatives. Perhaps your Networking Luncheon is a recurring monthly event. Hand out invitations with details about next month’s guest speaker and offer on-site registration. Include a link to your website so alumni can make online donations if they cannot attend the event.
Alumni Walk-a-thon or 5K Run
Alumni organizations and school organizations have long favored walk-a-thons, 5K Fun Runs, and other similar events where donations and pledges are collected online with crowdfunding
software. These peer-to-peer fundraising events offer great opportunities for raising money online with mobile giving techniques while spreading the word about your organization without high overhead costs. Alumni can bring family and friends and enjoy the day getting a little exercise and sun. Virtual walkathons also make for a great virtual event when social distancing is required.
Learn how to organize a walk-a-thon.
Wine and Cheese Tasting Alumni Fundraiser
Hosting a wine tasting fundraiser is a great fundraising idea to engage alumni in a fun, social setting. After all, most people love tasting wines! This makes finding willing alumni and other people to attend the event pretty easy. Decide on an initial format for your wine-tasting event. Will it be part of a larger charity gala event or a stand-alone fundraiser? Will the wine tasting be an educational event, a blind tasting, or a judged show? Will you have a theme and specialize in red wines for Valentine’s Day, summer white wines, or champagnes? How will participating vineyards or wine shops have an opportunity to promote their products? Offering online ticket sales with a comfortable entry fee and providing promotions will increase your event revenues.
Themed Fundraising Gala Dinner with Silent Auction
Fundraising gala dinners and other fundraising events allow alumni to socialize with one another while financially supporting the university. The premise of a gala event is simple; guests pay a set ticket price to attend a nice dinner and program. But galas don’t have to be boring, stuffy events. Consider hosting a themed charity gala to increase the fun and funds raised.
When targeting affluent alumni, you may consider a black-tie event with entertainment and a three to five-course meal by an acclaimed chef. Contact local wineries or distributors to see if they’d be willing to donate wine to compliment the menu. Consider offering a silent auction as part of your gala event. This group of alumni has disposable income to spend. If you can bring in one-of-a-kind items for them to bid on, you may be surprised at the results. Consider obtaining signed memorabilia from college athletes who have gone Pro, unique art pieces from top art and design students, luxury vacation packages, or why not auction off “Naming the New Library” after the alumni with the highest bid?
Start an Online Auction Fundraiser
School Sporting Events
Alumni members actively involved in collegiate sports tend to be some of the most energetic and active members of the university, who are eager to support school fundraising programs. If targeting this group, it makes sense to approach them when funding benefits athletic programs. The initiative could be building a new stadium or obtaining new sporting equipment. Consider hosting a VIP tent or section at a season-opening event for donors. Prior to the game, invite alumni to a private party with complimentary food and beverages where they can mingle with fellow alumni, faculty, students, and parents. Or host an after-party where athletes (and possibly a few professionals who are also school alumni) attend the event and socialize with supporting alumni and potential donors. For additional revenue, perhaps you’d be interested in hosting a fundraising raffle as part of the event where you sell raffle tickets to win season tickets other desirable prizes.
Alumni Charity Golf Tournaments
A common fundraising event university students host for alumni is a charity golf tournament. Golf tournaments provide a great opportunity for networking and creating long-lasting relationships. If the charity golf tournament is hosted by a college group such as a fraternity, consider an Alternate Shot or Scramble games played as teams. Pair up alumni with current frat brothers as a mentorship or brotherly bonding activity. Expand your participation and revenue by inviting parents, local businesses, and school faculty.
Look for additional revenue through tournament sponsorships. Contact local community businesses to see if they are interested in sponsoring and participating in the golf tournament. There are also plenty of ways to raise additional funds and reach your fundraising goal on the course, such as hole in one contests, beverage cart sales, raffle fundraising, and more.
DoJiggy’s Fundraising Software makes planning and managing alumni events simple and effective
Alumni Online Donation and Sales Campaigns
An easy alumni association fundraising campaign can consist of contacting previous students by telephone or e-mail and sending a link to an online donation page. With a strong explanation about the cause of the fundraiser and the reasoning behind what their donation will support, alumni may be more willing to make an online donation than take the time to attend a fundraising event.
Many university alumni associations have been successful in launching annual giving campaigns. These programs ask alumni to sign up and make an annual gift. An annual fund allows university alumni to support the school without the effort of choosing a fundraising initiative to invest in or attend fundraising events (if they happen to be too busy or live far away). Start an alumni donation campaign with no fees on our free donations websites.
Many alumni groups also add in school spirit gear and sales. With an alumni eCommerce store, alumni can buy t-shirts, hoodies, coffee mugs, and more to show their school pride and raise money at the same time.
Promoting Your Alumni Fundraiser
Whatever alumni fundraising initiative you decide on, don’t forget to promote the campaign widely. DoJiggy can help with our affordable fundraising websites. College campuses have numerous media outlets including college newspapers, radio stations, and student websites that post announcements about what’s happening on campus. Write a press release explaining the cause or student organization that the alumni association fundraiser will support. Media are often very interested in covering a story about alumni philanthropy and charity involvement. Invite media to attend your event free of charge — perhaps you can get a post-event write-up that shows photographs of your event along with a link to your donation website. Post announcements on community bulletins, send out emails to friends and group databases and encourage supporting businesses and volunteers to help spread the word about your alumni fundraiser.
Always keep these points in mind for alumni fundraising campaigns and promotion:
- Different alumni groups should be targeted specifically, based on their interests
- Social Media is a powerful tool, as many alumni are still connected to their former classmates
- Peer to peer fundraising campaigns allow your alumni to tap into their group of friends and raise money for the Alma mater
- Alumni value recognition for their gifts – don’t forget to show thanks
