The Engagement Continuum

Alumni engagement is part of a continuum of lifetime involvement with the University that should begin as soon as a student enrolls, or perhaps even as early as when a student applies. If students feel a sense of connection with the University right from the start, they are more likely to maintain that connection after they leave the Grounds. Furthermore, if the University does its part to nurture this bond, this connection will manifest itself as consistent and generous philanthropic support over time.

The importance of this continuum has been documented by the CORE Group (See Appendix C.), a private research organization that studies giving patterns at the leading private and public institutions, including Stanford, the Ivy League schools, and distinguished public universities, such as Michigan, Berkeley, Texas, and Virginia. Looking at U.Va.'s gift data from 1980 to 2000, the Core Group documented that alumni who give regularly from year to year also increase the size of their gifts over time. In fact, alumni who contribute to the University consistently over 20 years provide nearly nine times more gift support than alumni who give consistently over ten years.

The CORE Group study also indicates that large gifts are much more likely to come after many years of engagement with the University, even if initial gifts are quite small. Looking at the giving patterns of alumni who made $1 million-plus gifts during the 1980s and 1990s, the CORE Group found that these commitments are made after many years of regular giving. In fact, the typical $1 million donor made gifts 12 times over this 20-year period. This pattern reflects a lifelong relationship with the University.

A study at MIT in 2002 further supports the link between alumni involvement and alumni giving. In 1988, MIT's Alumni Association was reorganized to merge the alumni relations and annual fund programs, and improvements were made to alumni programs, such as increased support for reunions, new activities such as "MIT on the Road," renewed emphasis on students and young alumni, and investment in technology resources for connecting with alumni. The 2002 study examined how the resulting increase in alumni involvement translated into alumni support. Looking at the giving patterns of alumni volunteers, reunion attendees, and local club members from 1996 to 2000, the study drew the following conclusions:

• Participation: Participation in the alumni fund was significantly higher among involved alumni: for reunions attendees, 30 points higher than all alumni; for volunteers, 20 points higher; and for club members, 13 points higher.
• Consistency: Involved alumni were shown to be 1.4 to 2.1 times more likely than all alumni to be consistent donors (those who gave at least four years out of five).
• Size of gift: Involved alumni were 2 to 6 times more likely than the general alumni population to make cumulative gifts of $2,500 or more over 5 years. The strongest ratios were at the level of $25,000 and greater.

Individual giving is the backbone of the University's philanthropic support. In the last campaign, alumni provided 45 percent of the dollars raised, and other individuals, such as parents and "grateful patients", provided 21 percent. Given the importance of individual philanthropy to the University, and given the strong correlation between alumni engagement and alumni loyalty, it is clear that improving alumni relations is of critical importance to the University's future.