Advancement can help alumni and student creators
The creator economy is here, signaling a movement towards monetizing attention and teaching students how to build businesses.
One of the points John Hill makes in his Keynote interview this week is that young people need to learn to “be the job” rather than just find employment. The implication is that at the heart of the modern college curriculum at this moment must be learning about entrepreneurship, and how to take what someone’s good at and monetize it.
For years, advancement teams have focused on engaging successful entrepreneurs. Colleges have established award programs and created listings of alumni-owned businesses. But there’s never been an effort to work with alumni to teach students how to make their own businesses now, with what they’re good at today. It’s clear to me that advancement teams should rethink this.
The creator economy is here, signaling a movement towards monetizing attention and teaching students how to build businesses. A few schools are recognizing this dynamic and addressing it. At the same moment that Syracuse University announced its cutting of 93 academic programs, it also announced a new position for the Executive Director of the Center of the Creator Economy, a joint initiative of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and the Syracuse University - Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
To quote John Hill, “This is where the ball is bouncing.”
Inherent in this challenge is the idea that “to be the job” and earn monetize means capturing and keeping attention through digital means. The question I have is about what role advancement teams should play in helping to meet this moment. Three key components will not only help institutions thrive during this moment of disruption but also stimulate more generosity and investment.
Hire freelance alumni donors as creators.
Advancement teams, indeed, all non-profits, should hire donors as part-time team members to cover events, interview other graduates or community members, and recognize donor impact. Every institution has alumni with experience as creators, whether as a hobby or in their role as a professional roles. These talented individuals need to be added to as contributors to the stories that advancement is trying to tell.
It’s not about hiring “influencers.” Influencers have their own agenda that doesn’t always align with the school or organization.
Tell success stories from the gig economy with content, not awards
Alumni teams have focused on the achievements of entrepreneurs for many years and graduates that have led successful businesses have routinely received accolades. Young alumni typically represent a category of award with recognition going out to the most extraordinary. A few schools have recognition programs like “30 Under 30” but few recipients are those that have built a small business through a platform like Whop that provides tutorials for success in a particular video game, for example.
For schools to really help draw attention to and be a part of the creator economy, a shift is needed in the way they think about recognizing not just successful entrepreneurs, but a certain entrepreneurial spirit. It also requires widening the aperture on who is recognized and how they are recognized.
Educate on the tools that are available to build a thriving business, even if it’s a “side hustle.”
Alumni and students who have found success in the creator economy are almost certainly experts in utilizing a set of digital tools. They’ve practiced, iterated, and prototyped over and over again until they’ve been successful. There’s a strategic partnership to be had between advancement officers, career units, and entrepreneurship centers to help provide insights into the new tools and platforms available for building a business.
The trick in all of this is to create value for engagement. In other words, advancement teams focused on engaging stakeholders should be thinking about what value their alumni networks can provide that adds to what someone can find on YouTube or through ChatGPT or Claude. The real value is not just the stories of success, but in sharing the failures as well.
If the next generation is expected to “be the job,” as John Hill says, then advancement teams have an opportunity to move from storytelling to skill-building in ways that directly shape student and alumni outcomes. In doing so, they won’t just drive engagement, they’ll create value that deepens connection, builds relevance, and ultimately inspires greater generosity.
More content from Week 1
Keynote: John Hill, VP Story at Whop
From Annie: Community Is the Product
From Kristin: AI can enhance the student and alumni experience—but not in the way you think
From Dave: When the Story You Tell About Alumni Stops Matching the One They’re Living