This members Breakout looks at two articles that get at similar ideas, that engagement should come before the ask. Ryan Catherwood, Kristin Hanson, and Lindsay Anderson start with a University Business op-ed arguing that belonging should not end at commencement, and that alumni networks are the most underused tool for extending it past graduation. They then turn to Darren Miller's LinkedIn essay on moving beyond annual giving, which reframes the goal as measuring readiness and relevance rather than conversion.
Across both, the conversation keeps returning to treating engagement as the strategy and philanthropy as one of its outcomes, and to building a culture of philanthropy that starts well before the first gift. It also gets practical about the real barriers, staffing, budget, accountability, and patience, and what schools on a tight timeline can do right now.
Referenced in this episode:
Kelly Dolan-Sapp and Yiesha Thompson, “Why Alumni Networks Are the Most Undervalued Belonging Strategy,” University Business: https://universitybusiness.com/alumni-networks-are-the-most-undervalued-belonging-strategy/
Darren Miller, “A Joking Truth: Why It’s Time to Move Beyond Annual Giving,” LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/joking-truth-why-its-time-move-beyond-annual-giving-darren-miller-shvle/
Upcoming Member Events
Agora
Behind the Scenes of a Signature Alumni Event: Lessons from the Bentley Alumni Conference
A great alumni conference can do more than bring people together — it can create the conditions for relationships to grow, alumni expertise to strengthen the institution, and university priorities to become meaningful and relevant to graduates.
In this Agora, Allison Kerivan, Executive Director of Advancement Relations, will take attendees behind the scenes of the Bentley Alumni Conference, the university’s flagship professional development and networking experience, and share how it has evolved into a strategic platform for alumni engagement and donor cultivation.
Date: Thursday, September 3 from 12 - 1 pm
Faculty-in-Residence
For six weeks beginning August 17 - September 25, Speaking Engagement welcomes Mallory Erickson — executive coach, creator and host of the What the Fundraising podcast, and author of the book by the same name — as our inaugural resident.
We’ll have a final live Symposium event for members on September 23.
