Think back. Come back. Give back. Much of what we do in advancement engagement, or alumni relations (depending on your philosophy), is offering graduates participation opportunities based on nostalgia and looking backward. We’ve done this for eons.
Homecoming is the prime example of this, and we’re currently in season.
Typically culminating in a football game, Homecoming is an annual tradition at many schools designed to tug at nostalgic heartstrings. Here’s the problem with Homecoming: it’s no longer a growth strategy; it’s a maintenance program. Many, if not most, colleges and universities do it because they always have, not necessarily because it represents a growth strategy. Said differently, they can’t stop doing Homecoming even if they wanted to.
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So, given that Homecoming isn’t going anywhere, how can we turn it into an effective tactic for growing alumni and donor engagement?
Homecoming needs to become about the future.
College itself is about the future. We’re educating the young people who will take the reins in every facet of life and become leaders in society. The research that’s currently underway will someday change lives, but not yet. Students are incubating the earliest ideas for their future businesses.
Those enrolled in or working for colleges and universities are thinking about today and tomorrow, not the past. In fact, most education organizations are actively pushing back against an entrenched “we’ve always done it this way” mentality, with clear motivations to change and meet the current macroeconomic and cultural moment.
But to make Homecoming about the future, it needs to become about volunteerism at scale. It’s no longer a sit-back-and-revel in nostalgia program for alumni. Instead, it’s about putting alumni to work, engaging students and faculty, and helping to light the runway for what comes next.
Results from the National Alumni Survey clearly show that recent graduates want a more authentic, relevant connection with their alma mater. And they want to help students as volunteers.
Instead of Homecoming, we need a Futures Week.
Ok, let’s keep the Homecoming football game and tailgate party so we can keep those alumni and donors who do engage because of nostalgia, but the idea is to make the annual celebration about the future by involving alumni volunteers across the campus: in the classroom, in the weight room, and in the dark room.
Advancement leaders must evolve their thinking around signature programs, instead of assuming every question has an event as the answer. If we’re taking the National Alumni Survey results seriously, we need to start with the question, “How can we provide meaningful opportunities for alumni to help students at scale?” If the answer is an event, then fine. An event featuring an alumni panel can be a great way to help students by sharing stories, advice, and reflections.
Coming ‘home’ should be about helping students, not partying, and not a one-way speech where the university talks at its alumni.
I wrote last week about what it would take to build and sustain something like a Futures Week -> Homecoming Game sequence. Senior leadership must work together to ensure faculty and staff think about how to involve alumni as volunteers. The Alumni Office then plays a central role in identifying alumni, coordinating involvement, and ensuring a great experience.
Creating a Futures Week, or something like it, is key to updating strategies and tactics that help education organizations stimulate more generosity and investment. Students get to witness this extraordinary moment, with alumni coming back in droves to help them. I’m often asked to help assess how to build a culture of philanthropy. It starts with graduates giving their time in a highly visible way, and teaches an important lesson about what it means to be an alum: someone who is generous with their time and goes out of their way to pay it forward (not back).
About Speaking Engagement
This week we wrapped up Mallory Erickson’s Faculty-In-Residence experience here on SE with a live Symposium. If you haven’t listened yet, you can check it out on the SE LinkedIn page or the Keynote podcast feed. I’m grateful to Mallory for coming along for the ride and giving this a shot.
We’re also about to kick off the next FIR with Jay Le Roux Dillon. Dr. Dillon is the Chief Alumni Officer at Cal Berkeley and also an expert in Alumni Identity. Jay has a ton of great insights into our field and I’m so excited to have him join us for this extended contributor partnership. If you haven’t read up on Jay’s research, definitely have a look.
We have his live Symposium on the calendar already for Tuesday, November 10th at 12:30 pm EST. Please block your calendars and plan to join us.
About the Next Keynote
On next week’s Keynote pod, my special guest is Sarah Winkler. Sarah is SVP at INVNT Higher Ed. She’s an expert experience designer and has helped some of the best schools on the planet develop campaign kick-offs, road shows, and other high-stakes events.
Although I admit to being a bit of a closet AI-doomer myself, one area where I think it’s going to do amazing things is helping create personalized, immersive experiences. We talk about that and more. Join us!
Speaking Engagement is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
