Alumni Engagement and Fundraising: General Considerations

Does someone—some group, some sub-committee, some person—within your program have FORMAL responsibilities for addressing alumni-engagement and fundraising issues?  If so, who might she/he/they be?  (Students participating in alumni-engagement and fundraising activities need to know who in their department oversees these concerns.)  If no one in your program has FORMAL responsibilities, then encourage your program to FORMALIZE them?  (This point-person or group doesn’t necessarily have to be responsible for doing the fundraising, or implementing the alumni-engagement activities.  It can simply be that this person or group has responsible for addressing these issues/concerns.)

Within your program at the GC

Current Students and Alumni engage each other in the DSC student spaces!

Current Students and Alumni engage each other in the DSC student spaces!

Does your program engage its alumni throughout the academic year? Does your program plan alumni fundraising activities which target students’ needs?  Is there a standing committee or sub-committee within your program focusing on organizing these kinds of activities or events?  If not, then it would be beneficial to form one.  You can encourage this by bringing up these issues with your EO, or the Executive Committee in your program, or your Program Student Association.

 

Program Student Associations

Does your program have a PSA (Program Student Association)?  If not, might you encourage your program to form one of these?  If so, does your Program Student Association focus any attention on engaging alumni and/or fundraising geared toward student initiatives/needs?  If so, can these efforts be improved or expanded in any way?  If not, then might you encourage your student leadership to assign responsibilities for alumni-engagement and fundraising issues to one or more members of your Student Association, or to form a standing committee to organize these efforts?

Does your program’s DSC Representative meet regularly (formally or informally) with other student leaders within the program?  (For example, the students who sit on the various committees within your department.)  If so, is the DSC Rep bringing up issues related to alumni engagement and fundraising within your program with these student leaders?  If not, could your DSC Rep encourage meetings (formal or informal) where student leaders discuss DSC-related issues, including those connected to alumni engagement and fundraising?