Can You Ask College Alumni to Become Monthly Donors?

By Erica Waasdorp

It’s graduation time! It makes me think back of our boys graduating from college, who are now college alumni.

Our youngest son went to Cape Cod Community College for the first two years and then graduated from Belmont University in Nashville. It’s a great campus, a terrific school and a great city to live in and visit.

While he’s been on his own for a few years, he’s moving around a fair bit, and we receive his Belmont mail here at the house. I, of course, love reading the magazine and annual reports, especially with a fundraising eye.

I particularly love reading and hearing stories that come full circle. An example is an excerpt I read on Milton Johnson.

The article goes on to say that he and his wife recently donated $10 million to support a special program, creating a bridge between high school and Belmont.

It all started with a small gift of $5 a month.

So what does this mean? It means that no gift is too small, and that it’s a great entry that can lead to more. Universities have that wonderful opportunity to engage with their alumni for many, many years to come.

That’s why, particularly for young graduates like my son, who are just starting out in life, asking your college alumni to give monthly is key. Even if they can’t give much now, start them off on the giving path with a monthly gift and they may well be able to give you a lot more in future!

0 Comments

View Comments

Categories:
Monthly Giving

Erica Waasdorp Author's page

Erica Waasdorp is one of the leading experts on monthly giving. She is the president of A Direct Solution, a company serving nonprofit organizations with fundraising and direct marketing needs, with a focus on monthly giving and appeals. She authored "Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant" and "Monthly Giving Made Easy." She regularly blogs and presents on fundraising, appeals and monthly giving — in person and through webinars. She is happy to answer any questions you may have about this great way of improving retention rates for your donors.

Erica has over 30 years of experience in nonprofits and direct response. She helped the nonprofits she works with raise millions of dollars through monthly giving programs. She is also very actively supports organizations with annual fund planning and execution, ranging from copywriting, creative, lists, print and mail execution.

When she’s not working or writing, Erica can be found on the golf course (she’s a straight shooter) or quietly reading a book. And if there’s an event with a live band, she and her husband, Patrick, can be found on the dance floor. She also loves watching British drama on PBS. Erica and Patrick have two step sons and a cat, Mientje.