HOW TO BUILD
from principles to practice A THRIVING ALUMNI COMMUNITY
Dana Saydak
David Hsu, Ph.D.
is a community building platform used in 98 countries.
How alumni communities use NationBuilder:
DIGITAL CAMPAIGNS
DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE
CHAPTER INFRASTRUCTURE
AMBASSADORPROGRAMS
WEBINAR GOALS
• Spark ideas for building your alumni community.
• Introduce strategy and tools for getting it done.
community: an unusual sense of belonging.definition
BUT IT’S NOT EASY
COMMON OBSTACLES
1. It’s hard to keep track of alums. 2. Alumni want different things at different stages. 3. Existing engagement strategy alienates alums. 4. There’s a lot of turnover with alumni leaders. 5. Resources are already stretched thin.
OBSTACLES PRINCIPLES BESTPRACTICES
MASS MARKETING
COMMUNITYORGANIZING
What models do we work from?
striving to put your best resource —humans, connected— at the center of everything you do.
definitioncommunity organizing:
• Put relationships at the center.• Every action has a purpose.• Empowerment is the goal.
principles ofcommunity organizing:
Title TextTitle Text
MODELS OF ALUMNI RELATIONS
MASS MARKETING
COMMUNITYORGANIZING
Interaction: Institution to Alumni Emphasis: List+message-building Goal: Brand loyalty
Alumni to Alumni Relationship-building Empowerment
It’s hard tokeep track of alums
Use data to help alums
connectMap alums
and meetups
OBSTACLE PRINCIPLE PRACTICE
Start with the alumni you do know.
Make it easy for alumni to find and submit events.
Make it easy for alums to share and recruit within their network.
Your alumni community map informs your digital infrastructure.
CALI CLUB
SAO PAULO CLUB
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
SHANGHAI CLUB
SYDNEY CLUB
Alumni wantdifferent things
at different stages
Meet your alums where
they’re at
Get all your data in oneaccessible
place
OBSTACLE PRINCIPLE PRACTICE
Why do we want to meet alums where they’re at?
Get all your data in one accessible place.
Contact / Demographic / History of Engagement / Social Media Interaction / Relationships
davidhsu04 @gmail.com
David Hsu 31 year old male [email protected] Facebook message • TweetDuke ‘04, foodie, SoCal chapter id: 15 nb: @MrAlpenglow
Matched David Hsu to Facebook
Matched David Hsu to Twitter
Matched David Hsu to Linkedin
Emails automatically matched with social media.
Now listen, learn, and segment accordingly.
Engagement strategy alienates alumni
Create various ladders for
taking action
Every actiongets an
appropriate follow-up
OBSTACLE PRINCIPLE PRACTICE
What paths can alumni take to get involved?
Donate
Donate
Donate
Donate
Attend Event Retweet
Volunteer for an Event
Recruit other Volunteers
Host and Event
Social Media Ambassador
Club Officer
Create various ladders for taking action.
Segment based on engagement level.
Every action gets appropriate, targeted asks.
IN PERSON
There’s a lot of turnover with alumni
leaders
Empower leaders atdifferent
levels
Identify and equip your influencers
OBSTACLE PRINCIPLE PRACTICE
Who to ask? A lesson from Virgin Atlantic.
CALI CLUB
SAO PAULO CLUB
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
SHANGHAI CLUB
SYDNEY CLUB
Video: Identifying social media influencers in your community.
WEBSITE Dynamic profiles of all your people, with info captured from anywhere. Includes followups & targeting.
COMMUNICATIONS Email & text blasting, free phone number with voicemail, and deeply integrated social media.
FINANCES Customizable secure donation pages with goal tracking, social sharing, and personal fundraising.
PEOPLE Dynamic profiles of all your people, with info captured from anywhere. Includes followups & targeting.
Resources are already
stretched thin
OBSTACLE PRINCIPLE PRACTICE
The outsized ROI of building relationships
Demonstrate the value ofpeer to peer
Alumni Ambassador Programs
Crowdfunding and Personal Fundraising
Annual Fund
Days of Action
WEBINAR GOALS
• Spark ideas for building your alumni community.
• Introduce strategy and tools for getting it done.
Demonstrate value of
peer to peer
Identify and equip your influencers
Every actiongets an
appropriatefollow-up
Get all your data in oneaccessible
place
Map alums and meetups
BUILDING A LADDER OF ALUMNI ENGAGEMENTTuesday, March 24 same time RSVP nationbuilder.com/workshops
next week
Dana @[email protected]
David @MrAlpenglow [email protected]
