I recently had a really interesting conversation with about a dozen of my 30-something friends. The question that sparked the discussion went like this. I asked the group:
Do you give money back to your college?
Almost none of them actually answered the question directly. Instead, I heard:
- Why would I send them money when I barely have enough for myself?
- Don’t they realize there is a recession?
- Don’t they realize we are just starting out?
Whoa. Overwhelmingly negative, knee-jerk reaction to that one.
But the one answer that really stuck with me was:
- I would have given money eventually if they didn’t hammer me all the time to give!
Ouch – someone who started off with a positive inclination towards support had been turned off completely.
I followed up with this question:
What is the one experience you had in college that you feel most positive about?
Everyone had an answer for this one:
- A sports team they played for
- A scholarship they received
- A professor / program that helped them
- A club or greek organization they were a part of
Ok, so there is some connection there about something. Next question.
Would you give money to this group/sport/program/scholarship to insure that someone else could benefit as you did?
One person said they would not give no matter the situation. Most, however, said they would give money to specifically meet this need, if they were able.
What does it all mean?
This conversation is about as anecdotal as it gets. I can’t with any certainty say that my group of friends represents our entire generation as a whole. That said, I think it is pretty telling when a group of otherwise socially and philanthropically involved adults, who have given to charities willingly (albeit in less than ‘name-the-building-after-me’ amounts) would have such a hard time coming around to the idea of giving to their alma mater. There is a disconnect here, and a serious one at that. I don’t have statistics, but I do have trustworthy results from one source: me.
What I care and don’t care about
What motivates me? Excites me? Compels me? What takes me from passive observer to active participant?
I care about how the Nazareth College basketball team is doing, because I used to be on the team and I like basketball. I care about how the student athletes are doing, especially those on the advisory committee I used to be on. I care about certain professors because they cared about me. I don’t care about the annual fund. I don’t care about “Academics” or “Student Life” or “Scholarships” in the abstract, but I do care about the Information Technology minor, the annual thanksgiving basket drive and the William McGowan scholarship for business majors that I received one year.
The truth is, I don’t care enough about Nazareth College on the whole to just throw money in its general direction. I do care enough about pieces of Nazareth College, though. I think people give to parts of their university, and that the collective parts ultimately make for a better whole.
Make me feel that my help matters
People give to specific causes because they are assured their money will do what they want it to do – or even better, because they will actually witness the impact on the exact thing they care about.
I can’t afford to endow a scholarship, or name a building, or present a big check to the president. I won’t (probably ever) be a ‘top prospect’ as a donor.
I can, however, afford to give fifty dollars to buy a new basketball for the team this year, or buy a turkey and fixings for the thanksgiving basket. The amount of money is less important to me than the idea that something meaningful has been accomplished with it, and you know what – if I have proof that a little of my money was well spent, I’m more likely to give a little more next time.
The technology for achieving this type of philanthropy is out there, higher education just needs to start using it. I’d encourage you to take a listen to the awesome podcast of the presentation that Jeff Stevens from University of Florida did on this topic at HighEdWeb 2011.
The takeaway
Operate under the assumption that every alum cares about something your institution does (or could do) enough to support it and you are left simply with the task of finding out what that something is and how you can enable people to support it. If you’ve done a good job of lifetime engagement management, you should already know what interests and affinities people have based on the data you’ve collected, how those connections have evolved throughout their relationship with you, and what will most likely resonate with them. Stop asking people to donate money into ambiguity!
Fran Zablocki 
Frank,
As an alum who hasn’t given back to either of my alma maters, I’ll tell you what makes me want to give. Websites like http://www.AlumniChoose.org that show me exactly where my money is going and what it is funding.
Tell me to drop $100 a year into the black hole bucket of development doesn’t do anything for me.
I had alums who I’m not sure have ever given back to the college, donate to my office’s cause of having its first Alternative Spring Break trip, and a handful of past alums donated. That says something.
Tell me the story of why my money is needed and show me exactly who/what is going to be created, influenced or encouraged by it.
That’s what makes people give. In my opinion anyway. Thanks for the thoughts.
Joe
Joe,
Good stuff. I think you are right, a site like alumnichoose.org is the perfect example of how specific projects and programs are being helped using new social tech. I think that the fact that a site like alumnichoose.com exists is a sign that there is a desire that is not being fulfilled by traditional development practices.
Fran
This rings true with what I’ve heard from others (as well as my own feelings). It’s very hard to have a strong connection to the institution in general. No one student experiences all the aspects of hte university, so thinking about it in general terms is this sort of amorphous thing. It’s the little things that make up memories.
Of course, from the perspective of the university you would have to balance the desire for unrestricted funds with the desire for an increased alumni giving rate. Allowing alumni to give to very specific things would potentially reduce revenue to the general fund. Which is why things like AlumniChoose.org are very interesting to watch.
Not that I know much about this topic, but I hope the focus remains on creating value and meaningful connections for alumni over the long term as opposed to short term considerations.
Thanks for the very insightful comment, Erik. There is definitely a need for unrestricted giving, but even within the unrestricted space I think that a better job can be done to tie the money to specific examples. For example, here are ten things that your $100 might be used for, not just, your $100 is used to improve student programming. The more specific the better, unrestricted or not.
Thanks Marcy, I agree, very cool site!