The Event Most Likely to Succeed: Superlative Strategies for Alumni Engagement

How do you transform an annual reunion or alumni event into an experience that boosts both engagement and giving? 

The advancement team at Westminster Schools, an independent K-12 school in Atlanta, GA, crafted a winning strategy for their April 2024 reunion. By blending nostalgia, targeted segmentation, and the right technology, they created an event that not only engaged alumni but also helped them raise nearly half a million dollars—a YoY increase of almost 30 percent. Read on to see how these elements came together to make a lasting impact.

1. Harnessing the power of nostalgia 

Nostalgia is a powerful force when it comes to alumni engagement—it taps into deep emotions and reminds people of the moments and communities that shaped them. But beyond dwelling on the past, nostalgia can spark optimism and ultimately motivate someone to have an impact on the future. 

For institutions like Westminster, leveraging nostalgia has proven to be a highly effective tool for driving alumni participation and giving. By creating opportunities for alumni to relive their shared experiences, Westminster fostered a sense of belonging and connection that translated into action.

One standout example is Westminster’s Reunion Cup Challenge, a week-long campaign that used playful yearbook superlatives to spark competition among reunion classes. Alumni were encouraged to register for the reunion and contribute to their class gift to win titles like “Most Wildcat Pride” or “Life of the Party.” They ran the challenge in the week leading up to the final call for reunion registration, adding a sense of urgency that helped ramp up the competition and boost results. Ultimately, the challenge was a smashing success, raising more than $22,000 for Westminster’s reunion campaign. 

Another impactful initiative was the 50th Reunion Book, a year-long project that allowed alumni from the 50th reunion class to share personal stories and photos since they graduated from Westminster. The advancement team then compiled the submissions into a commemorative piece that was sent out to the alumni the month prior to their reunion.

This initiative went beyond a simple commemorative piece; it helped foster deep connections between classmates and inspired many to attend the reunion and contribute to the class gift. When surveyed following the reunion, 92 percent of attendees said that the book inspired them to attend the reunion. 

2. Maximizing impact through targeted segmentation

One-size-fits-all messaging no longer resonates with alumni—generic outreach often misses the mark and fails to achieve the desired results. Constituents expect communications that speak directly to their unique experiences and connections with the institution. They want to feel that you appreciate their loyalty and commitment to your institution. 

For this reason, the advancement team at Westminster made segmentation a cornerstone of its communication strategy for their April 2024 reunion. They incorporated segmentation into every aspect of their event communications, from physical invitations and email invites to appeal letters and registration pages. 

When segmenting your communications, the customizations don’t need to be drastic—a single sentence can make all the difference. For many of their communications, the Westminster team began with a template and then inserted images and references in the copy relevant to the specific class year. They looked to their volunteers to help identify the content that would resonate and spark interest among their peers. Reunion committee members were also highlighted on registration pages to put familiar names and faces front and center. 

This approach not only made the communications feel more personal but also led to a dramatic improvement in engagement. Their segmented email campaigns saw an impressive 71% open rate, far exceeding industry standards and the click-through rates for these emails were significantly higher than those for non-segmented campaigns. Ultimately, segmentation helped the Westminster team hit their goals for event registrations and reunion campaign gifts. 

3. Enhancing the event experience with the right tech

Having the right tools and technology was also key to Westminster’s reunion success. By leveraging various GiveCampus solutions the advancement team streamlined the creation and management of their reunion initiatives for staff, alumni, and volunteers. 

The advancement team used GC Volunteer Management to organize the efforts of each reunion committee. Within the platform, Westminster’s 200 volunteers could access segmented email templates and co-chairs and staff could easily monitor committee activity and outreach.

Westminster leveraged GiveCampus online giving solutions to host their class-specific giving forms and the Reunion Cup Challenge campaign. The seamless connection between GC Social Fundraising and GC Events made it easy for alumni to register and give at the same time. In fact, almost 300 donors converted during the registration process.  

GC Events provided the ideal solution for event logistics throughout the event as well. Every year, Westminster welcomes alumni back to campus for a memorable weekend of special events and programming to celebrate what it means to be a Wildcat. The 2024 annual reunion weekend recognized milestone anniversaries for ten classes (ending in a 4 or a 9). Westminster hosted more than 25 unique events on the GC Events platform including lunches, tours, class parties, memorial services, and a Kick-Off Celebration. GC Events also provided a modern and simple user experience for a complex event like a reunion. Attendees could easily select the additional activities they were interested in and purchase tickets for any plus-ones. In all, 1,340 alumni and guests registered across all weekend events.

With the help of GiveCampus, the Westminster advancement team was able to work smarter, not harder. By leveraging solutions that were efficient and user-friendly for both staff and alumni, the team could instead focus their efforts on building relationships with volunteers and crafting unforgettable experiences for the day of the event. 

“For us, check-in was seamless … it was the best that it’s ever been at Westminster for people coming into reunion. And we had people say last year it was a bottleneck—fighting to figure out where [their] name tag was and what line to get in—and we had paper and it was just nonsense. This year it was so clean. It was so easy for our volunteers, and for our attendees as well,” said Courtney Hunter, Westminster’s Assistant Director of Reunion Giving and Engagement. 

GiveCampus recently launched new features on GC Event that offer even more increased flexibility for complex events like reunions. Personalized ticket options, restricted add-ons, and custom registration fields all help to further enhance the attendee experience. Learn how these capabilities can streamline your event planning and improve engagement from start to finish.