On-Demand Webinar
After Alumni Participation Rate:
The Path Forward for Higher Education Fundraisers
Annual alumni participation rate (APR) in giving for higher education is no longer part of the U.S. News & World Report rankings. This big news has hit the advancement community and the fundraisers are asking how it will impact the way we think about our strategies, talk to leadership about the value of our donor engagement, and organize our data, campaigns, and strategy.
The change offers a moment for higher education fundraisers to take charge and define metrics that both support what donors want to accomplish with giving and meet our key goal of establishing an inclusive pipeline of leadership and major givers.
Watch this webinar to learn how we move forward as advancement leaders together to define the next generation of alumni donor engagement.
Topics include:
- How to talk with campus leadership about the metrics we should now focus on.
- The value of broad-based solicitation when participation is no longer part of rankings and advocating for budget dollars.
- A shift to sustainable pipeline focus for annual, leadership, and major gift outreach which maximizes the use of your resources and creates the best donor experience.
- Research on the path to leadership and major giving that shows robust giving response still have value and key tools that can make it worth the investment.
- Embracing new metrics focused on engagement, including the CASE alumni engagement metrics (AEM) and other ways to look at how supporters build affinity over time.
- Key research on the value of donor acquisition, retention, reacquiring lapsed donors, and how to model short, mid- and long-term donor value into your ROI calculations.
- Key steps to take now that you don't have to game the APR system, including finding "lost" alumni, smart gift accounting practices that build for the future, and sustainable fundraising investment.
About the presenters
Greta Daniels, CFRE, Senior Vice President, Fundraising, RNL
Greta Daniels has extensive expertise in donor engagement strategies, university advancement and development, and annual giving. In her current role, she works with colleges and universities to maximize donor giving through data-driven omnichannel campaigns that meet immediate fundraising goals while also increasing long-term donor pipeline. Previously, Greta served as director of development at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences - a groundbreaking, nationally recognized research facility. Her efforts helped the school cultivate more philanthropic engagement with alumni, families, friends, and organizations domestically and abroad. Prior to that position, she was the director of annual giving at Point Park University. There she oversaw all aspects of annual fundraising at the university including direct mail campaigns, campus phonathon programs, leadership outreach and cultivation, stewardship communications, and corporate outreach and sponsorship.
Sarah Myksin, Senior Vice President, RNL
Sarah leads RNL's senior consultant team, providing data-driven strategy for omnichannel engagement programs. She most recently served as director of annual giving at DePaul University, where she integrated new digital technology, expanding giving day efforts, and launched successful leadership annual giving and crowdfunding programs. Over her 15 years in advancement, she's also held roles at great institutions like American University, Point Park University, Georgetown University, and Wesleyan University, her alma mater.
Howard Heevner, Executive Director of Annual Programs, University of California, Berkeley
Howard Heevner joined the University of California, Berkeley in 2019 as the executive director of annual programs. In his current role he oversees annual giving, leadership annual giving, milestone giving, next generation giving and parents philanthropy and engagement. With more than 25 years of higher education fundraising experience, he has held a number of key leadership roles. Prior to coming to Berkeley, Howard was the assistant vice chancellor of university development programs at UC Santa Cruz, the director of annual giving at Penn State University, the director of annual and special giving at DePaul University and the associate director of annual giving at University of Michigan. He began his career in development at the University of Iowa. A respected industry thought leader, Howard has been a regular chair, faculty member and speaker at CASE and other educational conferences. Heevner has also worked with dozens of educational institutions across the country to review the effectiveness of their annual giving programs. Howard is committed to engaging an inclusive, purposeful donor base while offering a critical lens to advancement practice that ensures are always pushing forward to the best for our donors and organizations.
Brian Gawor, CFRE, Vice President of Research, RNL
Brian is a 25-year higher education veteran who has served in roles in advancement, enrollment, and student affairs. Prior to coming to RNL, Brian was director of development for the college of Fine Arts at Illinois State University and led annual giving efforts at Knox College. For the past 9 years, he's led actionable research for RNL, working with hundreds of institutions to transform their donor engagement. He volunteers and present at conferences regularly and host RNL's fundraising broadcasts, national fundraising conference, and Fundraising Voices podcast. A dedicated "giving geek," Brian is committed to providing data-driven and action-oriented insights for fundraisers that help amplify the joy of giving in an inclusive and purposeful donor base.
Watch webinar now
