alum wants to be connected to something that is not running well). Your alumni outreach could be an event at a bar for twenty-somethings in the off-season or an annual report letter to your whole constituency that tells of the strategic direction of the organization. Maybe you would like to develop a volunteer board of directors to run the financial aid portion of your operation, or you would like to use alumni volunteers to help get camp up and running prior to the summer. Or maybe you just want to form a parent panel that will offer you feedback on new initiatives you are considering. Whatever plan you develop, follow it year after year to enhance the experience for your alumni — and make sure that the initiative plays to each alum’s desire to reconnect with the organization that Addi t ional R e s ou r c e s they care so much about. When you create this for your alumni base with your new outreach efforts, your alumni support will in turn benefit the overall strength of your camp program. Photos on pages 50 and 51 courtesy of Tom Holland. Tom Holland will become ACA’s Chief Foundation and Funds Development Officer effective November 15th. He holds a bachelor’s degree in secondary education and a master’s degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. A former high school history teacher, Tom has spent the past six years as the executive director of the Teton Valley Ranch Camp Education Foundation. He currently lives in Jackson, Wyoming, with his wife and three daughters. Academic Impressions. (2013). Alumni relations ROI: An approach. Retrieved from www.academicimpressions.com/news/alumni-relations-roi-approach Council for Advancement and Support of Education. (2013). Explore the history of alumni relations. Retrieved from www.case.org/About_CASE/CASE_ History/100AnniversaryAAS/100AnniversaryExplore.html The Fundraising Coach. (2013). A fresh look at alumni relations. Retrieved from http://fundraisingcoach.com/free-articles/a-fresh-look-at-alumni-relations/ BizEd. (2013). To alumni with love. Retrieved from www.bizedmagazine.com/ features/articles/to-alumni-with-love.asp Driving Performance Results Now that your database information is set, you can begin to use it to drive your performance results. First, you should analyze where you want to see the results. At our organization, we really wanted to reach others in the low points of that alreadymentioned attention chart. Consequently, we began outreach in the way of alumni events for our young alums. These are gatherings the night after a promotional event in a certain city where we relied on social media to garner the interest of our alumni constituency in the age range of twenty-two to thirty-five. We picked the restaurant/ bar, invited everyone to attend, and once there, took five minutes to give a report on all that is happening with us at the camp. The feedback we received from these events was fantastic, and a critical aspect was that we also documented who was at each event so we could track their desired level of involvement with the organization. We also used these events as a way to update their current contact information as well as the contacts of other camp alums with whom they had a connection. The key here is to pick an area where you would like to see improvement. At the end of most of these events, we asked for their help. Common requests were: “Spread the word about enrolling early!” or “Tell every great twenty-one-year-old you know to apply to work with us!” What we found was that this was a great way of getting folks involved with our camp experience. They felt connected to the camp and then would turn around and advocate for us. We received great recommendations for staff members, and word began to spread about enrolling early. It seemed to us that the alumni of our camp were waiting and eager to be asked to help the cause. Table 1 on the facing page shows some basic ways we used our database to drive results. Develop the Plan of Outreach That Works for You! The last step in this process is to develop a plan that will engage your constituents while not adding to your already-heavy workload. Develop a plan that you think will resonate with the intended audience. Also, you will want to develop a plan that does not detract from your overall goal of running a fantastic summer program (no 4224 TRV AD_HORIZONTAL:Layout 1 9/26/11 12:32 PM Page 1 millions of dollars in claims paid millions of dollars in claims paid A+ Encourages Advanced Bookings PROTECTION for your participants, PROTECTION for you! www.TravMark.com 1.800.358.0779 x221 • Millions of dollars of campers’ claims paid • Hundreds of camp affiliates and over 10 years camp experience • Specialized coverages • Underwritten by one of the largest insurers in the country TravMark.com, Inc. Affiliated with Global Coverage, Inc. CA License 0D12131 • Individual, group and whole sale platforms available • Encourages earlier enrollment and improves camps’ financials • U.S. & Non U.S. Resident plans available • Become an A+ Affiliate Today! CAMPING magazine • November/December 2013 53
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