"Fund Raising with Collegiate Ministry Alumni"

If your school is a super "loyalty school" (usually means you have good football or basketball), alums are that much more likely to remain connected and want to give. But, you can be in the country's least known and loved school and still have alums who know and realize how much God used your ministry to grow them. You may say, "but, we have no alumni mailing list". So, that means you get to start it. Someone has to start it. Lots of college ministers say no one has ever kept one at their ministry, so they don't. Start one today. Start with the names and addresses of those you know. Ask them who they know. If you have old scrapbooks, look at pictures and names...use Facebook to find where they are today. Send out a newsletter with news about alums. Share a feature on where some alum is now and what they are doing. Tell a little about what is going on right now in the ministry. Don't beg or be pushy! But, you can do a small column of needs of various prices. Some people like to give certain things or wish the ministry had that when they were there. Have a thanks column where you list all the individuals who gave this past year...no amounts...just names. Ask for news for the next alumni newsletter. Have a form they can fill out and mail back. Always, ALWAYS, include an addressed return envelope. That encourages and makes it easy to respond with news or money or both. In our doing this at Arkansas State, we would receive these envelopes all through the year. I believe people stuck them back and they served as a reminder for them to give at some time more possible for them. Remember, some people get end of the calendar year or end of the fiscal year bonuses. If you are not maintaining or developing an alumni list and connection, are you doing your job?