Fraternity alumni are happy to contribute to their chapter, and they’re grateful for your thanks. But let’s not mince words here: Sometimes the way fraternity brothers show thanks leaves us--and we’re guessing your alumni--scratching our heads.
We know you mean well. And you’re never going to match alumni giving dollar for dollar, especially when they’re contributing to a big-time chapter house renovation fundraising campaign. After all, that’s why you turned to them in the first place.
Sure, giving is its own reward. Alumni will be able to see their donations in action when your chapter house becomes the biggest, coolest house on Greek Row. You, and by extension they, will be the talk of the town.
Yet, it’s nice to be recognized properly. Your alumni aren’t expecting a fireworks laser light show spelling out their names in the clouds. Although, if you have the mortars just sitting around. . . .
(PSA: We aren’t being serious--please don’t launch fireworks if you aren’t a licensed pyrotechnician. Now back to your regularly scheduled blog.)
At the end of the day there are many ways to say thanks to alumni for their help, monetarily and otherwise. Yet like everything else in life, not all “thank-you”s are built alike. For instance, Pennington & Company is here to advise you against that Gift Certificate to the Ice Cream Store in the Mall. There Are Better Ways to Thank Your Fraternity Alumni.
If You Can Thank Your Fraternity Alumni in Person, Don’t Snub the Opportunity
It’s always difficult to meet up with alumni. Well, except that one alumnus that is always hanging around like he’s still in the chapter. You know, the one wearing a backwards baseball cap and crashing on the couch in the chapter house den far too often.
We won’t name names.
But in reality, despite the difficulty in matching schedules between working alumni and undergraduate brothers with full class loads, meeting up in person and building lasting bonds is one of the best ways to say thank you.
You’re going to have to take into consideration where alumni live, how many are local, and so forth. Unfortunately for some alumni, meeting up is just not in the cards. But if you have a sizable group who are still local, consider throwing an alumni honor banquet, recognizing their achievements and giving.
You can also opt for a more personal dinner between brothers and each alumnus who gave to your fraternity fundraising campaign, although this should be part of a larger effort to spend time with alumni. Of course they won’t be able to make it to every flag football match, spring formal or chapter meeting, but be sure to make a concerted effort to include alumni in your chapter events--especially the big ones, like founder’s day events.
While it’s important to thank alumni in your fraternity chapter newsletter and chapter website, and anywhere else you can in print and online, not making a concerted effort for in-person gratitude with alumni is a huge mistake.
Don’t Leave Your Fraternity Alumni Out of Chapter Decision Making
So you’ve said your thanks in person, in print and online, immortalizing the names of alumni who’ve given so much to your chapter over the semesters. Yet it seems like when you start a new fundraising campaign, those same alumni are less willing to give or even participate.
It’s not much of a riddle when you think about it. It’s possible they are just tapped out from the last fundraising effort and feel they’ve given enough for now. But it’s also entirely possible that you committed one of the cardinal sins of alumni engagement:
You didn’t actually engage your alumni.
Saying thanks is important. Yet if you don’t actually involve alumni in any of the decision making, they’re likely to feel disconnected from whatever project they’re contributing to, or worse, they had wanted to contribute in non-financial ways, but were denied the opportunity.
Alumni engagement is a holistic approach to building human connections and relationships across generations of brothers, not a pyramid scheme to get alumni to throw money at your chapter.
Instead, consider that some alumni may want to volunteer to help with managing projects such as house renovations. Some may have good advice on what actually needs to be renovated and where to focus your funds. Even if they don’t want to participate in a particular project, many alumni may want to play a more regular, active role in the chapter. Remember, they’ve been through it all before and can help with everything from recruitment to chapter elections, to philanthropies and even how to win Greek Week.
You can even make alumni a more active part of the alumni relations efforts of your chapter by seeing if they don’t mind fulfilling certain roles on the alumni board, such as gathering biographical data and achievements to be included in your newsletter.
Whatever you do, don’t leave alumni out of the decision making process when they’re looking for a bigger role with the new generation of brothers.
Don’t Ignore Your Fraternity Alumni When They Aren’t Giving
It could be that certain alumni aren’t able to give at certain times during the year, or due to specific circumstances, or that your chapter isn’t engaging them properly, as discussed above. Whatever the reason, you shouldn’t treat alumni who don’t give as pariahs and only focus on those who give often. That’s what we call, in technical terms, being jerks.
Alumni aren’t there after all just as walking wallets for your chapter to draw from when you need something. You likely already know this, but do your alumni know you don’t see them this way?
Make an effort to engage all alumni, regardless of past contributions, and to benefit from their experience and camaraderie. A fraternity chapter is only as strong as the bonds of its men, and the relationship between brothers and alumni is no exception to this rule.
To recap: Don’t keep alumni out of the chapter house. Don’t keep alumni out of chapter decisions. And finally, don’t base your alumni engagement efforts on how much they’re willing to give. Alumni donations are great, but they aren’t the reason you love your alumni and shouldn’t be the basis of your relationship.
How do you say (or NOT say) thanks to your alumni? Do you feel you don’t say thanks enough? Write your alumni a thank you card in the comments below!
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