Moving Beyond Newsletters to Build Lifelong Connection and Value

Oftentimes, higher education institutions see alumni engagement as a feel-good effort. Send out a few email updates, invite everyone to an annual reunion, and maybe a LinkedIn group or two. But with increasing pressure on enrollment numbers, donor pipelines, and brand perception, colleges and universities need a more strategic approach to build strong alumni relationships.

Alumni relations can make a meaningful difference when it comes to funding, mentoring, advocacy, and even recruitment. Done right, and your alumni networks become a powerful lever for institutional growth and long-term success.

It’s important to note that a strong alumni engagement plan is more than a communications calendar. It should showcase brand advocacy, support enrollment, enhance career outcomes for current students, and increase philanthropic giving. With a strategy in place, you can turn former students into fellow alumni advocates and mentors who want to inspire current students and influence prospective ones to hop on board.

At Frankel, we help colleges and universities transform their alumni from passive observers into passionate stakeholders. Here’s how to build an alumni engagement plan that creates a meaningful, measurable impact.

How to Structure an Alumni Engagement Plan

1. Clarify the Why

Every strong plan starts with setting a clear objective. What does success look like for your alumni program? Define the role alumni should play in advancing their alma mater’s goals:

• Encourage alumni to increase financial contributions
• Drive attendance at regional or virtual events
• Invite alumni to act as brand ambassadors and storytellers
• Support mentoring, internships, and career pathways
• Generate positive word of mouth for enrollment and reputation

Frankel Tip: Don’t try to do everything at once. Trying to tackle alumni engagement opportunities all at once—mentorship, fundraising efforts, and volunteer opportunities—can stretch your resources too thin. And without focus, it’s harder to measure impact, tailor messaging, or build momentum by prioritizing a few clear objectives. Figure out your why, and then focus your plan around 2–3 strategic objectives tied to real outcomes.

2.Segment and Prioritize Audiences

All alumni are not the same, and your engagement strategy shouldn’t be either. Use your alumni database or CRM platform to segment your alumni community based on generation,  geography, giving history, career stage, or level of past involvement with alumni programs. These databases allow you to build detailed audience profiles and tailor outreach by alumni preferences and behaviors.

Once segmented, prioritize groups that align with your strategic goals—for example, recent graduates for career mentorship programs or young alumni for building a culture of early philanthropy.

Frankel Tip:

• Do you want to boost attendance? Focus alumni engagement on urban-dwelling Gen Xers and Millennials.
• Do you seek more mentorship volunteers? Target mid-career professionals by major.
• Do you plan to rebuild your annual fund? Start with highly engaged alumni under 35.

3. Build a Value Exchange

Engagement isn’t just about what you want from alumni—it’s about what they get in return. Too often, higher education institutions ask for support without offering value. To truly improve alumni engagement, you need to create a value-driven relationship that makes alumni feel seen, supported, and part of something ongoing. 

Start by offering career services tailored to your alumni community. This could include resume reviews, job boards, professional networks, and alumni-only networking events that provide real opportunities for growth and advancement. Continuing education is another powerful draw—access to guest lectures, online certificates, or exclusive webinars helps alumni continue learning well after graduation.

Don’t underestimate the power of connection and recognition. Share alumni success stories, spotlight fellow alumni on social media, and build affinity groups that foster real community around shared experiences or interests. Even small gestures like early invites to events, behind-the-scenes campus access, or exclusive discounts can reinforce alumni pride and loyalty.

Frankel Tip: When alumni see your communications as something for them, not at them, engagement shifts. You’re inviting them to be a part of a mutually beneficial relationship.

4. Plan Your Communications Cadence

Effective alumni engagement requires consistency and intention. Your engagement efforts should feel less like a one-way bulletin board and more like a two-way conversation with your alumni community. Build a communications calendar that aligns with your strategic goals and audience needs, not just internal events.

Your plan should include:

• Monthly alumni newsletters with tailored content by segment
• Quarterly impact stories or alumni profiles tied to strategic priorities
• Regular invitations to regional, virtual, and topical events
• Social media campaigns highlighting alumni voices and outcomes
• Personalized outreach from deans, faculty, or students when relevant

Frankel Tip: Don’t just send more emails—send better ones. Let your database guide when, how, and to whom you communicate. Track what resonates and double down on what creates an authentic connection.

5. Activate Alumni Engagement Programs

Your most passionate alumni are already talking about your institution—on LinkedIn, in interviews, with their families and employers. Give them tools to amplify your brand as ambassadors.

Tactics that work:

• Create a digital ambassador toolkit with logos, hashtags, and messaging
• Offer alumni-branded swag they’re proud to wear
• Encourage alumni-generated content (video testimonials, blog posts, referrals)
• Highlight alumni achievements that connect back to their student experience

Frankel Tip: Think of your alumni ambassadors as an extension of your brand. Equip them, celebrate them, and give them a reason to speak up—not just for what they remember, but for what your institution stands for now.

6. Measure What Matters

A successful alumni engagement plan is measured by more than event RSVPs or open rates. It’s about tracking alumni engagement metrics that ladder up to your long-term institutional priorities. Too often, schools rely on unspecified metrics that don’t reveal whether alumni are truly connected or moving closer to meaningful action. 

You can track alumni engagement efforts through:

• Event attendance by segment
• Volunteer sign-ups or mentorship opportunities
• Ongoing engagement through year-over-year giving (total, first-time, young alumni)
• Brand sentiment in alumni surveys or social media
• Referrals or advocacy in admissions processes

Frankel Tip: What gets measured gets managed—but what gets understood gets improved. Our agency provides dashboards that link engagement efforts to strategic KPIs. With this in place, you can understand what’s working, prove your impact success, and adjust it in real time.

7. Make it Personal

Personalization isn’t just for prospective students. Think about it this way: a recent grad doesn’t need the same message as a 25-year reunion attendee. For alumni outreach efforts today, your alumni networks expect messaging that speaks directly to who they are, what they studied, where they live, or how they’ve engaged in the past. It feels like a real relationship with their alma mater, rather than a mass email everyone’s receiving in their inboxes.

Use alumni engagement software such as CRM systems, email automation tools, or event platforms to build a richer picture of your alumni, tailor communications, and refine timing. 

Examples:

• “We saw you joined our healthcare webinar—here’s more content you might like.”
• “Congrats on your promotion! Here’s a leadership workshop just for alumni.”
• “You were a psych major—interested in mentoring a current student in that program?”

Frankel Tip: When alumni see themselves reflected in your outreach, they’re more likely to respond, engage, and advocate for your institution because you see them and their value.

Don’t Just Reconnect—Recommit.

Alumni aren’t just your past—they’re your future. When you invest in their success, involvement, and pride, you build strong alumni relationships; they become your most powerful advocates, donors, mentors, and ambassadors. At Frankel, we help institutions design alumni engagement strategies that work because they’re grounded in research, driven by data, and built for real-world impact. View our work here. Then, let’s talk about what smart, intentional marketing strategies can do for your alumni engagement and bringing in meaningful relationships to your higher ed institution. Contact Frankel today!