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Fostering lifelong relationships with alumni, parents, students and friends
that strengthen their connection with the University of Virginia
to increase involvement and support
Robert D. Sweeney, Senior Vice President, University Advancement
Cindy Fredrick, Associate Vice President, University Advancement Engagement and Annual Giving
University of Virginia — University Advancement
Engagement and Annual Giving
10 Year Impact Report
The Next Era of Engagement in University Advancement In 2003, President John Casteen convened the Alumni Relations Task Force (ARTF) to brainstorm ways to enhance the University’s ability to build and maintain relationships with an increasingly diverse community of former students. As a result of this task force, University Advancement (UA) created an Engagement Office to partner with the Alumni Association to create “programs that enable and encourage alumni to make the University a tangible presence in their daily lives.” To achieve a holistic, best-in-class engagement program, University Advancement and the Alumni Associa-tion collaborate to develop a full scope of activities. In the spring of 2005, the first Engagement officers began working in University Advancement. This report gives a 10 year update on the progress the Engagement programs have made and discusses the strategic priorities of inclusivity, volunteer-centered programming, international engagement and involvement by students, parents and faculty. Since the University’s commitment to expand Engagement programming within University Advancement, over 51,000 alumni, parents and friends have been documented as registering for 9,000 events over 135,000 times. This represents a 2,700% increase in documented involvement over the past 10 years.
1
Alumni Association University Advancement– Engagement
Alumni Interest Groups Alumni & Parent Travel
Career Services HoosNetwork—Digital Engagement
Homecoming/Reunions Lifetime Learning
Legacy Admissions University Annual Giving
Student Programming UVaClubs
U.Va. Fund -Cavalier Admission Volunteers
U.Va. Magazine -Student Ambassadors
2
Alumni Registrants
by Age
FY05-FY14
4% <20
36% 20-29
23% 30-39
13% 40-49
13% 50-59
11% >60
Alumni Registrants by
Ethnic Diversity
FY14
21% Registrants
14% Alumni Baseline
Volunteer Demographics
FY14
54% Female
46% Male
36 Median age
39 Countries represented
Registrant Location
FY14
42% Virginia
51% U.S. outside of VA
7% International
76%
20%
4%
Alumni/Students Non-Alumni Parent Friends
Inclusive Model
Engagement programs serve all stakeholders who are interested in being part of a
lifelong network with the University regardless of donor, membership or affiliation
status. To represent this inclusive model, one of the first actions was to change the
name of regional clubs from Virginia Alumni Clubs to UVaClubs. This change wel-
comes all alumni, parents, students and friends to participate, not solely alumni.
While alumni and students are still the primary stakeholders, the diversity of partici-
pants has provided a richer environment for programming and networking.
Volunteer-Driven Programming - Train the Trainer Model
With 90% of events sponsored by UVaClubs, Engagement utilizes a “train the trainer”
organizational model, thus leveraging the foundation of student self-governance.
This shared ownership approach allows Engagement officers to provide guidance,
tools, and communication vehicles to the volunteer leaders who plan and execute
events to advance the University’s mission and goals. This type of organizational
structure allows the University to have a far-reaching impact with efficient use of
staff and financial resources. In just 10 years, the number of individuals who vol-
unteer on an annual basis has grown from 200 to 950, representing a 375% in-
crease.
International Engagement Expansion
In FY09, University Advancement developed the first international University-wide
Engagement strategic plan to increase Engagement programming outside of the
United States. Currently 9% of all Engagement activity and 7% of all registrants are
outside the US. New programs, such as UVaExpress, a bus transportation and
hospitality program for incoming international students, and the International
Welcome Dinner have become annual traditions. Last year over 180 students and
parents participated in UVaExpress, representing 32 countries. The International
Welcome Dinner for all incoming international students and parents annually draws
over 500 guests.
Engagement Registrants by Entity Type
3
“The tasteful and well-
organized affairs were a
delight, and you provided
another impressive link for a
parent like me to feel very
much a part of the UVA
community.”
U.Va. Parent
Outstanding Faculty Awards
2014 Wayne Cozart Ryan Hargraves Dorothy Fontaine Barbara Perry Stephen Cushman 2013 Gordon Burris Ernest Ern Paul Freedman Arthur Garson, M.D. Maurie McInnis 2012 Kenneth Elzinga Francesca Fiorani Gary Gallagher Edward Murphy Richard Warner 2011 Fred Diehl Suzan Garson Stephen Macko Stephen Railton Kathryn Thornton
2010 Phoebe Crisman Rebecca Dillingham Gregory Fairchild Lawrence Goedde Mark White Jason Williford
Student Engagement
Lifelong participation is a continuum that begins before a student arrives at U.Va. With
support from the President’s Office and the Office of Admission, volunteers serve as
ambassadors at college fairs, make congratulatory calls and host 40 accepted-student
receptions and 90 student send-offs each year. In FY10, the Student Ambassadors
program was created to allow students to serve as liaisons back to their home region
UVaClub. These students attend regional events and serve as goodwill ambassadors at
alumni and parent events on Grounds. Student recruitment and outreach program-
ming has more than doubled in the last six years, going from 10% of programming in
FY08 to 23% in FY14.
Non-Alumni Parent Involvement
Integration of non-alumni parents into traditional alumni Engagement programming is
central for increased participation. Non-alumni parents have feelings about the
University similar to our alumni, as documented through surveys conducted by
eAdvancement in 2012 and 2013. The following percentages indicate feelings
described as “a great deal or a fair bit.”
Over the last 10 years, 20% of all registrants have been non-alumni parents, with the
vast majority of parents attending student recruitment and outreach programs. At
presidential events, nearly one third of the audience can be expected to be parents.
In FY14, nearly 3,000 non-alumni parents were event registrants, representing an
88% increase from FY08. Engaged parents are also important donors to the Universi-
ty. In an analysis of student send-off participants, parents who attended these events
were 50% more likely to be donors to the University than those who did not attend.
Showcasing Our Faculty
Stakeholders in Engagement are afforded the opportunity to expand their intellectual
knowledge and re-connect to their academic experience through faculty involvement
with UVaClubs, Lifetime Learning and Cavalier Travels. In the past 10 years, over 440
administrators and faculty from all schools have given presentations to our stakehold-
ers “on the road” and on Grounds. President Teresa Sullivan and former President
John Casteen have given 109 “all comer” State of the University talks with UVaClubs
around the world. In FY14 average event attendance was nearly three times greater at
those with faculty speakers than the overall average of all Engagement events.
Through the commitment of our faculty to Engagement efforts, just over 1,100
faculty lectures have been offered in only 10 years.
Take Pride Emotional Connection
Alumni 96% 83%
Non-alumni Parents 93% 75%
Engagement Programs
Alumni & Parent Travel
HoosNetwork
Lifetime Learning
UVaClubs & Cavalier
Admission Volunteers
Travel Participants FY06-FY14
2,622 Travelers 92% Alumni donors 23% Repeat travelers “This is the level of travel
experience we should pro-
vide at UVA. It is consistent
with our intellectual objec-
tives and fun.”
Engagement Programs
Engagement programs focus on involving stakeholders where they live, learn and
travel through Alumni and Parent Travel, Digital Engagement, Lifetime Learning and
Regional Engagement, which includes UVaClubs and Cavalier Admission Volunteers. In
FY14, over 18,000 stakeholders registered 31,500 times for nearly 1,400 events, and
represented 54% of overall event registration in the University’s donor database.
From the beginning, creating programming to represent the diverse interests of stake-
holders was a key priority. Looking at the event categories over the last three years,
programming is equally divided between five main categories: student recruitment
and outreach, intellectual knowledge, athletic spirit, volunteerism and social
networking.
In the past decade, student outreach has seen the greatest increase, consistent with
the ARTF statement that “if students feel a sense of connection with the University
right from the start, they are more likely to maintain that connection after they leave
the Grounds.” This results in more parent involvement and meets the interests of
alumni who would like more contact with students.
Alumni and Parent Educational Travel—Cavalier Travels
Since 2006, Cavalier Travels has coordinated over 120 travel experiences with U.Va.
faculty to all seven continents. Examples of destinations include Turkey, Egypt,
Vietnam, Peru, Scotland, Italy and Cuba. In some destinations, receptions are held
with local alumni and parents, further connecting U.Va.’s global family.
These trips are well-received, as evidenced through post-trip surveys: 99% said they
would recommend the travel program to a friend and 94% indicated the trip met or
exceeded their expectations. The travel program has specially-designed international
trips and local travel experiences during Reunions with schools and units including the
Nursing Alumni Association, College of Arts and Sciences, Medical Alumni Association
and Virginia Athletics Foundation. Additionally, family-oriented and community
service trips are offered to further meet the interests of stakeholders.
This program both cultivates and stewards major donors, as three out of the seven
top U.Va. donors are travelers. To date, 92% of all travelers are fiscal year donors
and have a combined giving history of $290M. 4
Types of Programs—3 year Average FY12-FY14
Digital Engagement
To meet expanding interests of stakeholders to connect with the University online, the
Engagement Office developed a digital strategy to increase involvement. This strategy
involves a variety of online platforms including webinars, online alumni interviews and
social media postings on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. HoosNet-
work, a hub containing informative and entertaining advice-based articles for ‘Hoos
around the world, was launched in February 2015. This new media hub affords the
opportunity for all stakeholders, nationally and internationally, to interact and connect
with fellow alumni and current students. Embedded within HoosNetwork articles and
blog postings are advertisements that promote event attendance, awareness, on-line
donations and overall exposure to fundraising initiatives, as well as messaging from the
University and schools. To date, over 70 alumni and student volunteers are either
active bloggers or regular contributors to the site. Topics covered range from fashion
and travel, to careers and networking, to graduate school, wellness and recipes. In just
three months of going live, the HoosNetwork page received the most sessions, over
7,000 in the month of April 2015 from the alumni.edu website.
Lifetime Learning
U.Va.’s alumni, parents and friends are lifelong learners and want to continually expand
their intellectual knowledge. Each year, approximately 120 faculty lectures are held in a
variety of formats including extended learning programs, talks and panel discussions.
Over the last 10 years, 440 faculty and staff members from all 11 schools have given a
combined 1,164 talks. In addition to these talks, Lifetime Learning offers many opportu-
nities for online learning, including: EBSCO, an online library of five research databases
for alumni; podcasts of select lectures; a faculty blog called “Thoughts From the Lawn”;
and HooReads!, a global virtual book club. Faculty members volunteer their time to
participate in these programs and indicate that they enjoy reconnecting with former
students. Each year, Engagement hosts a faculty recognition event. Since FY07, 23
faculty have been honored with Outstanding Faculty Service Awards.
“This is a fabulous alumni
benefit! I am an alum of
three major, well-respected
universities, and only U.Va.
offers me access to these
excellent research tools. “
EBSCO Library User
Extended Learning Programs
Summer Jefferson Symposium
U.Va. at Oxford Seminar
One-Day U.Va.
Lectures and Talks
Engaging the Mind
More than the Score
Reunion Seminars
UVaClub Faculty Talks
Online Learning
Alumni Library
Podcasts
HooReads!
Webinars
Blogs
Faculty Talk Registrations 740% Increase in 7 years
EBSCO Sessions 711% Increase in 3 years
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
FY11 FY14
5,100
41,500
0
2000
4000
6000
FY07 FY14
700
5,900
5
UVaClub Activities
Student Outreach
Jefferson Book Award
College Fairs
Congratulatory calls
Accepted Student Receptions
Student Send-offs
UVaExpress
International Dinner
Student Ambassadors
Athletic/Sporting Events
Game watching parties
Tailgates
Championship & Bowl
events
Recreation leagues
Professional sport outings
Intellectual Enrichment
Faculty lectures
Book clubs
Museum tours
Personal enrichment classes
Welcome to the City
Happy hours
Roasts, galas, BBQs
Professional networking events
Volunteer Service
Cavalier Cares local services
Board participation
UVaClubs and Cavalier Admission Volunteers
The greatest area of growth and transformation since the formation of the
Engagement Office lies within the Regional Network programs: UVaClubs and Cavalier
Admission Volunteers. Currently there are networks in 136 locations that represent
95% of all Engagement events and 82% of all event registrations. Since 2005, these
networks have engaged 43,000 unique alumni, parents, students and friends who
have registered over 115,000 times for 8,500 events.
These networks are independent volunteer organizations that operate under a shared
partnership model with Engagement. Engagement staff provide guidance and feed-
back to volunteer leaders as they develop a regional calendar of events that meet in-
dividual local interests in concert with the needs of the University. Volunteers are
chosen locally and represent the full diversity of our alumni and parent population.
Since FY07, Engagement has committed time and resources to tracking events and
registrations. In a 2013 survey of club metrics at peer institutions, U.Va. was second
in the number of events recorded, and first in the number of individual registra-
tions. Without registration information, the University, schools and units would not
be able to leverage this active form of involvement or identify patterns of behavior.
Through tracking participation, we have learned that alumni event registrants are
twice as likely to be donors than the general alumni population. Participation is
clearly key; increased engagement leads to increased involvement and, for many,
increased giving.
The Regional Engagement program at U.Va. is a recognized leader and has earned two
Grand Awards for UVaExpress and Western US Weekend as well as one Award of
Excellence for overall alumni relations programming from CASE III, the professional
association for advancement.
6
Annual Giving
The Alumni Relations Task Force concluded that in order to increase private
philanthropy, the University must complement its successful major donor
fundraising strategy with Engagement programs that reach all alumni. In FY14, the
University‘s central annual giving operation was integrated within Engagement.
This strategic move allows for greater synergy to motivate our broad base of
engaged stakeholders to become invested annual giving donors.
The annual giving team focuses on University-wide campaigns through integrated
marketing appeals. This includes one-day giving events such as GivingToHoosDay
and #TJBDay for Need-Based Scholarships as well as the President’s fundraising
appeals, Phonathon, University priorities and Parent and Young Alumni Annual Giv-
ing. Annual Giving also collaborates with Engagement programs to distribute giving
messages where appropriate and supports fundraising activities in local UVaClubs.
Since FY11, giving though the President’s letter has increased 61%, with nearly
$3M raised for schools, representing approximately 60% of gifts. The Phonathon,
over the last year, has seen dramatic results by implementing revised training for
callers, new donor-centric scripts and targeted segmentation. In the last year the
Phonathon saw a 60% increase in cash and pledges, with 60% total dollars raised
for schools.
University wide, over the last six years, giving to annual fund accounts has
increased 20.5%. At the end of FY14, $68M had been received compared to $56M
in FY08. Since the publication of the ARTF, the number of donors has increased
44%, from 33,000 in FY03 to 48,000 in FY14.
“Individual philanthropy is
very important to me. U.Va.
has been a good steward of
our philanthropy and has
done a good job of stating
the case for need. The
University has a bright,
bright future.”
U.Va. Donor
7
School Involvement
Alumni make up the largest percentage of our invested stakeholders, and participants
come from every school. The College of Arts & Sciences represents the largest
constituency of participating alumni, as well as the largest percentage of alumni
across all schools. When comparing the percentage of constituents by school who
register for Engagement events to the percentage breakdown of all alumni by school,
alumni from the College and Commerce are slightly more involved and alumni from
Education, Law and Nursing are slightly less involved than the corresponding overall
school percentage.
Engagement’s programs promote events to all alumni and schools; schools can then
leverage particular events by encouraging attendance from their alumni and
providing personalized follow-up. This allows schools to more closely connect with
their alumni around the world, where they may not have existing programming. The
Lifetime Learning program provides a platform for school faculty members to share
their message across a broad population. Some lectures are co-sponsored with
schools and have included follow-up messages for information and philanthropy. In
other instances where schools have hosted events for their alumni and wanted a
larger audience, Engagement has used its integrated marketing vehicles to promote
these events to all alumni in a given region. As the University moves to a new activity
-based financial model, Engagement and Annual Giving will adapt its activities to fur-
ther enhance opportunities not only for the good of the University, but for individuals
schools as well.
8
Alumni Registrants by
Preferred School
FY05-FY14
Architecture 1,277
Arts & Sciences 23,252
Batten School 95
Commerce 4,808
Darden 1,615
Education 1,386
Engineering 4,627
GSAS 841
Law 1,730
Medicine 288
SCPS 71
School of Nursing 961
Undergraduate Alumni
Identify Most Closely With
65% University as a Whole
9% School
8% Department
11% Student Organization
5% Class
eAdvancement Survey 2012
Alumni Demographics
by School FY14
CLAS & GSAS 51%
Architecture 3%
Commerce 8%
Darden 5%
Engineering 11%
Education 12%
Law 9%
Medicine 3%
SCPS <1%
Nursing 4%
Batten <1%
Rounded to nearest whole number
Stakeholder Model for Engagement
University of Virginia alumni, parents and friends are the primary stakeholders for
Engagement programming and partner with schools, foundations programs, faculty
and staff to develop a holistic engagement strategy.
University of Virginia Engagement Stakeholders
Engagement and Annual Giving have long-standing partnerships with several
University offices, programs and foundations. Examples include: International
Welcome Dinner and student engagement programs with the Office of the President;
college fairs, congratulatory calls and accepted student receptions with the Office of
Admission; research library collaboration with the University Library; co-sponsoring
of MLK community events with the Office of Diversity and Equity; parent orientation
activities with Student Affairs; regional tailgates and socials with VAF; Festival of the
Book events with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities; HooReads! partnership
with the Miller Center; and many on-going collaborations with the Alumni
Association including Western U.S. Weekend and joint strategic planning. The
Phonathon provides calling services to 13 schools, foundations and programs.
With this shared stakeholder model for Engagement, the University will continue to
be a leader in connecting alumni, parents and friends to each other, their school,
their student experience and the University.
Staffing and Financial Resources
University Advancement’s Engagement and Annual Giving is comprised of 26 staff
members, 55 student employees, 170 student volunteers and 1,400 alumni and
parent volunteers. The total budget for Engagement and Annual Giving in FY14 is
$2.33M, of which $486,000 is used for Engagement program operating expenses.
The office is led by Cindy Fredrick, who has 23 years experience with the University,
serving as a founding member of the Engagement Office and former Executive
Director of Madison House, the student volunteer center at U.Va. Collectively, the
leadership team within Engagement and Annual Giving has over 70 years experience
working at the University of Virginia.
Partnerships with
Offices, Programs and
Foundations
Office of the President
Executive VP & Provost
Vice Provost for the Arts
Vice Provost for Global
Affairs
Dean of Admission
University Library
Center for Politics
Virginia Foundation for
the Humanities
Executive VP & COO
University Bookstore
VP for Diversity and
Equity
VP for Student Affairs
VP for Research
Intercollegiate Athletics
Virginia Athletics
Foundation
Alumni Association
Jefferson Scholars
OLLI
Miller Center
Madison House
9
Overview Highlights
9,000 events, including 1,200 talks by 440 faculty, administrators and coaches
51,000 unique registrants (41,000 alumni) for 135,000 event registrations
2,700 percent increase in registrations over 10 years (from 1,100 event registrations in FY05 to 31,500 in FY14)
New Initiatives or Programs Developed over the last 10 years
Accepted Student Receptions - Events in April to inform accepted students about U.Va.
UVaExpress - Bus transportation and hospitality program for incoming international students
Cavalier Admission Volunteers - Regional networks focused on student recruitment and student programming
International Welcome Dinner - Dinner for all incoming international students and parents
UVaClub Student Ambassadors - Current students serving as liaisons to their hometown region
Hoos Up for Coffee - Parent to parent regional conversations
15 in 2015 Volunteer Cavaliers Care - Stakeholders committed to 15 hours of volunteer service in 2015
Extended Learning - Continued U.Va. at Oxford, Summer Jefferson Symposium and Civil Rights South from SCPS
EBSCO online alumni library - Five research databases for personal and professional use
HoosReads! - International virtual book Ccub featuring U.Va. faculty authors
One-Day UVa - Visits to historical or cultural sites with U.Va. faculty
Faculty Speaker Recognition Reception - Annual outstanding faculty of the year recognition and reception
HoosNetwork - Web-based hub to share stakeholder content and advice through social media
Alumni & Parent Travel - Service trip to Vietnam with Nursing Alumni Association
GivingToHoosDay - One-day giving campaign
Integration of parents into alumni engagement programs
Integrated annual giving and engagement programs
Awards and Recognition
CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) District III
2013—Award of Excellence in Fundraising Annual Fund, Rotunda Society
2011—Grand Award in Special Projects, Western United States Weekend
2009—Grand Award in Special Projects, UVaExpress
2008—Award of Excellence in Overall Alumni Relations Programs
10
SELECTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS FY05 to FY14