NCCC Alumni Association Engagement Review Presentation 2010

Growing a relationship with over 33,000 NCCC alumni

33,000 alumni

Communication

Alumni Relations

The Future

Alumni/Foundation Relationship

Engagement Goals

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33,000 alumni

Engagement Goals

To foster an environment where the alumni contribute to the life of Niagara County Community College by developing relationships that

are mutually beneficial to alumni, the college community and the greater Niagara community that furthermore result in financial

support for the college and foundation initiatives.The Alumni Engagement Plan was approved in 2008 by NCCC

Foundation Board of Directors.

Engagement Plan Goal

Pictured are Distinguished Student Scholarship recipients, past scholarship recipients and alumni.

To heighten awareness with alumni about the activities at NCCC

To involve alumni in campus functions that are mutually beneficial to both parties

To strengthen the connection alumni have to the college To cultivate involvement of students through on-campus

activities prior to graduation To enlist support of the college and foundation from alumni

employees and the community at large Focus the role and responsibility of the NCCC Foundation

Board of Directors and Alumni Association as stewards of this plan

Strengthen the alumni operations through enhanced technology and resources

Engagement Plan Objectives

33,000 alumni

Alumni Relations

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•Rebranding the Alumni Association

•Fitness membership program

•Alumni awareness events

•Awards programs

•Reunion events

Rebranding the Alumni Association

Alumni Relations

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• After historical research was conducted on the Alumni Association, it was determined that a new “look” needed to be achieved to begin engaging alumni.

• In November 2008, new print literature was created.

• In January 2009, a NCCC graphics design class was asked to create a new logo and in February 2009 the graphics design class unveiled a number of new Alumni Association logos.The result…

The new print literature and logo was released, rebranding the Alumni Association




Past Logo

1970’s - 2008

New Logo

2009-present

Note:

We were advised by an NCCC graphic design instructor and artist that our past logo suggested “no alumni association” since the alumni association text crossed through the NCCC part of the logo.

Alumni Relations

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Fitness Membership Program

Anyone who has obtained 50 credit hours or more, certificate or degree from NCCC is considered an alumnus• In 2006, the Alumni Association and lifetime memberships were eliminated. Instead, the Alumni Association choose to offer a $25 fitness membership.

• Due to a very limited amount of alumni using the facilities in 2008 a fitness membership goal was set charging the Foundation/Alumni staff with the annual goal to achieve 80 memberships ($2,000) beginning September 1-August 31The result…

In November 2008, a fitness membership marketing campaign was launched

Branding the Fitness Membership




This ad plays on LCTV and is responsible for some of the membership increase.

Marketing Results: Fitness Membership Increase

Alumni Fitness Membership 9/1/06-8/31/07

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• 2006-2007 = 14 memberships purchased• 2007-2008 = 35 memberships purchased• 2008-2009 = 53 memberships purchased• 2009-2010 = 63 memberships purchased

A steady membership increase continued as a marketing mix of print, web, video and social media was employed leveling out the percent change in memberships.


Alumni Fitness Membership Percent Change 2006-2007

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Alumni Awareness Events

Alumni Relations

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As part of the objectives set forth by the Alumni Engagement Plan in 2008, it was determined that the Alumni Association needed more of a presence on campus and off to begin fostering relationships. The result…

Participate in NCCC campus and community events such as:

•Grad Fair - with an alumni benefits focus.

•Job Fair - offering career services benefits.

•Orientation – providing benefits information.

•Open House – Linking with parents who are alums and start soliciting students for their annual fund donation Ex.) If you graduate in 2010 donate $20.10 a year to the Foundation

•Commencement – diploma cover inserts welcoming graduates to the Alumni Association.

•Niagara Homecoming – Grass roots group focused on bringing people back home to live and work. Participate in the annual Niagara Homecoming Kick-Off Reception.


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After an electrifying 2009 Commencement ceremony, video of the ceremony along with commentary by NCCC Foundation Board Member and Distinguished Alumnus Ron Winkley was mailed to all graduates who attended the ceremony.

The result…• 2009 graduates were introduced to the Alumni Association weeks after their graduation on a much personal level.

•The awareness of the Alumni Association and contact information was distributed thus resulting increased 2009 fitness members.


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Alumni Association Flower Sale Over Time

2006 - 2010 Flower Graduation Sales

REVENUE 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 TOTAL

Flower Expenses

$ 651.25

$ 757.50

$ 874.08

$1,360.00

$ 1,599.30 $5,242.13

Flowers Sold

$1,247.00

$1,612.10

$1,610.00

$2,292.00

$ 2,820.00 $9,581.10

Flower Profit $ 595.75

$ 854.60

$ 735.92 $ 932.00 $(1,220.70) $1,897.57

•Since 2006, the Alumni Association has maintained their presence at the annual

flower sale at the nurses pinning and commencement ceremonies.

Alumni Relations

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2010 Commencement diploma cover

insert

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At the 2010 Grad Fair, the Alumni Association focused their display around the Hungry for a J.O.B.? Career mentoring and networking event by giving away breakfast items for correctly answered job related questions.

Awards Program

Alumni Relations

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In 2008, after the inclusion of Ron Winter on the Alumni Association Committee a revitalization of awards honoring alumni was discussed. With Ron Winter heading up a Sub-committee that consisted of two other Distinguished Alumni, Ginny Taylor and Skip Helfrich, the Distinguished Alumni award program was reorganized. In addition, that sub-committee also recommended the inclusion of two new awards a community service award and a young alumnus award which were then named the Norman W. Sinclair Community Service Award and the G.O.L.D. (Graduates of the Last Decade) Award.

The result…•New awards were introduced reaching out to the younger alumni group as well as the community to foster relationships.

•Distinguished Alumni Award criterion was reformatted to filter out recipients that weren’t apt to contribute to the life of NCCC

•The Norman W. Sinclair Award and the G.O.L.D. Award were formed and distributed in 2009 and 2010.

Never before had the Alumni Association connected with alumni through a series of reunion events.

Our target…

Graduates from 1965-1975

Graduates 2000-2010

The result…

A revolutionary reunionAlumni

Relations…………………………………………………………………...

Reunion Events

Revolution NTrip Reunion

Revolution NTrip ReunionCelebrating the 45th anniversary of the first graduating class of

NCCC

Alumni Relations

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Alumni Tip Off with Trailblazers BasketballOn February 16, 2010 the Alumni Association hosted an alumni night

at the Trailblazer basketball games. While NCCC honored Dan Bazzani with his outstanding career, we connected with former basketball players coached by Dan Bazzani. We also built new relationships with alumni while hosting contests, prizes and giveaways.


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Alumni Relations

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Shredded Wheat Breakfast• The Alumni Association kicked-off their reunion with the Shredded Wheat Breakfast on March 26, 2010• Reminiscing about NCCC’s first campus, “Nabisco Tech” the breakfast boosted over 30 attendees with many alums that the Alumni Association never had contact with

Distinguished Alumnus William Paterson ’65 and NCCC Retiree Art Hadley


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This invitation was mailed and emailed to 1965-1975 alumni featuring a poem that was created about NCCC’s history using songs from the 60’s and 70’s.

Revolution NTrip ReunionCelebrating the 45th anniversary of the first graduating class

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A traditional Shredded Wheat breakfast was served to attendees along with other donations of fruit and yogurt from Upstate Farms and Tops International


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Attendees page through old NCCC year books and view a personal collection of Shredded Wheat

memorabilia. In addition, Bill Ross, Niagara County Legislator

Chairman addresses attendees recounting stories of Shredded

Wheat from his childhood.


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Alumni Relations

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Following the Shredded Wheat Breakfast, the Alumni Association worked with the NCCC Student Development

and Student Life departments to provide a career mentoring event, linking students with NCCC alumni.

•25 career mentors were in attendance from career fields such as education, healthcare, business and criminal justice.

•Over 200 students were in attendance having roundtable discussions with alumni over a breakfast of bacon, eggs, donuts, fruit and juice.

•Reaching out even further,12 students attended a Skype session (a web communications tool) in the television studio featuring an alum Lukas Habegger ’03 who is working on his doctorate in computational biology and bioinformatics at Yale University.


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Pictured on the left is Michael Keenan ’80 with a student discussing his break-out session focusing on interview tactics and owning your own business. Over 40 students attended this session and Michael traveled all the way from California to attend the mentoring session.


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Following Hungry for a J.O.B.? Alumni, NCCC employees and students gathered at The Marlboro Inn also known as “Building M”

for a karaoke night

•25 people were in attendance as Michele the Karaoke DJ got the crowd roaring.

Pictured is Michele Myers Karaoke DJ and Les Robinson ‘87 NCCC Foundation Board Member and Karaoke Night at “Building M” Co-Chair


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On Saturday, March 27, 2010 the Alumni Association concluded the first of two reunion weekends with a 60’s themed play “Barefoot in

the Park” performed by NCCC students accompanied by desserts and cordials prepared by NCCC Culinary students.

•63 people were in attendance with the Foundation receiving proceeds from the ticket sales

•$275 profit was made after $429.24 in expenses


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Alumni Relations

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Wingstock, a 60’s and 70’s themed event culminated the reunion celebration on June 5, 2010. The event was hosted at Rapids

Theatre in Niagara Falls reminiscent of NCCC’s past in downtown Niagara Falls. It featured two live bands, Reflector which featured NCCC staff and alumni and The BBC. The event also boasted a chicken

wing competition between four local wing vendors Crazy Jake’s, The Marlboro Inn,

Favorite’s Pizzeria and Sanborn Pizzeria.

Peace, Love & Chicken Wings


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Wingstock volunteers included alumni, students, scholarship recipients and NCCC events planning students.


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Marlin Harper, NCCC student, scholarship recipient and Wingstock

T-shirt designer sold Wingstock merchandise

Alumna's Katie Curtis and Dawn Pirinelli made appearances at local bar & restaurants each week to sell Wingstock tickets.


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Jennifer Starkey, former Miss Buffalo & Lori Caso served as both celebrity judges for the wing competition and emcee's for the event.

John Hutchins, Rapids Theatre owner presents Ray Ward with the Celebrity’s Best Wing Award


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…………………………………………………………………...Live video from Wingstock is featured on the NCCC YouTube Channel

•News coverage prior to and after the event increasing awareness of the Alumni Association and Foundation purposes

•210 attendees and 232 tickets sold

• Attendees included alumni, NCCC staff, students and community members.

•Fundraising efforts included a basket auction, a musical memorabilia silent auction, Skittles guessing contest, mystery basket raffle, 50/50 split raffle, wing ticket sales and Wingstock merchandise such as T-shirt and key chains.

•Positive comments and a request for the event next year:


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The results of Wingstock…


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Front page coverage of Wingstock in the Niagara Gazette’s Night and Day section

Just wanted to say thanks to both of you for all your hard work and for allowing us the opportunity to participate in NCCC's Wingstock event. It was a fantastic success and we had a ball playing there. You guys did a phenomenal job and everyone I know who attended said they had a great time.

On behalf of all the members of Reflector (or "Reflections" as we're known in the Gazette), thanks again for a job well done!

All the best!

-Bob Borgatti

Morning,

We all had a great time on Saturday night. Thanks for promoting the event!

Barbara J. Bunce


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Wingstock Comments


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Wingstock Comments Continued…

Bob and I had a great time. It was so nice to see everyone. Please tell Jenna that she did a great job planning the event.

Keep in touchPatty

Not only did I enjoy Wingstock I won a basket with all the ingredients for a very nice Italian dinner for two. I told me wife I won this for her. Sometimes you have to string out those good times. Tell the other board members thanks for taking an ALUMNI event off campus. You remember "In your Neighborhood". It works.

Guy M. Zaczek

33,000 alumni

Communication

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HTML bi-weekly e-mails

Newsletter

Direct mail

Social media

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Through our HTML alumni e-mails we:•Deliver the latest news to alumni regarding alumni events, campus news and campus events.

•Provide links to promote our social media outlets.

•Reach out to alumni using today’s technology.



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•The HTML e-mail was instituted in fall of 2008. Now, in 2010 over 3,700 alumni are updated bi-monthly.

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To keep consistent of the branding for the Revolution NTrip Reunion, we developed a new header for the

e-mails for the months of March, April, May and June.

Regular Header

Revolution NTrip Reunion Header


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In the Spring of 2010, the newsletter was reformatted, updating the colors and overall style of the newsletter.

Communication

Old Vs. NEW!

Newsletter

Direct Mail

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In 2008, the MyNCCC Annual Fund was created with the intent of soliciting unrestricted gifts from alumni.

Alumni from various fields such as healthcare and athletics were targeted for the MyNCCC annual fund by means of a personalized letter and an annual fund envelope.

• 584 received the Annual Fund Healthcare Letter 625 received the Annual Fund Athletic Letter •25,000 alumni with valid addresses were solicited for MyNCCC annual fund donations via the newsletter in May 2009 and March 2010. The result…

2008-2009 = $4,591; 53 donors2009-2010 = $19,647; 71 donors

Direct Mail

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Targeted Mailings All Alumni Newsletter Mailings

Social Media

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Social media can be defined as a type of online media that expedites conversation as opposed to traditional media, which delivers content but doesn't allow readers/viewers/listeners to

participate in the creation or development of the content.

What is it?

•In January 2009, it became evident that there was an increasing need to communicate more frequently with alumni allowing the Alumni Association to cultivate relationships.

•In March 2009, a social media plan was proposed to the Alumni Association with the following objectives:

AwarenessTo have an effect on the visibility of the NCCC Alumni Association in social networking sites specifically to reinforce comprehension of the benefits provided by the Alumni Association offered exclusively to alumni.ActionTo increase giving to the NCCC FoundationTo develop a relationship with NCCC Alumni through social networkingTo increase the number of NCCC Alumni purchasing fitness membershipsTo increase the number of NCCC Alumni sending us information about themselvesTo increase the volunteer involvement of alumniTo increase the nominees for the Distinguished Alumni award

Social Media

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In August of 2009, the NCCC Alumni Association launched the first of many future social media initiatives by creating a Facebook Fan Page.

The result…

•To date we have 216 Facebook Fans of the NCCC Alumni Association whom we communicate with on a daily basis

•Not only are we making our alumni aware of the Alumni Association but we provide ample opportunities for them to engage in conversation with us and other alumni as well as share photos and other media

Social Media

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Why is it important for the Alumni Association to have a presence in the social media world?

Communication

•We can reach out to alumni in a new and different way using social media.

•Using these outlets means we have a faster, quicker way of getting our news out.

•Social media provides conversation and engages users to participate with our organization.

Social Media

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acebook statistics

Social Media

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acebook statistics

Social Media

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The result…

•Increased number of fans.

•Increased conversation.

•Reinforced the alumni reunion theme engaging alumni in a virtual reunion if they couldn’t physically make any of the reunion events.

During the Revolution NTrip Reunion we hosted a 60’s and 70’s themed trivia contest on Facebook to foster fan engagement, increase our post quality and relay information about NCCC to our fans.

33,000 alumni

Alumni/Foundation Relationship

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•Finalization of Alumni Association reorganization

•Creative problem-solving

•MyNCCC Annual Fund

•Students and alumni working together

•Fundraising efforts/ support scholarships

33,000 alumni

…………… The Future

•Annual Events

•New social media

•Fitness membership program

•MyNCCC Annual Fund

•Greater student involvement

•Partnerships with other campus departments

• Developed an Alumni Engagement Plan for the first time to provide the framework for direction with alumni efforts (approved by the Foundation Board of Directors in 2008).

• In two years, the Alumni Association has achieved majority of the goals and objectives presented in the Alumni Engagement Plan

• To date alumni records have been enhanced with career, media, address and donor information

• As of December 2007 there were 23,579 alumni records in the Raiser’s Edge database

• To date the Raiser’s Edge database has 27,073 alumni records noting a 3,494 record increase over the 2007 total accounting for a 14.82% percent increase

• Since January 2008 27,879 changes have been manually made to alumni records in the Raiser’s Edge database which is $11,151 in staff wages

• Instituted an annual fund which raised $4,591 in 2009 and $19,647 in 2010.

33,000 alumni

Growth…………………………………………………………………...

Conclusion

Thank You!NCCC Alumni Association Committee

Under the leadership of Dr. Martin Drake, the NCCC Alumni Association Committee made a lot of progress. A collection of such a

diverse group of people with the addition of 5 new committee members since 2008 has become a large asset to NCCC. Due to their hard work, the next generation of alumni will be more engaged and involved thus resulting in financial gain for the NCCC Foundation.

Education

NCCC Alumni Association Engagement Review Presentation 2010