Alumni Association increases efforts as economy falters
Hopkins institutes new student-alumni program
As the economic crisis draws on, its impact on alumni giving is still foggy.
Fritz Schroeder, senior associate vice president of Development and Alumni Relations, expects the economic crisis to affect alumni giving, though he says it is still too early to judge how serious it will be.
"We probably won't have a clear idea of what the outlook for alumni is like until about June of this year," he said. "Everyone's personal finances - from students and recent alumni to more wealthy established alumni - and we're had to adjust our time frames and requests based on donor's situations."
Schroeder noted that alumni events in recent months have taken a new tone.
"We've been organizing more alumni networking events. There's definitely been greater demand for these kinds of events, partly from people trying to tap into networks as they look for new jobs."
Schroeder also noted some changes in the types of involvement that alumni are looking for.
"In the past, alumni chapters used to have a lot of formal dinners with a faculty guest as a lecturer," Schroeder said.
Younger alumni are more interested in hands-on participation with the University. They would rather work directly with their alumni chapters or do volunteer work with the school than attend dinners and lectures. It is through these more engaging events that they will give money, according to Schroeder.
"We've tried to increase programs like this to meet the interests of our alumni and help keep them involved in the Hopkins community," Schroeder said.
As a student ambassador for the Alumni Association, Luis Oros's role is to attend University events with alumni present to help create a stronger sense of community between alumni and current students.
Last year, the program was in a test phase. Now in its second year, the ambassador program is taking steps to make it a permanent fixture because the Alumni Association has seen noticeable results.
Fritz Schroeder, senior associate vice president of Development and Alumni Relations, expects the economic crisis to affect alumni giving, though he says it is still too early to judge how serious it will be.
"We probably won't have a clear idea of what the outlook for alumni is like until about June of this year," he said. "Everyone's personal finances - from students and recent alumni to more wealthy established alumni - and we're had to adjust our time frames and requests based on donor's situations."
Schroeder noted that alumni events in recent months have taken a new tone.
"We've been organizing more alumni networking events. There's definitely been greater demand for these kinds of events, partly from people trying to tap into networks as they look for new jobs."
Schroeder also noted some changes in the types of involvement that alumni are looking for.
"In the past, alumni chapters used to have a lot of formal dinners with a faculty guest as a lecturer," Schroeder said.
Younger alumni are more interested in hands-on participation with the University. They would rather work directly with their alumni chapters or do volunteer work with the school than attend dinners and lectures. It is through these more engaging events that they will give money, according to Schroeder.
"We've tried to increase programs like this to meet the interests of our alumni and help keep them involved in the Hopkins community," Schroeder said.
As a student ambassador for the Alumni Association, Luis Oros's role is to attend University events with alumni present to help create a stronger sense of community between alumni and current students.
Last year, the program was in a test phase. Now in its second year, the ambassador program is taking steps to make it a permanent fixture because the Alumni Association has seen noticeable results.
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