Why Alumni Engagement Has To Feel Essential, Not Obligatory
Today’s graduates expect more than homecoming invitations and fundraising appeals. Here’s how colleges and universities can create lifelong relationships that keep alumni connected, engaged and invested.
By Paul Peterson
The old alumni engagement model was built around milestones: graduation, reunions, homecomings, annual appeals and capital campaigns. Today’s graduates expect something different — a relationship that delivers value throughout their lives. That’s changing how advancement teams think about outreach.
We know that engaged graduates are the ones who give to campaigns, make planned gifts and bequests, volunteer and mentor the students coming up behind them. For the many tuition-dependent institutions already facing enrollment declines, this support is one of the few cushions left. A recent Education Next analysis of 44 midsize private colleges found 15 could exhaust their financial breathing room within about three years even if enrollment holds steady, and the authors warn that more than 500 similar schools nationwide face comparable risk.
University foundation and advancement teams are responding by rethinking how they show value, impact and relevance across every touchpoint, from websites and email to publications and campaign messaging.
The opportunity isn’t simply to communicate more often. It’s to create ongoing experiences alumni genuinely value — whether that’s career resources, meaningful storytelling, networking, lifelong learning or opportunities to give back. When institutions consistently deliver value, engagement and philanthropy follow.
The institutions seeing the strongest engagement aren’t thinking in terms of isolated campaigns anymore. They’re building connected digital ecosystems where websites, editorial content, email, events, social media and AI-discoverable resources all reinforce one another. Every interaction becomes another opportunity to remind alumni why their relationship with the institution still matters.
These three examples show what that looks like in practice.
UC Berkeley: Uniting a Sprawling Chapter Network Into One Ecosystem
For many alumni, the local chapter is the first — and sometimes only — ongoing connection they have with their alma mater. But when those experiences feel fragmented, so does the connection itself.
With one of the largest alumni networks in the country, the Cal Alumni Association tapped C/A to redesign not only its website but also the 30-plus chapter microsites that connect alumni with UC Berkeley. That’s because these chapter sites might be the first place alumni turn to connect with their alma mater, but they’re often homegrown, managed by volunteers and display varying levels of brand identity. Sometimes they’re just a social media page with ad hoc updates. Our solution was to build a branded, multisite environment where chapter sites can be easily spun up and updated by volunteers. So when a Cal alum comes looking for a way to connect with fellow Bears, they have a clear, consistent place to land.
The Lesson: Community only works when it’s easy to find and participate in. By making local chapters feel like part of one connected experience, UC Berkeley lowered barriers to engagement while strengthening its overall alumni brand.
UC Irvine: Reimagining an Alumni Magazine for the Digital Age
For decades, alumni magazines arrived a few times a year. Today, graduates expect fresh stories, easier discovery and content they can engage with whenever they choose.
As part of a comprehensive redesign of the UC Irvine Alumni Association website, C/A is transforming The Anteater from a traditional publication into a dynamic, digital-first editorial experience. When it launches, the new magazine will preserve the spirit of a beloved alumni publication while making stories easier to discover, explore and share. Integrated into the broader website, it will help turn alumni content into an always-on destination that celebrates achievement, fosters belonging and keeps the Anteater community connected year-round.
The Lesson: When editorial storytelling becomes part of an institution’s broader digital ecosystem, every story creates another opportunity for alumni to reconnect and return.
University of Arizona: Creating a Career-Focused Hub
Graduation shouldn’t be the end of the institution’s role in a student’s success. Increasingly, it’s the beginning of a lifelong relationship.
One way to encourage engagement is by addressing the specific needs and challenges of recent graduates, positioning the institution as a trusted partner in alumni’s journey to success. An effective way to do that is to establish a dedicated online content hub geared toward professional development. We worked with the University of Arizona to build its Career Lab, specifically for alumni. The platform offers career coaching, mentorship programs, professional development webinars and more, providing young alumni in particular with a reason to stay engaged.
The Lesson: The strongest alumni relationships are built by delivering ongoing value. When institutions solve real problems for graduates, engagement becomes meaningful and more frequent.
Alumni loyalty isn’t a given anymore; it has to be earned. Whether it’s making community easier to access, using storytelling to strengthen belonging or providing resources alumni genuinely need, the institutions making the most progress are creating connected experiences that graduates want to return to. They’re making engagement feel essential rather than obligatory.
Turn Alumni Connection Into Lasting Engagement
We help colleges and universities build the audience-first content and digital experiences that feel essential, not obligatory.
Paul oversees client service at Casual Astronaut, working with our account management team to shape content and digital marketing strategies for clients. His nearly 20-year career in marketing and public relations ranges from healthcare to hospitality, consumer products to government relations, high-tech communications to entertainment. Paul’s worked with brands such as Nike, Disney, Johns Hopkins and Cleveland Clinic to build measurable, audience-engagement strategies.
A father to two boys, Paul usually spends his weekends at flag football games, chess tournaments, bowling leagues and coaching soccer (all of which may happen in the same Saturday). And when snow starts to fall in the mountains, he looks for any excuse to hit the slopes.