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Bad data is not just an inconvenience—it’s a hidden drain on your university’s alumni engagement and fundraising efforts. When it comes to alumni outreach, accurate information is essential to drive meaningful relationships, contributions, and participation.
Unfortunately, many institutions fail to realize the true cost of bad data, whether it’s outdated employment information, incorrect email addresses, or failure to segment messages effectively. These inaccuracies can lead to missed opportunities and unnecessary expenses, ultimately affecting your bottom line.
The Rate of Employment Change: 17-20% Annually
One of the most significant sources of data inaccuracy comes from employment changes. The average rate of employment change among individuals is between 17-20% annually, meaning a substantial portion of your alumni may have shifted jobs, received promotions, or even moved into new industries in the last year. This churn can have a serious impact on your alumni engagement efforts.
The Risk of Messaging Someone Who’s Changed Jobs
Imagine sending an email to an alum inviting them to a networking event or asking for a donation, only to realize they’ve switched industries or jobs entirely. If the outreach focuses on their previous position, it can feel irrelevant, or worse, intrusive.
Not only is this an ineffective use of your resources, but it can also damage the relationship between your university and the alum. Your message may come off as tone-deaf and may even lead to a decline in engagement over time.
The Dangers of Asking for a Donation When Someone Has Lost Their Job
For alumni who have recently lost their job, receiving a donation request can feel misaligned with their current circumstances. When reaching out to these individuals, it’s crucial to be sensitive to their situation.
A generic donation request that assumes financial stability can backfire, alienating them and reducing future chances of contribution. It’s important to use current and relevant data to segment your alumni base, ensuring your appeals align with their status and capacity to give.
The Cost of Asking for Too Little or Too Much
Without the right data points—such as salary levels, career progression, or previous giving history—alumni engagement and fundraising efforts can miss the mark. Asking for too little means leaving money on the table, especially from alumni who are in a position to contribute more but aren’t asked to do so. On the other hand, asking for too much from alumni who are not in a financial position to give, such as those in lower-paying roles or who are experiencing financial hardship, can lead to disinterest or resentment.
Accurate data allows your institution to tailor donation requests according to each alum's capacity to give, increasing the likelihood of successful contributions while maintaining positive alumni relationships.
The Energy Spent Capturing Data vs. Using It Effectively
Many institutions spend considerable time and effort collecting data on individual alumni, often relying on outdated or ad hoc reports submitted by alumni themselves. However, schools are not in the business of simply capturing data—they need to be able to use data to successfully plan, engage, and fundraise.
When data is collected but not fully integrated into your engagement strategy, it becomes a wasted resource. Institutions that focus on data-driven decision-making, leveraging insights into alumni interests, career moves, and engagement history, can plan more effectively and connect with alumni in a way that resonates. Data should empower your outreach efforts, not just sit in a database waiting to be updated or reviewed on an individual basis.
The Lost Opportunity of Using Graduate Outcome Data
Graduate outcome data, such as alumni employment status and career progression, offers a unique opportunity to engage alumni as soon as they leave your institution. By tracking their first job, career moves, or advanced degrees, schools can begin building relationships with recent graduates early on—before they are asked for donations or invited to events.
Studies have shown that recent graduates who are engaged in their alumni networks early are more likely to contribute back in the future. In fact, alumni who remain engaged with their institution in the first few years after graduation tend to have higher lifetime giving totals compared to those who disengage early.
By using accurate graduate outcome data to track career milestones, institutions can start meaningful engagement early and create lifelong alumni relationships.
The Rate of Engagement with Recent Graduates
According to studies, recent graduates who engage with their alma mater within the first three years of graduation are twice as likely to contribute back compared to those who don’t engage at all. These early interactions, whether through career services, networking opportunities, or initial donation asks, are key to fostering a lifelong connection. Alumni who feel connected to their institution early on are more likely to remain involved, both in terms of career support and financial contributions. Without accurate employment and engagement data, universities risk losing the opportunity to build this strong foundation for future giving.
Conclusion: The Cost of Inaction
Bad data is more than just a nuisance—it’s a massive liability that can quietly erode the impact of every fundraising appeal, outreach email, and alumni engagement initiative.
When you rely on incorrect employment statuses or out-of-date email addresses, your institution loses valuable opportunities to connect meaningfully, communicate respectfully, and solicit gifts at the right time and in the right way. Misaligned asks can offend or alienate alumni; worse, irrelevant or mistargeted messages lead to dwindling open rates and weakened alumni trust.
These hidden costs snowball across your institution: wasted staff hours, misallocated budgets, lost donations, and missed lifetime engagement from graduates who move on before ever forging a lasting bond with their alma mater. In short, every misfire fueled by bad data is a missed chance to strengthen relationships and secure financial support.
By investing in accurate data management—from capturing up-to-date graduate outcomes to refining email segmentation—you not only avoid these costs, you also set the stage for authentic connections that produce long-term loyalty and heightened giving. Ultimately, failing to prioritize data quality today means paying a steep price tomorrow—in lost funds, damaged relationships, and diminished alumni engagement.
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