Engaging Your Camp Alumni: Give 'em What They Want!

1. Give 'em What They Want! Engaging Your Camp Alumni Julia Riseman Kevin Martone Mentor Technology Program Manager julia@hgf.orgkevin@hgf.org Grinspoon Institute for Jewish Philanthropy

2. Get Involved A) Grab Tab – Click red arrow to open/close Control Panel. Click square to toggle Viewer Window between full screen/window mode. Click mic icon to mute/unmute your audio. B) Audio Pane – Select audio format. Click Audio Setup to verify Speakers & Microphone. C) Questions Pane – Attendees can submit questions and review answers. D) Type your question and click Send to submit it to the organizer. A  B  C  D 

3. Why Engage Alumni?

4. Mitch Joel $100,000

5. 24%

6. Jewish Day Schools • Does your school maintain accurate records on alumni? 75% reported yes • Is alumni fundraising part of your development plan? 79% reported yes • Do you have a dedicated staff person working on alumni relations? 43% reported yes

7. Agenda • Case Study • What Worked? What Next? • What Do Alumni Want? • How Do You Find Missing Alumni? Tips and Tools on the Grinspoon Institute Knowledge Center

9. Jeremy Joszef at Camp Morasha

10. Planning an Alumni Event • Be positive! If there's a will, there's a way. • Make it easy to attend: Price, location, program. • “Friend-raising” not Fund-raising event. • Do some market research before any decisions are made. Don't plan blindly.

11. Marketing of Event • Creating Database: The necessary evil  • Forming Committee: Clear & realistic expectations • Multiple Mediums! • Invitations  • E-mails • Flyers • Advertisements  • Event Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8p64nOYVKk • You can find these samples on the Knowledge Center

15. Follow up Photos from event - Video showed at event - List of sponsors

16. Plans moving forward • Data update from Harris Connect • Implementing a Donor database (Little Green Light) • May Golf Outing • Family Camp – Jewish Shavuot at camp • 50th anniversary is coming up in 2 years • For more about Harris Connect and AlumniFinder

17. Parting Thoughts: • People will say “it will never happen” • Planning is hard work – not as much fun as camp • Have a plan to keep the momentum going

20. Next… Post on

21. Photos, Videos, and Stories!

22. Engage on Facebook • What do your Alumni want? • Pictures!! • Video • Questions • Event Invitations • Camp News/Updates • Personal Stories • Holiday messages • Other? • Engage • Invite Conversation • Respond! • 12:1 Rule

23. Respond! “Those who ignore the party/conversation/network when they are content and decide to drop in when they need the network may not succeed. It’s pretty easy to spot those that are just joining the network purely to take – not to give. Therefore, be part of the party/conversation/network before you need anything from anyone.” • Jeremiah Owyang of Web-Strategist.com Specific information on using Social Media

24. What We Know About Alumni

25. Alumni engage differently by age • Alumni • Young Alum: 17 to 25 yrs old • Careers: 25 to 40 • Mid-Life: 40 to 70 • Seniors: 70+

26. Alumni Today Time poor Lack “Class identity” (year affiliation) Don’t need camp to connect with each other Want to communicate and participate on their own terms Want personalized connection Live longer Source: Miller Group Worldwide

27. Alumni Today The General Assembly: November 8, 2010 “A decline in the commitment to the Jewish Collective” Foundation for Jewish Camp Studies

28. What does Camp have that Alumni want? • Physical location of memories • News • Photos • Employment • Networking opportunities • Same opportunity for next generation • Forum for giving back

29. Target outreach by age & stage

30. Moving Camp Plaques Beyond the Dining Hall

33. URJ Camp Eisner

34. Camp Ramah in the Berkshires Imagine the future of your Alumni Outreach. . . . • Active 21-year-old Alumni Association • Great Lay Leadership on Executive Committee • Mix of activities for Alumni of different ages and interests • Strong traditions and new ideas are implemented

35. Camp Ramah in the Berkshires

36. Outreach to Young Alumni • RBA (Ramah Basketball Association) - teams play once a week at Chelsea Piers • Shabbat dinners in the city - usually specific years • Bar nights - usually one around Thanksgiving, another to be held this coming Sunday • Memorial Day weekend for all Ramah alumni (all 7 camps) to be held at Berkshires ( for College aged Alumni plus 5 years) • Family Purim Carnival for Alumni families of pre-school age children • Young Family Shabbat planned at Camp for this summer

38. Camp Ramah in the Berkshires – All Alumni • Labor Day weekend at Camp - Reunion for all ages • Yom Bogrei Ramah - Ramah Alumni Day held one Sunday during Camp celebrating their 10, 15, 20, . . . years out of camp. Alumni meet with current year’s Gesher (graduates) to share stories of old and new camp traditions. • Golf Outing - Although a fundraiser, it's a mini-reunion.  The dinner has become a reunion-like, where  people come just for dinner.  Families (including children) are welcome. • Alumni newsletter every other month • Internship Program - Linking young camp counselors to internships with Older Camp Alumni. Investigating professional networking continuum on-line using Linked In

39. Alumni won’t come to your events if you can’t find them!

40. How to Find Alumni

41. How to Find Them – Make it Easy

42. How to Find Them – Enrollment Forms Did you attend Camp ABC? … Now get this info into your Donor Database!!

43. How to Find Them – Where are they now? - NCOA For more about Harris Connect and AlumniFinder

44. People Finding People…

45. Lost all records?

46. Before they leave. . .

47. Time Capsules

48. Old and New: the mission is the same “Cleveland Design, Inc.”