AGENT: Alumni growth and engagement across new technologies

The AGENT project aims to use social networking technologies (LinkedIn and Facebook) to support the development of undergraduates’ employability and career development. The focus of the project is on e-mentoring by alumni to provide a ‘bridge’ between individuals whose social ties and connections are weakened by time and distance, whilst at the same time capitalising on the learning opportunities afforded by the widening of social networks. Social networking sites (SNSs) have been shown to provide students with the tools to make connections, build relationships and support personal development. From a social capital perspective, SNSs can support ‘weak ties’ by allowing students to grow a social network from which to draw resources in the form of information, knowledge, advice and expertise that an institution’s alumni can provide. Alumni are a key resource for building professional networking communities that can provide offline as well as online support to students. We report on an on-going JISC project –AGENT (Alumni Growth and Engagement across New Technologies) that explores how Web 2.0 technologies engage alumni, create the sense of belonging, develop more effective and mutually-beneficial alumni-student connections and associated positive social capital outcomes.Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) 2011-201

THE EFFECTS OF NEW MEDIA ON ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT AMONG MILLENNIALS: A CASE STUDY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES ALUMNI

This thesis explores the effects of new media, specifically the Internet and the popular social networking site Facebook, on alumni engagement among Millennials in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences. Millennials are defined as those born in or after 1982. Alumni engagement is defined as part of the larger social science term of social capital and is defined here as consisting of volunteerism and financial giving. To explore this topic, a survey was constructed and sent electronically to all Millennial alumni from the UK College of Health Sciences. Data reveal Millennial alumni from the College of Health Sciences are not particularly engaged through volunteerism or financial giving. Survey responses, however, indicated that most young alumni are recommending the college to prospective students and plan to give financially in the future. Practical implications from this study may prove beneficial for advancement practitioners and administrators in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences

Networking for Philanthropy: Increasing Volunteer Behavior via Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites (SNSs) provide a unique social venue to engage the young generation in philanthropy through their networking capabilities. An integrated model that incorporates social capital into the Theory of Reasoned Action is developed to explain volunteer behavior through social networks. As expected, volunteer behavior was predicted by volunteer intention, which was influenced by attitudes and subjective norms. In addition, social capital, an outcome of the extensive use of SNSs, was as an important driver of users' attitude and subjective norms toward volunteering via SNSs.Advertisin

Impacts of Facebook Usage on Non-Profits and Donors Relationship Building and Maintenance

Social media especially Facebook which has been identified as an effective means of interaction between non-profit organizations and the donors has not been examined along building trust and maintaining relationship. Whereas, this is more expedient because it is increasingly becoming difficult for non-profit organizations to maintain strong connections with the totality of the regular and potential donors and volunteers. In response to the challenges, this paper explores the perceptions of the managers and donors of non-profit organizations on how Facebook can take care of the difficulties of building trust and maintaining relationship which are the bedrock of fundraising and donation. Qualitative method with in-depth interview approach through a purposive sampling was adopted to probe into the impact of building and maintaining relationship. The data was analyzed thematically using NVIVO. The findings revealed that Facebook is mostly used by non-profit organizations to build and maintain good relationship with donors and the public. Similarly, the general perceptions shown that public trust is one of the most valuable commodities that any non-profit organization can have, and the degree to which donors trust these organizations have a huge impact on how they donate. Keywords: Facebook, non-profit organization, donor, volunteer, social medi

Non-profits Organizations and Donors’ Volunteerism: Perceptions on Facebook Values for Relationship Building

In spite of the fact that social media tool such as Facebook continues to grow in popularity and regarded as innovative communication tool that have played a significant role in organizational settings particularly in transforming the business’ and company’s values very limited attention has been given to its exploration for the enhancement of non-profit organizations. Therefore, this research explores how strength of trust and relationship as fostered by the use of Facebook influences attitudes of donors and public in Libya toward volunteering for and making charitable gifts to support non-profit organizations. Thematic data analysis technique was used to analyze interviews data.  However, qualitative computer data analysis software (NVIVO 10) was used to analyze the data to facilitate the process of storing, sorting, coding, analyzing and emergence of representation of the data. Based on the findings from the study, it is been recommended that non-profit organizations in Libya pay more attention to the needs of donors in the area of adequate information, accountability and personalization through Facebook. This is important because, many donors have claimed to be highly interested in these as determinants of future donations. Keywords: Relationship building, non-profit organization, Facebook, donors, Liby

The Giving Environment: An Annotated Bibliography

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundatio

Macro And Micro Levels Of University Identification: Using Social Network Sites To Reactivate Latent Social Identities Within College Alumni

This master\u27s thesis sought to extend social identification research further into social network sites by examine how online interactions may affect offline behaviors. In particular, this thesis argues that alumni who interact with their university or major via a social network site, should have an increased intention to donate back to their university or major. Despite a large body of research on both social identification and social network use, less research has combined the two in order to predict external behaviors. As such, data was collected from 277 undergraduate and graduate students at Illinois State University regarding their university and major social identification as well as their social network use. Data were analyzed using a t-test and multiple linear regressions. The findings from this research suggest that social network site use is a significant variable to increase an alumni\u27s intent to donate. However, contrary to previous research, superordinate university social identification was a stronger predictor of intent to donate when compared to subordinate major social identification. The findings support the prediction that social network interaction plays a significant role in predicting an alumni\u27s intent to donate to their university

International Scholarship Graduates Influencing Social and Economic Development at Home: The Role of Alumni Networks in Georgia and Moldova

Many students from low- and middle-income countries seek scholarship support to pursue higher education overseas. Often scholarship programs mandate that recipients "give back" to their home countries following their studies so scholars "apply" their experiences to aid their countries of origin. In this comparative qualitative study, 40 Georgian and Moldovan scholarship alumni who studied in the United States were asked how alumni networks assist their ability to influence social and economic change in their home countries. The comparative findings point to the value of alumni networks in terms of graduates backing each other's activism projects and feeling part of a community of like-minded individuals who seek change. Where these networks were not present, alumni desired a supportive association to assist in their attempts to influence reform. Findings suggest the development of alumni networks facilitate individual scholarship participants' efforts to "give back" to their countries of origin

DO SOCIAL MEDIA THEORIES ACTUALLY WORK? AN ANALYSIS OF THREE SOCIAL MEDIA THEORIES IMPLEMENTED IN AN ACTIVE NONPROFIT CAMPAIGN

Social media has become an important part of donor and public relations for nonprofit organizations. But with various social networking platforms available, millions of potential viewers and countless theories and techniques, it can be challenging for these organizations to know what works in real-life situations. This study looks at three popular social media theories and how they are implemented into a live, nonprofit, social media campaign. These theories of dialogic communication, emotional appeals, and attitude formation are found to be greatly beneficial to both the daily maintenance of nonprofit social media pages, and for specific fundraising campaigns. This case study acts as a guide for future research, and a source of practical insight for current nonprofit organizations. Through a process of content analysis, data examination and personal interviews, an understanding of the most effective tactics for using social media to run productive fundraising campaigns and build public support is clearly established

Alumni Commitment: Exploring the Process of Transition From Participants to Donors

Traditionally, the mission and values of institutions of higher education tend to be positioned around nurturing students to realize their full potential. This includes growing students holistically as whole people, through their academic, social, and emotional interactions while enrolled. Through this focus, institutions hope to connect with students and build an emotional connection or affiliation that will last beyond the student years and into the alumni years. Alumni play a pivotal role in institutional advancement in that they serve as sources of support through their active participation, networking representation, serving as community liaisons, and their charitable contributions. The 2 most essential aspects representative of alumni commitment are their participation and donation. The 4 main characteristics that influence alumni participation and donorship include capacity, student experience, alumni experience, and the motivation to donate. Alumni relations departments are challenged with effectively identifying how to encourage alumni not only to participate in alumni-sponsored events, but additionally to donate as well. A qualitative research approach with constructivist grounded theory research design was utilized to gain insight into the processes associated with alumni organizations identifying effective strategies that encourage increased alumni affiliation. The aim of this study was to explore and obtain an understanding of the change that occurs when alumni transition from participants to donors. The significance of this study is that it allows institutions a more substantial view of the intrinsic aspects associated with alumni participation and donation. This study offers various factors for consideration that would assist alumni relations departments in better connecting with students and alumni in a more meaningful manner. The study’s results led to the generation of the Theory of Alumni Transitional Donation, which revealed the internal and external transitional processes that occur as alumni transition from participants to donors. The internal transitional process includes the institutional community setting with which alumni surround themselves, the shift in understanding they experience because of their interactions within their community settings, the lenses that alumni use to view these interactions, the transitional growth aspect through which they go, and lastly the perceived benefit they attach to these social interactions and experiences. The external transitional process includes institutional opportunities for volunteerism, participation, and donation. Recommendations for future research were also provided. Results from this study encourage that alumni continue, as a lifelong process, to foster the relationship and maintain the connections with their alma maters as something mutually beneficial