Pursuant partners with USC to

Engage Young Alumni

Pursuant partnered with the University of South Carolina on a trailblazing fundraising program aimed at the least likely givers—with results that defied expectations

Client Profile
Founded in 1801, the University of South Carolina has eight campuses across the state that offer more than 320 degree programs. Its historic main campus in Columbus, South Carolina has almost 30,000 undergraduates and 180,000 living alumni nationwide.

“Pursuant’s partnership on the Face of Y’ALL campaign has been invaluable. The project has been embraced across the campus—providing the university with an immense array of alumni stories and paving the way for Carolina’s future.”

- Steve Farwick, Interim Director of Annual Giving

Challenge
Prior to 2008, the Office of Annual Giving at USC struggled to engage their largest demographic: graduates of the last decade. In general, young alumni are characterized as costly and difficult for annual giving programs to engage — a common challenge for educational institutions. But Director of Annual Giving, Lola Mauer, knew that young alumni were critical to Carolina’s fundraising future. That year, in the wake of the tough economic climate, the University of South Carolina was hit with the largest budget cut of any public institution in the country. 

Solution
Despite facing the increasingly tough economic climate, Mauer and her team partnered with Pursuant and began building a strategic plan to improve the institution’s culture of philanthropy and build a strong philanthropic future. Against the commonly held wisdom that young alumni are too expensive to reach and don’t offer a strong ROI, Mauer and team recognized that long-term fiscal strength rested on engaging and cultivating alumni of the past decade. By harnessing the enthusiasm and loyalty of recent graduates, Carolina could increase giving among this demographic and build a reliable pipeline for mid-level and major gifts down the road.

Pursuant partnered with USC to develop and execute the Face of Y’ALL (Young Alumni Leaving a Legacy) campaign. The program featured two competitively selected recent graduates who would share responsibility as the voice of young alumni at their alma mater. For one year, the winners would also work with classes of the past decade on giving initiatives. Incentives for being one of the two winners of the Face of Y’ALL campaign included VIP attendance at exclusive university events, field access during Gamecocks football games, networking with other alumni, profiles in university publications, the ability to make decisions regarding young alumni initiatives, and more.

The Face of Y’ALL campaign was envisioned as an ongoing program that would grow more influential every year. Each annual campaign rolled out in key phases using a similar series of alumni communications, and each subsequent campaign’s goals built on the previous year’s success. Both direct mail and online technology are used each year to effectively spread the Face of Y’ALL message. A multi-channel approach reaches as many of Carolina’s 30,000 young alumni as possible.

Results
The Face of Y’ALL campaign has inspired Carolina’s young alumni to remain loyal to and involved in their alma mater long after graduation. In just the first year of the Y’ALL campaign, the total funds raised had increased 36 percent compared to the previous year, and the number of donors were up 18 percent. By the second year of the program, the return on investment was already covering the cost of the campaign. Giving continues to increase incrementally each year the campaign is repeated. The trend-setting Face of Y’ALL campaign garnered national attention in philanthropy publications and won numerous awards from CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education).

How can we help you engage and acquire young donors? Contact us.