In a challenging marketplace, it seems counterintuitive to spend human and financial capital on creating a community for non-residential graduate students. The truth is that hosting events, building community, and sharing resources with students - past, present, and future - buys you more than print and radio ads just for your 'program' or 'school' can. In this session, attendees discovered where to begin their efforts and how to direct and maximize efforts already underway to represent the best of their programs through events, supporting the existing community, and attracting higher value students. Increasing the engagement of alumni and current students can be a positive side-effect or the driving force behind your efforts. This session was presented by Sarah-Jane Ripa at the 2012 Annual Conference of the New England Association of Graduate Admissions Professionals at Sacred Heart University on November 16, 2012.

1. Marketing through
Community-Building
Applying the Principles of Fundraising to Education
Marketing

2. Why People Give*
Increase in sense of self-worth
Participate with like-minded people
Connect professionally
Believe in mission
Desire to feel virtuous
Feel social pressure
*Boston Globe, “Why We Give to Charity,” Leon Neyfakh 12/4/2011

3. Why People Continue
Education
Increase in sense of self-worth ✔
Participate with like-minded people ✔
Connect professionally ✔
Believe in mission ✔
Desire to feel virtuous ✔
Feel social pressure ✔

4. How do those fundraisers
get people to give?
Increase in sense of self- Efficiently
worth communicate message
to target market
Participate with like-
minded people
Connect professionally
Believe in mission Provide platform
outside of giving for
Desire to feel virtuous people to engage in
mission
Feel social pressure

5. EFFECTIVELY
COMMUNICATE
TO
TARGET
MARKET

6. Provide a Platform
for Engagement
Outside of Giving

7. How do those fundraisers get people to
give?
or
What elements of good development work
can be applied to building an education
community?
Increase in sense
Provide platform
of self-worth
outside of
Participate with LEARNING
like-minded for people to
people engage in
COMMUNITY
Connect
professionally

8. What they want:
Increase Sense of Self-Worth
How to give it to them:
IDENTIFY the skill sets in your community
CREATE opportunities for community-building
REQUEST support that draws on skill sets
PRAISE and REWARD community support

9. What they want:
Participate with like-minded
people
How to give it to them:
DEFINE opportunities
ENCOURAGE ownership
SUPPORT ideas

10. What they want:
Connect Professionally
How to give it to them:
ASSESS the talent in your community
CALL UPON your superstars
UTILIZE existing connections
BUILD networks

11. Sarah-Jane Ripa
Student Services and Outreach
Coordinator
Graduate Liberal Studies
Wesleyan University
sripa@wesleyan.edu