This deck is taken from our larger report, Gifting on the Go, which examines the alumni apps provided by universities. The larger report analyzes how schools promote gift giving and what forms of outreach are provided within their alumni-focused app. We focus on the features of apps, how easy they are to use and how they are designed. We checked over 30 schools for mobile donation functionality; most do not offer alumni the ability to make a contribution to the school from within their mobile app. In this deck, we offer recommendations that any higher education institution can implement to improve giving directly from its mobile app.

1. GIFTING ON THE GO
The Growing Use of Alumni Apps in Development
Alumni Report Summary Slide Deck
Author: Amanda Kohn

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
About Corporate Insight
Introduction
Summary Findings
Recommendations
Thought Leadership
Contact Us

3. ABOUT CORPORATE INSIGHT
Corporate Insight provides competitive intelligence and user experience
research to the nation's leading financial, healthcare and higher education
institutions. For 20 years, Corporate Insight has tracked new developments
across several industries through our syndicated Monitor research and
consulting services. We are known for our detailed, objective research and
unmatched expertise. There are no assumptions in our work – we use live
accounts with industry leaders to benchmark their effectiveness across all
major channels and give our clients unparalleled competitive intelligence.
Corporate Insight is continuously tracking best practices relating to
content, design and functionality across websites, mobile platforms and
social media properties. In the process, we have helped our clients stay
current on industry trends and improve their competitive position. Our
research and analysts are frequently cited in media outlets such as the Wall
Street Journal, Barron’s, Bloomberg, CNBC, Forbes and SmartMoney, and in
news publications including the Associated Press, New York Times,
Newsweek, TIME and USA Today.

4. INTRODUCTION
Subtitle
1

5. BACKGROUND
• In the effort to gain donations from alumni, development
offices are beginning to turn to mobile apps as a way to
combine gift giving with alumni outreach.
• This deck is taken from our larger report, Gifting on the Go,
which examines the alumni apps provided by universities. The
larger report analyzes how schools promote gift giving and
what forms of outreach are provided within their alumni-
focused app. We focus on the features of apps, how easy they
are to use and how they are designed.
• We checked over 30 schools for mobile donation functionality;
most do not offer alumni the ability to make a contribution to
the school from within their mobile app.
• In this deck, we offer recommendations that any higher
education institution can implement to improve giving directly
from its mobile app.

6. FIRMS COVERED
Our full Alumni Monitor coverage group includes 37 schools. The
following universities are represented in the Gifting on the Go
report:
Bucknell University
Duke University
Harvard University
George Washington University
Northeastern University
Northwestern University
Stony Brook University

7. KEY REVIEW CRITERIA
Capabilities
• What can users do in the app? Are networking/directory features included? Can information on
events, athletics or news be found? What other features are provided?
• Are donation campaigns promoted on giving pages?
• Are university social media promoted on the app?
Ease of Use
• Does the school offer a dedicated alumni app?
• How easy is it to navigate the app? Is the location of the giving tool intuitive?
• What can be done from the main menu? What can be accessed on the homepage?
Design
• How clearly are the giving capabilities presented?
• Are pages of the app consistent in design?
• Do schools use their school colors?

8. SUMMARY FINDINGS
Subtitle
2

9. OVERVIEW
• Six out of seven schools include links to the mobile giving process
• 29% of the apps populate fields in the gift giving process with social
media account information
• Harvard and Duke auto-fill donation information
• 43% of the apps fill out a profile with linked social media account
information
Harvard Campaign Donation Page

10. OVERVIEW (CON’T)
• Only three out of seven sites –
Bucknell, Northwestern and
Duke, provide the giving
feature directly on the app
• Three schools – Harvard,
George Washington, and
Northeastern – send users to
their mobile sites to make a
gift
• Stony Brook, meanwhile, does
not host a donation interface
on its mobile app, however, it
does have an Alumni section
with news and advice
George Washington Donation Page

11. RECOMMENDATIONS
Subtitle
3

12. RECOMMENDATION #1:
MAKE IT EASY TO DONATE ON THE APP
• Allow graduates to donate directly on the app without directing them
to a mobile site
• This will remove barriers to giving and help development offices
leverage the mobile apps to meet their goals
• Increasing access from mobile devices to giving campaigns can help
schools meet their fundraising goals
Bucknell Alumni App Gift Giving

13. RECOMMENDATION #2:
DESIGN MENUS THAT ARE EASY TO USE
• Navigation menus should have clear buttons that are easy to read
• Donation pages should be clearly labeled and offered via top level links
• This will allow alumni who wish to donate to quickly located the correct
page
• Also eliminates time spent searching and reminds users that donation
to their alma mater is an option
Duke University Navigation Menu

14. FULL REPORT
GIFTING ON THE GO
The Growing Use of Alumni Apps in
Development
Report Summary
• Pages: 43
• Universities Reviewed: 7
Access the Full Report in Three Easy
Steps:
1. Go to the CI Client Login page.
2. Log in using your CI client username and
password.
3. Scroll over the Alumni tab and click
Reports.

15. FACE-OFF: Alumni Outreach and Development
Best Practices on Facebook
Facebook, the world’s largest social media
network, offers a flexible outlet for alumni
outreach and development offices to reach
their university communities. With the amount
of social content that alumni are exposed to
daily, universities need to know how to catch
the attention of their former students, raising
the question: what is the best way to reach and
stay in contact with alumni on Facebook?
In our whitepaper, we examine university best
practices in Facebook-based alumni
outreach. The whitepaper focuses on:
• How universities utilize Facebook to
promote development and outreach
• Which schools effectively use multimedia
posts, and how they are doing this
• Effectiveness of general university profiles
vs. alumni-specific sites
• Trends in types of stories posted on
Facebook
Download whitepaper now!
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

16. CONTACT US
Contact
Dana Peterson
Vice President
646-454-2665
DPeterson@CorporateInsight.com
Social Media
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Twitter
LinkedIn
info@corporateinsight.com
Tel 212 832 2002
www.corporateinsight.com/alumnimonitor