A Letter from our CEO about COVID-19

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been talking to many of our 800 partner institutions about their COVID-19 recovery plans and how LiveAlumni employment data plays a critical role. Our existing customers have access to a wealth of essential data that top institutions are using right now as part of their recovery planning strategies. I’d like to share some of them with you, today. 1. Engagement is the Key Whilst some schools have put fundraising on hold, the majority have launched specific COVID-19 appeals OR shifted their focus to relationship-building and engagement. You can do either or both. Use LiveAlumni to segment your alumni lists and send targeted emails to increase engagement with your alumni community. 2. Reach out to Local Business Owners LiveAlumni can help identify local business owners. Reach out to find out how they’re doing. Support them by purchasing gift cards or vouchers and encourage your alumni to do the same. If they’re struggling, find information about loans and grant schemes that they could qualify for and share them. 3. Focus on the Positive: Host Webinars Featuring Inspirational Alumni People are looking for positivity, ways to give back and connect with others. Host a webinar and invite inspirational alumni to be guest speakers. E.g. use LiveAlumni to identify alums with unusual careers – authors, entertainers, movie producers, astronauts or anything you think is interesting! Ask them to share their story with your community. 4. Connect with Directors of HR LiveAlumni can help you identify the Directors of HR who are part of your alumni community. Focus on building relationships with them. Ask them if they are currently hiring. 5. Reach out to Unemployed Alumni With unemployment at an all-time high, take advantage of the latest employment data to identify alums who may have left their old position and not yet found a new one. Your Careers team can help by sharing information on relevant job openings while Marketing & Recruitment teams can inform them about your post-graduate programs. 6. Don’t Panic – Enrollment is Going UP The global economy may be headed towards a recession but history has proven that this actually increases higher education enrollment. Don’t take our word for it. Jill Barshay from The Hechinger Report recently shared these stats about the 2008 financial crisis. “The number of students who enrolled in college jumped by almost 2.5 million, or nearly 16 percent, from 15.6 million undergraduate students in the fall of 2007 to a peak of 18.1 million students in the fall of 2010.” A similar story can be found in the Times Higher Education. 7. Fundraising is NOT Off the Table! While there is uncertainty for many, there are lots of companies that are booming because their services have become essential. They’re also offering great matching gift programs right now. Consider Zoom, Clorox, Slack, Netflix, Amazon, Google, Delivery Services, Telecoms and Pharmaceutical companies. Make sure you use LiveAlumni to identify and engage alumni who work in similar companies or industries. If you want to discuss any of these strategies, please contact us using the form below and we’ll be happy to help.

Thank you & stay safe.

Sincerely,

Tatia Zuloaga 

CEO, LiveAlumni | Sr Managing Director, IntellectSpace