Graduates celebrating at commencement ceremony

Stop Chasing Donations. Build the Community That Wants to Give.

Alumni who feel connected give more. 88% of alumni who mentor have donated — vs. 35% of non-participants. Party Book helps you build engagement that naturally leads to giving.

Turn your alumni into hosts, not just donors. When alumni connect with each other through your platform, giving follows — without the ask feeling transactional.

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The Engagement Problem

Every advancement office knows the numbers. The challenge is what to do about them.

72% of alumni report solicitation fatigue

When every touchpoint is a gift ask, alumni tune out — and stop opening emails entirely. The pipeline dries up before it ever starts.

Only 8% of Millennials give to their alma mater

The generation entering peak earning years has the lowest giving rates in history. The traditional annual fund model does not speak to them.

40% decline in in-person event attendance

Galas, reunions, and homecoming weekends draw diminishing crowds. The same alumni show up; new cohorts never get activated.

Stale event formats, stretched staff

Teams are too thin to plan more — or better — events. Meanwhile, alumni want different things: professional networking, mentorship, community. The formats never change.

The solution is not more asks. It is more connection. Alumni who feel part of a living network give because they want to — not because they were solicited.

Peer-Led Engagement That Scales

Alumni host events for each other — networking dinners, wine tastings, mentorship meetups, watch parties. No institution staff needed to plan. Alumni self-organize using your platform, in their own cities, on their own terms.

Peer-Driven

Alumni host for alumni. No staff overhead, no institutional planning burden. Your community does the heavy lifting — and loves doing it.

Scales Geographically

Events happen wherever alumni live — New York, Chicago, San Francisco, London. Geographic dispersion becomes a strength, not a limitation.

Builds the Giving Pipeline

Engaged alumni give. The engagement-to-giving pipeline is well-documented. Build connection first; the giving follows naturally.

Multi-Generational

Different event types activate different cohorts. Recent grads want networking; Boomers want reunions. Run both — on the same platform.

Alumni networking at a professional dinner event

How It Works for Your Alumni Association

Set up your alumni association on Party Book — add your institution branding, configure chapter groups by city or graduation year, and connect your bank account.

Invite alumni to host events in their cities. A New York alum runs a networking dinner. A Chicago alum organizes a wine tasting. A Boston alum hosts a watch party. They set the details; you publish them.

Share your event catalog across your alumni network — email, social, your existing CRM. Alumni browse, buy tickets, and show up to events hosted by their own peers.

Ticket revenue flows directly to your institution. Each event builds the network effect: alumni who attend become alumni who host.

The engagement data integrates naturally with your advancement strategy. Connected alumni are primed to give when the moment is right.

Events Your Alumni Can Host

Formats that appeal across cohorts — from recent graduates to distinguished alumni

Professional Networking Dinners

Small-group dinners where alumni connect across industries and career stages — the modern alternative to the formal gala

Wine & Spirits Tastings

Guided tastings hosted in alumni homes or private venues — a proven format that sells out fast and generates strong per-ticket revenue

Mentorship Meetups

Structured roundtables connecting recent graduates with established alumni — activates both cohorts and builds lifelong loyalty

Person in sports jersey holding bowl of chips

Game Watch Parties

Alumni gather around their alma mater's biggest games — low barrier to host, high attendance, natural community energy

Class Reunion Gatherings

Chapter-organized reunions that happen locally, year-round — not just at homecoming, not just on campus

Industry Panels

Alumni curate conversations about their fields — tech, law, medicine, finance — bringing career value to your network

Alumni House Parties

Informal social gatherings that feel like coming home — lower price points, broader appeal, accessible to early-career alumni

Milestone Celebrations

5th, 10th, 25th reunions — structured around meaningful moments in alumni identity, hosted wherever the cohort is concentrated

Fund Your Institution's Legacy

Engaged alumni give with intention. Party Book helps you build the connection that makes every future campaign more effective.

Scholarships

Alumni who were supported give back. Peer-led events create emotional resonance with scholarship impact that direct mail never achieves.

Annual Fund

Engaged alumni renew at higher rates. Build connection year-round and watch participation rates climb across every class year.

Capital Projects

Major gift prospects come from deeply connected alumni. Party Book builds that depth of connection at scale, across geographies.

Program Endowments

Alumni in specific industries host events in their field — then give to endow the programs that trained them. Engagement and giving align naturally.

Student Experiences

Fund study abroad, internships, and experiential learning. Alumni who benefited from these opportunities host events to pay it forward.

Global Initiatives

International alumni chapters activate through local events. Geographic reach becomes a fundraising asset, not an operational challenge.

The Engagement-to-Giving Connection

$12.9B

given by alumni to U.S. colleges in FY2024 — up 4.4% year-over-year

5.6x

more likely to donate when alumni participate in 3+ engagement activities

83%

of institutions saw alumni donor counts decline between 2019 and 2023

“The best way for institutions to reinforce the impact of giving is to continually engage stakeholders meaningfully in the life of the institution, and ensure there are no barriers to engagement and giving.”
— Sue Cunningham, President & CEO, CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education)

Sources: CASE VSE Survey (FY2024), CASE Insights on Alumni Engagement (2023), Souto-Otero & Donnelly (Cardiff / Bath)

Designed to Complement Your Existing Stack

Works alongside your CRM — Salesforce, Ellucian, Blackbaud

Event engagement data informs your prospect pipeline

No replacement of existing giving portals required

Alumni authenticate with your existing identity system

Ticket revenue tracked per campaign and fiscal year

Chapter-level reporting for advancement officers

Ready to Transform Alumni Engagement?

Build the peer-led network your alumni actually want to be part of — and watch what happens to giving. Free to start, no monthly fees.

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