Great advancement strategy begins with understanding people, not assumptions. The National Alumni Survey is providing one of the most comprehensive looks yet at what alumni actually think, value, and expect from their institutions. Its early findings reinforce a simple but powerful truth: graduates who feel informed, connected, and genuinely known are far more likely to become engaged donors. The future of university philanthropy may depend less on asking better questions and more on listening better.
Read MoreLeadership, fundraising, and education fail when systems become too focused on “the many” and lose sight of the individual. Research on personalized learning shows that when people feel seen, understood, and supported according to their unique needs, engagement and outcomes improve significantly. The same principle applies beyond the classroom. Donors, employees, students, and patients all respond differently when treated as individuals rather than averages. Scale effectively not by ignoring “the one,” but by building personalization into how they operate.
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