How to use Graduway to drive alumni fundraising results
In today’s advancement landscape, cross-functional collaboration is essential to institution-wide success. When Alumni Engagement and Development teams work together strategically, the results speak for themselves.
One of the most effective ways to bridge that gap and turn alumni engagement into alumni fundraising success is with Graduway, Gravyty’s alumni engagement platform. When paired with Gravyty’s broader ecosystem—including Gratavid for donor outreach and Advance for alumni giving—institutions can build an integrated, scalable strategy to boost fundraising outcomes.
See Graduway in action
Engagement in a leading indicator of alumni giving
According to our latest Alumni Trends Report, there’s a 93% correlation between engagement on a Graduway portal and giving. That’s higher than any other alumni engagement channel.
The numbers are just as impressive when you zoom in on mentoring programs:
- 88.4% of alumni who participate in mentoring have already donated
- 82.5% said they are likely to donate in the future
Mentorship and engagement can be a clear indication of affinity. These alumni are signaling that they care about your institution and are ready to give back in more ways than one.
Alumni fundraising strategies to turn engagement into giving
So, what can you do with this data? A lot, especially when Advancement and Engagement teams align. Here are four proven strategies to align your alumni engagement program with fundraising goals—and how Gravyty’s platform helps you do it at scale.
1. Share alumni engagement data with development teams
Alumni who regularly log into Graduway, mentor students, volunteer, or participate in affinity groups are ideal prospects for deeper cultivation.
Use Graduway’s engagement analytics to:
- Identify “willing to help” users and flag them for discovery portfolios
- Support major gift pipeline building
- Identify annual giving and leadership giving prospects early
When alumni engagement and development teams share real-time engagement signals, fundraisers can prioritize outreach to alumni who are already demonstrating strong affinity.
2. Personalized outreach using Gratavid
Once you know who’s engaged, meet them with personalized stewardship and calls to action.
Use Gratavid to:
- Send short, personalized video messages to highly engaged Graduway users
- Share impact updates, donor stories, or behind-the-scenes campus moments
- Invite them to give, attend an event, or schedule a meeting
Video outreach helps bridge the emotional gap between engagement and giving, turning a mentoring interaction into a major gift conversation.
SLCC got 2x alumni donors on giving day with a seamless platform
With one of their key priorities being engaging new alumni donors, the SLCC team used Gravyty to create a holistic engagement and fundraising strategy. They used Advance to create a custom giving day site, and Gratavid to record and automate person thank-yous to each donor who gave.
Results:
- 2,000+ responses to alumni text campaign
- 95% open rate on Gratavid donor thank-you videos
- $237,000+ raised on giving day
3. Host targeted events around high-engagement groups
Let data guide your event strategy. Use Graduway’s group segmentation tools to identify:
- Geographic clusters of highly engaged alumni
- Career-based groups with strong participation
- Class years showing above-average logins or group activity
Coordinate events (virtual or in-person) around these populations, and partner with your Development team to use those gatherings for donor qualification and cultivation.
3. Embed donation forms directly into your alumni network
The most efficient, automated, and scalable way to power alumni giving is through integrated alumni fundraising software. Advance from Gravyty features everyday donation forms that can be embedded directly into your Graduway network, inspiring members to give at the moment of inspiration.
This simple but powerful tactic removes friction and captures giving moments in real time.
Michelle Pryor, Director of Annual Giving & Engagement
Salisbury University
You can also use integrated giving tools to:
- Set up recurring giving from alumni participating in mentoring or career services
- Launch mini-campaigns tied to group activity (like class challenges or parent networks)
- Drive giving in DEI or affinity spaces where alumni feel deeply connected
Why integrated alumni fundraising software matters
Most institutions use disconnected tools for engagement, fundraising, and stewardship. That fragmentation slows teams down, increases manual work, and leaves opportunity on the table.
The Gravyty platform gives you:
- Graduway to engage and segment your alumni community
- Gratavid to personalize outreach and deepen donor relationships
- Advance to automate, track, and scale alumni fundraising in one place
Together, these tools form a single platform that turns alumni activity into measurable outcomes.
Align departments for greater institutional impact
When you share insights and work together to cultivate highly engaged alumni, the payoff is big: stronger relationships, more meaningful gifts, and shared success.
Even better? You and your engagement team can celebrate being strategic, collaborative, and impact-driven.
Let’s keep it going: Teamwork really does make the dream work.
Want to see how other institutions are using Gravyty to grow alumni engagement and fundraising outcomes? Let’s talk.
