There are several ways corporations can accelerate an ESG journey. These include establishing thriving communities, promoting learning and innovation, and leveraging philanthropic partnerships. We’d like to suggest another. Indeed, it will help you to achieve all of these aims.
We’re talking about building a thriving alumni network to enable more corporate sponsorships. Yet this is not a new idea. Many leading businesses have discovered the value of alumni networks for achieving these and other corporate goals.
In this article, we examine the growing role of alumni networks in driving corporate sponsorships.
The value of alumni networks for corporations
Corporate alumni programs offer members the chance of staying connected to former employers. They allow them to have meaningful relationships with former colleagues. And they support social interaction for the greater good of the corporate community. This all creates a better, stronger company culture.
Some of the top companies look to their alumni networks first for talent acquisition. Boomerang hires are now more popular than ever, as they need less onboarding and training than new hires typically do. They can also save their previous employers thousands on recruiting and headhunting fees.
Corporate alumni offer mentorship opportunities, too. As former employees with intricate knowledge of your company’s policies and processes, they are ideal mentors for your new hires. Most alumni love being given the chance to share their knowledge and experience.
The value of alumni networks for corporate sponsorships
A corporate alumni network makes lifelong relationships possible and can provide great value to the alumni and the corporation. They can also offer value in creating corporate sponsorship opportunities.
If you’re concerned about social apathy amidst your alumni, don’t be. Fortunately, this is not the norm. And Corporate Social Responsibility statistics prove it.
CSR statistics show us that a staggering 93% of employees believe companies must lead with purpose. Meanwhile, 70% of employees wouldn’t work for a company without a strong purpose, and 60% would take a pay cut to work for a purpose-driven company.
Some of your employees will leave your company to pursue different career paths. Others will retire. However, these corporate alumni will retain the sense of corporate social responsibility that they had before. And that means they are the ideal candidates to partner with on corporate sponsorships.
How your alumni networks can facilitate corporate sponsorships
Do you need help with promoting your corporation’s commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental, Social, and Governance principles? Would you like to attract more corporate sponsorship opportunities? A corporate alumni network is a valuable resource that will help you achieve these goals.
The perfect ambassadors
Your corporate alumni are the perfect choice to act as your ambassadors. They can approach non-profit organizations to inquire about corporate sponsorship opportunities. As your former employees, they know enough about your company and employer brand to promote you to others.
Corporate sponsorship liaisons
If any one of your alumni’s career transitions led them to a non-profit organization after leaving your employ, this can be to your advantage. They can act as a liaison between your corporation and their new employer, advising you on which initiatives to sponsor.
Networking for a cause
The most obvious way your alumni network can facilitate corporate sponsorships is through networking sessions. Your alumni all have their own networks that you can leverage for new partnerships. Virtual networking will allow everyone to join in, regardless of location. Alumni can use these opportunities to brainstorm logistics for future corporate sponsorships.
Volunteering at events
Your corporate alumni may all have particular expertise, interests, and skills that make them ideal volunteers at your corporate sponsorship events. Many organizations in the non-profit arena simply need volunteers to help at their public awareness events.
Hosting/Sponsoring events
The members of your alumni network may themselves have initiatives in need of corporate sponsorship. Some of them may have started their own environmental or social initiatives after leaving your company. In such cases, it makes sense for you to sponsor them.
Alternatively, your most successful alumni may have started businesses, and be willing to partner with you in hosting a corporate sponsorship event. They could donate professional resources to meet the needs of the sponsored non-profit or initiative.
Challenges in engaging alumni for sponsorships
While using your alumni network to attract opportunities for corporate sponsorships will generally be successful, there are a few potential challenges to address.
- Reluctance to participate: Alumni network members have unique personalities, experiences, skills, and interests. Some will jump at the chance to participate in events. Others will not.
- Communication obstacles: Some of your alumni may be unreachable, or not in regular contact with you. They’re less likely to agree to help if they hardly ever hear from you.
- Geographical distance: Your alumni will have followed different career paths after leaving your company. Geographical distance may put some of them out of reach for in-person collaboration.
- Lack of knowledge about corporate sponsorships and CSR or ESG principles: If your alumni lack awareness of these issues, they will be uncertain about how to proceed.
How to use Aluminate for Enterprise to solve these challenges
You can solve these potential challenges with the right strategies and Aluminate for Enterprise. Our platforms and tools allow you to build a strong corporate alumni network and an alumni program that facilitates corporate sponsorship involvement.
- Encourage your past employees to participate in the alumni program. Make it easy for them to join the alumni community, with the most customizable online community platform on the market. Post corporate sponsorship event details on the digital dashboard for everyone to see.
- Overcome communication obstacles. Stay in touch with company alumni on a platform that simplifies communication. Our Groups module lets you segment them into sub-communities for easier collaboration. Request alumni feedback about your proposed corporate sponsorship ideas.
- Address knowledge gaps your former employees may have. Use the Aluminate platform to create awareness about your company’s ESG objectives and how corporate sponsorships can help meet them. Build a digital library of resources they can access at any time for more information.
- Build better alumni relations and support involvement despite geographical distances. Alumni events don’t always have to be in-person events. Virtual events are always popular and make participation convenient for alumni who have moved further afield.
The future of alumni networks in corporate sponsorships
Our research shows that corporate social responsibility matters a great deal to employees (and therefore, probably to ex-employees as well). This is why we recommend including current and former employees in your corporate sponsorship plans.
However, we predict that corporate alumni programs will play an even greater role in corporate sponsorships in the next 5-10 years. Tools like Aluminate for Enterprise will be central to this growth, facilitating awareness of and participation in corporate social responsibility every step of the way.
3 Tips for leveraging corporate alumni programs for sponsorships
- Keep your corporate alumni engaged. An engaged community is more likely to show interest in social interactions and initiatives. With Aluminate, each alumni network member sees content most relevant to them, on login. This supports alumni engagement, even at the individual level.
- Keep your corporate alumni informed. Use the Aluminate platform to send out regular newsletters and post updates about your corporate sponsorship plans.
- Keep your corporate alumni involved. Encourage participation in philanthropic and corporate sponsorship events. Enable alumni feedback through the Aluminate platform about these events so you can improve on them in the future. And invite alumni to share their sponsorship ideas.
Win more corporate sponsorships with Aluminate for Enterprise
If you want to get more involved in the community, meet CSR guidelines, and align your company with ESG principles, build an alumni network.
You can win more corporate sponsorships with an alumni network. And to help you build your alumni program, look no further than Aluminate for Enterprise. We offer the world’s most customizable online community platform, ideal for the corporate sector’s alumni community efforts.
Request your free demo today.
