How to Write an Alumni Newsletter that Drives Donations for School Fundraisers

Summary:

• Alumni newsletters help schools stay in touch with former students for years after they graduate. They can also be a valuable way to drive donations to fundraisers if you frame them right.
• Personalized newsletters with a good balance of storytelling, updates, and calls-to-action can engage alumni effectively. When alumni care about the work you’re doing, they’re more likely to donate time, money, or resources.
• Calls-to-action don’t have to sound pushy to be effective. Focus on giving people clear steps that outline how they can help your school and why they should. 
• Charts, graphics, images, and other visual assets can help make your newsletter more compelling and personal. 
• Segmenting your audience by interests, age, or graduation date makes it easier to send targeted messages that resonate with recipients. It’s also a great way to test your results and tweak newsletters over time.

An alumni newsletter helps your school maintain relationships with former students long after they graduate, but this can also be a powerful fundraising tool. Writing your newsletter well can inspire a sense of pride that helps drive more donations to your school’s important causes.

Below, our team at FutureFund shows you how to craft an alumni newsletter that draws recipients in and inspires their financial support. You’ll learn how to structure your newsletter, harness the power of storytelling for your school, and ask for the money you need without sounding pushy or begging.

Three core goals for effective alumni newsletters

When you’re writing a newsletter, think about what matters most to alumni. Most former students are strongly motivated by their shared history and a desire to give back to the next generation, so what you write should speak to these motivations in some way.

Here’s how to make that happen:

• Engage alumni with meaningful stories, interesting updates, and other information they would find compelling, amusing, or entertaining.
• Inform alumni by keeping them in the loop with regular updates about school causes, student achievements, and alumni success stories. 
• Inspire alumni to take action in some way, whether that involves donating, participating in events, or just staying involved from a distance.

Hitting even one of these goals will make your newsletter more effective. Cinch all three and alumni are highly likely to donate or keep coming back for more!

How to use storytelling to drive more donations

Strong storytelling is compelling because it makes alumni feel more personally invested in your school’s success. A well-delivered story creates an emotional connection, and that’s much more motivating than a generic request for donations.

How to use storytelling in your alumni newsletter

• Make former students the heroes. The goal here is to form a close connection with former students. Instead of telling them how amazing your school is, show them how your school helped students succeed by including alumni success stories.
• Share an educator’s perspective. Include an anecdote from a well-liked teacher or principal who made a difference in a campaign or the lives of students.
• Share a student’s vision for the future. Most alumni feel strongly about supporting the next generation of graduates. Including their aspirations or goals can help them paint a picture of the future so they feel more motivated to donate.
• Get personal. If you’re a faculty member or K-12 group leader, share your own anecdote, story, or insight. Passion is contagious!

Storytelling also means dropping your guard a little bit and allowing yourself to be human when you’re writing. You don’t necessarily want to be completely informal, but it’s totally okay to sneak in the occasional “I” statement or personal perspective.

Include updates about life at school

Storytelling is the foundation for a strong newsletter that gets results, but it isn’t the only way to drive engagement. Keeping alumni in the loop about life at your school, even if it doesn’t necessarily relate to your cause, can help foster long-term relationships.

Consider including:

• Upcoming events, like fundraisers, bake sales, science fairs, homecoming dances, and sports tournaments. Tell people how to participate and who to contact for info.
• Major breaking news. Are you expanding? Did your school win an award? Did a former graduate do something amazing or win a prize? Mention it in this section.
• Progress updates that reveal the results of former or current fundraising campaigns. If you recently sent out a sponsorship letter, share how much it brought in.

Use formatting like bullets to help streamline short updates like these so they’re easy to scan. Or, provide a link to your school’s event calendar or website so they can learn more.

How to structure your newsletter

An alumni newsletter should feel more like a conversation or speech than an email. To achieve this effect, you need to include a balanced mix of personalization, storytelling, updates, and appeals for help.

1. Start with a warm, personalized greeting (use names if you can).

• Example: “Hi [Name!]! I hope this newsletter finds you well.”
• Why it works: A name is always better than “dear readers,” or just “hello.” If you can’t include names, you should at least mention their role as an alumni.

2. Give former students a reason to reminisce about their school days.

• Example: “As a former student of [School Name], you know how passionate we are about STEAM.”
• Why it works: It speaks to the general experience of life at the school. Plus, science, technology, and math are core subjects every student takes, so there’s less risk that it won’t be relevant.

3. Draw alumni in with anecdotes or heartfelt storytelling they can relate to.

• Example: “When Mrs. Jones first started teaching grade 12 English, she had no idea she would go on to mentor a best-selling author.”
• Why it works: Everyone remembers their favorite teacher and wonders how former students made out, so this is a good way to inspire curiosity. It’s also the perfect precursor to a fundraising campaign, like donating to the school library.

4. Tell a story about a relevant student achievement or an alumni success.

• Example: “Emily Smith’s work at NASA is helping to shape the future of space travel, but her love for astronomy started right here at Lincoln High.”
• Why it works: It tells alumni they’re connected to a school that helps students achieve great things. This can inspire a sense of pride, but it also sparks curiosity.

5. Include alumni-specific updates and must-know information, like upcoming events.

• Example: “Save the date! Join us on October 12 for our annual alumni homecoming tailgate party. Contact the front office to buy tickets.”
• Why it works: It’s concise, to the point, and includes the next step—how and where to buy tickets. 

7. Give students a reason to contribute or stay connected to the school.

• Example: “Last year, alumni club sponsorships helped Lincoln High raise $20,000 for new lab equipment. We’re so grateful for your continued support!”
• Why it works: It’s a clear example of how alumni are making a difference—and the subtle mention of “continued support” keeps people thinking long-term. 

6. Sprinkle donation appeals throughout the newsletter where they feel relevant.

• Example: “[Following a personal anecdote] That’s how Lincoln High gave me the confidence to pursue a career in medicine. Now, you can sponsor the next generation of healers by joining our alumni support club. Click here to join!”
• Why it works: It’s placed at the end of a story or anecdote, so alumni are already feeling the good vibes. Plus, it directly connects to the appeal.

Each element you include in a newsletter should be able to stand on its own, but it should also feel directly related to your cause. In other words, don’t include anecdotes about hockey if you’re fundraising for new band equipment—share music-related stories instead. 

Make it easier for alumni to donate with FutureFund

Reaching former students is just the first step—you also need to make it easy for them to donate to your school. FutureFund helps you create custom fundraising campaigns, accept payments online, track donations, and more for free! Click here to get started.

How to write strong donation appeals without sounding “salesy”

If you want to drive donations, you need to be direct, and that includes when you ask alumni for their support. This can feel a bit awkward or even pushy at first, but it is possible to incorporate appeals in a way that doesn’t feel salesy or overly contrived.

A “CTA,” or call-to-action, is your pitch—a short snippet of text that makes potential donors decide to take action by supporting your campaign. 

In general, good pitches are concise and build urgency while laying out clear steps for what you want people to do next. Check out these examples:

• Bad: “Do you want to support the future of space travel? You should think about making a donation to our school.”
  • Why It Doesn’t Work: It’s wishy-washy and doesn’t give the recipient instructions for taking the next step. How much should they donate? What if they don’t care about space travel? Why are they donating?
• Bad: “Make a one-time donation to support our school!”
  • Why It Doesn’t Work: It’s straightforward but doesn’t explain how or why people should make a donation. How will their contribution help? How much does your school need, and what’s the goal, here, anyway?
• Good: “Your support helps students like Emily explore their passion for astronomy and develop the skills they need to help shape the future. Join our alumni club or make a one-time donation of $100 to support our science lab.”
  • Why It Works: It’s direct and actionable. The “next step” is clearly laid out, it includes a suggested donation, and alumni can easily understand how their contribution will help.

Placement also matters. Instead of scattering CTAs randomly throughout the newsletter, try to place them in spots where they can reinforce or follow up on your messaging. Work at least one into the top 25% of your newsletter—don’t assume everyone will read to the end.

Add pictures, infographics, and videos

Think about the last time you read a magazine—what caught your eye first? Chances are it was an image, strong header, or graphic rather than plain text. Visual aids like images, charts, and infographics help break up text and make your newsletter more engaging.

For example:

• High-quality images of students, life at your school, teachers, or special events make alumni feel personally connected and more involved.
• Infographics help you present complex ideas or information, like a multi-step process or campaign results, in a more visually appealing way.
• Charts and progress meters make campaign results feel more real and show alumni exactly how close you are to reaching your goals.
• Links to hype videos for current or upcoming fundraisers, if you’re sending out newsletters by email. Include a scannable QR code in printed copies.

For best results, place images around text in a way that flows naturally. A relevant image at the top of each section can help break up text, while headshots make alumni testimonials feel more real and personal.

How to segment your email list for better results

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking all alumni are exactly the same. They might share the same common history, but factors like generation, age, interests, profession, and past involvement in fundraisers can deeply affect how—or if—they respond to messaging.

For best results, separate your list of contacts into groups that share certain characteristics, like career status or graduation date. Then, adjust letters for each of these subgroups.

Potential Segmentation Strategies

• Young alumni vs. retirees. Students graduating in the last decade will be focused on college and networking. Retirees may be more interested in feel-good stories about students or how they can support the next generation’s success.
• Sports vs. arts. Former players and athletes with a special interest in sports will respond well to fundraisers for new training facilities or uniforms. Arts alumni are more likely to contribute to campaigns focused on music or theater initiatives.
• Past vs. new donors. Donors who have sponsored your school or donated in the past want to feel appreciated. First-time donors need a compelling reason or strong incentive to take the next step and donate—especially if they’re on a tight budget.
• Young families vs. empty nesters. Parents with young children are typically more motivated by stories about students and family-friendly events. Empty nesters often have more disposable income and may be interested in legacy donations.

Tailor the content in your newsletter to each subgroup’s interests, motivations, or needs. To gather the information you need, look at past social media interactions or messages, ask alumni for an update, or look for publicly available data (like LinkedIn profiles).

Optimization, testing, and tweaking for success

Your subject line is extremely important—it’s the first thing alumni see when your email lands in their inbox. You only have a few short words to make your point (the exact length varies between email providers), so you really need to make them count! 

Split testing, sometimes called A/B testing in the marketing world, can help you better understand what subject lines get the most attention. This is when you split a segment (like recent donors) into groups, then send each one the same email with different subject lines.

• One email might use a friendly, personal subject line like “[Name,] You Made a Difference—Here’s How!” 
• Another might take a more actionable approach: “Donate to Our Sports Fund Today!”
• Or, you can focus on results instead: “UPDATE: We Crushed Our Goals!”

A little experimentation is okay—it can take a bit of time to figure out what works. 

Track click-to-open (CTO) rates (how often people open your email), click-through (CTR) rates (if they clicked on the links inside to visit your site or page), and conversion rates (if they follow through by making a donation) closely. 

If you get strong results from one subject line or newsletter design over another, it’s a strong indicator that you’re on the right path. But the opposite is also true—really poor results or low open rates are a red flag that something isn’t quite right.

Get better results from alumni newsletter campaigns with FutureFund!

A well-structured alumni newsletter strengthens the connection between former students and your school. It can also help you get better results from fundraisers and sponsorship opportunities, but consistency will help you reach for the stars. Send out at least one newsletter every 1-3 months if you want to properly nurture those relationships!

Ready to make former students a part of your school’s ongoing story? Start exploring our tools and launch your first campaign in minutes, or schedule a free session with one of our fundraising experts first. We’re here to help every step of the way!