National Alumni Survey

About

For more than 20 years, alumni donor counts have continued to decline at US higher education institutions. The attitude of our alumni has shifted, and if we continue with our current practices, our donor count will only continue to decline. To better understand the changing relationship of alumni, we created the National Alumni Survey as an opportunity for a collective conversation about these changing behaviors. Over the past three years, the National Alumni Survey has collected more than 150,000 responses from alumni at more than 60 US institutions. Within that data are observations that can inform our decision-making and drive our strategies forward. In this session, we will review these trends, discuss ways we can act now to change the trajectory of donor behavior, and leave with next steps that will inform your strategies.

Meet the Speaker

Howard Heevner, Director of Annual Programs, University of California - Berkley

With nearly 30 years of higher education fundraising experience, Howard currently serves as executive director of annual programs at the University of California, Berkeley. He has previously held advancement leadership roles at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Penn State University, DePaul University, and the University of Michigan, and Howard began his career at the University of Iowa. Howard co-founded the National Alumni Survey in 2023. He is a frequent speaker at Council for Advancement and Support of Education conferences, serves on the CASE Commission on Philanthropy, and authored “Rethinking the Donor Pipeline” for CASE Currents (July 2025). Howard also consults with Chris Marshall Advancement Consulting and holds degrees from Iowa and Penn State, as well as a DEI certificate from Cornell University.

Summary

Availability:

Registration Required

Location:

Online Meeting

Date / Time:

Apr 24, 2026 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET

Credit Offered:

No Credit Offered

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