Hello from Development and Alumni Relations! We hope that this toolkit provides you with helpful insights about Alumni Weekend along with marketing resources you can use for your audiences.
This year’s Alumni Weekend, which takes place June 2-4, has a special significance to UD for several reasons:
We’re bringing back the popular Dela-bration event
We’re focusing strategic initiatives around our alumni participation rate
We have an extra marketing edge through DAR’s new platform, Marketing Cloud
• Dela-bration, the signature event and biggest party of Alumni Weekend
• Beer Garden
• Reunions for the Classes of 2018, 2013 and 1998
• Dining Hall Brunch
• Drag Show Bingo
• Double Del Ice Cream Social
• Blue Hen 5K and Fun Run
February 28 |
This was the last day for alumni to make a gift of $10 or more this fiscal year to receive early registration access for Alumni Weekend. |
March 17 |
Alumni donors who gave $10 or more this fiscal year (July 1-Feb. 28) receive early registration access |
March 22 |
Registration opens for all; emails send to all alumni who didn’t receive the early access email and a mailed postcard sends to those we don’t have email addresses for |
April 25 |
Early Hen pricing ends – through Early Hen pricing, alumni can save $10 on their Dela-bration tickets! |
May 21 |
Refund deadline – we try to do the majority of our marketing pushes prior to this date |
Throughout spring, DAR will be including Alumni Weekend banners in campus partner communications, sending emails and running social media ads.
You may have heard that the University has a goal of 7% undergraduate alumni participation this fiscal year, which refers to the percentage of UG alumni who make a gift to UD. One way that Alumni Weekend is helping with this goal is through compulsory gifts for Dela-bration, Drag Show Bingo and reunion events—meaning that $5 of the registration cost for those events will count as a donation and those undergraduate alumni attendees will count toward the participation goal.
We need your help to not only promote your department or college events, but to also promote these signature Alumni Weekend events that are strategic for the University in many ways, including contributing to this alumni participation rate. Of course, we always encourage you to stress the importance of giving back to UD on your website with a giving link, as well!
We like to have fun with our Alumni Weekend messaging in a cheeky, friendly/familiar and helpful tone. This year, we are emphasizing humanness in our marketing through alumni testimonials and other opportunities to incorporate the alumni voice.
Since 2023 marks a return to a traditional Alumni Weekend, we wanted to convey the feeling of a warm welcome back to campus through our design. The tone is familiar and nostalgic (nod to a vintage postcard design), with a modern spin that we feel will resonate with every generation of alumni.
Alumni testimonials about Alumni Weekend:
- “I look forward to Alumni Weekend for partying and dancing with old friends.” – Craig Goldstein, Class of 1992
- “I love coming back to campus, seeing familiar faces, eating as much UD Creamery ice cream as possible, and reliving memories. My favorite event is Dela-bration.” – Aida Odobasic, PhD, Class of 2017
- "The best part of Alumni Weekend is the camaraderie with everyone, old friends and new, because everyone knows that Blue Hens are forever!" – Alli Tracy, Class of 2015
- "UD has provided me with the most amazing memories and the most special friends! Alumni Weekend gives us a chance to relive the memories that have shaped our friendships. Delaware has an incredibly special place in my heart and I hope to continue to come to Alumni Weekend for years and years to come!" - Lindsay Spanhake, Class of 2008
- "Alumni Weekend is the culmination of all things UD rolled into one memorable Blue Hen weekend!" – Jason Kremer, Class of 2012
- "Coming back to UD for Alumni Weekend truly feels like coming home. It is amazing to feel that magical feeling that all UD students can identify with." – Megan Czurda, Class of 2013
Submit your event via this link to have it included in the main Alumni Weekend registration. This ensures that your event will be seen by alumni and friends beyond your segmented audience.
If you’d like to request data for a communication to alumni about Alumni Weekend, you can fill out the data request form. DAR will provide open dates on the email and print calendar that can help you plan when to send something out without oversaturating your audience.
After you submit your event and a corresponding graphic or photo via this link, DAR will apply the Alumni Weekend overlay to your event’s image and upload to the UD events calendar. This will also get pulled into the Alumni Weekend website.
Got an idea for connecting with your audience, but not sure how to go about it, or if there’s an existing communication you can utilize? Email us at dar-comm@udel.edu to talk it through!
We’re all in this together in 2023!
We look forward to this campus-wide opportunity to foster a sense of community among our alumni and UD community! We are excited to see how our collective efforts impact fundraising and engagement with Blue Hens.
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Here, you can download graphics for social platforms, email and the website. For a consistent web experience, each college can update their Alumni & Friends pages with Alumni Weekend banners and information.
Facebook
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Twitter
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Website
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Instagram Feed
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Email Header
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Instagram Story
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