Unlock the Power of Your Alumni Voices: Insights from the National Alumni Survey
An annual opportunity for institutions to participate in a large-scale study of alumni engagement and philanthropy, allowing you to benchmark your data against national results.
A collaborative study supported by CMAC, Parisleaf, and Washburn McGoldrick
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Gain Deep Insights Into Your Alumni Base
The survey explores critical topics for both undergraduate and graduate populations.Â
- Alumni Engagement: How alumni are connecting with your institution.
- Alumni Satisfaction & Attitudes: Better understand alumni sentiments and feelings about their alma mater.
- Philanthropic Priorities: Discover what causes matter most to your alumni and where they direct their volunteer time and financial gifts.
- Giving Habits: Learn more about their total charitable giving and preferred vehicles like DAFs, stock, or cash.
- Communication Preferences: Identify channel and content preferences.
- Inspiring Opportunities: Pinpoint opportunities that would motivate future engagement and giving.
Simple, Cost-Effective Participation
Participating in the core survey is available at no cost and includes 20 questions, plus two optional demographic questions.
Supplemental Questions
Add your own custom questions for $2,000 per question. We have identified a set of questions that explore topics such as barriers to engagement, trusted sources of information, and future philanthropy, or we can work with you to develop new questions specific to your individual needs.
In-Depth Analysis
For $1,750 per factor, you can receive in-depth analysis for specific segments of interest. Past analyses have included geographic proximity, giving history, age, gender identity, or school/unit affiliation. With this option, the results for all 20 questions will be cross-tabulated by your selected factors and integrated into your institution-specific report as tables or charts.Â
Key Dates for Your Team
Our process is designed to be straightforward for your team. This year’s NAS survey cycle is introducing a new feature so that you can choose which month we will send your survey invitations. Available waves are August, September, October, and November 2026.
Please be aware that each wave has a maximum capacity and some waves will fill up quickly. Priority will be given based on receipt of the signed Participation Agreement and data file.
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August 2026 Wave I Timeline
- July 28: Participation Agreement signed
- August 4: Institution’s data securely transferred to NAS team, customizations finalized
- August 11: First invitations sent (Recommended: Institution sends a warming email the day before to improve response rate)
- August 18 & 25: Reminders sent to non-respondents
- August 31: New data collection ends
- January 2027: Your school-specific report, benchmark analysis, and individual-level data file available
- March 2027: National Alumni Survey Report release
September 2026 Wave II Timeline
- August 28: Participation Agreement signed
- September 4: Institution’s data securely transferred to NAS team, customizations finalized
- September 11: First invitations sent (Recommended: Institution sends a warming email the day before to improve response rate).
- September 18 & 25: Reminders sent to non-respondents
- October 2: New data collection ends
- January 2027: Your school-specific report, benchmark analysis, and individual-level data file available
- March 2027: National Alumni Survey Report release
October 2026 Wave III Timeline
- September 25: Participation Agreement signed
- October 2: Institution’s data securely transferred to NAS team, customizations finalized
- October 9: First invitations sent (Recommended: Institution sends a warming email the day before to improve response rate)
- October 16 & 23: Reminders sent to non-respondents
- October 30: New data collection ends
- January 2027: Your school-specific report, benchmark analysis, and individual-level data file available
- March 2027: National Alumni Survey Report release
November 2026 Wave IV Timeline
- October 30: Participation Agreement signed
- November 6: Institution’s data securely transferred to NAS team, customizations finalized
- November 13: First invitations sent (Recommended: Institution sends a warming email the day before to improve response rate)
- November 20 & 27: Reminders sent to non-respondents
- December 4: New data collection ends
- January 2027: Your school-specific report, benchmark analysis, and individual-level data file available
- March 2027: National Alumni Survey Report release
Note: The NAS team is able to offer some flexibility with these dates for Waves I, II, and III. Wave IV (November) dates are fixed and cannot be adjusted.
Actionable Data for Your Board and Leadership
Participating institutions will receive a comprehensive set of deliverables designed for immediate use.
A staff- and leadership-ready set of slides with the results of each question, including national benchmarking, ideal for presentations to boards and university leadership.Â
In-depth tables with results segmented by select alumni groups.
A raw data file of responses for your team to use for follow-up analysis and engagement activity, linked by unique ID to your specific records.
Early access to the national report with aggregate results, benchmarks, and comprehensive insights provided by advancement experts.
The Experts Behind the Data
The National Alumni Survey is a collaborative effort led by professionals with decades of experience in higher education advancement and data analytics.
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Howard Heevner
With over 20 years of higher education fundraising experience, Howard is the current executive director of annual programs at the University of California, Berkeley.
Sarah KleebergerÂ
With 25 years focused on philanthropy, Sarah delivers consulting and analytics services at RNL, with a commitment to providing actionable data and insights to clients.
Chris MarshallÂ
A senior higher education advancement professional with over two decades of alumni engagement and fundraising experience, Chris spent twelve years leading alumni relations at Lehigh and Cornell.
Steven J. Devlin, Ph.D.
Specializing in national surveys and program evaluation, Dr. Devlin has developed and analyzed over 500 surveys and conducted data analyses for over 100 clients.
Dan LowmanÂ
An internationally known expert in fundraising analytics, Dan has spent 25 years working in the field, founded SurveyLab in 2016, and leads the national Advancement Moving Forward industry survey.
Ready for the next step?
At CMAC, we believe advancement—when grounded in values and driven by vision—can do more than raise funds; it can transform the future of higher education.
