Primary Research Group has published Alumni Relations Benchmarks, 2014-15 Edition, ISBN 978-1-57440-294-0.

The study presents detailed benchmarking data on alumni relations from 55 North American colleges. The 200+ page study covers fundraising and outreach strategies, alumni office staffing and budget trends, analysis of alumni affairs staff time use, use of social media and other marketing and outreach vehicles, relations with alumni clubs, spending on consulting, travel, telephone solicitation, and direct mail, and much much more. The report also gives highly specific data on participation rates in various kinds of alumni reunions and overall participation in the alumni association, among other data points. Data is broken out for public and private colleges, and by enrollment level, general Carnegie Class and annual tuition charged, to enable more precise benchmarking.

Just a few of the study's major findings are that:

• The colleges in the sample had a mean of 71,646 total alumni with a median of 35,000 and a range of 670 to 600,000.
• Survey respondents estimated that a mean of 16.47% of alumni currently alive have made a financial contribution to the college; the median was 10%.
• The alumni offices in the sample spent a mean of $10,603 on travel costs for staff members in the past year.
• 23 of 54 survey participants had not conducted a major survey of alumni since 2010.
• The colleges in the sample designed annually a mean of 10.41 direct mail pieces for their alumni communications.
• Few community colleges and no research universities in the sample had reunions for recent graduates. The tendency to have reunions for recent graduates was much stronger among private than public colleges.

The study is available directly from Primary Research Group and also from major distributors of books and research reports. Print and PDF versions are available for $195.00. Site licenses are also available. For a table of contents, free excerpt, list of survey participants and the questionnaire, or to place an order, visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.