We’ve made concerted efforts NOT to employ gimmicks in fundraising. Still, there’s a fine line between fun and unserious.
Nostalgia is another gray area, particularly when it comes to alumni. The past can be helpful for breaking the ice, but it should never be the terminal point of a conversation or relationship. A good alumni program always looks toward the future.
Which makes the decision to print several life-sized cardboard cutouts of faculty (in their younger days) for display at an alumni reunion a creative balancing act. Let me explain.
Alumni events are awkward enough. People of various ages who have or haven’t had much contact with your organization in some time are suddenly put in a room together with little to anchor their conversation…besides nostalgia. There is often silence or, worse, a temptation to relive the so-called glory days.
But the ice must be broken, after all. And it is our job to help.
So I’ve printed cardboard cutouts to serve as a focal point of welcome and charm. Alumni will see the familiar faces and, hopefully, engage with other alumni through them. An older alumnus can relate memories to a younger alum through a common touchpoint. In this way, institutional knowledge and culture are shared, and hopefully extended to new points of interest and exchange, i.e., friendship. The expectation is that each will recognize the fun of it, without mistaking it for an attempt at recreating the past, which would be unserious.
Alumni reunions should not be attempts to recreate the past. Nor is cardboard itself a sturdy enough material to support the weight of a yearly event. But it can be used to have a bit of fun, and support the real and meaningful work of the alumni team to engage others in conversation and deliver an event worth coming to, and which will be remembered.
(and if it doesn’t succeed…at least the event pictures will show a full room!)