Best of CASE District II Award
 

Institution: York University

Title of entry: York University’s Top 30 Alumni Under 30

About this entry: This program is part of a strategy to improve engagement with young alumni, build institutional reputation and foster pride. The initiative was stimulated by the results of an alumni survey demonstrating that young alumni (< 30) are significantly more dissatisfied with, and disengaged from, the university than other alumni. With 50,000 (14%) of York alumni under the age of 30, this finding could have considerable impact on York’s reputation and ability to fundraise in the future.
To engage this group and spotlight the outstanding careers that can be achieved with a York degree, a group of young volunteers and staff conceived of the awards programs, named Top 30 Changemakers Under 30 to align with the institution’s new branding. To reach this group of social media savvy 20-somethings a paid, targeted campaign was developed to reach them as well as parents and other influencers.
The engagement reach was profound, exceeding the target by 20%, and representing 100% of our Faculties. Sixty-seven percent represented equity-deserving communities (eg. BIPOC, 2SLGBTQ+). As a result, our Young Alumni Ambassador Program grew by 50% and all thirty engaged more deeply with the University as a panelist, keynote, profile, or mentor to current students.