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• Planning an event without a clear stewardship purpose or audience
• Generic messaging that doesn’t personalize the donor experience
• Overloading the agenda with lengthy speeches or unrelated content
• Overextending budget on aesthetics at the expense of meaningful touchpoints
• Lack of follow-up: timely, heartfelt follow-up is crucial to closing the stewardship loop
• Overlap with other major donor communica

• Purpose: Is the event meant to thank donors, celebrate impact, provide updates or deepen engagement?
• Audience: Who is being recognized?

During his time as an Aggarwal-Blackburn Visiting Scholar, Halis Sakiz collaborated with Dr. Marty Jencius, Associate Professor in Counselor Education and Supervision.

Can we partner with DPAE to host an alumni event without a fundraising component?
Yes, if the event does not have a paid ticket. If there is a cost to attend, all alumni events must charge an additional minimum of $5 per person toward a designated scholarship fund to utilize our RSVP platforms and resources.

How far in advance should we start planning?
The sooner the better. At least 6-9 months in advance for large events and 4 months for smaller gatherings.

• Define your event purpose and goals
• Determine if you will be managing the project internally or need assistance from the Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement (DPAE)
  • All event communication and outreach is managed by DPAE communications regardless of event team assistance
• Our division’s ability to assist varies based on capacity and strategic fit.