The alumni and annual giving teams at Dordt University in Sioux Center, Iowa, U.S., are proud of the institution’s alumni giving rate: 18.89% of alumni made gifts to the university in the 2022–2023 fiscal year.  

“We ask Dordt alumni why they choose to give, and they repeatedly refer to faculty and staff who not only instructed them but mentored them along the way,” says Karen Van Schouwen, Director of Annual Giving. 

Dordt University is a Christian university with just under 2,000 total student enrollment and a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Focusing on those tight-knit ties helps Dordt’s small advancement team connect with alumni.

“We lean into identity, mission, and community as a faith-based institution,” says Van Schouwen. “It’s a place where faculty members invite students to their homes for dinner, and 20 years later, those faculty members are still here and alumni still remember them. In our communications, we tap into those attributes about Dordt to remind alumni why they loved being here as students.”