You’re Overlooking Your Strongest Supporters
They’re not outside your network. They’re already part of your story.
Most nonprofits spend enormous energy trying to find new supporters.
New donors.
New volunteers.
New people to bring into the work.
And that makes sense.
Growth often feels like expansion.
But what if growth also depends on something else?
Not who you haven’t reached yet —
but who you’ve already worked with.
There’s a category that many organizations don’t fully recognize:
Their alumni.
Not in the university sense. But in a much broader, more practical way. People who were once part of the organization’s life:
Former volunteers
Past board members
Program participants
Staff who helped build something and moved on
People who didn’t just hear about the mission —
they experienced it.
And yet, in many cases, those relationships fade. Not because something went wrong. But because no one followed up.
The Missed Opportunity
In my conversation with Jennifer Cunningham, we explore why this happens.
Because the issue isn’t awareness. Most organizations know these people exist. The issue is orientation.
There’s a constant pull toward the next:
The next donor.
The next campaign.
The next initiative.
And in that forward motion, something gets left behind. Relationships that were already built. Trust that was already established. People who already understand the work, and may be more inclined than anyone else to stay connected to it.
Rethinking “Alumni”
Jennifer reframes alumni not as a label, but as a strategic lens.
These are not “former” supporters. They are people who have already walked part of the journey. Which raises a different question: What would it look like to treat them that way?
When you look at your community this way, the approach shifts.
You’re not starting from scratch. You’re building on something that already exists. You’re not introducing your mission. You’re reconnecting people to something they already know. And that changes the nature of engagement entirely.
It becomes less about outreach and more about continuation.
Watch the Full Conversation
In this episode with Jennifer Cunningham, we go deeper into:
What “alumni” actually means in a nonprofit context
Why these relationships are often overlooked
How to re-engage people without turning it into a fundraising ask
The difference between volunteers and volunteer leaders
And how alumni can become long-term advocates and partners
To contact Jennifer Cunningham, visit her website: https://engagejc.com/
And as always, thank you to Victoria Hearst, whose generosity helps make You Are What You Give possible.