#30 | Do Target and Wal-Mart understand me better than my alma mater does?

My conversation was with Dr. Jay Le Roux Dillon was certainly fascinating. Jay is the founder of Alumni Identity Consultants which accelerates giving for colleges and universities by using social psychology and data science to pinpoint their ideal alumni donors. Not to be confused with affinity or feelings of pride or nostalgia, Alumni Identity is about discovering who an institutions alumni are today; offering a psychometric measure of how graduates perceive their self-identity in relation to where they attended college.

Jay suggests that retailers like Target and Walmart are inclined to have a better grasp of who I am today than my alma mater might. Jay warns that most alumni relations offices are focused on who I was while I was in school rather than understanding who I am today. He points to several pervasive myths that undermine fundraising efforts at a time when higher education can ill-afford to miss additional opportunities.

If you're interested in learning more about Alumni Identity, Jay suggested that listeners begin with calculating their Alumni Identity Score. You might also reach out to him on LinkedIn (linkedin.com/in/jayldillon) or visit the Alumni Identity website at https://alumniidentity.com/

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