Alumni engagement that finally works.
Systems that help alumni teams deliver real value, meaningful connection, and measurable pipeline readiness — without adding staff or buying new platforms.
Most alumni teams are structured around high-effort, low-yield work: events, logistics, and generic communications.
The consequences are predictable:
→ Alumni ignore mass outreach
→ Staff time is consumed by manual work
→ Leadership sees no measurable ROI
→ Engagement becomes an obligation, not a value driver
This isn’t caused by bad people or bad intentions.
It’s caused by an operating model designed for broadcasting, not support.
Until the model changes, results won’t.
Alumni respond to value, not volume.
The institutions that win do three things differently:
Identify relevant life and career milestones
Deliver personalized support tied to those moments
Measure behavioral movement, not attendance totals
When outreach is targeted, timely, and useful, engagement becomes valuable — and pipeline potential increases without more events, content, or headcount.
Our systems deliver value.
You receive a brief report with:
The Alumni Value Scan
A FREE, five-minute diagnostic that pinpoints the specific factors holding results down and identifies where small shifts would create the biggest improvement.
→ What’s not working and why
→ What activities to stop
→ Where the quickest wins are
→ A short 90-day plan focused on measurable gains
Alumni Activation Engine
enterprise system
Continuous scanning, personalization, and automated orchestration across your entire alumni base for proactive, relevant value delivery.
Outcomes:
Automated relevance at scale
Leadership buy-in
Predictable engagement results
More alumni responses and relationship growth
Enterprise licensing
Alumni Operating Reset
10-week strategic intervention
An overhaul of your operating model to shift resources from low-yield logistics to high-value, career-development and relationship-driven work.
Outcomes:
Sustainable, ROI-driven model
Redistributed staff effort
Increased engagement
System for career-focused value delivery
$18,500/one-time fee
Alumni Signal Scanner
a monthly subscription
Upload a list. We detect new jobs, promotions, moves, and other signals. You receive personalized, ready-to-send outreach drafts for each person.
Outcomes:
Higher response rates
More meaningful conversations
Warm pipeline movement
20–40 hours of staff time saved each month
Starts at $750/month
Institutions using these models achieve:
→ 3–6x increase in alumni responses
→ 60% reduction in manual outreach work
→ Higher staff satisfaction and retention
→ Measurable early-stage pipeline lift
Erin Essak Kopp, Founder, Spark Plug
Leaders need results, not dashboards.
Spark Plug equips Advancement leaders with systems and tools that drive measurable alumni results with less staff effort.