How to Engage Student Activists and Donors to Drive Positive Change

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0:00:12.3 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to Office Hours with EAB. Student activism is the subject of today’s conversation, but it isn’t a new phenomenon. Campus protests have been around for almost as long as universities have existed. The level and intensity of this activism, however, ebbs and flows in response to what’s happening in society around us. On today’s episode, our experts take a look at the state of student activism today and explain how social media has given students a larger megaphone and access to a much larger audience than perhaps they’ve ever had before. All of this leads to bigger challenges for university leaders who have to do a better job of engaging with student activists in more constructive ways. It’s a difficult challenge and our guests have a lot to say on the subject, so give them a listen and enjoy.

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0:01:08.5 Jenna Dell: Hello and welcome to Office Hours with EAB. My name is Jenna Dell and today I’m joined by my colleague, Kate Cudé. Hi, Kate, how are you?

0:01:17.2 Kate Cudé: Hi, Jenna. I’m great, so happy to be with you on the program.

0:01:20.9 JD: Yeah, I am as well. I think we’ve got quite a bit to talk about today regarding student activism and philanthropy. We worked together for a while, and you might not know this, but in my former life, I actually advised college political groups when I was working on campus. So this is a topic near and dear to my heart. Certainly, my work has changed a little bit. I now work with advancement teams across the country. But you work on this day in and day out. In fact, you were recently featured in a news report about student activism on college campuses, and coincidentally, that’s our topic for today, so I’m likewise looking forward to our conversation. As we jump in, would love for you to set some context. What interested you about this topic? In other words, is student activism on the rise, has it changed in some sort of way? What got you started in this?

0:02:18.2 KC: Yeah, I’m absolutely excited for our conversation today, Jenna, especially given your background in both advancement and advising political groups on campus. That’s perfect. So I recently had a conversation with NBCLX reporter, Jalyn Henderson, about student activism, and I think that that’s a good starting point. She had reached out because she wanted to explore the question, does student activism work? And this is something, as you mentioned, I’ve been researching for EAB for a while now. And especially since student activism has always had a presence on college campuses, and we’ve certainly seen a spike in activism across the past two years or so, it was a very relevant question. And we can provide a link to the story in the description below, if you’d like to watch that. But to answer your question, activism is absolutely on the rise. When you look at the history of student activism, you’ll see there are times when it spikes and other times, not so much.

0:03:23.4 KC: And honestly, the past couple of years have offered so many prompts for student activists to engage and advocate for change, and activists have this incredible ability to call attention to problems on our campuses, in our communities and in broader society that need change or improvement. So as we’ve seen that spike, it generated interest as a researcher for myself and for my team, and that spike in activism also means that Higher Ed leaders have been prompted much more to prepare for and respond to student activism across the past few years.

0:04:04.5 JD: Kate, you mentioned a couple times the spike in student activism, and I’d love to dig a little bit deeper into the historical context, just so we can understand how we got to where we are today. So if you could give us a brief history of student activism, I think that would be really helpful, not only for me, but certainly for our listeners.

0:04:25.5 KC: Sure. A brief history is tough, as somebody who spends so much time thinking about activism. So the truth is student activists have been driving change on campuses as long as there have been college campuses. And as I mentioned previously, activism really ebbs and flows. It’s cyclical, it’s often based on what’s going on in our society, in our communities or on campus. So over the years, student activists have really shaped almost every single part of what higher education looks like today. Students have advocated for better treatment of university staff, they’ve advocated for greater diversity in the student body, the make-up of the staff and faculty and in the curriculum, they’ve influenced the creation of greater discrimination protections on campus, they’ve helped shape university sustainability practices, fair treatment of athletes. I could go on and on. If you name it on a college campus, an activist have played a role in shaping it. So we’ve seen a resurgence in recent years in response to a growing political divide, and frankly in response to the previous administration which was led, of course, by one of the most controversial presidents in our nation’s history. And while that was going on, college campuses provide an almost ideal setting for protests to grow. There’s large numbers of young adults, many living away from home for the first time, exploring new ideas, taking important steps in defining who they are and what they stand for.

0:06:07.2 KC: And while they’re exploring their new points of view, they also have an increased access to social groups, other people who probably share their interests and their passion and may or may not be organized, but are likely willing to organize about a particular topic. So it sets the perfect stage for student activism. And one last thing regarding the evolution of activism, especially over the past couple of years, one major change that’s different today is that social media gives students the largest and loudest megaphone in human history. It’s provided them with an instant network or directory to find other activist groups on campuses advocating for similar causes, so it’s certainly been a game changer for student activism.

0:06:58.5 JD: Yeah, I can imagine that to be true. Let’s unpack that a little bit, Kate. Why is the use of social media so integral to the work that these student protesters are doing? And what if any challenges might that pose for university leaders?

0:07:15.5 KC: Well, nearly every college student today is active on social media. They all carry a device that actively pushes news at them about developments in their community. They can take to social media to quickly find other students who share their point of view and are already organized or willing to organize, to advocate for change. And via social media, students also routinely share, view or respond to thoughts on social issues with thousands of others that call for change. And sometimes, they tag their university in those posts, and if they feel their school isn’t leading or taking the right stand on a given issue, then that can really portray the university in a not-so-great light at times. Online activism has also created an online record of student activism that has occurred for a particular campus or activist group. So what that means is that student activists’ typical time spent on campus can be four years, and then students leave and a new group of students comes in, and some… In the past, sometimes they’re not looped into what has occurred or what hasn’t occurred in terms of how the university has responded to a particular issue.

0:08:30.4 KC: But now, there’s this record and they can look at the demands that were made and what happened five or 10… In some cases, even 10 years ago. So frankly, university leaders can’t really afford to ignore these posts. As I mentioned earlier, activists have this amazing ability to really call attention to issues in our society that often need some additional thought. And engaging with activists regularly, staying in the loop with what is important to them can help universities take those activists demands and translate them into next steps that will create positive change on campus. What is most crucial is that ongoing engagement with activists before something goes viral, before something becomes a flash point, like a campus protest that is later highlighted on the evening news, it’s really crucial to engage with activists and build trust and strengthen relationships with them. So in terms of the challenges social media activism poses for university leaders, it’s really created a new opportunity, I would say, for leaders to engage with activists and stay in the loop about what causes and issues they care about before something becomes a flash point.

0:09:44.2 KC: However, social media has also increased the likelihood that activism quickly becomes a flash point that may portray the institution in an unfavorable light on a very public stage. Student activists can cause potentially greater disruption and reach a larger audience by using social media as their preferred channel to air grievances and issue a call to action.

0:10:07.7 JD: I think that context, Kate, is really important. Let’s, for a moment, pretend that we’re a reasonably progressive university. You’ve got a president who wants to engage constructively with student leaders and student activists who are pushing for change. What advice might you give that university president?

0:10:28.0 KC: That’s a great question, Jenna. So I would say, overall, one… The primary focus of each piece of advice I would offer, the theme woven throughout is that it’s really important to build trust and strengthen relationships with student activists before tension is created. So if I had to offer three, so my first one would be to stay in the loop with what student activists care about. There are some great practices out there to stay in tune with activist interest. What is consistent across all of these practices is that they are very intentional and organized. It’s not a general effort to listen more, to share more, but it’s specific, so it’s like the president asking the communications office to maintain a running list of potential flash points by monitoring emerging issues.

0:11:20.9 KC: It’s the social media communication staff scanning social media sites for new activist accounts every couple of months. Or one of my favorite best practices actually comes from Emory University. They created a Dean’s racial and social justice internship, which was actually the result of a set of student demands back in 2015, but they designed an internship to create space for under-represented student groups to be directly involved with advancing racial justice at Emory through connecting monthly with the Dean and with their peers, to identify problem areas and priorities, help suggest possible solutions and then communicate back to their peers about the progress that has been made on those issues and on those solutions.

0:12:10.2 KC: So that would be my first piece of advice, is to stay in the loop with what activists care about. The second piece of advice is to help student activists build essential skills through their campus advocacy experience and choose the right channels that will lead to the most positive outcomes for them and for their community. For example, the Emory internship I just mentioned provides the student activists the opportunity to voice concerns directly to the Dean and work with the Dean to find solutions, all while gathering experience for their resume and building their advocacy skills that they can then use post-graduation. Another great example comes from UCLA. They created a grant program for student activist through which applicants have access to support, to craft a program proposal, draft a budget and event calendar. They pitch their program proposal idea to implement a change on campus, and if they receive funding, then they work with a mentor to implement that project. And through all of this, they’re also building that professional experience and using the right channels. So it’s a really great program to help activists influence that positive change.

0:13:28.5 KC: And my third piece of advice is to implement measures to ensure transparency in communication with student activists. Clear communication is essential to reducing how bumpy the process can be between students demanding change and actual positive change happening. So it’s really important that institutions acknowledge when they receive a set of demands from student activists and are clear about the path they choose to take with those demands, what roadblocks arise and what the status is after they receive the demands. So a great example of that comes from George Washington University. They have a name change request form and registry on their website, so if a student or a community member wants to propose changing the name of a building, statue, mascot, etcetera, they can submit a proposal through an online form, it goes to a committee and the status and notes about what is happening with that request is all posted in the registry online. So it’s a great example of acknowledging student request for change, keeping everybody in the loop about the progress, what’s happening and the reasoning behind that. Another great example from Emory University, they have a student demands tracker on their website that houses the initial student demands that they receive, responses and the actions taken after they receive the demands. And we can provide a link to both of those in the description, if you would like to check those out.

0:15:05.9 KC: Some of the recommendations I just made, Jenna, they can come with a high price tag, and I just wanna acknowledge that, depending on where the institution has been putting their resources. For example, the UCLA’s BEST program that I just mentioned, they fund six to eight student projects every year. That can add up. And I know that, Jenna, you spend a lot of time talking to university advancement professionals. Can you tell us a little bit about the fundraising landscape right now, specifically as it relates to these types of initiatives?

0:15:39.4 JD: Yeah, absolutely, Kate. And you gave us some really great recommendations and examples of programs, and certainly they can all have a high price tag. Our team right now is crunching data on fundraising results from this past fiscal year, so fiscal year 2021. But overall, we know that 70% of institutions saw an increase in new gifts. Now, certainly not all of those gifts are going to the types of programs that you just mentioned, but what I will say is, in 2020 alone, more was given to efforts related to diversity, equity, inclusion and justice than in the previous eight years combined.

0:16:22.4 KC: And how are you supporting advancement teams looking to fundraise for efforts around student activism or DEIJ? I call out DEIJ here specifically because 40% of student activism in 2020 was around DEIJ.

0:16:38.0 JD: Yeah, I appreciate that question, because that’s frankly where I’m spending quite a bit of my time right now. First and foremost, I would encourage advancement chaps to consider what open positions they have, and considering using this as an opportunity to make sure that their front line staff, whether that’s alumni engagement folks or development officers, are these individuals reflective of their current student body, of their alumni population, of the donors they’re trying to reach? Fundraisers in particular are predominantly White. Now, certainly, this is not just an issue of race or ethnicity, it can also include diverse political opinions, sexual orientation, and so on. But often, this means that we need to look outside advancement for candidates with transferable skills. And at EAB, we have a toolkit on recruiting individuals with transferable skills, and we can certainly link to that in the description as well. Secondly, if your students and your alumni are asking for programs or funding around a particular theme, make sure you’re seeking out donors that are willing to support efforts like this. It seems obvious, but we have this habit of going back time and time again to the same donors, because these are individuals with whom we already have a relationship.

0:18:01.7 JD: In fiscal year ’20, we saw that 68% of assigned prospects, and prospects are folks whom we think could be potential donors, they didn’t receive a substantive contact like a phone call or even a virtual visit. So there’s likely a lot of untapped potential there. The third big takeaway for me is our ability to work across the institution to develop big ideas that donors can really get excited about. It should be something that’s multi-disciplinary in nature and builds on the strengths of the university or college. One example, Kate, that I think you’ll appreciate was the possibility of endowing an activist in residents, I think that would be really cool, came up in one of my recent working groups.

0:18:51.0 KC: Yeah, we’ve actually seen some institutions do that, and I think that would be wonderful. I love that idea. I have one more final question for you today, Jenna, and it’s a little bit thorny. So what happens when the desire of a donor might differ from the institution or from what student activists are calling for? We’re talking about sometimes divisive topics here, so how does an institution resolve that?

0:19:19.8 JD: Yeah. This, as you might imagine, happens all of the time. And I’ve got quite a bit to say here, but I’ll try to keep it brief. The first thing certainly is to make sure that your staff feel supported in navigating these conversations. It needs to start with their onboarding materials and continue on through any peer mentoring programs that might exist in the development shop, certainly with conversations with their manager as well, and just making sure that, again, they feel supported and empowered in these conversations. Another strategy is to make sure that there are broad buckets of support options available. One example comes to mind from the University of Denver. They actually use a donor interest map that allows them to meet both donor and institutional needs. So for example, if a donor comes to you and they’re interested in a really specific scholarship, and you hear those specifications, you might understand that they’re actually wanting to increase access to college, and so you can navigate the conversation that way. And finally, a hard truth is that sometimes schools need to prepare to walk away from a donor if their priorities contradict each other or don’t align with the institutional values.

0:20:40.0 JD: On that note though, I’ll end with a positive story that I love to share with schools when we talk about this topic. There was one chief advancement officer from a school in the Southeast, and he shared a story with me about a donor who wanted to restrict a scholarship along racial and ethnic lines, obviously something that the institution was not willing to do. They were not willing to put that in the gift agreement, and they walked away. But this chief advancement officer had two really stubborn staff members on his team. They were committed to trying to have an open dialogue with this donor, and ultimately, their goal was to try to change his mind. They introduced the donor to students who would have been excluded from that scholarship in the way that he wanted it written. They attended events together, they spent time learning from one another, and thankfully, the donor came back, was willing to give the money that he had previously talked about with the office, and was willing and happy to support a scholarship without any of his previous restrictions. Now, that’s a great story. It’s not gonna happen all the time, certainly, but it does give me hope for these sorts of [inaudible] phony issues.

0:22:00.4 KC: Yeah, that is such a great story. Thank you for sharing that, Jenna, and certainly gives me hope as well. And we could talk about this for hours, but I know that our time is growing short, so I just wanna summarize. It’s really important for Higher Ed leaders to stay in the loop with activists and what they care about, build trust and strengthen relationships with them by elevating their voices through the right channels and helping them build skills and experience through their campus advocacy work, and ensure communication with activists is clear, consistent and transparent. At EAB, we have a toolkit you can find on our website, and we can drop a link in the description below too to help with all of those. And student activists, once again, like we have discussed, Jenna, will always be present on college campuses. And although sometimes activism can really create challenging obstacles for institutions, it’s important to remember, I think, that activists have really shaped what Higher Ed looks like today in a positive way. And they often prompt us to stop and to reconsider what is and is not working, and that’s important to create and drive universities to be better, to make real progress and provide a more enriching experience for both students and donors who care deeply about the institution.

0:23:27.0 JD: Absolutely, Kate. I couldn’t have said it better myself. So appreciate your time and your expertise today, and thank you all for tuning in to Office Hours with EAB.

0:23:40.0 KC: Thank you, Jenna. I had a blast, and I hope to be back on the program with you again soon.

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0:23:51.3 Speaker 1: Thank you for listening. Please join us next week when we analyze the extent of the pandemic disruptions that have stunted the intellectual and emotional growth of K-12 students. We’ll also take a look at the ways your institution is going to have to adapt as those young students arrive on your college campus in the very near future. Until then, thank you for your time.

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