FY2021 – FY22 ANNUAL REPORT
Dear Fellow Alumni,
As Chair of the Georgia State University Alumni Association, I am privileged to tell you that you are now among a family of more than 285,000 graduates of one of the most enterprising urban public institutions in the country – Georgia State University!
Georgia State’s mission is to ready graduates from diverse backgrounds for professional pursuits, educate future leaders and prepare citizens for lifelong learning. The Georgia State University Alumni Association supports this mission by providing more than 100 annual programs and services to connect students and alumni, to connect alumni and the business community and, representing all alumni. We ensure that the Georgia State University Alumni Association is an active resource in unifying the global university community.
The Alumni Association invites graduates back to our growing Atlanta campus, where you will see new open green space, new buildings, and new uses for historic structures. We sponsor many events and programs throughout the year including social, networking and regional events as well as a variety of seminars and workshops. All events are designed to foster lifelong learning and interactive engagement. Additionally, the Alumni Association sponsors educational programs for current students, career readiness, resume preparation and actively engages with the Student Alumni Association (SAA). In preparation for life after graduation, this student run organization teaches leadership by supporting alumni events, creating new campus traditions and keeping old traditions alive. SAA members begin building a lifelong connection to their Alma mater.
The Alumni Association members from across the country and around the world generously contribute to the Alumni Association Scholarship Endowment Program. Each year more than $70,000 is given back to the university in the form of scholarships and gifts. These scholarships ensure that Georgia State can continue to attract bright students in a competitive higher education market.
I invite you to engage or re-engage in the exciting things that are happening at Georgia State University through the Alumni Association. Attend an event, volunteer to speak at a student program, offer fellow alumni career advice, network with your fellow Panthers. See what connecting to the Panther nation can do for you.
Sincerely,
Cathy Scarver, J.D. ‘00
GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY ALUMNI ASSOCIATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ANNOUNCES THREE NEW MEMBERS
The Georgia State University Alumni Association welcomed three new members to its Board of Directors. These Panther alumni were previously nominated from a pool of applicants and approved by a board vote. The new directors are:
The Three New Board Members Are:
Suman Gera
Managing Director of Acquisitions and Asset Management Bridge Investment Group
B.B.A. in Accounting, 1982
Denise Kennedy
Manager, Labor & Productivity in Piedmont Healthcare
M.A. in Communication, 2014; B.A. in Speech, 2006
Joel Thibodeaux
Director of Internal Audits and Compliance in Dekalb County Schools
M.P.P. in Public Finance Policy, 2012
For more information on the Georgia State University Alumni Association, visit alumni.gsu.edu.
27 Events | 550 total attendees | 11 Networks
Interest Network Events
- Young Alumni Council: 18 events | 324 attendees
- 25 council members
- Best of Blue series
- 10 events
- 120 attendees
- Panthers winner circle
- with Kirk Brown
- with Christopher Bruce
- Earth Day Panel
- Lunch with the board
- 4 events
- YAC Cares Toy Drive
- Increased Instagram followers by 300
- Hospitality: 3 events | 140 attendees
- Wine down Wednesday
- Food event with Sean Chang
- Cocktails on the town
- Physical Therapy: 3 events
- Telehealth
- Launching Your Running Program
- Trivia
Corporate Network Events
- Home Depot: 2 events | 23 attendees
- 2 Student Alumni Association Networking Events – 23 attendees
FY22 ANNUAL REPORT STATS (PROGRAMS)
Includes events managed by:
Director of Alumni Programs (Vacant August 2021 through December 2021)
Assistant Director of Alumni Programs (Vacant January 2022 through May 2022)
Assistant Director of Constituent Relations
Student Relations Coordinator (Vacant January 2022 – present)
Coordinator of Website & Communications
- Total # of events: 112
- FY19 62
- FY20 51
- FY21 113
- Total # of attendees: 5087
- FY19 4074
- FY20 2961
- FY21 4401
HIGHLIGHTS
- Provided 227 total volunteer engagement opportunities across all events (BOD, YAC, SAA, and alumni speakers) (FY21 = 60)
- Total event attendance up by 686 over last year
- FY22 marked the official return to in-person events. We delivered 52 in-person events with collectively over 2541 alumni attendees
- Developed digital system for President Suite invitations, RSVPs, credentialing, and communications
- Most engagement with 40 Under 40 since the program’s launch in 2018 (see below)
LARGE SIGNATURE EVENTS OVERVIEW
Includes events managed by:
Director of Alumni Programs (Vacant August 2021 through December 2021)
Assistant Director of Alumni Programs (Vacant January 2022 through May 2022)
Assistant Director of Web & Communications
Distinguished Alumni Awards
- 57th Annual Celebration
- Steady increase in the number of sponsors over time:
- 21 total sponsors (62% increase over FY20, last in-person event)
- 320% increase in number of sponsors since introducing sponsorship model in 2017 à 5 (FY18), 8 (FY19), 13 (FY20), 21 (FY22)
- Significant increase in the amount of sponsorship dollars over time:
- $40,150 total sponsorship dollars (22% increase over 2019, last in-person event)
- 228% increase in sponsorship dollars since introducing the sponsorship model in 2017 à $7K (FY18), 15.5K (FY10), 33K (FY20), 40.2K (FY22)
Homecoming Tailgate
- 367 tickets sold, 324 attendees (up slightly from pre-pandemic attendance of 316 at FY20 tailgate)
- $6500 in sponsorships (Center Parc as newest sponsor)
- $9000 event revenue
GSU Cares (At-Home and In-Person)
- 8 in-person projects, 1 virtual projects
- Total participants – 337 (up from 266 in FY21)
- 224 in person
- 113 at home (Meals on Wheels letter writing)
40 under 40 Ceremony & Reception: Class of 2021
- 32% increase in attendance over last in-person event (2019)
- 338 tickets sold, 308 attendees
- 166 attended virtual event in 2021, 150 views of recording on Vimeo
- 256 attended last in-person event in 2019
- 85% increase in sponsorship revenue over last in-person event (2019)
- $18,500 in sponsorships across 15 sponsors
- $9000 in FY21 (virtual)
- Social media
- 40Under40 posts got over 2,110 cumulative likes and 57 comments
- Within first 4 days of posting honoree highlights:
- Facebook:
- Post Engagement: 748 (increased by 337%)
- Post Reach: 4,180 (increased by 144%)
- Page Views: 70 (increased by 106%)
- Thomaesa's post was shared 9 times!
- Twitter:
- Impressions: 1,552 (increased by 58%)
- Profile Visits: 709 (increased by 77%)
- Mentions: 54 (increased by 1,700%)
- LinkedIn:
- Reactions: 62 (increased by 588%)
- Page Views: 235 (increased by 1,019%)
- New followers: 36 (increased by 414%
- Instagram:
- Reach: 1,666 (increased by 250%)
- Engagements: 390 (increased by 1,400%)
- Profile Visits: 1,045 (increased by 1,701%)
- Facebook:
- $18,500 in sponsorships across 15 sponsors
- 338 tickets sold, 308 attendees
ADDITIONAL EVENTS OVERVIEW
events managed by:
Director of Alumni Programs (Vacant August 2021 through December 2021)
Assistant Director of Alumni Programs (Vacant January 2022 through May 2022)
Assistant Director of Web & Communications
Lifelong Learning
Coffee Convo with Lauren Koontz, CEO of YMCA of Greater Atlanta
4 ALC Webinars
9 Regions Bank Webinars
Celebrating 50 years of Title IX w/ WPN
Social Events
- Relaunched monthly Third Thursday events after 17 month break due to COVID
- Hosted 9 Third Thursday events.
- Increasing engagement month over month (August 2021, 40 attendees à May 2022, 70 attendees)
- Hosted first-ever New Grad Welcome Event in combo with Third Thursday – 70 attendees including 21 Class of 2022 grads
Atlanta Sports
Alumni Night at the Hawks
Alumni Night at Atlanta Gladiators
Regional Events
Chicago, Tampa, Dallas, DC, NYC (Largest attendance in DC – 76 attendees)
Football Pre-Game tailgates at UNC and Auburn
Senior Events
Feb 2022 - Hosted first SBL in 2 years (last event was un February of 2020) @ The Carter Center – SOLD OUT, 45 tickets sold, 43 attendees
Resume Reviews
128 total review appointments held
Year end 2021-22
Alumni Scholarship totals:
For fall semester 2021 we awarded 69 students a total of $69,000. It would have been more than $70,000 but we had a few students who did not accept the scholarship due to either not being enrolled or having transferred from Georgia State to another university. In comparison, for fall semester 2022, we are awarding 92 students a total of $89,000. That is an increase of $20,000 in scholarship support for students. Here is the breakdown for each scholarship.
Alumni Legacy - $20,000
License to Learn - $17,000
U.S. Military Veterans - $6,000
Children of Fac/Staff - $1,000
Graduate Students - $15,000
Transfer Students - $9,000
SAA Outstanding Leader - $5,000
SAA General Students - $2,000 ($500 to 4 students)
Max M. Cuba - $10,500
Willie Mae Cathcart - $3,500
Website totals:
From July 1, 2021 thru June 12, 2022, the alumni website had a total of 55,017 users/visitors participating in 38,756 sessions. Their average time on the site was 1:55 (one minute, fifty-five seconds)
Social Media totals:
Facebook – 14,025 people like this group page, 13,971 people follow this group page
LinkedIn Group 1 – 3,629 members
LinkedIn Group 2 - 598 followers
Instagram – 2,966
SAA Annual Report for FY 22
SAA Membership
- Board of Directors
- 25 Total Members
- 12 New BOD Members
- 43 Applicants
- 22 of applicants were Graduate Students.
- 43 Applicants
- Graduating Seniors
- Fall 2022– 3
- Spring 2022 – 7
Programming Goals Achieved
- 18 Total Programs
- Campus Partnerships
- Center of the Advancement of Students and Alumni (CASA)
- University Career Services
- Spotlight
- Multicultural Office
Total Event Numbers:
- Registered:856
- Attended: 1491
- Life members at the end of June – 914 (11% increase)
- Donors at end of June – 271, $72,542 (42% increase)
- Average gift – $248 (47% increase)
- Fundraising total – $186,744 (98% increase)
- Scholarship Endowment – $1,282,278
- Investment Account – $2,023,717