Parent Connection debuted during the 2003-2004 school year, targeting parents of first-year students. This fall, GoalQuest and UVM will expand the customized programs for parents of both sophomores and seniors. During the pilot program, the University’s Parent Fund raised over $1.5 million and showed increased donor participation and renewal rates.

According to Alan Ryea, UVM’s Director of Alumni and Parent Programs, “With Parent Connection, we’re always in front of parents, and the data the program gathers helps us to make more targeted—and more successful—contacts. As a result, the program paid for itself in year one. We look forward to increasing return on investment in year two, now that we’ve established an effective relationship with parents.”

Parent Connection provides regular news updates, expert-written advice and ideas for getting involved at UVM. Parents get the opportunity to give instant feedback on top-of-mind subjects, such as health and safety, academics, career services and tuition finance. The program also encourages parents to explore “The Campaign for UVM” fund-raising initiative and its benefits.

“Importantly, GoalQuest allows us to communicate with parents before their students even arrive on campus,” added Ryea. Parent Connection increased the visibility of UVM’s Office of Alumni and Parent Programs, and Mr. Ryea anticipates that it will impact both campus event participation and student retention.

Matthew Wade, GoalQuest’s Vice President of Sales, added, “Schools that engage their parents in the university experience early on see more fund-raising opportunities. AlumNet not only helps build relationships between the school and the parents but increases donor participation, event attendance and overall university awareness, especially at campaign time.”

GoalQuest implements highly customized programs for advancement efforts including communication with prospective, admitted and enrolled students; parents of each of these audiences; and alumni. Like all GoalQuest products, the proprietary messaging technology deploys “nuggets” of information and engaging activities to a school’s target audience while monitoring usage over time. GoalQuest’s reporting capabilities deliver real-time engagement data to provide schools with unprecedented communication intelligence for more informed decisions. This dynamic knowledge-base can influence development activities and metrics.