2021 Gallup Survey: How FFE Members are Using the Data

Thank you to the following FFE volunteers for sharing how their organization has been using the findings of the 2021 Gallup Survey.

View the 2021 Gallup findings

Alpha Chi Omega Foundation

Marsha Grady, Chief Development Officer

Share a finding from the Gallup 2021 project that you find impactful.

The finding that I have found to be most impactful is the data around wellbeing – and the significant difference between the wellbeing scores of members vs. unaffiliated alumi/ae. To me, that says that fraternity and sorority membership is making a positive impact in the members’ lives beyond their collegiate experience.

Why are the results of the Gallup 2021 project significant to you/your foundation?

The results are significant to us as we prepare our case for support for donors to give to our annual fund as well as to specific funds or campaigns that help us provide programming and experiences for our collegiate and alumnae members. Our donors frequently ask whether the Alpha Chi Omega experience is relevant and meaningful today – and this data helps us say “yes”. Donors also ask “am I making a difference through my investment in Alpha Chi Omega?” – and we can answer with a resounding “yes” to that question too.

How has your foundation/might your foundation use the results of the Gallup 2021 project in your work?

When the 2014 Gallup data was first shared publicly, Alpha Chi Omega had an alumna who had never made a gift to the Foundation before join our Leadership Circle. She has continued to increase her giving every year since. She works with women’s development in her academic career and consulting/speaking and sees so few programs that really help women prepare for success beyond college. The Gallup data validated for her that the strong feelings she had about how her own sorority experience were true for others as well – and now there was data to back that up. Investing in Alpha Chi Omega’s Real. Strong. Women. experience is one way that she is able to ensure other that young women are positioned for success like she was.

Delta Upsilon Foundation

Justin Kirk, Executive Director and Ryan King, Associate Executive Director

Share a finding from the Gallup 2021 project that you find impactful.

The Gallup study showed that affiliated alumni (50%+) reported a higher likelihood of finding a good job quickly after graduation than compared to non-affiliated alumni (36%). This is significant because it shows the fraternity/sorority experience is a true accelerator for professional success after graduation.

Why are the results of the Gallup 2021 project significant to you/your foundation?

It’s safe to say that many of our alumni “believe” the fraternal experience we offer today – including the one they enjoyed – plays an important role in the development of young men. This study gives us the credibility to validate these beliefs with our alumni, which sometimes includes overcoming fraternal relevance questions. We’ve only just begun to spread the word of the new research validating our fraternal experience, and the initial response from our alumni is one of confidence and excitement. I’m hopeful this research will only strengthen this excitement, while also helping us re-engage and win back alumni who may have questioned our relevance.

How have you/might you use the results of the Gallup 2021 project in your work as a fundraiser?

There are many direct connections to the results of this research and the outcomes our Foundation strives to achieve through the young men we invest in. However, research studies and results can often be overwhelming to digest. Our staff has tried to summarize the research results to a select few bullet points in our online, video and print materials. In the end, most alumni could get lost in the data, and it’s our job to extract the most compelling results that directly connect to the work of our Foundations today. Our goal is not to ensure all alumni can cite specific data points behind the research itself. Instead, our goal is to build overall confidence and credibility for the experience alumni enjoyed and the one they can help provide to the young men of the future.

We recently trained a group of Campaign Cabinet members on our overall campaign case for support. Before diving into the specifics of the campaign, we spent considerable time highlighting our organization’s progress over the last 15 years, along with sharing the recent research in order to build confidence in our overall industry. The discussion/questions that took place with these volunteers only strengthened their buy-in and commitment to the campaign case we shared.

Tri Delta Foundation

Ginger Hicks Smith, Alliance Chair and Former Foundation Chair

Share a finding from the Gallup 2021 project that you find impactful.

The Gallup research project’s unequivocal connection of affiliation to two positive things stood out to me. First is that affiliation connects directly to engaging positively with one’s college during both the student and the post-student years. Decision-makers at the colleges and universities where our groups have established chapters need to know this and to be reminded of it frequently. The second is that affiliation connects directly to thriving in every area of our wellbeing. Those are things I have long believed to be true, and I have seen anecdotal evidence of them, but having clear data collected and examined by an entity like Gallup gives these results great credibility in important ways.

Why are the results of the Gallup 2021 project significant to you/your foundation?

The credibility that Gallup brings to this work gives it a weight that our own stories don’t have. Instead, we can use our own stories to illustrate and personalize the facts and findings from Gallup. The Gallup study results provide another way to confirm the value of lifetime membership in Tri Delta and the importance of ongoing giving to its Foundation which supports our members, our chapters and the Fraternity as a whole.

How has your board/might your board use the results of the Gallup 2021 project in your work?

Recently, the Tri Deltas who serve on the FSPAC Board convened Tri Delta FSPAC donors on a Zoom call for an update and discussion. Some on the call were not yet familiar with the Gallup study; it provided us an opportunity to think about how new information is shared among Tri Delta leaders and about how those sharing patterns need to be constantly checked and updated. It was a good reminder that there are internal audiences who need such information and can make good use of them in their areas of responsibility. Sometimes, those audiences might be unexpected ones. To identify those internal audiences, we need to think beyond “the usual suspects” to those who can advance and expand our opportunity to tell a compelling, coherent, consistent story within and beyond our membership.