Our college produces a magazine, available both in print and digital formats, that highlights significant research, educational initiatives, and other topics of interest. We use this publication to update donors, engage alumni, and encourage parent participation. Due to printing costs, the print version is sent to a select audience (typically major donors, high-potential prospects, and prominent alumni in key organizations), while the digital version reaches a broader audience.

Anecdotally, we’ve noticed that some addresses for recent alumni are outdated, often still linked to their parents’ homes or previous student residences. To update these addresses and determine audience preference for receiving the magazine in print or digitally, we conducted a brief survey. Our email survey explained our goal to reduce our carbon footprint and included links for respondents to confirm or update their address information. The email was linked to a Google Form that automatically captured the respondent’s email as a unique identifier.

The survey, which took less than three minutes to complete, categorized respondents by graduating decade (from recent graduates to alumni from our founding), as well as international alumni, friends, and parents.