In my tenure as editor of Campus Events Professional, I covered many interesting and original events that were successful in creating a sense of campus community and ultimately boosting retention. But my favorite, of all the possible choices, had to be Ohio Wesleyan University’s annual birdathon.

Ohio Wesley zoology professor Jed Burtt has sponsored the annual “Burtt’s Bird Count” for nearly a decade. During the single-day event, Burtt and two colleagues venture into the field, challenging themselves to find the maximum number of species within a 24-hour period. Students, alumni, and other interested parties sponsor the team with a contribution per bird species spotted.

With an average sighting total of about 125 birds, the potential contributions could range from a quite reasonable $1.25 to a capital campaign-sized sum. In 2006, the event raised around $3,500, which was directed back to the support of the sciences.

Why do I love this event so much? First of all, I love the unique nature of the event, which can be adapted to nearly any campus. Jed Burtt is an ornithologist, and naturally the students who know and love him will get a thrill from hearing of his birding exploits. But certainly an entomology professor could spot insects, a tree specialist could identify unique species in spring bud, or a geologist could go caving and identify structures. I’ll bet, with some creativity, you could find an engineering professor to visit manufacturing facilities across the state and count Bluetooth earpieces, or an English professor willing to scour that day’s newspapers for grammatical errors. How about a football coach sponsoring a campaign with a pledge per touchdown for the season? All you really need is a well-loved professor, administrator or campus figure with a passion for a subject and a personality that makes the enthusiasm infectious.

Second, I love the scalability. So often, development officers are charged with really big tasks, like raising funds for a scholarship endowment or a new building. Big projects live on big gifts, so it is easy to think of development as the task of cultivating those who can make contributions involving a few zeros before the decimal place.

But just as important is the cultivation of loyal and consistent donors who may (or may not) become the future’s major contributor. Burtt’s Bird Count involves everyone. He notes that it is a good way to get students in the habit of giving, and that habit is an important one. Ten cents a bird will cost approximately $12.50, about the same amount as a pizza, a relatively insignificant amount to the zoology department. But it goes a long way toward creating a positive experience for a young (or older) donor, who gets to see his or her name in the list of donors and perhaps gets a thank-you note or email and a guaranteed place on the email distribution list giving the recap of this year’s event and announcing next year’s.

Suddenly, the student donor is no longer a faceless number registering for classes and paying tuition (if, indeed, he or she feels this way). The student is now part of the honored community of donors who make the university work. Now, there is a relationship that would be more difficult to walk away from than an experience based on anonymity.

It is a truism of marketing that while advertising efforts can increase awareness of a brand, loyal and repeat customers come from relationship-building efforts. Major companies make significant investments in building these relationships with their best customers, employing private shoppers who keep lists of sizes, preferences, and family birthdays and contact regulars when special items arrive, or using loyalty programs to be sure that top spenders are given priority treatment. Perhaps your university does likewise for those donors whose names are carved over a building door or engraved on a brass plaque somewhere.

But what we cannot do is overlook the necessity of building relationships from day one. We spend a lot of money recruiting students to our institutions, and if we take time to build a relationship, we will have a student who stays to graduate and maintains a relationship of support and good will toward the university for a lifetime. If we ignore the relationship-building task with our students, we are telling them they have no good reason to remain a student at our school, let alone become the kind of alum who makes contributions, returns for Homecoming, makes volunteer recruitment phone calls, or even just speaks fondly of their experience to a potential future student.

This brings me to the third thing I love about Burtt’s Bird Count: It is affordable for the university. As I spoke to event planners in the course of creating Campus Events Professional, it was clear that the unifying challenge for all was insufficient budget to do what the planner desired. Sure, it is easy to focus on relationship-building when you aren’t worried about the cost of an off-site venue or of catering, but most campus event planners are on a budget. I spoke to numerous planners who hosted unbelievable events at which a cinderblock wall was transformed with a few fabric drapes or local foods were put at the center not just for ecological considerations but for affordability.

What does a birdathon cost? Very little. A few tanks of gas to travel the state for the day, a day volunteered by Burtt and his colleagues to pursue their spring passion, a few more hours writing up the news of the day and sending out a missive to all who supported the team and cheered them on. It is the ultimate in affordable, scalable events that help to tie students and alumni to the campus. And that’s not just chicken scratch.

Jennifer Patterson Lorenzetti is the former editor of Campus Events Professional. She has held positions at a variety of universities as a registrar, academic advisor, and adjunct professor. Lorenzetti will share tips on planning retention-related events during the December 9 online seminar 10 Successful Retention Event Practices to Use on Your Campus. Registration information is available at .

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