Purdue University seeks international donors

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Purdue University is hoping for another strong turnout by international alumni during its annual donation drive.

The Lafayette Journal and Courier (http://on.jconline.com/2p9G7Zp ) reported that Wednesday will be the fourth annual "Purdue Day of Giving," a 24-hour online-based fundraiser.

Purdue raised $18.3 million from nearly 13,000 donations last year, marking the highest amount raised in the event's history. Those donations came from 44 countries, and the number from international donors rose by 60 percent over the previous year.

Amy Noah is Purdue's vice president for development. She said the school hopes its international outreach will encourage more international alumni to donate.

Reaching out to international alumni has come with a learning curve since the university has better data on its domestic alumni, said Steve Schlenk, associate director for philanthropic communications at the Purdue Research Foundation. The foundation has tried to research what other universities are doing to connect with them, but found there aren't many with a strong focus on international alumni.

"It's really not that big of a surprise to understand why we need to work on our engagement efforts with our international alumni, but we are now and we know we're ahead of a lot of other universities," Schlenk said.

Schlenk said his office has had the most success connecting through social media, particularly with Facebook and LinkedIn.

Purdue has one of the largest international student populations among U.S. public schools. The university is focusing on engaging that alumni base and launched an international engagement campaign last fall.

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Information from: Journal and Courier, http://www.jconline.com