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Alumni Engagement Award

The Alumni Engagement Award Program provides funding and marketing support for programs seeking to engage alumni with a shared affinity to an organization, program, or class year, enabling the Office of Alumni Relations to extend programmatic benefits to the alumni population. Our goal is to help build and maintain connections among AU Eagles by sponsoring your programming, whether it be a panel discussion, networking event, or service project.

Academic Year 2022-23 Award Cycle: September 1, 2022 - August 1, 2023.
All events must occur and have materials submitted by July 15, 2023.

In addition to the monetary award (max of $500), recipients will receive the following marketing support from the American University Alumni Association:

  • Calendar posting of the event on the Alumni Association events calendar;
  • Inclusion in appropriate regional events blast, if applicable, distributed to all alumni in specific regions on the first Wednesday of each month; Inclusion in the campus events blast, if applicable, distributed the fourth Wednesday of every month;
  • Postings on OAR's pages on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook, if applicable (post-event highlights on Flickr, if applicable/desired);
  • Dedicated blast e-mail, if applicable, to a specific subset of the alumni population.

The office of alumni relations will also provide templates for nametags and sign-in sheets, as well as giveaways for attendees, if requested. Please submit requests for these items to alumni@american.edu.

Applications will be reviewed on the second and fourth Tuesday of every month. Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Monday prior to the review meeting. Notification of application status will be provided within six business days of review. Applications will be considered based on the following criteria:

  • Extent to which a senior development or alumni relations officer was consulted and/or supports the funding request;
  • Effectiveness in reaching a broad cross-section of alumni, or in reaching a strategically targeted segment of the alumni body;
  • Degree to which there is collaboration with other alumni organizations or programs;
  • Degree to which current students are part of the programming;
  • Degree to which the Engagement Award funds supplement university and outside funds.

Academic Year 2021-2022 Award Cycle: September 1, 2021 - August 1, 2022.
All events must occur and have materials submitted by Monday, July 18, 2022.

Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on Monday prior to the review meeting.

Applications are accepted on behalf of both single and partnering constituents:

  • A single constituent will represent a single body, office, or individual proposing an initiative i.e. John Smith, SPA/BA '02, president of Eagle Advocates Tours or The Office of Student Activities.

Please note the following:

  • No more than one engagement award will be reviewed from a single or partnering constituent during each cycle. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
  • No award will exceed $500. No single or partnering constituent shall receive more than one awards per academic year.
  • Engagement Awards are honored as reimbursements.
  • Invoices and receipts must be submitted no later than five business days from the date of the event or date of approval for other expenses, such as mailings, postage, etc. Failure to adhere to the reimbursement timeline may impact future award requests.
  • Awards will not be granted for purposes that have some commercial benefit to the organizers or attendants.
  • Awards cannot be used to pay for alcohol if event is sponsored by a student organization. Alcohol includes wine, beer, and liquor. 
  • Awards cannot be used to pay for participant travel or honorariums.
  • Award recipients are expected to list the American University Alumni Association (AUAA) as an "official co-sponsor" of the initiative in all marketing material.All marketing materials listing the AUAA's affiliation should be sent for approval to alumni@american.edu in advance of printing or public release.
  • The AUAA or a representative of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations must be offered the opportunity to attend and speak at any live events.
  • Award recipients must maintain an event attendance, program participation, and/or alumni volunteer participant list that will be forwarded to alumni@american.edu no later than five business days after the event. The event attendance list, program participation, and/or alumni volunteer participant list should include at least first and last name, degree information (if applicable), a preferred email address, and AU affiliation for each participant. Failure to adhere to the list submission timeline may impact future award requests.