By injecting value back into the alumni communities, networking becomes less about cold calls and more about conversations with people that want to help you.
New York, NY (PRWEB) May 19, 2015
Alumnifire, the first networking platform developed by alumni for alumni communities, ranging from from universities to small affinity groups, launches out of beta today. Powered by alumni themselves, Alumnifire is a free service that unlocks, organizes, and makes accessible the substantial value of alumni groups by creating a place where alumni can help one another directly in a way that is convenient for them.
Until today, alumni networks were leveraged primarily as a resource to bolster fundraising efforts and rarely structured to serve the real world needs of their members. Alumnifire provides a network wherein alumni can make themselves available to one another to offer mentorship, share employment opportunities from job shadowing to full-time positions, and play a valuable role overall in growing and maintaining the strength of their alumni networks.
“We all have alumni networks, but few work as well as they should, because they’re often fragmented, disengaged, or viewed narrowly as sources for fundraising. The truth is, alumni are willing to give back something far more valuable than money - their time,” said Andrew Margie, co-founder and CEO of Alumnifire. “We created Alumnifire to help alumni and students find open doors and get the most out of their degree. By injecting value back into the alumni communities, networking becomes less about cold calls and more about conversations with people that want to help you.”
A survey by Alumnifire showed that 90 percent of alumni would prefer to hire a fellow alum over an equally qualified candidate, yet it happens less than four percent of the time.
Alumnifire’s platform lets alumni from any college, university, professional group, hobby or affinity organization, find his or her school or group, sign up, and share with fellow alumni and current students to encourage others to join.
Once an Alumnifire network is live, members can contact each other directly, view discussions, browse job listings and companies, and join groups, among other actions. The platform currently serves multiple colleges and universities, high schools, and corporate alumni groups.
“Alumnifire allows us to engage our alumni around career networking, jobs and internships in a way that hasn’t been possible before,” said Cindy Hyman, Director of Alumni Career Programs & Student Engagement at University of Denver, one of Alumnifire’s beta partners. “Our alums are excited to join and have thanked us for bringing this networking platform to them. We have been waiting for a tool like Alumnifire for some time and we’re excited to see how our alumni network grows.”
Additional beta partnerships include Vassar College and Connecticut College. Alumnifire communities have been launched by alumni at Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Sweet Briar College, Loyola University in Maryland, and more.
Alumnifire is free for members, schools and affinity groups to use. There is an annual license fee for schools and affinity organizations that are interested in enhanced services and customization. For more information, please visit http://www.alumnifire.com.
About Alumnifire:
Alumnifire is the first alumni networking platform powered by alumni that engages members to open doors and opportunities for one another in the real world and on their own terms. Alumnifire activates alumni networks of any kind, tapping into their powerful yet often underutilized value to drive measurable and relevant outcomes for alumni, students, affinity groups and schools. More information can be found at Alumnifire.com.