Hi Stephanie
As others have said we get our Leavers to fill in a form giving us their contact details and relevant details for our Database.
As for the missing contact details for alumni… I have just started sending Year Group emails to anyone who we do have an email address for. In the email I include a list of our ‘Lost Girls’ from their particular year (we’ve called it the Lost Girls Campaign.)
The preparation work includes taking the list of girls with no contact details, sorting it into year groups and making sure maiden names are included (we’re a girls’ school so maiden names are important!)
I then set up a letter template which I change the year group and lost girls list for and send them out. My message asks that the Old Girls who are receiving the email ask the Lost Girls for their permission to give me their email address.
I have had an amazing response to my campaign! I’m inundated with emails giving me contact details and death notices – one woman said she had 5 friends tell her I was looking for her!
It is a lot of work, but it has so far been very worthwhile. I started with our oldest old girls and got less responses but as I work my way through the year groups I am getting much better responses – younger old girls are more connected. In the last 3 weeks I have ‘found’ 47 Lost Girls which is very exciting!
Good luck!
– Mary