Aylesbury Grammar School, founded in Buckinghamshire, UK, over 420 years ago, continues as a leader in learning to provide an exceptional experience for their students, and a lifelong community of support. Their alumni network, the Old Aylesburian community, works closely with the school to support the ongoing development of the school, and benefits from the 1600 strong network of Old Aylesburians working all over the globe. 

ToucanTech has become invaluable for monitoring fundraising, downloading reports and keeping our donors in touch with our news – we use the system for all of our alumni communications, newsletters, online donations and events management and we’ve found the support from the ToucanTech team exceptional.

Nikki Taylor, Development Assistant, Aylesbury Grammar School

As one of the lowest funded state academy schools, Aylesbury Grammar School (AGS) work closely with their Old Aylesburian community and their wider network to contribute towards school development plans. Their ‘Support Us’ page clearly explains the value that their alumni community have brought to the school through their generous donations, and offers an honest approach to the reason behind their ask for donations. They are keen to partner with their community and provide practical examples for how donations have been used in the past to develop the Sixth form, Science Centre and Library, and the cost breakdowns of ongoing development work.

As the School works in close collaboration with the Old Aylesburian community, their Annual Fund is raising money to help refurbish Arts, Design and Technology, and Engineering buildings, which will help to improve the AGS experience for every student. While this year has been tough for fundraising, AGS has worked towards their fundraising goals by pulling regular donation reports from their ToucanTech fundraising management system, using integrated online payments through their community site, and logging all external donations in their donor pipeline to monitor their progress. Keeping a close eye on their development strategy and using engaging methods to encourage donations - for example, offering the opportunity to inscribe a plaque and leave a lasting legacy at the school - has meant they’re closer to meeting their ambitious targets. 

The wonderful sense of community spirit is not only felt through the Old Aylesburian Community’s ongoing financial support of the school, but also through the work that their alumni undertake to serve their communities. During lockdown, the school community manufactured and delivered over 3000 pieces of PPE for key workers, while current students set up a foodbank donation scheme to help the local community. Meanwhile, AGS ensured that their alumni community were regularly updated on the school’s response to COVID-19, and even uploaded a tour of the school looking unusually quiet, prompting a buzzing discussion from alumni in the comments section about what had changed since their days!

Creating a strong, supportive community through their alumni has allowed AGS to thrive and their spirit through these difficult times has been admirable, proving that their excellent school experience and continuous engagement afterwards has empowered alumni with school pride and loyalty that they now use to give back into their community.

ToucanTech customers are creating strong community connections all over the world. Discuss ways to make your community more engaged with an experienced ToucanTech engagement evangelist; organise a time to talk to the team here.

You’ll find more fundraising, alumni and community management success stories here.