Offering incentives can be an effective way to promote your mentorship program on campus, recruit participants, and keep participants engaged and satisfied. Demonstrating appreciation for students’ participation can also encourage eligible participants to return for the next program.
While participants are often motivated by intrinsic, internal motivation, such as the desire to connect with peers, there are circumstances where extrinsic, external motivation in the form of a reward can certainly help.
Define Your Goals
Before deciding on an incentive to offer, outline your goal and desired outcome of the incentive. This may or may not be a specific, measurable outcome–it’s alright if it’s not! Some examples of goals you might set:
- Increase number of mentees who return for the next cycle as mentors
- Raise the rate of survey responses
- Celebrate and offer recognition to outstanding participants
- Encourage specific action such as prompt completion of onboarding steps
The goal you choose will help determine the best timing to offer the incentive, as well as the population that should be eligible for it. Setting out all these details beforehand will help with planning, budgeting (if applicable), and determining the success of your incentive after the fact.
Types of Incentives
No & Low Cost Incentives
We know that budgets for this kind of program can sometimes be tight! There are incentives you can offer with little or no direct cost. Here are some suggestions:
- Award / Certificate (template here)
- Mentor Badge (example)
- Recommendation Letter
- LinkedIn Recommendation
- Social Media Recognition (Mentor of the Month, etc.)
- 1:1 with a Staff Member
- Invite to Join Program Event Panel
- Gift Card or Monetary Raffle
Higher Cost Incentives
These incentives will involve more of a budget outlay, but can be highly effective, and may be worth it for your program.
- Small Stipend
- MC Swag
- Campus Swag
- Gift Cards
- Thank You Event (ice cream social, pizza party, excursion to amusement park or entertainment venue)
- Voucher to Campus Bookstore
Institutional Incentives
Some potential incentives can involve working with leadership and other departments at your institution. These may or may not have a direct cost to your budget, depending on institutional policies.
- Scholarship
- Graduation Stoles / Cords
- Course Credit
- Extra Credit
- Addition to Campus Co-Curricular Transcripts / Badges
- Free / Discounted Tickets to Campus Events
- Free Meal Card to On-Campus Dining
- Discount at Campus Bookstore or On-Campus Dining
- Thank You Email(s) from Dean/Provost
What Are Other Institutions Doing?
- Pay students to hang out in spaces where students tend to gather, give participants a stipend for their participation, or provide students with career-readiness opportunities through a paid mentorship position - listen to how your peers leverage student employment opportunities to incentivize participant recruitment and engagement.
- Email prospective mentors with the opportunity to win $100 for completing their mentor training.
- Host celebrations for mentorship participants, make participation a required part of their course, or shout students out on social media - hear examples of creative, low-cost ways to boost recruitment.
FAQ
❓How can I reduce the cost of incentives?
- Start with a low-cost incentive – certificate, extra credit, 5-10% discount
- Offer incentives through a raffle (“if you do X,Y,Z - you’ll be entered into a chance to __!”)
- Require mentors/ees to pick up incentives or rewards from the office
❓When should I consider using an incentive?
- If you are anticipating challenges with recruitment or engagement in your program
- e.g. proactively offer the incentive in the initial recruitment email, etc.
- If your program is actively experiencing challenges with recruitment or engagement
- If you want to thank or celebrate all, or high-achieving mentors/ees
❓What action steps might I want mentors/ees to take to receive the incentive?
- Move through the recruitment funnel (register, complete matching survey, and/or complete training)
- Refer X number of people to the program
- Get X number of people registered for the program
- Log X number of conversations
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