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Short Response Week 3
Describe how an active and productive school alumni association can be created and maintained.
reference textbooks
posted by Dr. Tagaris @ 6:09 PM
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6 Comments:
With the age of technology being so advanced today, creating and maintaining an active and productive school alumni association should be a very simple thing to do. The use of some of the social media apps would be a great place to start. For example, creating a Facebook page would be a great place to begin to locate the alumni of a school. Once people begin to join the page, you can thing solicit their contact information so that it can be logged into a school system. Alumni then can be invited to events or just to connect with the school by using their contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, etc.)
The hardest and most critical component of creating this alumni association will be the people who will be in charge of maintaining the contacts. Finding someone who will be willing to volunteer their help with running the association will be difficult; however, not impossible. I have several grammar school and high school friends who have planned informal events for alumnae via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. These are the people that will need to be scouted by the school administration to formally create the school’s alumni association.
In innovating an active school alumni association, schools must formulate a partnership among school, family and community.
The administration should first create an action plan. Once an action plan is in place the administration can then formulate an action team. The action team should consist teachers, parents, principal, and alum selected upon their interest and commitment to the initiative. The action team will be in charge of ensuring partnerships, obtaining funds and official support, providing training to all members of the action team, identifying starting points, a one year action plan for partnerships, enlisting volunteers, as well as monitoring and reporting progress (Epstein, 2009).
To ensure partnerships, the action team must target its audience and use an array of communication mechanisms. This could be phone calls, e-mail, mail, social media, etc. These communication methods can also be used to obtain funding and support for the alumni association. The action team will have to be trained on how to properly fundraise and receive support.
The action team must meet regularly to determine starting points- strengths and weaknesses. Also, they will meet to monitor and report the progress of the action plan in place. The action team must also communicate its progress to the alum through the various aforementioned media outlets.
In ensuring the success of the school alumni association, the action team is quintessential. The team must be willing to work together to guarantee that the action plan is working to its full potential. Each aforementioned component must be monitored to yield desired results.
The creation of an active and productive alumni association will require a database of contact information belonging to school alumni. The school should reach out via email and telephone calls to inform alumni of the formation of the alumni association and to request their membership. Social media is another way to inform people of the organization of the alumni association. The school’s website and blog can help spread the word also.
The announcement should include the purpose of the alumni association and a request for volunteers. Volunteers will be essential to maintaining the school alumni association.
The alumni association will operate the best if it is organized as formal board or organization. Members should have an opportunity to elect officers who will act as leaders of the organization. The officers will have different responsibilities. The director of the organization and administrative assistant should be paid positions if the school can afford to include such in the budget. The director and administrative assistant will be responsible for fundraising. Therefore, they will generate funds to cover their salaries over a period of time. All active alumni should have a voice in the organization if they follow the instructions for membership and pay dues to the organization.
The key to a successful alumni organization is to offer opportunities for alumni to be involved in the life of the school. Invite them to events, announce opportunities for alumni to serve and give back to the school, and keep them informed of the happenings at the school. Many times, alumni are willing to support their schools if they can see that their effort contributes to the school’s success.
Ultimately, a school’s alumni association is a partnership between the school’s stakeholders, past and present. It’s a community of people who are vested in making a difference in the lives of current students. The executive team should collaborate to draft a clear mission for the organization and stay focused on achieving it. Current students should aspire to join the association as soon as they graduate.
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The first step in organizing an alumni organization is to form an interest group. This group should meet informally with alums to obtain names, use the existing alumni organization if one exists, obtain a geographic list of alumni, personally meet with members and directly ask for their participation in starting the association.
Next, an event should be organized with appeal to attract as many alumni as possible, preferably when a senior administrator of the organization is available to attend. The meeting should serve to orientate first-time alumni attendees and identify the benefits of establishing and maintaining an alumni association.
Maintaining an alumni organization will need appropriate communication. This includes but is not limited to newsletters, postcards/flyers (to promote special events – ballgames, golf outings, etc.), an association directory, phone calls, and the use of the internet through an online alumni community, social networks (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), and e-mail blasting. Additional events such as association meetings, monthly luncheons or dinners, and observing special occasions such as Homecoming, Founders Day, etc. may aide in the retention of the alumni groups.
In my research into alumni associations I found that there are also high school and elementary school alumni associations. I also learned there are official and unofficial alumni associations.
An Alumni Association can act as a go-between for the alumni and the current student body of an institution. It attempts to form a bond between those still in the institution and those who have benefitted from it. It also serves to keep alumni connected to the school.
To create an Alumni Association there are a few needs that need to be considered. You need to have a willing and motivated group of people to initialize the process and see it through to completion. This is an important group as they will be the leaders that motivate others to join the association.
After you have formed an informal group of people to start, you must start contacting and locating the alumni in the region you are in. This can help create a master contact list to get in touch with more alumni. Facebook can also be used to reach out and contact people as well. Spreading the word is how you will get more members in your association. After you have gotten started you begin to draft the objectives of the association, and the rules for how the committee will run. In a formal committee these need to be drafted with care, as the group could grow quite large. In an informal committee, bylaws and rules may not be as necessary. After deciding the objectives and way the association will function, the group must plan for how they will receive funds, as the association will have graduates and can have diverse funding methods. Lastly, an alumni association must make their existence known. The proliferation of social networking sites provides multiple options to make the Alumni Association’s presence known to all.
In taking these steps, a group can be created to serve as an alumni association. Alumni associations can serve both the alumni and the current students so it is important to connect the two groups. All in all, an Alumni Association can serve to keep the students connected to the school, and the school in connection with its graduates.
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