TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction

2. Contacts

• Chapter & Club
• Alumni Board of Directors
• University Contact Info

3. Chapter/Club Management

• Purpose
• Structure
• General Administrative Info
• Tips for Successful Chapters & Clubs
• Working with Volunteers
• Working with the University
• Planning for Officer Succession
• Honor Chapter Structure & Points System
• Sample Alumni Survey

4. Membership

• Benefits of Chapter Membership
• How to Build Chapter Membership

• Chapter Communications
• Chapter Email Accounts

• Social Media Best Practices 

• Sample Membership Letters
• Miscellaneous Communications Samples

6. Event Planning

• Organizing & Planning Events
• Banquet Planning
• Care Package Event
• College Fair Program
• Freshmen Send-Off
• Golf Tournaments
• Member-at-Large Events: Tailgate
• Silent Auction
• Other Event Suggestions
• Listing of All 2011 Alumni Events

 7. Marketing Alumni Events

• Guidelines for Submitting Event Info to the University
   ALUMNI EVENT SUBMISSION FORMS
     -Online Event Form
     -Printer-friendly Event Form (PDF file)

8. Scholarships

• Establishing a Foundation Scholarship
• Current Chapter Scholarships & Criteria
• Sample Scholarship Appeal Pieces
• Sample Thank-You Note to Donor

Alumni Association
Truman State University
McClain Hall 205
100 E. Normal
Kirksville, Missouri 63501-4221
Telephone: (800) 452-6678 or (660) 785-4133

E-mail: alumni@truman.edu
Web Site: http://alumni.truman.edu

3. Chapter/Club Management: General Administrative Information
 

 EXECUTIVE BOARD

The executive board is the governing body of your chapter or club.  As a group, they maintain membership records, plan events, and coordinate with the University.  The only requirement for a chapter or club executive board is that each board must include a president.  A chapter board must also include a representative to the Truman Alumni Association Board of Directors, typically a four- to six-year commitment.  The executive board of a chapter or club should be built around the needs of the group.  For example, Dallas has a college fair coordinator, Mid-Atlantic has an intern programming chairman, and Iowa has a membership chairman.  If a job in the chapter or club involves a continuing, year-round, substantial commitment, there should probably be a permanent position on the board.  Each group should maintain a list of executive board position descriptions and their responsibilities.  The information provided in the beginning of this book will provide a beginning framework for any group and can be customized as needed.

The executive board should hold two to four regular business meetings per year.  Before each meeting, the president should circulate an agenda.  If a board member cannot attend the meeting, he or she should provide a report for the board via e-mail.  After each meeting, one board member should circulate the minutes of the meeting to the board members and Denise Smith, the Director of Alumni Relations at Truman State University.

The executive board should set goals for each calendar year.  Typical chapter or club goals may include: membership goals, number of events to be held, average attendance at events, community service goals, and fundraising goals.  The group should make sure each goal fits within the parameters of the Truman Alumni Association mission.  The executive board should discuss progress on the goals at each meeting.

BUDGETING
 

Budgeting helps leaders prioritize chapter or club needs and anticipate event subsidies for the year. 

 Income can be broken down into two general categories: membership dues and event registration fees.  Typical chapter expenses include postage, copying, bank fees and event-specific expenses.  A rough budget will include all non-event-specific income and expenses. 

 Membership Dues:  Membership dues are set by the Truman Alumni Association Board of Directors, but all the income from dues stays in the chapters.  A chapter’s membership dues income can be estimated by dividing the previous year’s income from membership dues by the number of members it represents and then multiplying that number by the membership goal set by the Truman Alumni Association or chapter officers for the current year.  New chapters can estimate membership dues income by multiplying $17.50 by the membership goal set by the Truman Alumni Association or chapter officers.

Example 1 (existing chapter)

 Example 2 (new chapter)

Please Note:  Recent graduates may join the chapter of their choice at a special half price rate.

 Break-even Events:  Most club events will be break-even events because clubs do not collect dues and therefore do not subsidize events.  Budgeting for a break-even event is usually done by estimating all the costs associated with the event (including mailings to promote the event) and dividing by the estimated number of attendees.  The price of the event should be set equal to or higher than the result of the total event cost over the number of attendees.  When setting a ticket price for events in a chapter, it is a good idea to set the non-member/guest price substantially higher than the price for members to encourage alumni to join the chapter.

Example 3 (non-subsidized dinner)

Subsidized Events:  Subsidized events are events where the chapter or the University is paying a portion of the ticket price for chapter members or alumni.  In chapters, it is good to subsidize the cost of some events for members using the income received from membership dues.

Example 3 (subsidized dinner)

REPORTS TO THE UNIVERSITY

Membership Reports:  Each chapter processes membership dues internally and reports the member’s information to the Office of Advancement.  The Office of Advancement then mails a membership packet to the new member(s).  During peak membership times, memberships may be collected and given to the Office of Advancement in bulk.  However, chapters should try to give the Office of Advancement information on new members within one to two weeks of receipt to insure the new members receive their membership packets in a timely manner.  At the minimum, you should report the name of the new member and whether a single or joint membership was purchased.  Ideally, you should provide the following information for each new member:

• Full Name & Graduation Year

• Single or Joint Membership

• New Membership or Renewal

• Spouse’s Name & Graduation Year if a Joint Membership

• Full Address

• Employer

• Phone Number(s)

• E-mail Address

• Permission to publish information in the Truman Review magazine 

If a member joins your chapter online, the University will provide you with the above information on each new member and the date the payment was processed.  Membership fees from the University may be received by the chapter via check or via direct deposit.

Financial Reports:  Chapters are required to submit a quarterly financial report to the Office of Advancement.  This financial report should include a minimum of the following:  income (dues, events, miscellaneous items), expenses (events, scholarship, miscellaneous items) and account balance.

 Event Reports:  A chapter or club is required to submit a quarterly event/communications report to the Office of Advancement.  A sample of this report is included below.  The report contains two parts: (1) a summary table of the chapter or club communications and events and (2) an event evaluation of each event including the event date, event description, comments and suggestions, and attendee names.  Within the summary table, keep track of the number of Honor Points earned for each communication and event, as well as a cumulative sum of those points.  (The Honor Points structure is located on pages 24-28.)  Maintaining this information helps both the chapter (or club) and the Office of Advancement.  Chapters may use old event reports to target interested alumni when sending out small mailings of newsletters or membership appeals.  The Office of Advancement utilizes the reports to log chapter and club events and to reward active chapters at the end of the year. 

SAMPLE CHAPTER QUARTERLY REPORT

TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY ________________ ALUMNI CHAPTER/CLUB

Chapter/Club Events and Communications Report for 20XX

EVENT EVALUATIONS

Date – Chapter Board Meeting, Location

Event Coordinator: (Insert Name, E-mail, Phone Number)

Notes:  Insert information about the event here.  For Example: cost/discounts, positives, negatives, what you learned, etc.

Attendees: (List all alumni attendees)

Date – Sports Event, Location

Event Coordinator: (Insert Name, E-mail, Phone Number)

Notes:  Insert information about the event here.  For Example: cost/discounts, positives, negatives, what you learned, etc.

Attendees: (List all alumni attendees)

GENERAL RECORDKEEPING

 Bank Statements:  Each chapter should maintain a notebook of all bank statements.  The notebook should include copies of all deposit slips with a description of what each check was for (i.e., John Smith’s check deposited 05/05/05 for $50 included a $20 single membership fee and a $30 banquet ticket). 

Membership Lists:  Each chapter should maintain complete lists of members for each year.  Chapters can use old membership reports to target interested alumni when sending out small mailings of newsletters or membership renewal appeals.

Event Reports:  Each chapter and club should maintain copies of all old event reports.  Event reports contain information about interested local alumni and what events and forms of communication are most successful for the chapter