HELP! terrible alumni relations!! need ideas!
 

My chapter has ZERO alumni relations. literally, zero. our chapter really needs a lot of work, and I just got elected VP programming and I am determined to make alumnae my first priority! I need ideas how to get in touch with Alumni and get a relationship going with them!! Is it appropriate to ask them for money?? We don't have a sorority house, just a suite, so I don't know if it is appropriate to ask for money for our chapter use, would it be more appropriate to ask for money for philanthropy??

thanks for any ideas!!! :)

While it's common to expect small donations from alumnae, it's probably not the greatest idea for your first move. Your HQ could likely give you a mailing list of your chapter's alumnae. Why not invite them to something (a brunch or something) first before begging for money. Another idea is to create a simple newsletter to let them know what's going on with the chapter. Keep in mind that creating and mailing out newsletters will cost the chapter some money so perhaps someone can do an e- version.

Don't you have alumnae advisors?

I suggest starting out with an alumnae newsletter to stir up interest and trigger a trip down memory lane. Alumnae love to hear what's happening with their Chapter. Tell them what ya'll have been doing on campus, any awards you may have won, philanthropy events you've done, etc. Tell them about upcoming events and activities. Alums love pictures too! Create a general email address and encourage them to send brief updates on their lives to be shared in future editions.

Email versions are cheaper and easier, but hard copies seem to generate more interest/response (at least in our experience). You should be able to contact your I/natl for a list of e/mail adresses.

My initial thought was also to start with a newsletter. I would LOVE to get news from my old chapter- as well as the one near me. But I get neither so that makes me a bit less interested in working with them or donating.

Whatever you do, do not start out asking for money. You said you have no relations, so if you start out asking for money you will really be getting
off on the wrong foot.

What are your goals for being more involved with alumnae? Be sure you're considering their needs too. If you only contact them when you need something (like donations or initiation), they're less likely to help out. Invite them to fun things you already do, like special lunches or dinners- without asking them to bring anything. Better yet, host a lunch, tea, or dinner in their honor and make it an annual (or semi-annual, or quarterly) event. And if you do, be sure the chapter is motivated to show up physically and mentally. Try to give them multiple opportunities to be involved with the chapter throughout the year.

I agree with everyone above. Also, if you do hold an alum event, make sure the collegians talk with the alum. If they are ignored, they will let other alum know and it will be a wasted effort...however, if people introduce themselves and talk with the alum, the will let others know about it.

Also, at the beginning of the semester, you could provide the alum with the calendar of major events that they most likely would be interested in attending (since ideally you'll have all those dates planned) and remind them as those dates get closer, ie. initiation, homecoming.

And above all, don't expect miracles. Alum relations take a while to repair, if they are that bad.

another important thing to remember is to notify alumnae of any activities you are inviting them to well before the event happens- at least 2 weeks,(for local alumnae) if not earlier and several months in advance if you expect alum. sisters to travel.

if there is a local alumnae chapter in your town or near you, you could seek out a contact in the alum. chapter that you could work with.

Be careful -- if the alumnae relations are bad because of "drama" it might not be so simple as a newsletter, but that's a start.

First and foremost, you should track down any and all alumnae that you can (if you're clearly missing contact information for a lot of them). One of my sisters took this on when she was Collegiate-Alumnae Liaison, and she found nearly all of them.

Before even sending out a newsletter, I would probably send out a formal letter to all of the alumnae explaining your situation. It's never a bad thing to admit your faults. Explain to them that you are currently working on improving the nearly non-existent relationship between the collegiate chapter and alumnae. Even sound a little disappointed that it has reached the point that it has (without sounding like you're blaming those who came before you, because let's face it.. this probably didn't happen overnight). But finish up the letter with things that you hope to implement over the next couple of years, and give them something to look forward to.

THEN send out your newsletter updating them.

My chapter also had poor alumnae relations when I was active, as we usually only had about 10-15 active members, and things like this were kind of put on the backburner while trying to improve the chapter in other ways. But the girls have now implemented an annual alumnae dinner. It was a little shaky last year, but they had it planned and invitations sent 2 months in advance this year. It's in a few weeks, and they've already heard back from about 15 alumnae who will definitely be attending.. one is coming from OH, another from NY, another from MD, and another from FL!

One of the most important things about alumnae relations is to PLAN AHEAD!

And you don't have to have a ton of events geared towards alumnae, just make sure you invite them to many things your chapter already does.. or at least inform them that they're taking place. But don't feel the need to tell them EVERYTHING you're doing. While alumnae won't want to go to mixers, they might want to support one of your philanthropy projects.

And use technology to your advantage! Facebook is a very easy way to keep everyone up-to-date. Another site that is great (if some of those older alumnae don't want to join Facebook) is myfamily.com. You can create a group for your chapter of your sorority. Users can create a profile with a picture and some basic information, but all that is required is their name. The chapter can post pictures, discussions and events. And when things are posted, members can automatically receive emails about them. It's such an easy way to keep in touch and keep people informed.

And a great way to get money without asking... fundraising! Those candles you're selling that some college students don't want to buy might look very appealing to an alumna decorating her house for Christmas.

Just a few suggestions :) Sorry it was so long!

I second what everyone's said about not soliciting during the first newsletter. I've received two different newsletters in almost 7 years of being an alumna that asked for money straight off the bat. Not very endearing. No one wants to be hit up for money the first time you hear from your chapter. Imagine if your college did that!

Those newsletters also happened to be the last ones I received; I guess they got discouraged and/or busy and decided to stop doing it If you're going to do this, make sure you follow up--appoint a VP-Alumnae Relations whose responsibility it is to create the newsletter and issue it in a timely manner (once a year, after initiation? Twice a year? Quarterly? It's up to you!). It needs to come out on a regular basis, even if you alternate electronic and print versions. If money is a problem, you can send e-versions to younger alumnae and hard copies to the older ones (my chapter is about 30 years old, so we didn't have many women who don't use the Internet).

Having a brunch during Homecoming sounds like fun! I go back to my college every year right around Homecoming (I don't go to the game), and I run into sisters ALL. THE. TIME. There's not anything to bring us together, so a brunch just before the game might be a fun way to get people together. I know that some chapters tailgate for their alumni, but if you don't go to a big football school, that could alienate people who don't want to go to the game.

At my college, graduation and reunions take place at the same time, and if it's not too hectic a weekend, a tea for the returning alumnae might also be a good idea. Even if you only have five alumnae attend the first event, don't give up! As people hear that the chapter is actually doing things to make alumnae feel welcome, more people will attend events and give of their money and time.

Alumnae relations can take a long time to repair, but there are a lot of small improvements you can make quickly. You do have to remain committed. If your chapter is committed to this, appointing or electing a VP-Alumnae Relations, if you don't already have one, is probably your best bet. I would recommend that this person not have another office--this needs to be their top priority within the chapter.

Sorry for the long post. Good luck!

My own chapter has been using FaceBook a lot lately, too. It started out as some sisters from roughly 4 years in the early 1990's, but it's grown overnight.

Everyone has given very sound advice. I'll just add two thoughts:

-Realize that every alumna's time is already being split by family, work, worship, and other activities. Some will gladly donate money, others will gladly donate time. Some will disappear - not always for a bad reason.

-When you do get some alumnae participation, FOLLOW THROUGH!! Nothing is more disappointing than giving your time and/or money and never hearing how an activity turned out! Even when my chapter was having problems, they were sure to say something on the lines of, "we didn't make our Quota of (number), but have been working on our COR skills. We are up to (number) New Members and hope to reach Quota by (month)." Alumnae understand this. They are not very understanding about the Whine-O-Letter, so if you must write one, do so and don't send it. It should be for cathartic reasons only.

dzdz---you've received great advice so far!

I'm also wondering if you have an alumnae chapter near you (even if it's not in the same city, perhaps one within an hour or two drive from your college). It might be a good idea to bring alumnae from the nearest chapter into the loop, too, because even if they're not alumnae of your chapter, they may love to know what's happening with your chapter and may be willing to help in the future. I live halfway across the country from my collegiate chapter, but I love keeping up on the events of the nearest collegiate chapter, too.

I just got an email from my college chapter - they were tracing "big sister/little sister" family trees. There was an award for the current collegian who could trace back her "family" the farthest. The advantage of this was that it immediately connected collegians to alumnae and alumnae to each other.

This is an AWESOME idea.

The local college chapter contacts our alumnae chapter via evite to invite to events on a regular basis. We get invited to their philathropy events, they host halloween parties for alumnae with kids and last night I was invited to a holiday party (that I will not be able to attend). I don't think six weeks to two months goes by that I don't receive some form of communication from them about an event that they want to do with the alumnae in the area.

I live three time zones away from my home chapter and for a while they were not including me on their alumnae newsletters, assuming (correctly) that I would not attend the events they routinely invite alumnae to. I was so happy when they started including me, too, and I've shown my appreciation by supporting them financially when they have a specific, well-thought-out project that needs alumnae support.

I'm going to disagree with some of the earlier advice you got about hosting alumnae brunches, etc.... Maybe it's just me, but I am much more responsive to a specific call for help ("We need alumnae to conduct a special ritual for our graduating seniors!") than I am to a more generalized social gathering aimed at alumnae. Think about it. Out of the entire history of the chapter, I really only share memories with a tiny fraction of their alumnae. The chances of someone from my era showing up at one of those events is remote, so I would end up "reminiscing" with people I don't really share memories with.

It would be different, though, if one of my sisters from my era contacted me directly ("OPhiAGinger, I'm going to the Alumnae Tea next month. Will you go, too? Let's get all our old gang together!") because that ensures that I'll know somebody there. Once you start connecting with some of your alumnae, leverage their emotional arsenal to appeal to other alumnae they know from their collegiate days.