Chapter Newsletter + Over 1000 Alumnae

[Blue Violets]

Need suggestions for how to produce a chapter newsletter which will be sent to over a thousand alumnae of my sorority's chapter. The huge number seems daunting. Also the mailing list isn't 100% correct either because lord knows how many sisters are not up to date with our executive office about their information. Suggestions?

(Yep, the joys of being Alumnae person for a chapter that is 93 years old! Nah, actually I love it But could just use some suggestions! Thanks!)

-Emily

[aopirose]

We send one mass mailing to every one on the list per year and request change of address service. This newsletter gives an overview of the coming year. When we get the returned letters, we deactivate that record if they can’t be found or change the address. The subsequent newsletters are sent to the “good” addresses. Now, that’s not to say that the “good” addresses work either because sometimes it is the parents’ address.

[Measi]

I'm an alumna who's helping her active chapter get a newsletter going again-- and we have to contact all alumni from scratch. It is daunting. Thankfully we only have 160 members in our 20 year history, but it is daunting.

Here's what the alumni secretary and I are doing....

First-- Compile your list of alumnae-- by class if possible (which should keep them in a rough assemblance of graduation years). Contact your college/university alumni office-- which will probably have more accurate address information than your sorority's national headquarters. You can also do a search on the addresses you DO have by looking each one up on www.whitepages.com. You won't find everyone, but it can verify some of the ones that you already have.

Next-- Does your chapter have a website? If not, make one. If so, create a section for your alumni-- include a list of people whose addresses (and whereabouts) are unknown. Make sure there is an active email address for any alumni who are web-savvy to update their information or any of the alumnae that they keep in contact with. Also ask them to please include email addresses. You'll pick up quite a few younger alumni who happen to stumble by the website this way, and possibly some of the older ones who are net-savvy.

Make sure to include the web address in the newsletter!

Then... Mail a mini-newsletter (or the actual newsletter) out to all addresses you have verified. In the newsletter, include a list of missing members-- you might have a full page worth's for the first newsletter, but that list should decrease with help from your alumni. Perhaps title it "Missing Roses" (or whichever your sorority's official flower/jewel/etc. is). Some of your alumnae can help you piece addresses together-- as you receive the addresses, simply mail a thank you card to the alumna for her help, and send a card-- or a copy of the newsletter with a note explaining why it's late-- to the previously lost alumna.

You may also see how many of your alumni would prefer an electronic copy of the newsletter, as opposed to a hard-copy mailed one. If you can get a group of them, organize a yahoogroup for the newsletter-- it will help keep your postage costs down. But emphasize that you do wish to keep an accurate mailing address on file for special announcements/invites/etc.


Hope this helps!

~ Melissa

[33girl]

Originally posted by Measi
Contact your college/university alumni office-- which will probably have more accurate address information than your sorority's national headquarters.

I can't stress this one enough, especially for younger alums. As a rule, people KNOW that they have to change their address with the college to keep getting stuff...but where the sorority's concerned they seem to think if one person knows it'll eventually get back to the actives, and they get irked if it's not changed.

[dakareng]

I am the newsletter chairman for my alumnae club which is three suburban Dallas cities and over 800 women (yes, there are a lot of Pi Phis in Texas!!). Unless you have a committee of at least 6 women to help you, it is absolutely worth the money to have the printer collate and fold for you! I do an 8 page fall edition that goes to the entire list and a winter edition that goes to the dues paid members (around 200). Doing it as an11x17 double sided copy will cut down on printing costs and postage (Office Max charges by image, so 11x17 costs that same as 8 1/2 x11. We get a revised printout every summer from our HQ and we request change of addresses and returns from the post office. The Club's VP of Membership is the return address. We don't have time to go checking universities and I'm not sure that they would give them to you without consent.

I am in the process of putting together a website and will put it on the website but our club feels strongly that we need to continue mailing to everyone every year. Members come and go as their lives change but we don't want them to totally lose touch with us.

[Tom Earp]

As Karen said!

Check with your National HQ and get a copy of the latest update of Members.

While I found mine was way off, I spent a lot of time and money to try to update it.

Do.
1. send out a mass mailing with address notification.

2. Delete all of those that are unknown.

3. Add a place for address change, email address update. Dont forget to have an email address that they can send it to.

4. Do a web site so that it can be done on line.

5. Ask other Alums who may know of someone who is not getting the information to give it to you. Many times, Some alums are in contact with fellow members and do have that information.

I have seen this time and time again, after doing this for at least 4 years, I am finally getting some results!

Alums give me updates so I can change it. Alums are emailing me saying so and so is not getting the updates, here is his email address!

Damn, do I know only to well how hard and how much work it is!

I have gotten so frustrated that I just said I quit. Someone else take over the job!

Boy Boy do I get a ton of emails saying dont quit. You are doing a Great Job. What I figure is, that I am the only one dumb enough to do it and they are stroking me to keep doing it!

Well, "in for an ounce, in for a pound".

Just dont dispare!

[ISUKappa]

Also--check with the post office! There are numerous regulations (size, width, closures, etc.) that need to be followed or you could be charged extra per piece. Take a finished piece to them before you plan on mailing just to have them okay it. There should be a Bulk Mailing section of your PO that can check it out. If your group doesn't have one, look into obtaining a non-profit standard mailing permit. These can save you almost $.13 per mailing piece versus first class. It's $125 to apply for one and then another $50 (? Not positive on this) per year, but the savings in postage are well worth it.

You can also request Change of Address notifications from the post office--you'll get all the returns (bad addresses) and forwarding notices with updated addresses straight from the PO. I believe you have to put that on your mailing piece; we have "Return Service Requested" right under the return address on all our magazines.

I agree with dakareng, take it to a printer! Many printers have the capability now to also address the mailpieces after they have been printed, folded and tabbed. It may cost a little more, but easier to do than printing out labels and addressing them yourselves! A one-color (black and one additional color) is fairly inexpensive to print and will look more professional and be much more timely and cost-effective than taking it to Kinkos and getting 1000 copies.

My job is in the circulation department of a publishing company, so if you have any questions about mailing permits, printing or anything else, just PM me!

[Kevin]

All of the above and you may want to send out postcards to all of your addresses on file requesting corrected addresses, etc.

Postcards are cheaper to send -- and for those that come back marked "return to sender, undeliverable", you can mark them off of your list.

[pinkyphimu]

i am the chapter association president and i send out the newsletter to our alums...thankfully, only about 160...

i always send any address updates i get to the chapter...and the eo.

the only thing that drives me nuts is that the post office will forward mail for a period of time, so sometimes i send out a newsletter and it gets there, but the next time, it gets returned with a new address listed. then people want me to resend it to them, but they don't want to send the $10 dues to keep the newsletter going.

something you may want to consider is asking if people want to receive an e-copy instead of a paper copy. you could use a program that easily allows you to email it as well as print it to make hard copies.

good luck with that task!

[Tom Earp]

NO, Never Ask a question like that!

Never give an option!

If you give options, it will be all over the spectrum and a bigger mess than you want to preform!

OKAY, Send out a Yearly Newsletter if you cannot afford more than that. Cut those that come back unfounded. When you send print, put update eamil address and ask for fowarding there and who to send it to! Intial cost may be a lot, but in the ling run, it will save you Money!

Then with a News Letter via email, send it out make sure you Give Me or Who ever address to contact to send updates!!!!!!!

It will take a while for them to figure out that if they dont get any updates, DA, I did not send an update!

They will begin to wonder why they are not getting any! They will ask some close BRO/SIS why!

Oh, long hall, but when you find someone, it is Fantastic!

[Measi]

Tom~

Why not give an option? It's been fantastic for the alumni of my chapter. We set up an alumni yahoogroup to get electronic copies of the newsletter and also to help keep them up to date with the chapter news. As soon as dates are set for degrees, they're on the email list. As soon as there are firm dates for any alumni-oriented events, they're on the list. Feedback is much easier to get from alumni via email where they can just quickly send it in.

As an alumni, I appreciate the quick turnaround via email that I receive from the chapter. When it can take weeks to get a newsletter out, I'd much rather get an electronic copy.

~ Mel.