Category Archives: Resources

Alumni Happenings around the Country

Here are a few headlines from alumni groups with interesting programs:

Tulare Western H.S. yearbook seeks alumni bios for 50th anniversary edition
Visalia Times-Delta
This year, with it being Tulare Western High School’s 50th anniversary, its yearbook class will showcase alumni highlights from the past half-century.

UTC Gold Alumni Council Has Flick On The Field Thursday
The Chattanoogan
UTC’s GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Alumni Council is creating an outdoor movie theater on Chamberlain Field on Thursday. The Flick on the Field event

San Vicente Catholic Alumni Assoc. Holds 3rd Golf Tournament Saturday
Pacific News Center
Guam – The San Vicente Catholic School Alumni Association will host its 3rd Annual Golf Tournament on Saturday, November 28, 2009 at the Guam International

Alumni Swim Meet Friday
BYUCougars.com
The meet will be Alumni-friendly with shorter events, including 50s of each stroke, 100 IM and the 100, 200 and 500 freestyle events for those wishing to do

The Role of Alumni (as seen from a Greek perspective)
FSU Bottom Line
I’m sure many organizations, like mine, only see their alumni once a year, usually at Homecoming. Because we join our organizations for life, our obligation

‘Lessons from Alumni’ Event Connects Students and Alums – UPDATE
Boise State
The College of Business and Economics hosted its third annual Lessons from Alumni events Oct. 14-16. More than 200 business and community leaders and students attended the kick-off breakfast in the Student Union Jordan Ballroom.

PayPal for Nonprofits

More than 100,000 nonprofit organizations use PayPal to raise money online – and it’s easy to see why. Fees are the lowest in the industry — just 2.2% + $.30 per transaction.

Getting started is simple

  • Click “Sign Up Today”
  • Sign up for a PayPal Business account, choose Website Payments Standard and then select Nonprofit as the business type.
  • Submit your organization’s tax letter and bank statement proving nonprofit status.
  • Create a Donate button that can be easily placed on your website.

Visit paypal.com to complete these steps. Continue reading

Catholic Elementary Alumni Tips

Have you been tasked with improving alumni relations for a catholic elementary school?   If so, here are some ideas to help your program . . .

We realize the work you are doing in elementary school alumni relations is like navigating uncharted waters.  There are very little guides and handbooks to help you on your way.  Your neighboring schools aren’t doing it, your diocese may not offer much help, and there is hardly anything being written on the subject out on the Internet. Continue reading

Let them know what you need

Did you ever create a “wish list” around the holidays?  Schools can have wishlists too, and not just at special times.  Christian Heritage Academy of Oklahoma has taken a page of their school web site and posted “CHA’s Wish List” which gives friends and donors an alternate way to invest in the school’s success.

Sites such as iLoveSchools.com, classwish.org and even Adopt-A-Classroom, allow alumni/development directors, principals, and even individual teachers to create their own wish lists for parents, alumni and others to see. The community can see exactly what is needed and contribute online.

Community Spark: Online Community Building Resources

Please allow me to introduce Martin Reed, a 20- or 30-something that enjoys running online communities, and has created a web site devoted to the topic.  Community Spark is a community building blog.  Martin shares tips and advice on how to build and manage successful online communities whether they are forums, blogs, chat sites or social networks.

In his blog he hopes to share much of what he’s learned (and still learning) when it comes to developing and managing a successful online community.

Here are a few of his favorite articles:

His site is broken into various categories, including:

Each month Martin contributes several new articles to his blog, of which the archives can be found by searching or browsing http://www.communityspark.com.

Great Book: “Alumni: Essential for Development”

This 39-page book provides a road map for schools to follow in developing effective alumni associations that enhance the alumni themselves and assist the schools.  The book gives practical guidance and includes an example of by-laws, tips for effectively using volunteers, and a job description for an alumni director.  As the title indicates, alumni are essential to the creation of an effective and comprehensive school development program.

Get it online for less than $10 at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or from the publisher, NCEA.