Alumni Association Home > Chapters, Collegiate Societies & Interest Groups > Geographic Chapters > Alumni Association Chapter Manual	Print View

Effective: February 2005

The Role of Alumni Association Chapters

The University of Minnesota Alumni Association worldwide chapter network provides a valuable link in fulfilling its mission of connecting alumni to the University of Minnesota. Through activities and services, chapters enhance the University s image and help alumni demonstrate their pride in the University. Alumni chapters are geographically based volunteer organizations initiated by alumni and friends of the University of Minnesota and supported by an assigned program director from the Alumni Association staff.

Chapter Types

Alumni Association chapters are sanctioned organizations that are defined according to one of three types:

Gopher Contact Areas--These are geographic areas where there is no formal chapter organization and where the potential for chapter activity is limited due to a lack of a sufficient number of alumni to support an active chapter. These areas are represented by a contact person who agrees to serve as the volunteer Alumni Association representative for the area and who organizes an occasional event.

Maroon Chapters--This type of chapter is an informal organization, lacking structure such as officers, bylaws, or bank account. The Maroon Chapter designation is primarily intended to serve as the starting level for creating a formal chapter in those geographic areas where there is potential (volunteer enthusiasm and commitment as well as a sufficient number of alumni to sustain ongoing chapter activity). However, in those areas that lack that potential, the designation as a Maroon Chapter may be permanent. In either situation, to be designated a Maroon Chapter the following three requirements must be met:

• Have a board (committee) with at least three members, who must be Alumni Association members

• Participate in at least one qualifying activity per year from the list of activities and programs listed the Chapter Performance Objectives

• Promote Alumni Association membership in their chapter area

Gold Chapters--These are formal organizations that largely function on their own and meet all six of the following requirements:

• Adopt a set of bylaws approved by Alumni Association

• Have a chapter treasury

• Have a board (committee) with at least 5 members, who must be Alumni Association members, and an established procedure for selecting the board

• Hold at least two qualifying activities per year

• Promote Alumni Association membership at all chapter events and conduct at least one membership recruitment activity per year

• File with the Alumni Association an annual plan and a calendar of chapter events and activities
  
• Earn, during the fiscal year, 75 points from the list of Chapter Performance Objectives (listed below)

To meet the required minimum point total, no more than 50 percent of the total points needed may come from any one of the three categories and chapters must earn a minimum of 25 percent of the total points needed in each of the three categories.

Chapter Performance Objectives

To earn the points needed to be recognized as a Gold chapter, Chapters are given points for completing the following tasks and activities:

Leadership & administrative

• Holding board or committee meetings (advance notice sent to Alumni Office)--5 pts. 
  
• Sending minutes of the board or committee meetings to the Alumni Office--5 pts. per set
  
• Filing an evaluation for each event and activity--5 pts. per evaluation
  
• Submitting a nomination for Alumni Association Awards--5 pts. per nomination (20 pts. max. per year)
  
• Submitting a brief chapter news note and event photos for publication--5 pts.
  
• Submitting alumni informational items such as corrected addresses and phone numbers, deaths, retirements, promotions and accomplishments--5 pts. per occurrence/action that is new information.
  
• Representing the University at University Presidential Inaugurations at the request of the President—5 pts.
  
• Actively managing the chapter web site—10 pts

Chapter sponsored activities & programs

• Attending an Alumni Association event (Homecoming Breakfast, Pep Rallies, Legislative Briefing, Volunteer Awards, Volunteer Forum, Annual Celebration) on campus--5 pts. per person

• Sponsoring a student recruitment activity from a menu of suggested student recruitment ideas--10 pts.
  
• Sponsoring a chapter event from the menu of suggested chapter events--10 pts.
  
• Participating in a career assistance/student mentor activity from a menu of suggested career assistance/student mentor activities--10 pts.
  
• Sponsoring a legislative advocacy activity from a menu of suggested legislative activities--10 pts. per occurrence/action
  
• Participating in a development activity from a menu of suggested development activities--10 pts.
  
• Participating in a community service/visibility project/program from a menu of suggested community service/visibility activities--10 pts. per activity, per day

Alumni Assocaition Membership Recruitment

Memberships are credited to chapters only when the chapter's Partnership for Membership code is supplied with the printed or online application. Points are applied per membership, not per member, i.e., a joint membership covering two members is considered a single membership.

• 1-year memberships -10 pts. per membership
• 3-year memberships -20 pts. per membership
• Senior Life memberships - 25 pts. per membership
• Life memberships (installment plan) - 25 pts. per membership
• Life memberships (no installment) - 50 pts. per membership

The Alumni Association Honor Chapter Program

This program offers a framework for guiding chapters in sponsoring and promoting activities that help alumni stay involved with the University of Minnesota. Only Alumni Association Gold Chapters participate in the honor chapter program. While the primary purpose of this program is to reward chapters for their outstanding volunteer efforts, the program also has these specific goals:

• To provide incentives that reward chapters for performing services and sponsoring activities on behalf of the University and the Alumni Association
  
• To provide a formal and systematized process to judge chapter activity
  
• To increase membership in the Alumni Association through enhanced chapter activity

Chapter Performance Rewards

Gold chapters participating in the honor chapter program are eligible for the following rewards:

• Chapter banner--A gold chapter banner will be presented to the chapters after they complete their first successful year in the honor chapter program. This banner is to be displayed at events and can be used indoors or outdoors.
  
• Chapter of the Year--The top-performing chapter will be recognized at Alumni Association's Volunteer Awards event.
  
• Alumni Leaders Weekend—Chapter leaders are invited to the annual Alumni Association Volunteer Leaders Forum.
  
• Scholarship awards--The top-performing chapter will be awarded a $1500 scholarship that will be awarded to a student from their area. The runner-up chapter will receive a $1000 scholarship. Students chosen for these scholarship awards will be selected from a list recommended by the U of M admissions office.
  
• U of M Speakers--Alumni Association can arrange U of M speakers for selected chapter events.  Consult with your Geo program director to obtain U of M speakers.

Chapter Support

Alumni Association provides the following services and materials to its chapters:

• Alumni staff liaison--An alumni staff member will be assigned to work with each chapter--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas
  
• Activity kit--Decorations, nametags, door prizes, membership brochures, and U of M literature, etc. will be provided for each event--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas.
  
• Web page--Each chapter will be listed on the Alumni Association web site, along with a chapter description, chapter events, and key contact information provided by the chapter--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas.
  
• Membership list--Chapters can request a semi-annual list of all alumni of record, with Alumni Association membership status, living within the chapter area--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas. Chapters can request a list of new Alumni Association members in town--quarterly for Gold Chapters, semiannually for Maroon Chapters.
  
• Chapter Flash enews—An electronic newsletter written for chapter leaders will be sent monthly times to all chapter leaders--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas.
  
• Leader's manual--A guide will be provided for each chapter with information and suggestions on chapter events, activities, and organization--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas.
  
• Insurance coverage--Alumni Association carries general liability insurance, which provides protection from third party claims for bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury (liable, slander, defamation of character, and invasion of privacy). For this coverage to extend to a chapter, all activities and events must be fully sponsored by the chapter board. Coverage for individual chapter officers, volunteers and chapter members is provided, but only for injury or damage that results from activities performed on behalf of the alumni association and/or the chapter. To be eligible for this coverage, the chapter s officers and other key volunteers must be current members of the Alumni Association--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas.
  
• Leadership training and recognition--An annual training seminar and a recognition event for outstanding chapters will be hosted on the U of M campus--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas.
  
• Exposure in Minnesota magazine--The September-October issue of Minnesota magazine will list all chapter contact information--Maroon and Gold Chapters and Gopher Contact Areas.
  
• Event and activity promotion assistance--The Alumni Association Geographic Chapter program employs the following strategies to promote chapter events:
  
  
  
  • Target geographic areas where The Alumni Association has the opportunity for membership growth—In Minnesota these chapter areas are Glacial Ridge, Rochester, Red Wing, South Central, Southwest, St. Croix Valley, St. Cloud and West Central Lakes. National chapter areas include San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, Seattle, Washington, DC, Milwaukee, Phoenix, New York, San Diego, Madison, Tampa Bay and Southwest Florida.  The Alumni Association will employ a strategy of mailing one mass mailing, sent at the 3rd class postal rate to all alumni, followed by up to three mailings at the 1st class postcard rate.  Mailings to areas not listed will be done when circumstances warrant, but not more than one mailing per year.  For 3rd class mailings, ideally we need 10 weeks advance notice.  This allows up to 2 weeks for designing, editing, printing, addressing and mailing and up to 2 weeks for delivery, which gives alumni about 6 weeks notice.
    
  • Promote multiple events in one mailing---Mass mailings ideally would be in a newsletter, or postcard  format that announces the chapter's calendar events for the coming year and stresses the necessity of joining the Alumni Association to receive future invitations regarding chapter events and activities.  An excellent example is the annual Puget Sound Chapter alumni events newsletter which is also stored and downloadable as a PDF file on the chapter's Web site. The mailing piece should also stress  viewing the chapter web site and registering to receive electronic invitations.  This will require chapters to plan ahead.
    
  • Make use of the Alumni Association and chapter web sites—the Alumni Association makes chapter web sites available, which can be managed directly by chapter volunteers.  These are an excellent and inexpensive way of promoting chapter events and activities.  See www.alumni.umn.edu/chapter-rochester and www.alumni.umn.edu/chapter-chicago for good examples.
    We recommend that those chapters not currently using the Alumni Association's free web service sign up for training, which takes approximately 45 minutes.  The requirements for managing the Web site using the Alumni Associations content management software are:
    
    
  • Internet Explorer version 5.0 or higher
  • IBM compatible computer, Macintosh computers will not work.
  • To set up a training session, contact Jocelyn Brekken at 1-800-862-5867 or brek0045@umn.edu.
    
  • Use email invitations in combination with first-class mailings—the Alumni Association has recently completed an exhaustive survey of information about U of M alumni, including email addresses.  For those Alumni Association members who indicate a preference for e-mail notifications about Alumni Association events and activities, we intend to eventually use e-mail invitations rather than postcards.  We can provide e-mail addresses per each chapter's request.

Chapter Financing

The Alumni Association provides the assistance outlined above, so chapters don t have to charge dues. However, if additional financial support to fund chapter events and activities is needed, the Alumni Association suggests using the following revenue sources:

• Event Fees--The Alumni Association encourages chapters to use a differential price system for admission to chapter events--one rate for Alumni Association members and a higher rate for nonmembers. Pricing for events should include a surcharge above the cost of the event.
  
• Partnership for Membership--The Alumni Association provides rebates to Maroon and Gold Chapters for certain types of Alumni Association memberships enrolled by the chapter. Eligible chapters must have their own checking account and have a promotion code assigned by the Alumni Association's Membership Department.  Further details about the Partnership for Membership program can be found in the Appendix.
  
• Gopher Gear merchandise--Maroon and Gold Chapters are eligible to sell merchandise from the University of Minnesota Bookstores at chapter events and retain 20 to 30 percent of the suggested retail value for funding chapter programs and activities. Heritage Embroidery, Stillwater, Mn offers 40% rebate to chapters for merchandise sold at chapter events. Further details about the U of M Bookstore's Gopher Gear program can be found in the Appendix.
  
• Raffles and auctions--The Alumni Association and the University Bookstores will provide items that can be raffled or auctioned at chapter events.