To better serve your role as Chapter Vice President of Alumni Relations, this document is to serve as a guide for you along the way. Look to this for any questions you may have, if there is not an answer to your question simply refer to your chapters Chapter Services Consultant for an answer.
Job Description
The vice president of alumni relations (VPAR) will work to develop and maintain an effective alumni relations program for the chapter. The VPAR will also work to develop and maintain positive relationships between the undergraduate chapter and alumni.
Tips For Success
•Learn About your Role. Take the time to review this manual. This will allow you to have a clear understanding of the role and what you will be working on during the year.
•Plan Ahead. Failing to stay organized and not planning ahead is the biggest cause for challenges. Take the time to review the “Semester To-Do List” items in your manual and map out what you need to accomplish your goals for the semester. This will allow you to be successful in your role while creating different levels of change within your chapter.
•Ask for help. Reach out to your BOG, Chapter Services Consultant, and past officers if you are struggling. Being a chapter officer is hard work and you are not expected to do it alone. Utilize this manual as a resource but if you need additional support, do not be afraid to reach out for help.
•Form a Committee. Your role requires a lot of time, a committee can be a useful tool to help you manage your workload and complete tasks.
Specific Officer Information
Planning an alumni event
Selecting Event Dates- Before selecting dates for your alumni events, review your school calendar and your chapter calendar. You will want to be mindful of events that are already planned, as they can affect the attendance at your alumni event. Once you have your dates selected, send them to your BOG alumni advisor to review and approve as well as to the other members of your Executive Council. Once everyone has approved, get your events added to your chapter calendar and share the dates with your brothers, BOG, and chapter alumni. It is important to remember that once you have your date selected, you will need to work on getting specific times selected so your chapter brothers and alumni can mark their calendars.
Event Activity/Purpose- Select an activity for your alumni to participate in or attend based off what you think they would enjoy. Consider sending out a survey to gather information on what your alumni would like to do at your chapter alumni event. You can plan an event on your own like an alumni cookout or you can plan around another campus event like homecoming or alumni weekend.
Location- Once you have decided what you would like to do at your event, you will now need to pick a location. Maybe you would like alumni to gather at the chapter house for breakfast before the homecoming game starts or maybe you would like to do a dinner at a restaurant off campus. The choice is yours but make sure you secure the location well before the event.
Budget- Your chapter treasurer should have shared with you the budget at the beginning of the semester. It is important to map out your event cost to make sure you are staying on the budget assigned. If you are hosting a cookout, go to your grocery store to price check items so you can see how much the event could potentially cost. If you are considering renting an outside venue, check in first to price out what it would cost before reserving and advertising the event. Do your best to estimate how many people you will have in attendance at the event. This will help to cut on cost and make sure you are spending in a responsible way. Make sure you are communicating with your treasurer as you are buying supplies for the event, and you are saving your receipts to turn in for reimbursement.
Invites- Invites to the event will need to be sent out at least eight weeks in advance. Your invites should include the date, time, location and RSVP date. If your campus has grown or changes a lot or you have a new chapter house, considering including directions on how to get to the event location. When inviting the chapter brothers, have them start arriving at the event at least 15 minutes in advance. This way, current chapter brothers will be at the event location to greet alumni as they come in.
Attendance List- Once your invites have been sent out, you will need to start tracking who has or has not RSVP’d to you. If your RSVP deadline is approaching and you have not heard from individuals, feel free to send a follow-up email or give them a phone call to check in. Once you have a set guest list of who will be able to attend you can review and verify your supply list to make sure you will have enough food, seating, etc. at the event.
Chapter Brother Attendance- Make sure your brothers know about the event and are planning on attending. This is a great time for them to meet and interact with chapter alumni and a great time for chapter alumni to learn what is going on with the chapter.
Event Set-Up- Make sure you arrive early enough to have the event set up at least 30 minutes before the event is set to start. This way if alumni arrive early, everything will be ready to go for them. Ask chapter brothers beforehand to help with the setup. If you are hosting the event at your chapter house, make sure the house is cleaned before the event.
Managing The Event- As the event is happening, work to make sure it is running as smoothly as possible (i.e. make sure brothers are interacting with alumni, you aren’t running out of food, trash cans aren’t overflowing, etc.). You will also need to monitor to make sure alumni and chapter brothers are behaving in an appropriate manner. Alumni are still expected to follow all Phi Kappa Tau policies, including FIPG. Work with your chapter risk management chair to select brothers to help you monitor the event. You may also want to consider sending out a policy reminder form to alumni before the arrive as a refresher and to help set the expectations of the event.
Event Clean Up- Once the event is complete you will need to work to break down and clean up after the event. Ask beforehand to have a few brothers stay late to help you, so it is not all on you. Remember to leave the location better than the way you found it.
Thank You- After the event, send out personalized “Thank Yous” to all alumni who attended the event. Make sure you mention how much the brothers enjoyed getting to see them and that you hope to see them at future events. Do not forget to thank your chapter brothers who helped with the event as well, saying “thank you” goes a long way and they will appreciate it.
Alumni Database:
Your chapter alumni database should include the name, email, phone number, and city/state location of your chapter alumni.
Create a Google Form to gather the needed information. This will allow you to have a quick link to send out that will be easy for alumni to complete. Start by reaching out to the Executive Office to have a chapter list pulled of passed alumni. Once you have that, start reaching out to alumni to make sure their information is updated. Then consider reaching out to your university alumni office to see if they can provide any information to help you. Once you have this list created, send it out to the alumni and see if they know of any people missing from your list. If they provide you with information, make sure you are updating the list. This process should create a solid base of alumni to reach out to.
At the end of each semester, reach out to graduating seniors to gather their contact information. They may not know where they are going yet but at least gather their phone numbers and emails. Encourage them to give you an email that is not their university email, one they may check more frequently once they have graduated.
Once you have an updated list, make sure you continue to share with the Executive Offices so that the records for your chapter will be complete and up to date.
You can also reach out to your Chapter Services Consultant to receive a report of alumni unique to your chapter, alumni that live within certain areas, and/ or a list of all alumni with contact information.
Semester To-Do list
Prior to the Semester Starting
Meet with Outgoing Officer.
Send an Introduction Email to all alumni introducing yourself.
Ensure that all Alumni Engagement ChapterSpot reports have been filed.
January
Plan out your semester events.
Select dates to send out your chapter newsletters.
Once plans and dates are created, share the plan with your BOG Alumni Advisor.
Share dates and events with your chapter and add to the chapter calendar for the Spring semester.
Send out “Save the Dates” for any chapter and Alumni events planned for the Spring Semester.
Send out “Save the Dates” for your chapter’s Founder’s Day Event.
Identify logistical needs for your Spring alumni events.
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events going on in the chapter.
February
Develop Newsletter by formatting and reaching out to local alumni for potential stories.
Send out “Save the Dates” for your university's alumni weekend in the fall (i.e. homecoming).
Execute logistical needs for Spring alumni events.
Finalize plans for alumni attendance at Founder’s Day celebration.
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
March
Execute the Founder’s Day celebration.
Complete rough draft of the spring alumni newsletter.
Send out personalized “Thank You” notes to alumni that attended the Founder’s Day celebration.
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
April
Send out copies of the Spring alumni newsletters to chapter & local alumni.
Plan out your Fall semester events
Select dates to send out your Fall chapter newsletters
Once plans and dates are created for the Fall, share the plan with your BOG Alumni Advisor
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
May
Submit Spring Alumni Relations Report on ChapterSpot with information regarding alumni events & newsletters
Update alumni chapter database with graduating seniors and other alumni changes
Make sure chapter website has updated information on current events going on in the chapter.
Summer
Format the summer alumni newsletter, to be tailored to the national and local events (i.e. recruitment events, Leadership Academy and Convention/Conclave).
Start finalizing plan for alumni during Homecoming (i.e. activities, locations, times, etc.).
Send out “Save the Dates” for any additional Fall alumni activities and events.
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
August
Send out copies of the Summer newsletter to chapter & local alumni.
Share dates and events with your chapter and add to the chapter calendar for the fall semester.
Finalize plans for alumni attendance at homecoming.
Execute logistical needs for fall alumni events.
Make sure chapter website has updated information on current events going on in the chapter.
September
Develop Newsletter by formatting and reaching out to local alumni for potential stories.
Execute logistical needs for fall alumni events and Homecoming.
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
October
Complete rough draft of the fall alumni newsletter.
Send out personalized “Thank Yous” to alumni who helped during recruitment.
Send out personalized “Thank Yous” to alumni who attended Homecoming or another alumni event.
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
November
Create transition letter for incoming VPAR
Send out copies of the Fall alumni newsletters to chapter & local alumni.
Attend and participate in chapter transition retreat for new officers
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
December
Submit Fall Alumni Relations Report on ChapterSpot with info regarding alumni events & newsletters
Update alumni chapter database with graduating seniors and other alumni changes
Make sure the chapter website has updated information on current events.
The Borradaile Challenge is the fundamental way that chapters have their performance evaluated over the course of a calendar year. Encapsulating 10 categories, chapters can fall into one of three standings for each: Meets Expectations, Exceeds Expectations, or Outstanding.
You can access more information on the Borradaile Challenge here: àhttps://www.phikappatau.org/borradailechallenge