Visit: www.alumnirelationsconference.in Presentation on Setting Up Alumni Office in School. Presented at Alumni Relations Conference held at ISB, Mohali [India] on 29th March, 2014.

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Setting up Alumni Office in
School
Session Delivery: Mr. Sahil Dewan

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School X

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School Y

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School Z

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Setup an Alumni
Office in School
What we don’t mean:
• Make a teacher part time responsible for collecting Alumni Data and organize
Events
• Start talking to your Alumni Association and ask them to do more events and
organize football or basketball matches
• Hold fresh elections or create a new team of Alumni volunteers to plan and
execute activities
• Create a list of activities to be done over a few weeks
• Create an Alumni Page on website with nostalgic photos of Alumni
This is what naturally comes in our mind, right?

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Setting Context
What comes in your mind when we think of doing something for Alumni?
(Delegates will say Alumni, Events, Reunions)

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Decrypt Alumni
Associations
Alumni
Association
School
Alumni
Association
School

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Clarity of Purpose
What we know
- Feeling of connectedness with
each other (fellow alums)
- They have a sense of pride
whenever engagement happens
through events and other forums.
- They are, happy and proud, but
they might not be collectively
proactive.
What we Discount
- They do not have time to feel
responsible for doing things for
their Alma Mater
- They need nurturing, someone
needs to be responsible to guide
and inspire them, consistently
What we know
- Schools need to have knowledge
about what their alumni are doing
and where they are
- Schools should try to do their bit:
help organize events, welcome
alumni back to school
- Schools don’t have Alumni
Management as a top 5 priority
What we Discount
- A need to track and manage
alumni networks in ‘Organized &
Professional’ manner
- Schools need to take the first step
(Invest Resources – HR, Time,
Money)
Alumni
Association
School

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Clarity of Purpose
Conclusion:
Schools need to proactively develop an Alumni Affairs
Infrastructure and proactively serve their alumni, which will further
enable Alumni engaging and contributing back to their Alma Mater
So Let’s Build an Alumni Affairs
Office!
Alumni
Association
School

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Let’s start
What are your key challenges in establishing/developing an Alumni Affairs Office?
(Remember, depending on how old your school is, priorities of the office and nature of operations
can vary, so don’t worry.)
2 Minutes – Discuss in Pairs
How can these be overcome?
2 Minutes – Discuss in Pairs
3 steps you can go back to your school and take?
2 Minutes – Discuss in Pairs

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The Relationship
Building Process

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Setup Phase
Office
Infrastructure
Team
Build Brand &
Expectations
Vision, Missio
n, Principles
Allocate
Budget

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Setup Phase
Team*
*STAR

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So
walk together with your
Alumni

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Post Setup Strategy
Data
Management
Alumni
Association
Role
Communication
Management
Events
Alumni
Engagement
Programs
Priorities (6 months, 1 year, 2 years) Strategic
Plan, Goals, Weekly/Monthly
Activities, Systems, Governance, Accountability

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Key Principles
- It is not a short term activity. Alumni should not perceive it an
outcome of over-enthusiasm or anxiety. There needs to be a plan.
- Be Patient, results will take time
- Alumni Association should be involved and meetings should be
planned to clarify the roles and intentions of the school office
- Recruiting/Managing Volunteers (Motivated Alumni) is the key.
- Decentralize activity through volunteers, chapters – will only happen if
the school is taking the lead and showing the direction
- It’s a lot about content, stories, nostalgia and IMPLEMENTATION