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ALUMNI TOOLKIT

RESOURCES FOR ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS

FIRST FOR ZIZI AFRIQUE.OCTOBER 2020

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Table of Contents1 Alumni Engagement 101 4

1.1 Introduction 4

1.2 Steps to creating an Alumni Association 5

1.3 Managing your Contacts – How to set-up your Database of Alumni 6

1.4 Engaging your Stakeholders 7

1.5 Getting feedback and ideas through forums and surveys 10

1.6 Managing growth 10

1.7 Recruiting volunteers 11

1.8 Social Media Engagement 11

1.9 Engaging alumni in diaspora 12

1.10 Appreciation and Recognition 12

1.11 Conclusion 12

2. Signing Up/ Recruiting Alumni in Your Association 14

2.1 Introduction 14

2.2 Why Recruit? 15

2.3 Know what you are signing them up to/for? 16

2.4 Members and Money 17

2.5 Why People Join Associations 17

2.6 You are Building Relationships 20

2.7 How to Recruit: LISTEN 20

2.8 But What About the Media and Mailing? 23

2.9 The Importance of Numbers 23

2.10 Recognizing and Rewarding 24

2.11 Some Additional Ideas for you 25

3. Governance & Compliance 26

3.1 Introduction 26

3.2 Forming Alumni Associations 27

3.3 Conducting Alumni Meetings 29

3.4 Establishing Effective Leadership 30

3.5 Managing Transitions, Elections and Nominations 32

3.6 Legal framework, constitutions, charters, guiding principles 33

3.7 Compliance & Statutory Obligations 37

3.8 Strategic Planning, Review and implementation 38

3.9 Conclusion 41

4. Branding for Success 42

4.1 Introduction 42

4.2 Building a powerful brand 42

4.3 Expressing your Brand 43

4.4 Establishing brand guidelines 44

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4.5 Building brand democracy 46

4.6 Designing your brand identity 47

4.7 Conclusion 50

5. Programs and Projects 51

5.1 Introduction 51

5.2 Framework for developing an alumni program 51

5.3 Sample Programs, Events and Projects 58

6. Fundraising and Resource Mobilization 59

6.1 Introduction 59

6.2 Fundraising infrastructure 60

6.3 Accountability 61

6.4 Payment solutions 64

6.5 Fundraising techniques 65

6.6 Conclusion 66

7. Operations & Administration 67

7.1 Tracking and reporting on all your activities on a daily basis 67

7.2 Common Tools and templates 70

7.3 Manuals and guidelines. 70

7.4 Managing correspondence, forums and discussions 70

7.5 Meeting alumni demands and growing your capacity 71

7.6 Use of technology to run your association 72

7.7 Maximizing value from Alumni Management System 72

7.8 Conclusion 74

8. Measuring Impact 75

8.1 Introduction 75

8.2 Measuring Progress and Results in Relation to Goals 77

8.3 Indicators for Measuring Success in Alumni Relations 79

8.4 Indicators for Measuring Success in Fundraising 80

8.5 Measuring Communications and Community Building 80

8.6 Conclusion 81

9. Best Practices for a Sustainable Alumni Model 82

9.1 Funding 82

9.2 Engagement 82

9.3 Governance 82

9.4 Growth 83

9.5 Membership Fees 83

9.6 SAMPLE MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT MODEL 83

9.7 SAMPLE Proposed Membership Benefits 84

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1. ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT 101

This Topic Will Cover the following areas:

1.) Introduction

2.) Managing and maintaining your contacts & relationships

3.) Engaging your stakeholders including local authorities, govt, alma mater and members

4.) Getting feedback and ideas through forums and surveys

5.) Managing growth

6.) Recruiting volunteers

7.) Social Media Engagement - engaging constituents on social media

8.) Engaging alumni in diaspora (outside the country)

9.) Examples, Tools and Templates

10.) Conclusion

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Alumni Engagement enables you to draw value from your alumni while adding value back to them.

When engaging your alumni, it is important to have answers to the following questions:

• What value can you draw from your alumni?

• What value can you add to your alumni?

• How do you achieve value-based alumni engagement?

In this section we share some of the tools you can use to effectively engage your alumni in a meaningful,

impactful and productive way.

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1.2 STEPS TO CREATING AN ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

So, you are ready to start an alumni association for your institution? Here is a simple 8-step procedure

you can use to get your association up and running.

Step 1 – Form an Interest Group

• Start with yourself, recruit yourself to alumni association you are about to form

• Meet informally with a couple of friends and get them interested in the idea

• Call those that you can’t meet physically and request them to join the course

Step 2 – Form a Critical Mass of interested alumni

• You can get your colleagues and friends to each invite alumni they are in touch with

• You can also obtain data and possibly contacts from your alma mater.

• Send out communication and invite as many as you have their contacts to participate in the

formation of the association. You can even telephone them if you have the capacity

• Request their permission to be added in a WhatsApp Group to ease future communication.

Step 3 – 1st Communication

• Write an invitation email/ Facebook post to all alumni, introducing them to the leader,

requesting them to update their contact information, and inquiring if there are any interested

volunteers for the committee.

• Do a follow-up communication to those that show interest and engage them more...

Step 4 – Getting Organized

• Now that you have made your intentions known and you have received considerable interest,

convene a meeting to agree upon the association’s objectives and to form a committee. The

agenda for this first meeting can be something along the lines of:

- Call to order

- Introductions

- Review of general concepts and goals of the association.

- Discuss membership

- Get volunteers to tackle particular areas of interest such as constitution, funding, etc.

Step 5 – Get a volunteer team to prepare the constitution for adoption at the next meeting. You

can circulate the drafts for further input from members so that the process is all inclusive. You may

refer to the template attached to this toolkit for an outline of the constitution.

Step 6 – Start regular formal and informal meetings such as monthly webinars, get- togethers and

coffee-chats where you receive further feedback and welcome more alumni.

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Step 7 – Register the Association with the Registrar of Societies and prepare the launch event.

Launch the association with a bang! Make the event attractive to as many alumni as possible and invite

senior administrators from the alma mater to attend. This is the event that will set the tone for your

alumni association going forward. Give it your best efforts.

Step 8 – Keep the fire burning and your association growing

Now that your association is in place, read further to learn the more on how you can keep your alumni

engaged, sustain the growth of your association and fund your activities. You will innovate creative

ways of recruiting managing members, receiving donations and adding value to your alumni.

1.3 MANAGING YOUR CONTACTS – HOW TO SET-UP YOUR DATABASE OF ALUMNI

Your contacts are meaningless data if they are not organized, understood, utilized and enriched.

Understand some of these methods below;

• Organized: Get the details easily accessible, available and up-to-date

• Understood: Know the real person, not just their contact details

• Utilized: Derive value from the person - volunteer, donate, mentor

• Enriched: Add value to the person - inform, involve, recognize, recommend, refer

With these concepts in mind and with your numbers growing, you now need to set-up an alumni

database to support your continued engagement in an organized and valuable way.

There are many tools such as AlumniPad, AlumniHost and others that Alumni Management Solutions

that come with customizable databases. But for a start, you will need to start by gathering the data

such as contact information from your alumni.

You can use Google Forms, Microsoft Forms and other online tools to help you gather the basic

information you need for the database. At a minimum you should aim to collect:

i. The Phone Number

ii. Email Address

iii. Physical Address

iv. Vocation/ Profession

v. The courses

vi. The years they joined/ left the alma mater.

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Organizing your data in such a manner enables you to understand the demographics of your alumni

community and involve them better in the association. To reap maximum benefits, your database

should always stay up to date, accurate and easily accessible.

1.4 ENGAGING YOUR STAKEHOLDERS

Your stakeholders affect your operating environment and determine the quality of your existence.

They affect your reputation, your profile and your success. You need to involve them in your mission

by collaborating with them and garnering their support. To effectively engage your stakeholders, you

need to know who they are, monitor their activities, understand their interests and their values....and

then create a stable operating environment by balancing their various interests, protecting yourself

from undue influence and maintaining focus on your mission.

There are tons of innovative ways to engage your stakeholders, but as a general guide here are

some tools and techniques you can use to effectively engage your stakeholders, bearing in mind that

stakeholder engagement is a continuous process.

1.4.1 THE FIVE-STEP STAKE HOLDER ENGAGEMENT MODEL

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Step 1: Clarify your goals

Be crystal clear about your mission, how you are going to accomplish it and what role your stakeholders

will have in helping you to achieve it.

Step 2: Identify your key stakeholders

Make a list of your stakeholders and categorize/ prioritize them based on how much interest they have

on your mission and how much power they hold.

One useful tool for identifying and prioritizing your stakeholders is the Boston Matrix as illustrated

below:

Low Interest High Interest

Low

Pow

erH

igh

Pow

er

Keep satisfiedOpen forums, round-

table discussions, advisory groups, working

groups, seminars, user panels, conferences, chat

rooms

Keep informedNewsletters,

websites, speeches, press, mailings

Engage closely and influence actively

Joint planning, joint campaigning and

press activities, MOUs/ partnership agreements,

secondments, joint research, joint governance

Consult withFocus groups, task groups,

visits, deliberative meetings

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High Power/ High Interest Stakeholders

Engage them closely and influence them actively – these are the people who you must fully engage

with. They may prove trusted advisors, key to developing policy and should be seen as partners whose

opinion is considered valuable.

High Power/ Low Interest Stakeholders

Keep them satisfied – make sure there is awareness, understanding and support of your mission among

these stakeholders. Put in place enough engagement tactics to ensure that they are informed and

satisfied, and that they are kept updated, but do not push or bore them with your messages.

Low Power/ High Interest Stakeholders

Consult with them – keep them adequately informed, listen to them and engage them. They are often

happy to take on finer details and can be a key sounding board. If you can involve them then they will

act as your ambassadors.

Low Power/ Low Interest Stakeholders

Keep them informed – these are the stakeholders you will need to spend the least amount of time on,

although you should still keep them informed.

Step 3: Prepare to start engaging your stakeholders

Do your homework and identify key stakeholders you wish to engage. Check if you already have some

relationships with them. Understand their interests, their values and any influencers over them.

Step 4: Engage your stakeholders

Determine the nature of the relationship you would like with each of your stakeholders based on how

you categorized them. Put together an engagement plan detailing the various engagement channels,

budget and nature of engagement such as partnerships, involvements, commitments, support,

understanding and awareness

Step 5: Evaluate your engagement progress

Review and Evaluation - are you on track to achieve your mission? Are your stakeholders adding value

are they satisfied?

Adjust your strategy as you keep focused on achieving your goals.

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1.5 GETTING FEEDBACK AND IDEAS THROUGH FORUMS AND SURVEYS

It is important to recognize changing trends and the importance of adapting to needs as they evolve.

Alumni feedback surveys are useful tools that can be utilized to gauge your alumni satisfaction with

their education, and collect insights into areas for improvement. For instance, you can use surveys to

determine;

• Employment status - measure whether or not your alumni are satisfied with their education.

• Engagement - pinpoint who is still actively engaged with your institution, whether through

attending alumni events, paying for membership, or participating in the interview process

with prospective new members.

• Sentiments/ Comments - put together general feedback about their experience.

Besides surveys, you can also host regular forums such as monthly or quarterly meet-ups,

WhatsApp and Facebook Groups or Forums built into your alumni management system.

The alumni’s role is crucial for your development. Alumni can provide support in various aspects that

are beneficial to you and the society. The alumni’s opinion in your development and proposed solutions

to the challenges you face is highly valuable in achieving your mission.

The alumni can do this by;

• Increasing efforts in collecting funds.

• Being role models and an inspiration to others.

• Providing expertise in their occupations.

• Being effective media for a stronger network.

• Improving recruitment efforts in your institution by being ambassadors.

1.6 MANAGING GROWTH

As the saying goes, failing to plan is planning to fail. It is important that you do not bite more than

you can chew. Aim to gradually grow your engagement and services at a level commensurate with

your capacity. That way, you minimize disappointments and set out with good quality and a strong

foundation. As your numbers grow, you will need to grow your capacity as well. For instance, if you have

been relying on spreadsheets to manage your data, you will need to graduate into a proper database

and eventually a full-fledged alumni management system. You may also need more staff or volunteers

to manage certain aspects such as finance, communications, recruitment.

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To manage your growth effectively, start with a Strategic Plan. Review the plan periodically and allocate

budget that accounts for the projected growth.

You may consider means and ways of ensuring your capacity meets the demand from alumni by

outsourcing certain services such as accounting, enhancing your back-office operations, minimizing

costs and maximizing income, training your personnel and being innovative by continuously learning

new ways and methods of doing things.

1.7 RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers will be your greatest resource in building and sustaining your association’s capacity to live

up to its mission; You can rely on their influence and services to further your goals, deliver value and

provide opportunities for participation by the alumni.

Invest your resources in volunteer management.

Document and plan all of your volunteer opportunities for the year to make sure you have enough

opportunities for all alumni to participate in.

Design event staff roles in a way that creates an opportunity for alumni volunteers to step in.

Find the people who seem most excited about the opportunities, give them a voice and be flexible to

work around what they are interested in doing.

1.8 SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

Social media allows for fast, inexpensive, and effective outreach to alumni, providing a platform for you

to share content ranging from news and information to campaigns soliciting alumni support. You can

track down formerly lost alumni, set up online giving initiatives or identify potential donors.

You can also pinpoint new areas of interest to alumni by sharing clips of your programs to quicken

awareness of their obliged participation. Social media is a powerful tool to create awareness and

showcase your brand.

Use several social media platforms with a standard identity e.g. if your Twitter Handle is @Institution,

use the same for Facebook, WhatsApp, Linked, Tiktok, Instagram and other social media platforms.

Take time to set-up appropriate social media pages, groups and profiles. Use standard identity and

branding across the multiple platforms and assign someone to actively monitor and respond to people

that interact with you on social media. You will also need to actively generate regular content to keep

your audience engaged on social media. Your social media manager could be drawn from volunteers

amongst the alumni.

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Social media also provide useful tools and insights for measuring your engagement such as number

of likes, comments and audience reached. Use this insight to inform your social media engagement

strategies.

1.9 ENGAGING ALUMNI IN DIASPORA

Developing an alumni presence in any number of countries worldwide is essential. You should maintain

regional contacts or global ambassadors – these are individuals who serve as point of contact for alumni

in a particular region. Regional alumni coordinators would help you to form useful networks beyond

your borders. With such networks, you can benefit from the financial contributions of the alumni and

from the time invested by them in fundraising and even recruitment process.

You can start by forming a WhatsApp Group for all alumni in diaspora, then identify a representative

from each region or country. Make sure to provide for the diaspora alumni channels of engagement

and contributions to your association. Besides being your great ambassadors and contributors, alumni

in the diaspora could also draw in useful networks that would support your association in various ways

such as funding, mentorship, donation of equipment and volunteering.

1.10 APPRECIATION AND RECOGNITION

The biggest motivation you can give to those who volunteer to be your member, supporter or donor is

to appreciate them. Remember their contributions and time invested in serving your cause comes with

an opportunity cost to them.

Design a deliberate appreciation scheme that ranges from thank you notes, to recommendations

and referrals to special recognitions and awards for your alumni. You can make this more inclusive

and involving by running certain periodic appreciation activities such as Alumni of the Week Awards;

Awarding Most Engaged Alumni during Annual conventions; producing and gifting your alumni with

Memento and selling them Merchandise, as well as a host of several other means of recognition you

may think of.

1.11 CONCLUSION

It is important to engage your alumni in your institution’s development. These people bear solid

opinions about their experiences in the institution and how programs, services and activities can be

improved to give a better experience to the current students. This would in turn ensure high recruiting

rates into the institution, growth management, alumni engagement in donations and mentorship, and

also effective ideas generated from forums and surveys.

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You can keep in touch with and do follow-ups on your alumni via your social media platforms. Maintaining

contacts in the diaspora is a bright way of expanding your institution’s reach internationally. With this

partnership, the alumni can also benefit by accessing tremendous career opportunities and building

their networks.

You can draw great value from the vast experience and networks within your alumni and you can even

involve them in the board of your institution.

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2. SIGNING UP/RECRUITING ALUMNI IN YOUR ASSOCIATION

2.1 INTRODUCTION

You have probably associated with a group or a club before, either as a member or as a leader. In some

of those groups, you have probably grappled with dwindling numbers or numbers that just won’t

increase, despite tremendous efforts put into flyers, newspaper ads and several announcements. You

have probably had situations where meetings are always of the same few committed familiar faces;

where you wonder where people are and why majority don’t show up for meetings or activities. In this

section we will take you through how to get alumni to join your Association and stay involved. We hope

that you will be able to gain the following from this section:

1.) Why you should always sign-up new members.

2.) The benefits your association gains from recruiting.

3.) What you gain personally from recruiting.

4.) The importance of making clear what kind of association you are asking people to join before you

start recruiting.

5.) How to set clear, specific membership criteria to get the kind of members you really want and how

to make these criteria work.

6.) How to find people with the values, background and interests that are right for your association.

7.) How to deal with money and dues.

8.) The real reasons people join associations.

9.) The most practical and effective method to recruit people.

10.) How building relationships builds associations.

11.) How to recruit volunteers for a specific task in your association--some practical guidelines.

12.) How to think about media and mailing in recruiting.

13.) When to go for “numbers” in recruiting

14.) How to motivate and keep members and volunteers

15.) How to build member “ownership” of your association

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2.2 WHY RECRUIT?

One sure way of killing your alumni association is not to sign up new alumni into the association. Some

people think they already “have their members.” They think they don’t need any new members. They

don’t go looking for them. These people create troubled associations. They may not look troubled right

away. But associations that are not always bringing in new members lose strength. That’s something all

alumni associations have in common.

In order to be effective in signing up new alumni, you need to start by asking yourself why you need to

recruit. The answer may seem obvious. But don’t overlook it. Why are you asking people to join? Why do

you need them? Take a few minutes. Be quiet. Then take some time to answer these questions. Why are

you doing this recruiting? What does the association need? You may get other personal benefits from

recruiting? What is in the recruiting for YOU? What do you get out of recruiting?

Here are some of the reasons often given for signing up new alumni to your association.

Association/ Public Oriented Reasons Private/ Personal Reasons

We need to recruit more alumni because…

1.) There’s strength in numbers

2.) With more people we can get better ideas.

3.) We can have more skills.

4.) We need a “critical mass” to be effective.

5.) Those in authority won’t listen to only a few of

us.

6.) It makes us more powerful.

7.) I can’t get what I need from the “system” by

myself. I need the group.

I know that I like to recruit because….

1.) I like to hear people’s stories.

2.) I enjoy with people.

3.) I generally get a new idea when I talk to

someone else.

4.) I know other people think differently than I

do and they will help me see things in ways

I can’t.

5.) I like the sense of “community” that comes

from the group. People know who I am and

ask for me when I don’t show up.

6.) I can’t do it all myself. I need the association.

Take the time to reflect on your reasons and look over your answers to the questions asked. Make sure

you have not left anything out. It will help you later when you hit the bricks. Remember them. Write

them down so you can look them over some night when you are wondering why you are bothering to

recruit. It will help you when people question why you’re spending so much time on recruiting. You will

need to remember the association reasons, as well as your own personal reasons. There will be times

when recruiting will seem hard. People will not return your calls. They won’t meet with you. The people

you do meet will not do anything, or worse, will say they will and then not follow through.

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Then, other times recruiting will make a lot of sense. One such time might be the election day in your

association. If you are trying to “get out the vote” you know you have to contact by phone or in person

5,000 people the evening of election day. No matter how fast you dial you can’t do it by yourself. If you

recruited people ahead of time, you have 100 people. Each person can call 50 voters election day. You

reach your goal and win the election. if you did not recruit well, you have only 10 people. You can call

only 500 or 1,000 voters. You will not reach the 5,000 people you need to win. You lose the election. In

this case, the need to recruit and the capacity of one volunteer is clear. It is easy to see the need and

benefit of recruiting.

Other times it may not seem so clear. You may not have an election coming up with a big and obvious

need for volunteers. It may seem like you can take care of business better and more quickly if you do it

yourself. But that does not build your association It does not build community. In the long run it does

not build efficiency. You will burn out when the tasks pile up and there is no one around to help. In the

short run, it may seem efficient to “do it yourself.” In the long run it is deadly to the association--and to

yourself.

Associations need to always recruit to replace the members lost. Members die. They move away. They

develop relationships that are more interesting than the association. (In fact, someone may have joined

the group looking for a relationship.) People burn out. Almost all associations experience some regular

fall off in membership. If you are not bringing in new people, your numbers decline.

The community changes too. New ideas will be needed to meet changing times. Associations that have

only veteran members may not be interested in trying new technologies, methods, or strategies that

may be needed to meet current challenges. Being able to recruit new members shows your association

still means something to people today. Recruiting people is in a sense a test of your association’s worth

and present importance.

2.3 KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SIGNING THEM UP TO/FOR?

“I didn’t sign up for this”- Ever encountered that phrase? It’s the phrase used by disgruntled, frustrated

and disappointed members ready to quit the association because of unmet expectations. Too often,

people start recruiting before they know exactly into what association they are bringing people.

Before you can effectively recruit people to join your association, you need to know WHAT THEY ARE

JOINING! People want, need and deserve to know what they are getting themselves into. You need to

know WHAT you are asking them to join. What kind of group is it? Who can be a member? Unless you are

clear about this NOW, you will run into problems later.

Most associations start off informally. People get together for something. They often don’t think about

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who is a member, who is in and who is out. It may seem unnecessary or obvious. (‘The members are

us.”) But when you start to get more people, you need to think: What does it mean to be a member of

this group? What does a member need to do? What does a member have to believe in? What kind of

person do we want? Do we take just anyone who walks in the door? If we do, what might that mean in

the future for our association?

If you are going to be successful in recruiting people, you need to know what constitutes membership.

You may define a member any way you want. But at some point, your association will need to set some

“boundaries.” You need some way to distinguish a member from just anybody who walks in the room

during your meeting. Membership might have its privileges. It should also have its responsibilities and

criteria. The membership criteria you’ll want to set up will depend on your group. If you are trying to

build a democratic association, some common criteria for membership might include:

2.4 MEMBERS AND MONEY

Generally, a member is someone who pays dues or makes some financial contribution--even if very

small--to the group. All associations, except the most Informal, at some point in their life, will need

some money to keep going. It may not be much, but if you ever want to get things done, you are likely

to need some money. It helps to talk about money at the start. If you intend to try to ask for money, it

is harder to bring It up later. Even if it is only a shilling for biscuits or copies of the minutes for the next

meeting, ask the group to pay for It. Pass the hat. People who start associations are often reluctant

to do this. But if you pay for it, it becomes “your” association. If the members pay for the group, it

becomes their group. People will value what they pay for. If they pay for it, they will own it. They will

expect something from the group. If your members pay for the association, they run it. If someone else

pays for it, they are likely to have a big say in what issues it focuses on and how it is run.

2.5 WHY PEOPLE JOIN ASSOCIATIONS

If you want to learn how to get people to join and get involved in your group, you need to understand

why someone would join. The first thing to recognize is that most people you want to recruit are like

you in their willingness to join and get involved in an association. So, think. How did you get involved in

the group? Think of some time, any time in your life (it could be far back in your childhood or last week).

1.) What group or groups did you join?

2.) What led you to join?

3.) What was the immediately preceding event?

4.) Think of how you heard about it, from whom or in what way.

5.) If a person asked you to join, how did they ask you? Was It in person? Over the phone? By letter?

What did they actually say?

6.) What else do you remember about what happened just before you joined?

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If you are like most people, you joined a group because someone asked you to. And not only someone,

but someone you knew and trusted and s/he asked you in person. It means that if you want people to

join your group you have to ask them in person. This is what works. Person to person. One on one.

You can try other things. Letters, flyers, newspaper ads, sky writing, computer generated direct mall,

public service announcement’ on T.V. or radio, and other “media” extravaganzas but what works, over

and over again, is one person asking another person. Your group will likely be no different.

Again, think back to your own experience. Why did you loin that group? What happened Just before

you joined it? Who was it that asked you? You will likely remember his/her name, even if it was a long

time ago.

You may wonder. Isn’t this very slow? It may seem slow, but it gets you members --faster than anything

else. It is what works. We may be so bombarded by T.V., billboards. magazines and newspapers that we

think that personal contact is not effective, that we need more “modern methods.” But ask yourself,

how do you feel when someone you know asks you to do something? As opposed to how you feel when

you see an ad on the T.V.? Which group will you stick with? You are not selling toothpaste. You are asking

people to make a meaningful commitment.

Another point about asking people is that you have to go to them. You can call a meeting, send out a

flyer, but you will wait a long time for people to come. You have to go to people to get them involved.

You have to show up in person, face to face, look them in the eye and ask them to help, to come to your

meeting or join your association.

Although it is generally necessary to ask someone to join, asking is not enough. And, although simply

asking may get someone to join, this is not likely enough to keep them motivated and involved for very

long. If they know and like you well enough, they may join as a favor to you. But it won’t keep them

involved for very long. They need to join for their own reasons and needs.

Again, think back to why YOU joined some group. The deeper reasons you joined are likely to be the

same reasons others will stay involved. So, think. What was and is in it for you? Remember, most people

you are trying to recruit will be like you. They will want and need to get something out of being part

of the group. But what is that? You need to learn what is in it for them. This is complex. People join

for many different reasons. Think back to all the things you may have gotten from a group you joined.

Some may be quite personal while others may be more related to conditions where you live or work:

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Sample Personal Reasons Sample

We need to recruit more alumni because…

• A chance to enjoy the company of others.

• The feeling that people appreciate your ideas.

• A chance to express your ideas.

• A chance to use your skills and abilities.

• An opportunity to grow intellectually or

spiritually.

• A chance to sing in a chorus.

• A place to meet a mate or a new friend.

• A chance to be with someone you really like.

• A chance to feel some sense of power in your

life.

• A chance to make a difference in the

problem of poverty, drugs, AIDS, crime, etc.

something that really bothers you.

• A chance to network and get to know

people you don’t really know. You just want

to belong to the association...

• A chance to participate in the cause of the

Association e.g. better working conditions

for teachers, better schools, etc.

• A chance to protect the environment e.g.

clean up a park, or cut down the noise in

the neighborhood.

• A chance to do something about things

you are angry about e.g. bullying in schools,

strikes by students…

Do any of these reasons sound like yours? Do you have other reasons? Are there other reasons you

joined and stayed?

Many of us have limited knowledge of why other people will join a group. It is easier to understand

your own reasons. We may think that others are only interested in the “issue” the group is pursuing.

The immediate issue may be something like better schools, cleaning up a stream, getting rid of a drug

problem, restoring reputation of the alma mater, etc. But you will miss much if you treat people as

interested only in “the immediate issue.” In fact, if that is all they are interested in they are not likely

to last long in your association. If you don’t look beyond the immediate issue as a reason people want

to join, you may not be able to keep them in your group. You need to be able to get under their skin: to

know what makes them tick. Aside from asking them in person to join or help out with the association,

you need to learn what makes them tick. You need to learn what there may be in it for them.

Remember, you are building a relationship--not a following. You are looking for leaders, people who

will take responsibility, people who will, eventually, take on work on their own initiative. Not everyone

will do this. Many people will not take initiative without encouragement. Many people have had their

initiative and natural intelligence beaten down or humiliated out of them by the time they are still very

young. But you are looking for openings. You are not looking for full blown leaders who are eager to

take responsibility. You are not likely to find them. And if you do, such leaders are more likely to be out

looking to recruit you--or someone else. You are looking for people who have some good values, who

want to do something, who probably have some time in their busy lives, and who will do something that

advances their own personal interests. But you need to develop a beginning relationship. You need to

find out in what they are interested and get a sense of who they are.

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2.6 YOU ARE BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

You are building relationships for many reasons. Strong relationships build effective associations.

Associations will withstand stress if the personal relationships among its members are strong. The

tasks the association undertake will also be done more efficiently and effectively when relationships

are strong. When morale and communication is strong, tasks are completed more productively. Strong

relationships are the foundation of team-work. It is not enough to have a common goal for an association

to be productive. It takes coordination and communication. Good relationships are the foundation of

these. Strong relationships are also a reward in themselves. Look at the reasons you joined a group in

the first place. Look at what has kept you in that group. For many it is the quality of the relationships

they find in the group that keep them involved.

2.7 HOW TO RECRUIT: LISTEN

How do you do recruit? You listen. Asking people to join or come to your meeting is only a start. This

might get them to come one time, if they like you well enough. But then they will be doing it for you.

You will be developing a follower. If you are trying to build a long-lasting association where people

Invest their time, energy and ideas (and those are the associations that will be effective and last), then

you need to build an association of many leaders. You need people who will participate voluntarily at

many levels of responsibility. You need people who will work without your nagging them constantly.

You need people who will work for themselves, not only because you asked them.

You find out who they are and what might be a real, long lasting reason for them to join and stay in

the association by listening to them. By listening you can discover what the association might mean

for them. You can discover how they can best participate in the group, what role or task they can best

manage. So, how do you listen? That depends on how much time you have, where you are, and how

much time you want to spend right now with each person. There are a great many situations where you

will be recruiting. I will cover two basic situations. Your own situation will likely be a little different or

perhaps a mix of these two. This is meant as a general guide. Feel free to do it your way as long as you

follow the general outline: 1. Listen, 2. don’t sell.

One of the best ways to recruit people is to recruit people to an activity. Many people want to DO

something useful, not just go to another boring meeting.

When you have people, who are already interested members of your group, you want to get them more

involved and motivated. You want them to take responsibility. You want it to not be “always the same

few of us doing everything around here.” There is likely too much work for those doing it. You need the

help! But there might not seem to be something for them to do. Or you don’t think they could do what

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YOU can do. Your job is to find something for them to do. “Idle hands are the devil’s playground.” In

this case, the “devil” might be some other group that will find out what they like to do and allow them

to be useful. Since you’re working with volunteers, you can’t tell them to do it “or else.” You have no

formal “authority” over them. You are not their “boss”--as in a paid work setting. They are not working

for money. They are working for meaning. You need to find out what has meaning for them. How do

you find this out? How do you recruit people to a task? These are guidelines I have found helpful.

1. Ask them to help. The first and most important guideline. Just as in getting someone to join, you

need to ask someone to help. People are unlikely to help without being asked. If you don’t ask, they

are not likely to know you need help.

2. Ask them what they like to do. It doesn’t help to ask someone who hates to make phone calls to

make phone calls. Maybe they will hold a house party, or hand out flyers, or bake cookies. Find out

what they like to do.

3. Come with a “menu” of things they can do. This menu should be in your head. Don’t refer to a

paper when you are recruiting people. You want them to look at you and see you looking at them.

If you give them a piece of paper, they are more likely to look at the paper than at you. You recruit

people with people, not paper. When you ask them what they like to do, you should be ready with a

list of needed projects. For instance, “We need someone to weed the hedges around the building,

bake lasagna for the supper, sell tickets, collect tickets, sign in guests at the dinner, put up signs

on the telephone poles along the road to direct people to the dinner, make phone calls, etc.” Tell

them when they ask what they can do: “It depends on what you like to do. You can choose.” (This is

probably an opportunity they won’t have in a paying job!)

4. Know your overall project. Know its parts. Divide the whole into as many parts as is reasonable--

things people can do without bumping into one another. Make many small tasks rather than a few

big tasks. You need as many people as possible in your association, and each of them needs to feel

needed. And they are needed! Before you start recruiting for tasks, take some time to divide up

the jobs.

5. There is something for everyone to do. Participation breeds involvement. Let everyone help as

much as they wish, even if it is only a very small lob. If they don’t want to bring cookies to the

meeting, ask them to come early to set up the chairs. Try to find something for everyone. If they

don’t want to do something on their own, it is often easy to ask them to help someone else with a

task.

6. One person is in charge (For now, it’s You). The buck stops with you. You need to know all the

pieces and how they fit together.

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7. Don’t guess or think you already know what people like to do. Even if you think you know, ask.

People like to be asked to get their first choice.

8. Provide a context for their job. Explain the importance and how their job fits in the overall

campaign or project. People want to know how important their job is, and where it fits with the

whole. Every link of the chain is necessary.

9. When someone has taken on a task, see how they are doing. Don’t assume everything is going

fine. Often people won’t ask if they don’t know how to do something. Check in. You want to let

them know you care (“How is it going? Do you need any help?”) But allow volunteers their “space”

too. You don’t want to be a pest or seem like you don’t trust them to do their job. When in doubt

about the right distance to keep, you can ask them: “Is it O.K. if I check in on how it’s going every

week? Is that too often?”

10. Appreciate people for the work they do. Thank them. If they are doing a good job, let them know

you know. This takes very little time, costs little, but is worth a lot. Written thanks lasts.

11. If someone is doing a good job, think how they might take more responsibility. Ask them if they

want to take on more responsibility. Encourage them to do this. Think about what might be a good

“next step” for them--something that is right for them and helpful to the group.

12. Hand off as much responsibility as possible as quickly as possible into responsible hands. You

want to build the leadership of many people. Leadership means taking responsibility. The group

will function better when more people take responsibility.

13. Be friendly but direct. Ask specifically for what you want. (DO NOT ASK: “Can you help us out

tonight at the club?” DO ASK: “Can you help us tonight with the club membership by calling 25

people tonight between 7 and 8 PM?”)

14. Be clear about what you are asking someone to do. Especially about time limits. If you say work

will be completed by 9, stop by 9, not 9:05 or 9:10 or 9:15 or later. You want your volunteer to

return.

15. Avoid doing it all yourself. You are terribly competent. You know the Job will be get done if

you do it--even if it takes you until 4 a.m. This is often the path of “least resistance” for many hard

workers, but also the path to other things: like burn-out, no family life, no association, and no

members.

16. Ask for a specific number. If you are asking someone to make phone calls or recruit new members,

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be specific. If you ask for too many, you can generally go lower. NOT “Can you make SOME phone

calls?” SAY: “Can you make 20 phone calls? - Or 10 phone calls, if 20 is too many. Or 5 phone calls, if

10 is too many.

17. Get a clear commitment about what they say they will do. Write it down If necessary so YOU

remember what they said.

18. Be truthful about the limits you set. If you say you are only going to ask them to do so much

and no more, stick with it. Remember you are building a relationship (and an association based

on relationships), not just getting a job done. Completing the task is not the goal. Building the

association is the goal.

19. Emphasize the need for help. This is real. ‘We can’t do it without you” is a positive and true

statement.

20. Rule number one again. Don’t forget to ask for help.

When you are asking them to do something, remember: It is an opportunity for them, not a favor to you

or the association. You and the association are not only out for yourselves. Certainly, there are tasks the

group has to accomplish. You also want to provide an opportunity for them to do something that will be

a benefit to them. It is a balancing act.

2.8 BUT WHAT ABOUT THE MEDIA AND MAILING?

Many associations successfully use the media and the mail to recruit members. Some associations,

particularly when an issue is “hot,” can effectively use the media to recruit large number of members.

Many successfully use mail to solicit members but I am focusing on face relationships because evidence

is that strong lasting associations are more likely to be built by person to person rather than through

the media or direct mail recruiting. Flyers, announcements and mailing can often help to remind people

of an up-coming event. But generally, from one thousand flyers you will get one person to a meeting.

Remember that flyers and media won’t bring people. People bring people.

2.9 THE IMPORTANCE OF NUMBERS

Most of this toolkit describes how to get people actively involved in an association. But many

associations need people who will join, pay their dues, but not do much else. That is O.K. The strength

of an association can be measured not only by its active members, but by the number of its members. If

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people are willing to pay for membership it indicates they value the association and what it stands for.

Depending on your association, you may want to put some emphasis on getting large numbers of

people to join. Sometimes someone who joins, but who does not intend to get actively involved, can

be a good prospect for active involvement later. People in associations come and go. They move away,

change their life situation. their needs, etc. At one time, someone may be happy just to support the

association with their cheque. Later they may be willing to do a little more.

If your association is trying to show the support it enjoys in the community, one of the best ways is

to show how many dues paying members you have. So, although the emphasis here is on methods of

gaining active involvement, don’t forget the need to have people who join and show their support by

their dues alone. There may be times in your association’s life that you are looking for more members--

not necessarily more active members. That’s O.K. As long as you know what you want and why you want

them. For this kind of recruitment, you will use more of the shorter visits (“door-knocking”), or media or

direct mail. You can make it clear that you are looking for financial and moral support, not necessarily

active involvement.

2.10 RECOGNIZING AND REWARDING

Successful associations recognize and reward people. One winning political campaign took instant

photos of all the volunteers and plastered the walls of the campaign office with the photos. People

liked seeing their faces on the wall. They felt important, recognized, and appreciated. It helped people

know each other’s names. If they saw someone they wanted to get to know, they could easily find their

name on the wall.

People like to be appreciated. Verbal thank you’ s are always welcome. Gifts and other tangible also

motivate people. Awards, even the simplest paper certificates, build associations and keep volunteers.

Notice how a meeting sparks up when someone is given an award. It not only helps the individual

getting the award, but it builds the morale of everyone else. Since people like to be appreciated, when

they see someone receiving an award, they might think of doing the association’s work themselves--so

next time they might be up at the front receiving the award and applause of the group.

Effective Associations celebrate. They know that people join for more than the issues. They join to

develop community, a sense of belonging. Recognize that associations working for people’s interests

are made up of people- -with all their complex wishes, hopes and dreams. Effective associations

recognize that putting people first taking time out to resolve conflicts, to say thank you, to celebrate, to

listen to “personal” problems--is not a “”frill”- -but an essential part of building an effective association

for the long haul. Celebrations parties, music, dancing, and food --are part of any recruiting effort.

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2.11 SOME ADDITIONAL IDEAS FOR YOU

Here are some ideas and events you can use to recruit alumni, even when they are still in school. You

may add to the list...

1. End-year Party and alumni Induction Day for final year students

2. Bring guests to meetings

3. Advertise in social media and mainstream media

4. Put together guest information packages

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3. GOVERNANCE & COMPLIANCE

This topic will cover the following areas

1.) Introduction

2.) Forming Alumni Associations (Structure, mission, etc.)

3.) Conducting Alumni Meetings

4.) Establishing Effective Leadership

5.) Managing Transitions, Elections and Nominations

6.) Legal framework, constitutions, charters, guiding principles

7.) Compliance & Statutory Obligations

8.) Strategic Planning, Review and implementation

9.) Conclusion

3.1 INTRODUCTION

For your association to function well, it is important that you have sound governance in place.

Governance is what keeps your association functioning as it is. Just as your human body is comprised of

several structures, systems and processes (such as the skeleton, the circulatory system and the process

of digestion), so is your association comprised of structures, systems and processes to keep it alive and

functional.

A defect in any of these aspects would render your association malfunctioning (or in the case of human

body, ill) All these structures, systems and processes that work together to keep your association

functioning is what is collectively referred to as Governance in this section. Governance is therefore

not just an activity by itself but an inherent part of your association. It refers to the processes by

which your association is operated, guided and held to account. It involves authority, accountability,

leadership, direction and control. It determines your long-term viability, survival and relevance. A

healthy association is one that has sound governance.

Sound governance enables your association to stay relevant through performance and to stay alive

through compliance. Performance is a series of events that starts with planning, goes through a series

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of reporting and culminates in feedback. Compliance refers to fulfilling requirements of legislation,

contracts, taxation, insurance, pension and many more. Sound governance requires both efficiency and

effectiveness. Effective means doing the right things while Efficient means doing things the right way.

The complexity of governance procedures and practices are as varied as the number of organizations

on earth and there’s no ready-made off-the-shelf solution to suit all associations. However, there

are principles of good governance that are essential for your long-term viability as an association.

Such principles include having defined goals, transparency in decision making, sound framework of

procedures and policies, defining roles and responsibilities, strategic planning, risk management, legal

and statutory responsibilities, review and monitoring of performance, ethical standards and codes of

conduct.

Sound governance therefore determines the quality of our existence, enables us to function as

responsible members of the society and offers security to all our stakeholders such as members,

employees, donors, volunteers, public etc.

3.2 FORMING ALUMNI ASSOCIATIONS

There are 3 key/ broad objectives for any alumni association;

I. Supporting the parent organization (in this case your college)

II. Building a strong community (strengthening the ties between and amongst the

III. alumni, the community and the college)

IV. Delivering value to the larger society or community within which you operate

Steps to forming an Alumni Association;

STEP OBJECTIVE ACTIVITIES

1 Form an Interest Group Obtain list of contacts from the college

Identify key alumni to support the initiative

Arrange informal sessions with them

Directly ask for their participation in starting

the association

2 Reach out Send an introductory message to all alumni, introducing them to the leader, requesting them to update their contact information and asking for volunteers to join the committee

Form an interest group from the alumni who respond or volunteer

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3 Getting Started Convene a meeting of interested alumni to agree on the objectives of the association and form a committee Sample Agenda could include: introductions, general appraisal of the goals and concept of the Alumni Association, Outline functions of the association, identify short & long-term needs, nomination of officials & delegated committees and date for next meeting

4 Preparing the constitution A committee can prepare the constitution to be adopted in the next meeting

The constitution should cover objectives, membership, officers, committees, general meetings, funds, etc.

5 Follow-up Meeting Convene a follow-up meeting to ratify and adopt the constitution, officials and any other issues

Aim to achieve a bigger attendance than the first meeting

6 Launch event Organize a launch event. Invite college administrator or representative

Invite all alumni in your contacts to attend Orientate first time attendees as well

3.2.1 REGISTERING THE ALUMNI ASSOCIASTION

You may choose to register your alumni association in any of the following ways. Each of these options

have their advantages and disadvantages. Review your unique circumstances to determine the best

option for your association. The structure and governance of your alumni association will be dependent

on your mission and the mode of registration. You may find relevant laws, resources, forms and

procedures about each type of organization from the links provided. It is however much simpler and

more common to register your association as a Society under the Societies Act.

Option Basic Description Relevant Links

Non- Governmental Organization/ Public Benefit Organization

This is voluntary grouping of individuals or associations, formed for charity

https://ngobureau.go.ke/ https://ngobureau.go.ke/?page_id=26

Company Limited by Guarantee

This is a company whose liability is limited by the guarantee of the members.

https://brs.go.ke/index.php https://brs.go.ke/forms.php

Society A society is any group of ten or more persons registered and regulated by the Registrar of Societies

https://www.statelaw.go.ke/ https://www.statelaw.go.ke/registrar-of- societies/

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Trust A trust is an entity created to hold and manage assets for the benefit of others.

https://www.statelaw.go.ke/ https://www.statelaw.go.ke/public- trustee-administrator-general-division/

To register as a Society, you will require the following:

• A list of designated members (10 members minimum);

• The names, occupation and postal addresses of the officials: Chairman, treasurer and

• secretary;

• Constitution of the society which must contain name, postal address and objects of the

• society;

• Application form A and B each in duplicate signed by three of the officers.

The procedure of registration will include:

1.) Name search - A name search is conducted to determine whether proposed names are

available for registration.

2.) Preparation of the constitution and filling the registration Forms A and B

3.) Submitting the documents for registration purposes.

4.) Being issued with a certificate of registration

You will then be expected to file annual returns, and pay a nominal fee based on the number of your

members.

3.3 CONDUCTING ALUMNI MEETINGS

There are different types of meetings for Alumni Associations such as the Annual General Meeting,

Committee Meetings, Project Team Meetings, Workshops and Networking events. All these meetings

are unique in their own rights and require tact in order to achieve their intended objective efficiently,

while keeping members engaged and included.

Different meetings are conducted in different ways; however, the following are key factors for you to

consider in order to conduct successful alumni meetings:

Stage of Meeting Key Considerations

Planning Make sure that the goal or intention and the desired outcome of the meeting is clear to everyone as you plan. This makes it easy for you to set the agenda

30 |

Scheduling Find the most suitable time and venue when all or most attendees are available and can access. This makes it easy for you to have quorum. Make sure to mobilize attendance

Agenda Order your agenda in a manner that will help you accomplish the objective of your meeting

Meeting Conduct Ensure maximum participation and assign roles to each attendee – e.g. allocate roles like facilitating, participating, documenting and time-keeping to the attendees and establish some ground rules to keep the meeting productive

After Meeting Share the minutes, the resolutions and keep track of action items. Make sure to follow-through each action plan

You may use the framework template below to clarify your meetings by answering the questions in

each column of the template;

Intention of the Meeting

Desired Outcome

Agenda Roles Rules Time

What is the intention, or purpose, of the meeting? In other words, why have it?

What specific outcomes should be achieved by the end of the meeting?

What activities will the group go through, in what order, to move toward the desired outcome?

What roles or responsibilities need to be in place for the meeting to run smoothly? Who is facil-itating, and who is partici-pating? Who is documenting, and who is keeping track of the time? What do you expect of the participants?

What guide-lines will be in place during the meeting? These could relate to agreed group norms. They could also relate to use of laptops/mobiles, or practical rules related to a space. Let the participants add rules to ensure that they have ownership of them.

What is the expected time for the meet-ing, including breaks, and at what time will the meeting end?

3.4 ESTABLISHING EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP

Leadership can make or break your association. As such you need to pull all stops to ensure you have in

place suitable, effective and recognizable leadership for your association. While the process of putting

in place leadership for your association is democratic, and guided by your governance structure, the

leaders you end up with will determine whether your vision and objectives will be accomplished. Your

leaders will provide direction and guide the association in navigating its way towards attaining its

objectives. You will need to put in place a framework for determining suitability of individuals that may

be allowed to lead your association.

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Besides the general qualities of good leadership, some of the factors you may need to consider when

searching for leaders for your association would include:

• Clarity of the leadership role - Is the leadership role well defined including duties and responsibilities

of the role?

• Capacity of the individual to fulfil the role –

a. Does the individual have capacity to fulfil that role?

b. Do they meet basic minimum requirements such as being a member of your

c. association in good standing? Being able to meet their own financial commitments? Being

able to contribute to the association? Having a respectable profile? Do they understand the

mission of your association and are they committed to your constitution? Are they passionate

and committed to serve sacrificially?

d. Do they have the relevant knowledge, qualifications and skills necessary to fulfil the role?

• Performance Track Record – has the individual demonstrated desirable performance in their

previous engagements?

• Popularity – is the individual popular among the membership? Can he influence them easily?

The framework below can assist you in clarifying the roles and qualities required when recruiting

members of the board;

Background of the Board (a brief on its role and importance for the Association)

Constitutional Functions of the Board (what roles and responsibilities does the current constitution provide for the board?)

Additional Roles and Responsibilities of the Board (apart from the above roles, what else do you see as functions that should be performed by the board?)

32 |

Composition of the Board (How is the board currently constituted or how would you like it to be constituted? i.e. number of people and positions)

Suggested/Proposed Board Members (who are people suggested to join board and in what capacities?)

Recruiting a New Board (What is procedure and conditions provided by constitution for recruiting board? What are steps to be followed?)

General Remarks (any or information worth noting in relation to board and its functions or mode of operation?)

3.5 MANAGING TRANSITIONS, ELECTIONS AND NOMINATIONS

When planning for transitions it is important to align the incoming leadership to the needs of the

association by identifying current and future needs and mapping them to the corresponding leadership

qualities, skills and experience that would be required to fulfil those needs. You then need to identify

individuals that possess those leadership qualities, skills and experience; vet their suitability for your

association; cultivate their interest in your association; and when they are ready to serve, nominate

them for elections into leadership positions.

To ensure your nomination and election process is smooth, effective and successful; you may need to

put in place a visionary team whose responsibility is to ensure proper governance of the association.

The team would vet prospective leaders to ensure that you are getting the right leaders, they would

keep your board in check to ensure the board is properly performing its role and both the leadership

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and the membership are delivering on their roles as they should. Such a team should ensure there is

transparency, inclusiveness, diversity and fairness in the election process.

In order to maintain stability and sustainability of your association, you need to put in place a deliberate

plan to cover both anticipated and unexpected transitions. Your plan should be able to address the

timely delegation of duties and authority whenever there is an unexpected transition or interruption in

key leadership. It should also be able to address continuity and preserve organizational memory.

From the very start, you need to embed the culture of succession planning in your association. You

can intentionally and deliberately build a pool of future leaders by providing leadership development

opportunities through mentorship programs, coaching, volunteering and cultivating passion for your

association.

3.6 LEGAL FRAMEWORK, CONSTITUTIONS, CHARTERS, GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Many associations make the common mistake of simply rushing to a lawyer to draft for them

governance documents – in most cases the lawyers just take a template and fill in your particulars; you

end up adopting a document which does not serve your purpose. It is highly recommended that you

participate in the drafting of your governance documents such as the constitution, guiding principles

and charters. When developing these crucial documents, it is important that you get a diversified and

balanced perspectives from both experts and non-experts such as governance experts, your association

members and experienced individuals that have served in your industry.

These documents are very important as they determine the overall governance structure and processes

of your association. As a legal requirement, your association will need a constitution that conforms to

the requirements of the regulator. You therefore need to understand your operating environment.

For instance, associations are regulated by the Registrar of Societies as set out in the Societies Act

of Kenya. Take time to understand the legal framework within which you will operate by familiarizing

yourself with the relevant laws governing your association.

Below is a simple framework you may use as a guide when drafting your constitution.

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No Article Explanation Example

1 Preamble This is what captures the vision, the spirit and the vows/ commitments of the association

CONNECTED to inspire, influence and impact our alumni community, our School and our society:

DETERMINED to mentor and support our students, teachers and each other to fulfil the spirit of our school;

DESIROUS to fulfil the vision of the founders, sponsors and supporters of the school in relation to education, spiritual growth, technical skills, employable knowledge and social cohesiveness;

Do hereby ADOPT, ENACT and GIVE to ourselves and the future generations of our institute this Constitution as the guide for (the Association) on this day of..................................

2 Interpretation of the Constitution and Definition of Terms

This is where the you provide meaning to specific words used in the constitution to avoid vagueness and bring clarity

The terms should be arranged in alphabetical order

This Constitution shall be interpreted in a manner that:

a) Advances the preamble statement and the objectives of this Association.

b) Avoids the technicalities which defeat the purpose and intent of this Constitution.

In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires:

c) ‘BoM’ means the Board of Management of (the institution)

d) ‘Committee’ means the Executive Committee as instituted herein................

3 Particulars/ Name This is where you declare the name of the association and other particulars such as physical location

(1) The name of the Association shall be XXXX (in this Constitution referred to as the Association and abbreviated as “XX”).

4 Objects of the Association

Here is where you list the reason why the association exists –

The Association shall be apolitical, non- discriminatory and shall have the following aims:

(1) To foster links and fellowship between(2) the alumni and the school(3) To promote, improve and protect the(4) interests of the school and of the alumni

5 Membership Here is where you define the membership of the association

Who qualifies to be a member? What are the categories of membership? How do people become members? How do people cease to be members? Are there any fees paid?

(1) There shall be five (5) categories of Membership as follows:• Ordinary Membership: is open to....• Life Membership: is open to ....

(2) Membership to the association may cease in any of the following ways• Resignation: Any Member wishing

to resign shall ....

Expulsion: A Member may be expelled from Membership if ....

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6 Rights and Obligations of Members

Here is where you spell out the rights and obligations of members

(1) Every member shall have the right to:

a) be heard, provided such a right shall not infringe on the rights of others.

b) receive or enjoy services that the members have and may jointly develop and subscribe to from time to time.

c) review the books of account and all documents relating thereto and a list of members of the...

(2) Every member shall be obliged to:

a) abide by this Constitution and any resolution that may be made from

b) time to time in accordance withc) this Constitution.d) at all times, conduct themselves ine) an orderly and respectful manner that

promotes unity, harmony, and trust.

7 Honorary Patrons If your association intends to have a patron, this is the place you make provisions for that – who qualifies to be a patron, how are they appointed, what is their role and how do get removed?

The Honorary Patrons of the Association shall be proposed by the Committee from amongst eminent and distinguished members of the society who have demonstrated exemplary support to the School; and confirmed by the Annual General Meeting.... The Honorary Patrons shall serve for a single term of 5 years and may be removed by resignation or by a vote of...

The Honorary Patrons shall serve for a single term of 5 years and may be removed by resignation or by a vote of...

8 Office Bearers Here is where you define the office bearers, how they get elected and how they cease to be office bearers

(1) The Office Bearers of the Association shall be:• The Chairperson• The Vice Chairperson • The Treasurer• The Secretary

(2) All Office Bearers shall be Ordinary or Life Members of the Association in good standing and shall be elected at an Annual General meeting.

(3) All Office Bearers shall hold office for a period of three years...

(4) Any Office Bearer who ceases to be a Member of the Association shall automatically cease to be an Office Bearer thereof.

9 Duties and Responsibilities of Office Bearers

Here is where you spell out the roles and responsibilities of the Office Bearers

(1) The Chairperson shall, unless prevented by illness or other sufficient cause,• preside over the General Meetings

and the Committee meetings.• have general charge over the

affairs of the Association, oversee the

(2) The Treasurer shalla) receive and also disburse, under

the directions of the Committee, all monies belonging to the Association

b) maintain proper records of all monies received, paid and all transactions entered into relating to the Association.

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10 The Board Here is where you define the Board that will run the association

(1) The Board shall consist of:(a) the Office Bearers of the

Association and (b) five other members elected at an

Annual General Meeting as set out...

(2) The Board shall be responsible for themanagement of the Association, and for that purpose, may give directions to the Office Bearers as to the way, within the law, they shall perform their duties...

(3) The Board shall meet not less than four times in any one year(a) The quorum of a Committee

meeting shall not be less than 5 of the elected members of the Committee;

11 Chapters If you intend to have chapters you can provide for them in this section

(1) Chapters of the Association may be formed with the approval of the Executive Committee and in accordance with the relevant laws governing the Association.

(2) Chapters shall abide by the Spirit and Provisions of this Constitution and shall be subject to t....

12 General Meetings This is where you define the General Meeting, the conduct of the general meeting, agenda...

(1) There shall be two classes of General Meetings –(a) Annual General Meetings, and(b) Special General Meetings.

The Annual General Meeting shall be held not later than....

13 Funds This is where you specify the manner and use of funds of the association

The income of the Association shall be derived from:

(a) Membership fees(b) Fundraising....

The funds of the Association may only be used for the purpose of furthering the objects of the Association....The financial year of the Association shall be from 1st January to 31st December....

14 Records This is where you spell out how the records of the association shall be handled

(1) The books of accounts and all documents relating to and a list of members of the Association shall be available for inspection at the headquarters of the Association by any officer or member of the Association on giving not less than (14) days’ notice in writing to the Association.

(2) The records of accounts of the Association shall be audited only by the Association’s auditors.

15 Auditor You can provide for the auditor, their terms and how they are appointed

The Committee shall nominate an independent Auditor for appointment by Annual General Meetings.The Auditor shall not be a member of the Committee or any subcommittee....

16 Amendments Provide for how amendments may be done to the constitution – what’s the procedure?

Amendments to the Constitution of the Association must be approved by at least two thirds majority of the Members present at a General Meeting and eligible to vote...

17 Dissolution What happens when the association gets dissolved?

The Association shall not be dissolved except by a resolution passed at a General meeting of Members by a vote of 75% of the Members present and eligible to vote.

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The quorum at the meeting shall be at least 50% of the Members of the Association.If no quorum is obtained, the proposal to dissolve the Association shall be submitted to a further General Meeting which shall be held one month later. Notice of this meeting shall be given to all Members of the Association at...

Your governance structure should be able to encourage accountability, transparency, participation,

inclusivity, efficiency, consensus, responsiveness and rule of law.

Here is a sample governance framework for a high school alumni association that you can use as a basis

when forming your association:

Membership (Annual General Meeting)

The School

Honorary Patrons

The Board

Committees

Association Office

Trustees

Local / Diaspora chapters Class Groups Professional

CaucusesOther Alumnae

Networks

4 Office Bearers + 5 Board Members Other Funds Investments Assets

Endowment Funds

Membership Fundraising Mentorship Technology Ad-hoc

Records Support Services Accounts

Membership Services

3.7 COMPLIANCE & STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS

Being compliant to your own regulations as well as being compliant to government regulations is

important for your survival and reputation as an association.

In order to meet your obligations, it is important that you are self-aware, aware of your operating

environment and constructively engaging with various stakeholders.

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It is recommended that you maintain essential governance practices, and adopt innovative practices

while staying compliant to the law. Some of the best practices you may need to consider, especially

for your leadership team include adopting term limits for your leadership teams, ensuring meetings

are conducted regularly and well attended; conducting regular audits; strategic planning; budgeting;

performance evaluation and role descriptions for each member.

You will also be required to file your annual tax returns and society returns as well as comply with other

acts and laws such as the data protection act.

3.8 STRATEGIC PLANNING, REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION

Strategic Plans enable you to stay true to your mission and focused on your goals. It enables your

association to achieve its objectives by prioritizing your resources and aligning them to your mission.

A good strategy should be effective, organized, actionable, and tailored to your needs. It should also

provide a framework for handling challenges when they arise.

To create a strategic plan, you will need to identify the reasons for planning, and gather information

from internal and external stakeholders; assess the current situation accurately, and agree on priorities,

mission, values, and vision of your association. You will then need to prioritize goals and objectives for

the plan, and develop a detailed implementation strategy.

As you implement your strategy, make sure to evaluate and monitor your operating environment for

any changes that may require you to review the plan, or make relevant adjustments such as updating

roles, goals, and parameters of the strategy.

You will need various approaches to strategic planning based on your circumstances such as when

you are planning for growth, when your internal management conditions are turbulent, when your

operating environment is troublesome or unpredictable, when you are experiencing a crisis, etc.

Below are a few samples, tools and frameworks that you may consider using to help you in your strategic

plan.

Section Explanation Example

Vision

Mission

Values

Strategic Priorities

Goals

Performance Indicators

Action Plan

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3.8.1 KEY COMPONENTS OF YOUR STRATEGIC PLAN

Your Strategic Plan needs to be very clear and can be used as a tool to communicate what your

association is all about. It can be a powerful tool for rallying your members behind your mission and

getting the much-needed support from your stakeholders. Below is a standard framework you can

use in putting together your strategic plan

3.8.2 SWOT ANALYSIS

One of the tools you can use to identify your needs and determine your position during the strategic

planning cycle is the SWOT framework. Use the framework to list your Strengths, Weaknesses,

Opportunities and Threats. You will then have these in mind while formulating your plan.

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES OPPORTUNITIES THREATS

3.8.3 STAKEHOLDERS ANALYSIS

You stakeholders will provide valuable input and support to the association, it is important that you

identify their needs and account for that in your strategic planning. Use the template below to clarify

your stakeholder expectations, needs and value to the association;

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CATEGORY & PRIORITY

NAME & DESCRIPTION

THEIR NEEDS & WHAT THEY EXPECT FROM US

THEIR VALUE TO US

OUR EXPECTATIONS OF THEM

Internal Stakeholders

Primary

Secondary

External Stakeholders

Primary

Secondary

3.8.4 FRAMEWORK FOR GOAL SETTING – SMART GOALS

When setting goals during your strategic planning, consider making smart goals. Smart goals are goals

that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely. The framework below can help you clarify

your goals and make them easier to execute;

SPECIFIC MEASURABLE ATTAINABLE RELEVANT TIMELY

What do you want to accomplish

How will you know when you have accomplished your goal?

How can the goal be accomplished?

Will the goal meet your short-term and long-term needs?

When will the goal be accomplished?

3.8.5 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES, FOCUS AREAS, EXPECTED OUTCOMES, ACTIONS AND KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The template below can help you to crystalize your plan into actionable items that would help you to

achieve your goals within given timelines;

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STRATEGIC PRIORITY

FOCUS AREA OUTCOMES ACTIONS KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Priority 1 Focus Area 1.1 Outcome a) Outcome b) Outcome c)

1. Action 1 2. Action 2 3. Action 3 4. Action 4 5. Action 5

Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Indicator 3 Indicator 4

Focus Area 1.2 Outcome a) Outcome b) Outcome c)

1. Action 1 2. Action 2 3. Action 3 4. Action 4 5. Action 5

Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Indicator 3 Indicator 4

Priority 2 Focus Area 2.1 Outcome a) Outcome b) Outcome c)

1. Action 1 2. Action 2 3. Action 3 4. Action 4 5. Action 5

Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Indicator 3 Indicator 4

Focus Area 2.2 Outcome a) Outcome b) Outcome c)

1. Action 1 2. Action 2 3. Action 3 4. Action 4 5. Action 5

Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Indicator 3 Indicator 4

Priority 3 Focus Area 3.1 Outcome a) Outcome b) Outcome c)

1. Action 1 2. Action 2 3. Action 3 4. Action 4 5. Action 5

Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Indicator 3 Indicator 4

Focus Area 3.2 Outcome a) Outcome b) Outcome c)

1. Action 1 2. Action 2 3. Action 3 4. Action 4 5. Action 5

Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Indicator 3 Indicator 4

Focus Area 3.3 Outcome a) Outcome b) Outcome c)

6. Action 1 7. Action 2 8. Action 3 9. Action 4 10. Action 5

Indicator 1 Indicator 2 Indicator 3 Indicator 4

3.9 CONCLUSION

Sound governance is a continuous, innovative, yet routine process that keeps your association alive. It

is maintained by structure and practice and requires highest standards of fidelity to your mission. Poor

governance can be fatal to your association and end your dreams prematurely. Governance is not just

a set of rules and regulations to be followed, neither is it just an event or an activity to be achieved,

but it is a continuous set of everything that make up the culture of your association to keep it running

properly in the prevailing environment.

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4. BRANDING FOR SUCCESS

This topic will cover the following areas;

1.) Introduction

2.) Building a Powerful Brand

3.) Expressing your brand

4.) Establishing Brand Guidelines

5.) Building Brand Democracy

6.) Designing your brand Identity

7.) Conclusion

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Everyone has a brand, good or bad, whether they are aware of it or not. Your brand is the overall sense

of how people see you. It is how people identify you, associate with you and what they expect of your

actions, expressions and character. Your brand is your story, your identity, who you are. It is how people

know you, what they feel about you and how they associate with you.

While you do not own people’s perceptions about you, you can influence how they know, think and

feel about you by being persistently and consistently true to your identity. As an association you need

to build a strong brand. A strong brand evokes an emotional response, frequently and consistently. A

strong brand is a consequential influencer in the society that gives you a good reputation, enables your

association to attract public loyalty, and helps you to make meaningful impact.

4.2 BUILDING A POWERFUL BRAND

The foundation of your brand is made up a number of key elements including your name, your mission,

your values, your personality as an association, your unique positioning and your voice as an association.

To establish a powerful, effective brand, you need to thoroughly understand – and communicate – the

unique characteristics of your association. To facilitate this, you’ll need to answer the basic question of

“who are you?”

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Below is a framework of questions you can use to clarify your identity and establish your brand. Answers

to these questions will form the basis of your association’s identity and subsequent branding work,

including the design of such brand assets like your logo, your packaging, your web design, your social

media graphics, your business cards and the uniforms you wear.

Question Your Answer

1. Who are you serving, and how are you helping them?

2. What is the unique service you provide? How do you provide it?

3. Why does the world need your association?

4. How is it different than what others offer?

5. What is the desired outcome of the service?

6. Do you have good human stories to share? Is there a common thread?

7. Who are your audiences? clients, donors, volunteers, employees, community, press, and possibly others.

8. What attracts these important audiences? What inspires people to give to your association, or to want to volunteer or work there? Why your association and not another?

9. What emotions or perceptions do you want people to feel when thinking about your organization? Maybe safety, compassion, fear, religious loyalty, obligation.?

10. List all the related keywords you can think of about your brand, your service, your stories, the emotions they invoke.

11. What words, colors, images, symbols, might support those feelings or relate to the keywords?

4.3 EXPRESSING YOUR BRAND

It is critical for everyone involved in your association to understand the basic foundation and character

of your brand. When you fully understand your brand, you can work on expressing it clearly and

consistently every time you communicate, no matter the medium.

There are many components of branding, not just your logo, your tag line and elevator speech! Your

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brand is expressed in your Mission statement, vision statement and positioning statement. It is

expressed in how you answer your phone, in everything printed or created for your association, in

your website, in your presence on other websites and directories, in social media, in press releases and

articles, in your mail signature lines for everyone in the organization, in your events, in how you handle

problems, in your annual report, in your newsletters, in your email blasts, in your promotional products,

in your signs & banners. In short, your brand is expressed in everything you do, including the grants you

apply for, the databases you keep and how you communicate with your stakeholders.

Everything matters, including who you interact or associate with. Every time you perform a task, offer

a service or interact with people, you are communicating your brand. Planned or not, your brand is

communicated in everything you do and is expressed in your quality of service, your attitude, your ease

of access and integrity.

A successful brand is inextricably linked to your mission; is relevant, believable, sustainable, and

consistent. To achieve a successful brand that is authentic and communicates clearly about who you

are and what you do, you will need to stablish brand guidelines.

4.4 ESTABLISHING BRAND GUIDELINES

Take some time to document the unique way your association wishes to be represented by creating a

comprehensive set of brand guidelines. Establishing brand guidelines is an important component of

increasing visibility and understanding. The guidelines will help you to build consistency within the visual

and messaging elements of your brand. Consistency is incredibly effective in improving awareness and

comprehension of your brand. The guidelines should not only set standards, but also be considered a

living document, that can be reviewed and updated in future.

Brand Element General Guidelines

Your Name Naming conventions should be addressed here, including circumstances where a shortened/abbreviated version of your name should/could be used (or not)

Your logo Identify the specific design of your logo, including both primary and secondary approved versions.

This may include a primary version that’s full-colour, and a secondary version that would be appropriate for one-colour design needs. Details can include relative measurements, dedicated white space around the logo, and pantone/HTML colour specifics. Don’t forget to address preferred positioning for your logo, as well as examples of improper use.

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Your logo design should bear the following qualities

1. Clearly communicates who you are and what you value as a

2. brand.3. Is visually appealing: simple, clean and uncluttered

goes a long way; Is classic, not trendy: the last thing you want is for your logo to go out of style in 6 months;

4. Plays along with your industry’s standards and if you veer off, do so deliberately

5. Makes a lasting impression on your audience.6. You also want to make sure that your design partner

delivers your logo in multiple formats (like a black and white version or multiple sizes) to ensure you always have the logo you need— and that each is in line with your brand identity

Typography Consider specifying a font(s) that matches your brand’s personality and conveys your information in the most appropriate way. If you create pieces in-house as well as via contracted designers, ensure you select fonts that are readily available so consistency can be maintained.

Colour palette The personality of your brand can be expressed through colour, and can help you stand out if applied consistently and liberally. You can identify a primary and secondary colour palette to keep options open, yet maintain control over how the association is identified through its colour choices

Photography Thinking about the photographic style that best matches your brand’s identity means you can get specific about appropriate images to represent your brand. Does it make sense for the images to be formal or informal in composition? Should people be looking into the camera? Indoor or outdoor settings (or both)?

Signage Internal and external signage is one of the most utilized and visible elements of your brand. Include details about design, sizing, and elements that ensure easy access for all users of your programs/services

Interior design If you have physical locations, interior design can be utilized to express your brand’s approach. Think about colour, logo usage and placement, furniture style, and the overall layout of the space

Brand positioning and personality Telling your story emanates from knowing who you are at the core. Describe who you are as an organization, what you do at a strategic (ultimate aim) level, and why you’re unique. Consider including how you’d describe the brand’s personality attributes to help frame the language you’ll ultimately use. For example, if your brand wants to primarily be seen as nurturing goodwill, your messaging choices will likely be different from an organization that exists to create controversy.

Tone of voice If your association was a person, how would it speak? Think about the level of formality that’s suitable, style of conversation and how your brand personality will be expressed.

Grammar and style Include details and examples of the words and phrases your nonprofit uses, including grammar and punctuation. If you follow a specific style guide, state the guide and version, as well as any exceptions that are unique to your association

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Grammar and style Include details and examples of the words and phrases your nonprofit uses, including grammar and punctuation. If you follow a specific style guide, state the guide and version, as well as any exceptions that are unique to your association.

Key messages Consider the messages you need to communicate to your audiences, and how they should be expressed. You may have a few key messages that are paramount to your communication strategy, and sub-messages that provide additional context/details in support of your main points.

Audiences Your nonprofit likely communicates with many different audiences, and messages for each need to be framed differently to meet their individual needs. When crafting any communication, think about your internal as well as external audiences.

Website Your website is one of the most representative aspects of your brand identity. Many people will definitely check your website out before deciding to associate with you. Your website is where your brand identity should come through in full force.

4.5 BUILDING BRAND DEMOCRACY

A high level of brand democracy means that you trust your members, volunteers, staff and supporters

to communicate their own understanding of your brand’s identity. To make sure people know your

brand well enough to advance it on their own, you can consider some of the following:

1. Get everyone on the same page. From members and volunteers to leaders, everyone in your

organization should be able to explain your mission in a 30-second session. Make note of the key

words. Even more importantly, note where they falter. If they can’t find the right words to describe

something, it’s usually because they don’t yet understand it well enough.

2. Provide plenty of resources. Make it easy to check out mission statements, meeting minutes and

case stories that sum up what your association does best. These materials can help staff and other

stakeholders further develop their understanding of your brand’s identity.

3. Make it impossible to forget your mission statement. This might be as simple as a grassroots T-shirt

campaign that gets your tagline into the streets

4. Be a good neighbour. People are watching what you do. Your actions make up a key part of your

brand, especially to those standing outside the organization.

5. Seek to harness, not control, social media.

6. Spend some time reflecting on your brand both inside and outside your association. Collect data,

if needed — talk to your volunteers or connect with members on social media. Does everyone

understand your mission? Can they explain it to their children?

7. Have a powerful brand presence physically

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8. Your brand must appeal to people intellectually

9. Promote your brand content on social media

10. Prove that your brand is here to stay

4.6 DESIGNING YOUR BRAND IDENTITY

Your brand identity is what makes you instantly recognizable to your targets. Your audience will

associate your brand identity with your product or service, and that identity is what forges the

connection between you and your clients, builds client loyalty, and determines how your clients will

perceive your brand.

You will need to generate content that will be useful in promoting your brand. Some of the artifacts

you may design to promote consistency in your brand include magazines, newsletters, website, fliers,

your offices, vehicles and other promotional items.

4.6.1 MAGAZNES

When hosting big conferences that you want to publicize to new audiences, an event magazine is ideal.

Event magazines are publications dedicated entirely to coverage on a specific event.

You can use them to recap or detail highlights from an event your company has hosted. Creating a

magazine for a past event is also a good way to archive it for those who were interested but didn’t have

the chance to attend.

They can also be used to promote upcoming events. You can give your audiences a glimpse into what

they can expect from the event, the kind of speakers who will be there, and location details.

4.6.2 NEWSLETTERS

You can use newsletters to stay in touch with current clients. They are also used to keep clients up to

date on new features or product updates. There are advantages to using newsletters.

1. Aside from connecting with clients, you can drive traffic to your site.

2. At the consideration or decision stage, they can be used to drive sales and move prospects further

down the funnel.

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Although your newsletters are targeted to your current or loyal audiences, you can choose different

ways to distribute them to different target groups. Personalizing your campaigns will result in better

engagement from your clients.

4.6.3 CORPORATE PROFILES

A company profile is a brief that provides an overview of the association to potential members and

supporters. It generally includes the following data:

• the name of the founder(s) and the names and titles of the key members of the association

• the official name of the association, its address and its telephone number.

• the overall activities of the association

• the association’s overall strategy, including its purpose and mission statement

• the governance structure of the association

• who serves on the board, if there is a board

• the numbers and types of employees or independent contractors in the association

• the basic financial data related to the association, including its yearly revenue

• places where the association does business

• the operations and mission of the association

• the achievements that the association has made recently

• the short- and longer-term goals of the association

• Update and maintenance of the profile is important in order to keep people up to

• date with the organization.

4.6.4 FLIERS

If you are looking to promote your services, you can also use flyers. Flyers are one of the most affordable

as well as cost-effective marketing tools. Information needs to be concise and simple for effective

marketing.

Flyers are extremely cost effective. Rather than paying for advertising space or venturing into the

expensive world of offline media, flyers have an incredibly high return on investment. It’s easy to get

flyers into potential client’s hands. This encourages promotion within smaller circles of family and

friends.

Not only are flyers tangible, they add a personal touch to your message. Physically handing your potential

client a flyer will immediately create a personal relationship with them. Flyers are still important in the

world of advertising because people actually read them. They are visually appealing and represent the

message at hand. They are quite affordable and easy to produce.

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4.6.5 WEBSITES

Websites, like fliers, are important in marketing your association. A well-maintained website can help

you gain a competitive advantage in your institution and improve your organization’s image. Developing

your website offers many benefits including helping you get more leads and prospects, enhance your

professional brand, and improve your membership uptake.

Your website can enable you to facilitate online advertisement which is cost-effective compared to

print advertisement and enables you to make changes. Your website transmits your business profile

around the world, permitting for enhanced exposure and services, due to a wider demographic reach.

If you have a professional looking and user-friendly website, clients will likely have a greater chance of

considering your institution credible over those who either do not have a web presence, or have a poor

website presence. Having a website provides your clients with around-the-clock availability in terms of

access to products and information.

4.6.6 SOCIAL MEDIA

Clients frequently use social networks to make the decision to connect with a brand. Your brand can best

educate, communicate and engage with clients through social media through the following activities;

• Curating relevant content

• Publishing original content

• Continuous engagement and community building

• Paid advertising

A well-defined social media strategy will help determine what to achieve in order to better connect

with your community. Your brand should be represented consistently across all social media networks

via the posting of relevant, high-quality content. With social media, your aim for clients is first to gain

trust. Then become loyal. And then, advocate for your brand’s products and services.

Some of the social media services you can use to keep connected with your members include Twitter,

Facebook, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok among others;

Target Audience

Objectives Positioning Messeging Format and Distribution

Frequency

Who is the target audience?

What do you aim to achieve on/from them?

How do you present yourself to them

What messages will help you to present yourself as desired?

How will you send the message, in what format?

How frequently will you be sending the message?

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4.7 CONCLUSION

It is vital to build your brand in order to create memorable distinction, difference and convey the value

of your association. A strong brand enables you to: create client recognition and trust; build loyalty; and

become sustainable, relevant and competitive.

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5. PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

This topic will cover the following areas;

1.) Introduction

2.) Framework for developing an alumni Program

3.) Sample Programs, Events and Projects

5.1 INTRODUCTION

Alumni Programming is a continuous set of services, projects and activities that keep your alumni

always engaged with the alma-mater, the association and the community in furthering the mission of

the association.

The choice of programs and projects are dependent on your strategic priorities and the desired impact

your association wishes to have on its members, the alma mater and the society at large. For example,

you may come up with programs that promote your brand, culture or integration. They may be programs

that boost your engagement, enhance recreation through sport or music, respond to a need in the

community such as blood donation drives, voluntary service schemes, scholarships, welfare program,

etc. You may also initiate projects that support your alma matter such as refurbishment of buildings,

mentorship of students and activities that support the programs that already run in the school such

as metal-work courses, arts and music. Some key elements of your program include its structure, its

content and its impact. The program ought to be sustainable and aligned to your mission.

5.2 FRAMEWORK FOR DEVELOPING AN ALUMNI PROGRAM

Below is a proposed four-step process to plan an effective program or event for your alumni community.

These steps will provide you with a guide that helps you to:

• identify and prioritize your community’s needs,

• design your specific program/event,

• deliver the program/event, • and evaluate success!

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Section Issues for considerations

Needs Assessment What is the need the program aims to meet?You will need to understand the needs and determine the priorities for your intended program at this stage

Target Population Who is your primary target for the program?

Stakeholders Who will be involved in or affected by the program?

Program Structure How will the program be set up, How will it be run,Who will lead itWhat will be the reporting channels?

Program Content What are the specific issues the program will address?What will be the specific actions, messages and activities that will make up the program

Monitoring and Evaluation How will you monitor and evaluate the success of the program?

5.2.1 UNDERSTANDING NEEDS AND DETERMINING PRIORITIES

Start by talking with the members, the school, volunteers, and other key stakeholders. Their input will

help to determine the needs and priorities of your program. This will enable you to identify the target

audience, community assets and strengths, barriers to participating, program needs or desires and

benefits of programs for your alumni. This is the stage where you set your vision, brainstorm program

ideas, and prioritize different programs to develop in your alumni community.

The template below can help you to clarify the needs and priorities for your programs;

Identify your Associations, assets and strengths

What is available in your community? Engage your members and stakeholders to identify what programs are currently provided for all ages.

What types of support do you currently have in your community to help in creating your programs? (such as mentors, coaches, volunteers, facilities)

Identify the gaps and needs you need to address

Looking at the population of interest, how would they benefit the most from the intended program? Why?

5.2.2 DESIGNING YOUR PROGRAM

After having a clear understanding of the needs, the priorities and the goals for your program, you

now need to develop the blueprint needed to successfully run your program. The design enables you

to see the complete picture of your program before you even start implementing it. It ensures that

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your program is well organized and that it provides opportunities for the intended participants to

participate.

The following templates will help to identify your program goals/outcomes, tasks to be carried out and

what resources are needed for the program to happen.

Taking time to lay out your ideas on paper will ensure your event or program is a success!

5.2.2.1 PROGRAM PLANNING AND EVALUATION TEMPLATE

Name of Program (what your program is called)

Demonstrated Need (why you are offering this program)

Target Group (who the program is for)

Program Outcomes(The changes expected to result from the program – can relate to knowledge, skills or behavior)

Program Inputs(resources needed for the program to happen)

Activities/Tasks(tasks or activities that are to be carried out as part of the program)

Outputs(products produced from Program activities – expressed in numbers)

Measurement Tools How will we know we are successful? (Methods of evaluating program)

5.2.2.2 PROJECT/PROGRAM PLAN WORKSHEET

Program Name (What):

Program Timelines (When):

Program Location (Where):

Program Description (How):

Program Sustainability

Responsible (Who is responsible?):

Accountable (Who is accountable?):

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Consulted (Who must be consulted?):

Informed (Who must be informed?):

Resources Needed:

Finance/Budget:

5.2.2.3 5W BRAINSTORMING PLANNING TOOL

Who Who will be involved? Which partners will help us?

What What are the outcomes of the project? What impact are you trying to accomplish? What do you hope to achieve?

Where Where will the project take place? Will you need to rent space?

When When will the project take place? Is there a clear start and end date? When does evaluation take place?

How How will the project proceed? How will you measure and evaluate the success of the project? How much will it cost?

Why Why are you doing the project? Is there a need being fulfilled? How were needs defined

5.2.2.4 FRAMEWORK FOR ORGANIZING ALUMNI EVENTS – EVENT CONCEPT NOTE

Event Element Your Answer

Event Description (Give a general overview of the event. What is it, why is it being organized, how will it be conducted, who is involved etc.)?

Goals and Objectives (what do you aim to achieve by organizing the event?)

Expected Outcome (what are the key tangible impacts you intend to achieve through the event)

Target Groups (Who do you expect to either attend or support your event?

Call for Partnership (What is your message to potential partners, suppliers and donors? What are the opportunities available for them to support you and how do they stand to benefit?)

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Events Schedule (Give an outline of the schedule for the event, before, during and after?)

Contact Information (Where, who and how can the people reach the event organizers? Provide physical address, postal, email, telephone, website and social media addresses etc.)

Event Budget (what are the key budget lines and how much is allocated for each?)

General Remarks (Provide any other relevant information necessary for the advancement and promotion of the event)

5.2.2.5 BUDGET TEMPLATE

Identify all possible costs for your program. Then list any revenue (donations, etc.) and determine if a

registration fee is required.

Participant Fee = Total Costs / Expected Number of Participants

Program: _________________________ Date: ________________________

Estimated Program Budget Template

Revenues

Donations

Participant Fees

Fundraising

Other

Total Revenue

Expenditures

Facility Rental Supplies/ Equipment

Leadership Fees Advertising Administrative

Stationery/ Office Supplies Other Travel

Miscellaneous

Total Expenditure

BALANCE (Surplus/ Deficit)

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5.2.3 DELIVERING YOUR ALUMNI PROGRAM

Now that you have clarity of what you want to achieve and how to go about it, the next thing is to roll

out the implementation of the program. At this stage you will need to keep the community involved

and informed, maintain records of participation, and recognize and celebrate your success. This is

where your consistency and commitment are very important to keep people engaged, participating

and achieving the desired impact. Use the following framework to keep yourself in check.

Record-keeping How will you keep records on your program? (i.e. attendance/ participation, incident/ accident reports, etc.)

Recognition and Celebrating Success Don’t wait until the end of the program to recognize and celebrate your successes! Little thingscan be done along the way. Example: “thank you announcements” to recognize participants, and community recognition suppers or events.

Ideas for recognition include certificates of participation/achievements, community recognition night, suppers/feasts, awards, etc.

5.2.4 EVALUATING, CELEBRATING & SUSTAINING YOUR PROGRAM

This will involve measuring the success of your program and celebrating your community

accomplishments. You will need to put in place plans to ensure continued development of the program,

ways to maintain it, and methods to nurture the relevant activities. During the evaluation, it is important

to involve program participants, including volunteers, schools, alumni, organizers, as well as those who

help out. Planning for the future of the program is also important, including how to continue and sustain

the program from year to year and how to secure the necessary funding.

5.2.4.1 PROGRAM EVALUATION TEMPLATE FOR PARTICIPANT

Thank you for participating in this event. In order to best serve you, we would appreciate any feedback

Program Title

Program Date

What were the highlights?

What changes do you feel would enhance the program?

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Any other comments?

How did you hear about the program?

Would you like to be contacted about future programs?

If yes, please give your name and address

Please circle the number that reflects your overall experience: 1 = low, 5 = average, 10 = great

Please circle the number that reflects your overall experience: 1 = low, 5 = average, 10 = great

5.2.4.2 PROGRAM EVALUATION TEMPLATE FOR ORGANIZER

Program Success, Challenges, and Reduced Barriers

Program Title

Program Date

What were the barriers to the program?

Did the program go as planned? (Please explain)

Did the program meet the needs and benefits you wanted for the target audience?

Describe the program successes

Describe the challenges you may have encountered. (Remember, challenges can help us discover a new way to do things and improve our programs.)

Recommendations: Describe what changes will be made, if any

How will you ensure your program will run next year? Where will you get the funding? Will you have the same volunteers?

Other comments/notes

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5.2.5 PUTTING IN PLACE POLICIES IN YOUR PROGRAMMING

Since your programs and projects will involve many volunteers and engage more alumni, there will be

need for you to put in place policies which are intended to ensure:

• a consistent approach to the delivery of service by staff and volunteers

• that volunteers and staff are protected in their rationale for decision making

Policies are important because they provide guidance, consistency, accountability, efficiency, and clarity

on how the program operates. This allows members to have direct guidelines and principles to follow.

5.3 SAMPLE PROGRAMS, EVENTS AND PROJECTS

Alumni associations can engage in different projects that benefit the organization. Below is a list of

some of the programs you may initiate for your association

1.) Fund-raising - A strong association can be one of the biggest benefactors of an institution that can

contribute towards various developmental activities of the institution.

2.) Placements - the alumni network is one of the biggest sources of placement opportunities to the

students. Alumni can help students get placed at their respective firms and organizations.

3.) Mentorship and Scholarships - alumni can play an active role in voluntary programs like mentoring

students in their areas of expertise. They could also play a significant role in contributing

scholarships to deserving students.

4.) Career Guidance - alumni is a huge talent pool whose guidance can be beneficial to many students

and other fellow-alumni in their respective areas of study.

5.) Networking Platforms - alumni network by itself is one of the best professional networking

platforms.

6.) Welfare Programs – alumni can be a great resource for the wellness of each other but building

and maintaining a welfare fund

7.) Social, Recreational and Sports Programs – these programs and events will enable your members

and the association to develop a cohesive bond while impacting positively to the community

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6. FUNDRAISING AND RESOURCE MOBILIZATION

This topic will cover the following areas;

1.) Introduction

2.) Fundraising infrastructure

3.) Accountability

4.) Payment solutions

5.) Fundraising techniques

6.) Conclusion

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Fundraising and resource mobilization are an effective way of gaining support for your organization.

You are expected to find an event format and theme that attracts donors, set a realistic event budget

and find charitable event sponsors. You can also lean on the community and your alumni to fundraise.

You can promote your fundraiser across the web.

For a fundraiser, spreading the word is crucial — it directly affects your ability to hit your goals.

Traditional models include mailed invitations, phone banks, and direct mail. There are many digital

options you must also use, including:

1.) Email marketing: At every stage of your sales lifecycle, you should be tapping into your email

database to share an invite, discount, or sneak peek of your event — and make your existing

attendees feel special.

2.) Social media advertising: Social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn have powerful tools to let you

send targeted promotions to the right audience.

3.) Event discovery sites: Most event-goers have go-to event discovery websites they rely on to make

plans. And if you use Eventbrite, you can automatically distribute your events on discovery sites

across the web.

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6.1.1 SAMPLE STEPS FOR TRACKING FUNDERS

1.) Make a list of targets

2.) Reach out to the targets

3.) Pitch your funding idea to the once that give you audience

4.) Follow-up on the targets

5.) Secure interested funders

6.2 FUNDRAISING INFRASTRUCTURE

A professional staff is essential to an organization’s fundraising infrastructure. While fundraising is a

team activity, it is vital to have someone in the organization who is responsible for making fundraising

happen, including facilitating the development work of volunteer leadership. With an appropriate

level of support, this development professional designs a calendar of strategically driven development

activity and keeps it moving.

Infrastructure questions to consider include: Is the size of the organization’s development staff

appropriate to its fundraising goals and the program elements needed to reach those goals? Are jobs

clearly defined? Are the right people in the right jobs? Do staff members have the necessary skills

and resources to carry out their mandate? Another critical internal element is communication and

collaboration between the development staff and other departments in the organization. The Director

the key leader whose strategic plan and vision for the organization attracts philanthropic supporters

commits a significant portion of his or her precious time to interacting with key prospects. Development

professionals also need to work collaboratively with their finance officer, program people and other

senior organizational leaders, who can help define funding opportunities and needs and serve as

important resources for engaging donors.

Fundraising professionals use a variety of tools and resources, including systems that help keep track of

gifts and pledges as well as of the information and activity surrounding donors and prospects. Whether

using a constituent management database or a simple spreadsheet for timely gift tracking and

recording, gift acknowledgement, opportunities for upgrading donors, and cultivation and stewardship

efforts, it’s important that the system be able to efficiently and accurately track and report on the

information needed to monitor the success of its development work, internally and externally, and

convey the evolving relationships between donors and the organization.

Your organizations also need access to prospect research: good information about prospects and

donors is critical to effective plans for developing them as donors. The quality of this information is a

key indicator of the depth of the relationships critical to donor development.

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Communications with donors and prospects are essential to move relationships forward: cultivating,

soliciting and stewarding constituents. How compelling are the organization’s publications in engaging

prospects and acknowledging donors? What tools are used to provide fundraising reports to donors?

Are the most up-to-date electronic media being used to reach people with timely, frequent messages

that match their interests instead of depending on one or two printed pieces that go to everyone

on the same annual schedule? Does the website make it easy to donate electronically or engage in

other ways (e.g., volunteer, use the services)? Are donors’ email addresses captured? Policies, updated

regularly and approved by the Board, exist for both your organization’s benefit and the donor’s. Ideally,

your organization’s policies clarify rules about what kinds of gifts can be accepted, how endowment is

invested and spent, and what the guidelines are on naming opportunities.

Well-documented procedures should be in place for gift processing, data entry, reporting and other

functions to ensure that the development operation can run smoothly despite staff transitions or

to provide clarity when unusual circumstances arise. Colleagues in the finance department should

be consulted to make sure that proper cash handling practices are observed and that the reports

generated by development match up with accounting results.

6.3 ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability refers to an organization being answerable to a third party. It refers to the obligation of

an individual or organization to account for its activities, accept responsibility for them, and to disclose

the results in a transparent manner. It encompasses several issues like organizational management

structure, financial procedures, human resource policies etc. Organizations with high accountability

and credibility are often preferred by donors and are more likely to get funded.

6.3.1 IMPORTANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Improved relations with donors and funders: Most donor agencies prefer organizations that have well-

built accounting mechanisms.

Financial security: With proper accounting and audits you can ensure that all your transactions are

secure and you are able to keep a check on money.

Greater involvement of communities: Local communities tend to get involved with organizations that

have shown accountability in the past. Communities will support your cause and will participate in your

project implementation.

Facilitates partnerships and collaborations: Proper accountability tools will facilitate in developing

partnerships with other organizations and agencies.

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Greater employability: Your staff will continue to work with you as they would feel secure to work for

an organization that is credible.

Improved performance: Accountability tools help you to keep check on your activities thereby

improving your performance. Research reveals that organizations with regulatory mechanisms are

more effective in terms of their performance and impact.

Aspects of accountability for your organization include;

Upward Accountability: This refers to the responsibility of your organization towards being accountable

to funders, donors and government institutions. As an organization you are answerable to donors and

funders about how you will be utilizing their money.

Horizontal Accountability: This refers to being responsible with project partners, peers and related

organizations. This also includes enhancing partnerships and collaborations with other organizations

and stakeholders.

Downward Accountability: This means that as an organization you are responsible towards your

beneficiaries and the target audience. You have received funding from a donor for the upliftment and

improvement of lives of these beneficiaries and therefore you are answerable to them. Along with

being accountable to them you also should involve them with the project implementation.

Internal Accountability: One of the most important aspects of accountability is to be answerable to

your own employees and your organization’s mission. It means that you have ethical standards and

governance structures and justify your organization’s core value.

6.3.2 MECHANISMS TO ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY INCLUDE:

Registration: Make sure your organization has a legal status and is registered under a relevant legal

framework. Registering your organization will not only help you in enhancing your accountability but

would also enable you to interact with government agencies and diverse donors. Your chances of

getting financial support and assistance will also increase.

Accreditations and certifications: This refers to an external agency certifying that your organization

complies with a set of norms and policies. Accreditation ensures that your organization has been

evaluated by a third party and fulfills the nationally recommended standards and policies.

Annual Reports: Publishing your annual reports regularly is a great way to ensure that you are fulfilling

the required activities responsibly. The annual report provides the readers with details about all the

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activities that your organization undertook a particular year. Make sure you use images and data to

represent important changes and activities that you completed in a particular year.

Financial Reports: Another important tool to enhance accountability is to regularly update and

compile your financial reports. This report clearly indicates your income and expenditure on a monthly,

quarterly and annual basis. Donors and supporters always trust organizations that show transparency

in their financial transactions.

Third Party Audits and Evaluation: Many organizations rely on evaluation and external audits as

accounting tool. The external audits help you to analyze and see if you are complying with the industry

standards and norms.

Publicize your activities: You should publicize your organization’s activities. You can use support of

press and the internet to showcase your project activities. Publicizing your activities enhances your

visibility and promotes public trust.

Develop your own set of self-regulation procedures: This is considered to be one of the most

effective ways to enhance accountability. Develop your own policies of keeping records, formats for

reports, trip and field reports. You can also start internal auditing every three months to keep a check

on all activities.

Stakeholder Feedback Reports: Start taking view points of the beneficiaries you are working with to

understand their perceptions about a project. This way you can immediately respond to their issues and

develop long term trust.

Contact Information: Make sure that you provide accurate and correct contact details on your

webpage, letter head and other communication. In case your office address changes, remember to

send the updated address to the donors and relevant authorities.

Improve communication channels: Develop communication channels so that you can share your impact

stories with a large audience. You can do this through press releases, blogs, newsletters, magazines and

social media updates.

Initiating partnerships with renowned entities: Partnering with well-established organizations help

in getting recognition and trust of people.

Get recognized for your work: Send in your organizations entry for various award functions and

competitions. Getting awarded for a social cause will make you appear more accountable and will also

enhance your public presence.

Conduct due diligence before partnering with a new organization: Conduct in-depth research of a

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new partner firm before entering in a partnership. This will help you in selecting reliable partners who

have a clean background and have not been involved in fraud or an anti-social activity.

Adopt ethical fundraising methods: Ethical fundraising policies should be adopted while accepting

funds. Make sure that you adhere to proper guidelines and report everything transparently to the

donors.

Clearly defined Membership Procedure: You should have proper guidelines relating to membership

fees, member duties and responsibilities etc. Also share important decisions and update the members

on a regular basis.

6.4 PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

Collecting donations online allows you to harness the financial power of your organization’s supporters.

Easy credit and debit card payment processing can help any institution reach their fundraising goals

and more. Below are online payment systems that can work for your organization.

Accept online donations

There are crowdfunding systems that make it easy to raise money online. By using these systems, you

can raise more online with less effort and increase donor awareness for your cause along the way.

Your supporters can even collect online donations for you and have the funds sent directly to your

organization’s bank account.

Sell event tickets and merchandise online

Collecting donations isn’t the only way you can empower your cause and your supporters. Online

payment processing systems also allow you to sell event tickets and merchandise, like t-shirts, stickers,

or mugs. For your organization, live events are a crucial time to grow your network, engage potential

donors, and raise important funds. You’ll want to look for payment solutions that offer ticketing,

registration, and other neat features for your potential donor base.

Mobile payment options

More and more, it seems the world is living on the internet. That’s why the best payment solutions offer

mobile-optimized giving options that allow donors to easily donate by credit card. This simply means

that you’ll be able to collect online donations from any device that your donor may be using at the time.

In their office on a desktop, or on the go on an iPhone, the best credit card processing happens where

the donor is.

When a payment processing solution works perfectly, payments are simply sent directly to your

organization while the processing tool works in the background to power the transfers. The following

payment processors include PayPal, PesaPal, WePay and iPay.

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6.5 FUNDRAISING TECHNIQUES

6.5.1 REACH OUT TO CURRENT DONORS

The people most likely to give money to your organization are those who have already done so. Figure

out a way to go back to them to ask them to give again i.e. hold an event, send out a mailing, make calls.

Tell your donors why you need them to be generous once again.

6.5.2 RUN A MINI-CAMPAIGN

There are major fundraising campaigns but you can hold a mini-campaign. Decide how much you need

to raise, then structure it just like a major fundraising campaign. Have a campaign chair and vice chairs,

do a small booklet explaining your revenue needs, hold a kick-off, and track your progress during this

short-duration quick fundraising campaign.

6.5.3 PRE-SELL FUTURE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

This is one of the best quick fundraising tactics. If you’ve got a major fundraising event coming up later

in the year, or some other institution-related activities that you know about in advance, pre-sell tickets

for a reduced rate or in return for additional recognition as a “charter” or “early” sponsor. Raise money

for your current needs using future events and activities.

6.5.4 HOLD VIRAL FUNDRAISING EVENTS

There may not be enough time to pull together a major fundraising event. Instead, talk to your best

supporters and ask them to host small viral fundraising event on your behalf. Using this strategy, you

hold lots of little fundraising events in supporters’ homes or organizations, with them inviting their

networks. Lots of little events can add up quick. If your organization needs to raise a quick KES 1,000,000,

all you need using this method is to find 10 people to each host a KES 100,000 event in their home.

6.5.5 CUT COSTS ON EXPENSES IN YOUR INSTITUTION

Cutting costs around the edges can really add to the bottom line. Every dollar you cut from your

expenses is a dollar you don’t have to raise. Many organizations have been able to cut 2-5% from their

budgets relatively painlessly, and without laying off staff. Take a good hard look at your expenses and

see what you can cut, at least for the short term.

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6.6 CONCLUSION

Raising funds is vital for the support of your organization by the help of your alumni. To gain trust of

donors and supporters it is necessary to keep financial records and account for every donation. You

require a professional staff for your fundraising infrastructure as well as skilled people who can set

up donation platforms and raise funds. You are expected to be accountable, keep ethical fundraising

methods and adopt current and up to date payment methods efficient for raising funds.

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7. OPERATIONS & ADMINISTRATIONThis topic will cover the following areas;

1.) Tracking and reporting on all your activities on a daily basis

2.) Common Tools and templates

3.) Manuals and guidelines

4.) Processes and work-flows

5.) Managing correspondence, forums and discussions

6.) Meeting alumni demands and growing your capacity

7.) Use of technology to run your association

8.) Maximizing value from Alumni Management System

7.1 TRACKING AND REPORTING ON ALL YOUR ACTIVITIES ON A DAILY BASIS

Many types of reports are created during the execution phase of a Strategic Plan in order to track

progress.

Status reports have a few key objectives, including:

1. Making communication across the organization seamless.

2. Simplifying the communication process.

3. Keeping stakeholders in-the-know as the project moves forward

4. Delivering the right information, to the right stakeholders, at the right time.

5. Enhancing organizational support for everyone involved.

Monitoring, tracking and reporting are a highly-collaborative process. Without monitoring and tracking

the progress, the reporting is not accurate. Therefore, teams must collaborate when creating reports,

so communications are clear. This collaboration and communication are facilitated by the right

management tools.

7.1.1 The Six Elements of a Report

As the execution phase progresses, it’s important to report on progress so the schedule doesn’t go

astray. Comprehensive reports include six elements:

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7.1.1.1 Basic Information

Start with the basics. What is the project’s name? Who will be managing the project? What are the

available resources? Effective tracking requires detailed information.

7.1.1.2 Status Information

Report dates are the most important status information, and should always be front-and- center. Also,

data separating status reports from other reports crossing stakeholders’ desks should be visible to

grab attention.

7.1.1.3 Milestone Review

Milestones are major touchpoints for your project. They serve as a guidepost for remaining work, and

the timeline for it to get done. Conducting a milestone review lets stakeholders see actual progress

versus what was estimated in the project proposal.

7.1.1.4 Summary

The summary includes a projected completion date, as well as resources and costs expended. Inclusion

of issues causing delays is an important summary component. There should be a clear explanation of

how these issues could affect budget and timeline, and work being done to ensure things are corrected

to get back on track.

7.1.1.5 Issues and Risks

This section is straightforward. List issues and risks you have encountered. Note how these are being

resolved. Finally, outline how resolutions are positively impacting project execution.

7.1.1.6 Project Metrics

Back up statements with hard numbers and data points. Project planning details should have outlined

these metrics. Show how data illustrates the success of your project to date, or, highlight needs for

immediate improvement.

7.1.2 PROJECT REPORTING BEST PRACTICES

There are some project reporting best practices to consider:

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• Communication is the cornerstone: Status reports are a key element of your communications

plan. Writing reports in a way that delivers the right information to the right people, at the right

time, should be the overarching goal.

• Be consistent: Find a format and distribution method that works for your stakeholders, and stick

with it. They’ll appreciate the predictability of the information they receive.

• Set targets and measure against them: Establishing metrics is an important part of project

reporting and monitoring. Accordingly, these metrics should be how you project progress is

measured against goals throughout its life-cycle.

• Keep things simple: Keep reports simple to ensure effectiveness. Don’t pull in details unrelated to

the issue on which you’re reporting.

Throughout any project, it’s important to evaluate reporting to avoid scope creep. As project teams

start to work, and silos of activity develop, it’s vital to keep everyone aligned. This ensures project

scope doesn’t creep.

7.1.2.1 Monitoring Scope Creep

There are five ways to avoid scope creep:

1. Document all project requirements: As explained above.

2. Establish change control processes: If scope creep happens, it’s important to have

change control processes in place to bring things back on track.

3. Create a clear project schedule: A thorough project schedule outlines project goals. It outlines

tasks to be done to reach those goals. This schedule is referenced against the project plan’s

requirements document to make sure everything is moving forward. If not, the schedule sets the

course for tweaks or changes.

4. Verify scope with stakeholders: It’s worthwhile during a project’s lifecycle to review scope with

all stakeholders. Reviewing the schedule together, and making sure all tasks stakeholders are

expecting to be done on a given timeline is also a good idea.

5. Engage the project team: Make sure your project team is happy with how things are going

throughout the project. Weekly 1:1 meetings or team meetings to review tasks, and also overall

project progress is a great way to keep your team engaged.

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7.2 COMMON TOOLS AND TEMPLATES

Some of the common tools and templates you will require for administrative purposes include;

1) Functional and updated database.

2) Offer services.

3) Communication with alumni via forms;

a) Membership Registration Forms

b) Event Registration Forms

c) Feedback Forms

d) Payment Forms

e) Evaluation Forms

f) Contact Forms

g) Survey Templates

h) Questionnaire Templates

7.3 MANUALS AND GUIDELINES

Your association will need to put in place various manuals and guidelines to guide various areas of your

association such as Operations Manual, Elections Guidelines, Fundraising Manuals and others.

These guidelines will assist you to create confidence and consistency in your administrative activities

and make it easy to onboard new members, staff and volunteers.

Below is a sample Operations Manual for an Alumni association;

7.4 MANAGING CORRESPONDENCE, FORUMS AND DISCUSSIONS

7.4.1 Ways to manage correspondence processes;

Implement an alumni management system which correspondence function such as AlumniPad.

Bring order and keep track of important contacts.

Ensure access to institution-approved correspondence templates; select, approve and distribute a set

of correspondence templates that align with the organization’s processes and policies. Achieving such

consistency will significantly improve the communication processes both within the organization and

with others.

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Safeguard your correspondence. Ensuring that your correspondence between clients is safe and

secured should be one of the highest priorities for every organization.

How to manage forums and discussions;

Social media forums such as WhatsApp, if not well managed, can derail the mission of your association.

It is important that you put in place measures to manage and shape the discourse on such forums in

order for you to stay the course of your mission.

Some of the ways you can regulate and manage the forums include;

1.) Build a moderation team.

2.) Establish forum rules and encourage quality posts.

3.) Keep out the spam.

4.) Stay active and involved in the community.

5.) Monitor forum traffic.

7.5 MEETING ALUMNI DEMANDS AND GROWING YOUR CAPACITY

It is vital to meet alumni needs based on alumni set expectations. This correspondingly leads to the

growth of your organization’s capacity. Here are ways to grow your alumni association’s capacity.

Open Communication:

It is important that there is open communication between the alumni and the organization’s leadership.

If you are leading the alumni association, recommend regular scheduled meetings to foster a deep

relationship.

Sensing:

Before launching a meaningful alumnus giving program be sure to sense the idea with a diverse group

people. This will ensure you get good feedback on feasibility and you will learn more about how people

wish to be engaged, what they want to do.

Engaging All Ages:

Offer opportunities for engagement such as serving as a mentor, hosting events, or volunteering in

local events.

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7.6 USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO RUN YOUR ASSOCIATION

Here are a few examples:

7.6.1 Email

These services make it easier for alumni to stay in touch with each other, while providing the organiza-

tion with an effortless way to send solicitations for money.

7.6.2 Social media

When it comes to connecting through social media, there are many options for associations than

just a Facebook or LinkedIn page. Organizations can create a Facebook or a LinkedIn Group for all

their alumni or segment them by graduation year, academic areas, or extracurricular activities. These

groups can be moderated by alumni, the alumni office, or both.

7.6.3 Alumni portals

They allow alumni to search directories for classmate contact information, register for events, and

access career resources.

These portals sometimes offer a private social networking platform that can operate just like a Linke-

dIn group. The alumni portals can be useful in meeting certain critical objectives of your association

and programs such as mentorship and career opportunities.

7.7 MAXIMISING VALUE FROM ALUMNI MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

7.7.1 Manage your corporate alumni network with software

Manage your Corporate Alumni Network with Software

As your network grows, your ability to track and analyze data becomes difficult. Content calendars

become overwhelming with the variety of content that is required to engage your various alumni popu-

lations. Communication plans start to become cast aside to focus on only the biggest upcoming events.

Overall, the program begins to collapse from the pressure of trying to constantly engage everyone in

your network.

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This is the time that software becomes crucial for alumni network growth. Software enables you to:

• Streamline Administrative Tasks with tools to validate incoming alumni and ensure accurate data.

• Administer Content Calendar through the content library.

• Execute Communication Plans using the automated message manager.

• Manage Upcoming Alumni Events with the event planner to further engage your alumni.

7.7.2 IMPORTANCE OF ALUMNI MANAGEMENT PLATFORM

Social networks like LinkedIn and Facebook do a great job at maintaining up to date information,

However, you still need an alumni management platform in order to draw real value from your alumni.

Some of the reasons you need an Alumni Management platform include;

1. Alumni are a truly valuable asset, don’t lose their data and the control over your relationship with

them!

2. Alumni are a formidable asset for your organization, they are:

• Potential recruiters for your new graduates. • Brand ambassadors for your organization. • A significant source of revenue through donations and memberships. • A large pool of expertise across different industries and roles.

• A precious help for the organization of your alumni events.

3. Reinforce alumni engagement by leveraging your institution’s brand. Reaching high levels of

engagement in your alumni community requires trust and a high sense of pride and belonging.

Providing your alumni with a branded online platform rather than interacting with them solely

through non-branded and generic platform/s, will increase the emotional link and therefore the

level of engagement you can achieve. A branded platform will be perceived as bringing more

value and foster a sense of belonging as the platform is exclusive to your alumni.

4. Centralize your alumni management tools to extract more value from your actions. An alumni

management platform allows you to centralize the tools you need to engage and grow your

community: Such tools include

• Event management • Email marketing • Social network integration • Job board • Membership management • Fundraising • Insightful Statistics

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5. Create a map of your network and deliver the right information to the right people at the right

time. Likewise, if you are creating an event for a 5-year reunion you will want to make sure the

information doesn’t get lost in a feed.

6. A dedicated alumni platform will mean that the communication is delivered to the right people,

in the right locations, at the right time. Your ability to target your communications so that they

hit their exact target audience makes for much more powerful communications and increased

community engagement.

7. Generate a pool of opportunities for your alumni. You need to make sure your platform allows

your alumni to easily extract the information they are looking for and that it creates opportunities

for them. These could be:

• Opportunities to network with other alumni.

• Easily meet up anywhere in the world with their former classmates.

• Get information about alumni events.

• Career and investment opportunities.

• Access to research from the school or other benefits.

• Opportunities to give back financially or by offering some of their time.

8. Save money and stay up to date with alumni relations best practices by using a specialist.

7.8 CONCLUSION

The two initial requirements to start an alumni association are:

• The enthusiasm and willingness of several individuals who are willing to take on the

organizational initiative and sustain it.

• The interest of a reasonable nucleus of alumni and friends of the organization to participate

in the association’s activities.

Who Should Take on the Leadership Role of an Alumni Association?

In addition to being an alumnus/ae of the organization (or an employee), the leader of an alumni asso-

ciation should also have the following characteristics:

• Willingness to work with the institution.

• Willingness to contribute time.

• Enthusiasm.

Ability to motivate and engage alumni.

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8. MEASURING IMPACT1.) Introduction

2.) Measuring Progress and Results in Relation to Goals

3.) Top Management Commitment and Level of Investment – Indicators of Success

4.) The Importance of Research and High-Quality Data Management in Measuring Success

5.) Indicators for Measuring Success in Alumni Relations

6.) Indicators for Measuring Success in Fundraising

7.) Measuring Communications and Community Building

8.) Listening is More Important Than Talking

9.) Conclusion

8.1 INTRODUCTION

Wellbeing Valuation is an established lightweight framework for measuring social impact. This

converts outcomes into monetary values based on how much they increase individual well-being.

The approach works through the analysis of large national datasets. Sophisticated statistical analysis

is used to isolate the effect of specific factors on individual wellbeing. To do this we must input data

into Wellbeing Valuation Calculators including the cost of the project, number of people involved,

their ages, what they achieve as a result of participating. This information is then analyzed to

calculate the social value of a project.

Here are three simple steps to get you started:

1.) Plan for Success. Create a roadmap for measuring your financial and social impact

2.) Set Program goals and metrics. Start with the question, “what does success look like?”

3.) Clarify quantifiable outcomes or metrics that can be easily measured on a routine basis.

4.) Report Out. Impact is irrelevant if no one knows about it, so be sure to share updates

5.) with both stats and stories internally (i.e. board/staff meetings) and externally (i.e. newsletters,

social media, blogs, annual reports, etc.)

8.1.1 HOW TO MEASURE SOCIAL IMPACT

1. Identify the particular difference (the impact) you and your institution are seeking to make –

that way you know what to track and measure and are clear about your purpose. Deciding on the

difference you and your organization want to make is closely aligned to your overall mission and

values.

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2. With each project, use a theory of change to identify the impact and outcomes (the changes you

want to make – in the short, medium and long term) from your project.

3. Plan and cost your inputs (resources) and activities to enable these outcomes. These could be

group activities, individual mentoring and support, skills sessions. What resources do you need –

expertise, materials, space, marketing.

4. Be clear about your outputs (what is produced) from the activities. These could be CVs, job

applications, film, presentations, journals, recordings.

5. Who is the Impact Evaluation for? Who is your audience? Be clear about who the evaluation is for

so that you measure impact relevant to the audience and use appropriate language.

6. Think about what form your final evaluation report will be in. This could be a written report with

graphs, diagrams, videos, recordings or a mixture. How are you going to tell participants’ stories?

7. Think about what form would best suit your target audience? How might your work be applied in

another place or with another group?

Decide what you are going to measure at the beginning of your project. You may wish to think about

the extent a project empowers individuals or communities and then show this through measuring

aspects like confidence, connectivity, skills at the start and again at the end of a project. Examples of

measurable empowerment include be:

a.) increased confidence and self-worth

b.) increased knowledge and skills

c.) increased economic benefit

d.) managing life better (less anxiety / depression / loneliness, more engaged in their community or

new friendships)

e.) re-engagement with education.

8. Determine the measurement methodologies you will use. That way you will know to what extent

you’ve achieved the changes you want to make. This will be both:

a.) quantitative data (collecting information on number of people participating, their

b.) personal details, register of attendance)

c.) qualitative information– to show the individual journey travelled; this means they

d.) identify where they are at the start of the programme and again at the end to see how far they’ve

progressed in whatever area they are seeking to change or improve.

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9. Measurement and evaluation tools: include surveys questioning participants’ environment,

employment, health, financial inclusion, age etc., questionnaires identifying what they have learnt

and storytelling strategies such as films and recordings as well as personal endorsements.

10. Create final evaluation and report in whichever form you have chosen; demonstrating your

impact against the project ambitions. You should be able to show the impact of the arts and culture

activities on the initial need or problem you identified.

8.2 MEASURING PROGRESS AND RESULTS IN RELATION TO GOALS

It helps to articulate the vision of your institution, why it exists and what it does. Since benefits of

your operations often can be materialized only in the long term, you need to have metrics that show

progress of operations and how you are working towards achieving the goals set for the longer run.

Because alumni relations and fundraising need heavy investments to be successful, it is clear that

measurable goals need to be set. Major progress in alumni relations and fundraising can be accomplished

with sufficient resources and comprehensive planning if the goals set are clear and the organizations

share understanding of them.

Keys to success tracking and measurement can be summed up in the following way:

1) Use multiple channels.

2) Build and steward lifetime relationships.

3) Measure attitudes and behaviors. Use metrics to track progress.

4) Do stakeholder survey.

5) Conduct regular research.

6) Value alumni and donors in all their roles.

8.2.1 TOP MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT AND LEVEL OF INVESTMENT– INDICATORS OF SUCCESS

You need to start with long-term thinking and be systematic, team-oriented and ethical. Top-

management support and involvement is essential. You will need to invest in professionals and other

resources that are needed to succeed. Data systems and data management that are a crucial element

for successful fundraising; infrastructure that is needed to support success. Your staff mission is to

help in articulating the vision, enabling success and leading from behind and below. Your staff has to

stay flexible, innovative and reinventing ways to do improve the profession. There are a few metrics to

consider:

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1. Fundraising overall is a very labor-intensive profession. That is why it is really important to realize

how many major gift prospects one fundraiser can handle and how that affects the expected

results in fundraising.

2. How much the top management allocates time to fundraising, number of major gift visits made,

number of events hosted, number of calls made to prospects and donors, number of thanking

events.

8.2.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH AND HIGH-QUALITY DATA MANAGEMENT IN MEASURING SUCCESS

Measuring needs to be based on regular research: asking, scanning and assessing. Listening to the

constituencies and providing feedback loops should be a constant activity. Metrics should exist to help

tracking progress weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually. Effectiveness of each program should be

measured. In measuring the outcomes, it is hard to show interdependency but you can find correlation.

Seeking correlations and seeking the effect, not just numbers, is the way to proceed. Measuring is

about a cost-benefit analysis: was its real worth is, what was the cost per alumnus/donor, does the

potential positive outcome outweigh the staff time and other resources. Performance metrics should

be in place for staff performance, too, to measure outreach and success.

High quality data management is a combination of people process and technology.

a.) People: In institutional giving, e.g. prospect research is essential in fundraising success and

institutions need to invest in people doing that. Each researcher is dedicated to each organization

and people are assigned to specific prospects. It is important to assure that many people do not

contact the same prospect. The success in prospect research can be measured in tracking progress

in the qualifying categories for prospect research: – how much information has been collected and

analyzed, to evaluate how many of the qualified major gift prospects actually lead to donations.

b.) Process: Online tracking system is the key to the alumni relations and fundraising processes – all

personnel add info about the meetings and connections and their status into the system, records

are followed closely, which events or gifts are closing and when, active contacts, proposals or

request, declined proposals. Success in the fundraising process can be evaluated according to

the fundraising cycle: – number of identified prospects, number of prospect meetings, number

of scheduled meetings to strategize with staff and talk about coming meetings and donations,

number of prospects in different cultivation phases, number of prospects in the ask phase.

c.) Technology: The database is the backbone of success in alumni relations and fundraising. The goal

is to have one general system that benefits the whole institution community. New innovations in

technology create new ways of data management:

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8.3 INDICATORS FOR MEASURING SUCCESS IN ALUMNI RELATIONS

In advancement, Alumni relations come first. Creating relationships and establishing alumni activities

should start early, pre-admission or with student programming. Time to actively raise funds comes

later. Alumni value higher education; for alumni, rich educational experience creates responsibility to

help the next generation. It is vital to stay in touch with alumni, and it goes far beyond giving money.

And once you stay in touch, they will in fact support the institution – if the institution is still, truly,

there for them. Throughout the study tour, the importance of creating value for alumni in all their roles

within the institution was strongly emphasized. That is why alumni programs cannot be measured only

in terms of alumni participation in fundraising, but with indicators created to measure the different

activities and participation forms during the different phases in the lifelong relationship between

alumni and the institution.

The alumni satisfaction rate is a key measure in evaluating how successful alumni relations programs

are. The rate contains components like pride of your own institution, appreciation of alumni programs.

Alumni satisfaction rate can be measured by surveys and enquiries with questions such as would you

recommend, would you do it again, would you attend. Some of the areas of measurement in alumni

relations include;

1) Number of contactable alumni

2) Engagement and participation

a) Events

b) Programs

c) Profile updates

d) Recommendations to others

3) Giving

a) Total amount of alumni giving

b) Alumni participation rate

4) Volunteers

a) Number of volunteers

b) Hours of volunteer work

5) Student participation

Some of the elements you’ll need to have in mind for successful alumni programs include;

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1) Effective and interactive information systems.

2) Alumni association with clear identity governance structure.

3) Defined volunteer structure with expectations, roles, responsibility and accountability.

4) Effective internal organization including programs, staff, funding sources and records.

8.4 INDICATORS FOR MEASURING SUCCESS IN FUNDRAISING

Results are always evaluated also in accordance with the investments made. This systematic view and

approach fully apply also to alumni relations and engagement. Areas of measurement in fundraising

include;

1) Measure investment; number of staff, budget total investment over the years.

2) Measure attitude and behavior

3) Measure donors and donor types

4) Measure fundraising activity

5) Measure stewardship

6) Measure goal achievement

8.5 MEASURING COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY BUILDING

Branding, marketing and communications are critical to the success of all your efforts. Brand

differentiates institutions from one another and it is the most valuable asset the institutions have. Brand

is the result of a long-term strategic process and describes the institutions’ promise as perceived by key

audiences. To communicate efficiently, hard work reaching out to alumni and other constituencies,

branding and targeted communication are needed. Success in communication requires you to:

1. Conduct regular research.

2. Measure attitudes and behaviors.

3. Scan the environment and assess external reactions to internal decisions.

4. Manage institutional reputation.

5. Provide feedback loops.

6. Use multiple channels.

7. Involve the entire institution: coordinate communications and marketing efforts across

8. campus

9. Tell compelling stories.

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10. Reflect institutional values.

11. Plan before the crisis, live your values during the crisis, evaluate after the crisis.

12. Conduct strategic programs of two-way information exchange with key constituencies.

8.6 CONCLUSION

8.6.1 LISTENING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TALKING

Success in fundraising requires that your leadership is accessible and available as chief spokespersons

for the association. Messages should be kept clear, simple, direct, honest and the big-picture in mind.

The essential message is that for any institution with clear goals in development, philanthropic revenue

will make the difference between being excellent and just surviving. All institution’s representatives

should deploy this message passionately, articulating the vision and setting example.

Your communication strategy should be a combination of both financial and social impact metrics,

and should consider statistics and personal stories that convey your impact. Effective communications

strategies revolve around content tailored for your target audience, reliable data and transparency.

Having a mission-aligned strategy builds trust in your organization, develops the capacity and

commitment of your staff, communicates your social impact clearly to potential or existing donors,

investors and board members, and promotes collaboration or opportunities for others to join in your

mission.

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9. BEST PRACTICES FOR A SUSTAINABLE ALUMNI MODEL

KEY AREA BEST PRACTICE

9.1 FUNDING Create a symbiotic relationship with the college in order to reduce costs of running the association e.g. the college (being the biggest beneficiary) can contribute by housing the alumni office and/or staff

Establish a perpetual endowment fund/foundation from whose proceeds the association may run its’ programs. This creates stability & sustainability of funding

Be entrepreneurial by Innovating programs, projects and products that generate additional revenue for the association

9.2 ENGAGEMENT Encourage engagement by structuring value/benefits for all categories of alumni, including the students in college; and offering additional incentives for engagement. Engagement avenues may include offering one’s time, talent or treasure

Create and articulate value to alumni including networking, sustaining friendships,

Stay relevant to both the college and the alumni by continuous engagement, surveys and roundtables

Closely connect and align your activities to the priorities of the college

Closely monitor, measure and encourage engagement and impact from the form 1 girl to the oldest alumni. Aim at converting every contact to givers

9.3 GOVERNANCE Stay interdependent with the college by aligning the association with the leadership, programs and activities of the college and maintaining a good relationship with the college, without compromising your independence to be able to offer oversight to the college. Independently elect your leadership and lobby for representation in the board of the college to champion and advocate for the interests of alumni

Diversify the leadership to cover all age-groups and structure your membership to reflect the peculiar needs of each age-group and create an aspirational cycle e. g what the students look up to, what the young graduates look up to, what the mid-career alumni look up to and what the senior alumni look up to

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9.4 GROWTH Start with developing a vision and a Strategic Plan for the association

Begin fostering lifetime commitment by recruiting members right from the time they get admission numbers in form1

9.5 MEMBERSHIP FEES

Start with Membership Fees

Clarify value/benefits to members who pay membership fees. Also clarify what goes to admin work and what goes to the college.Grow towards universal membership by reducing reliance on membership fees and innovating new revenue and engagement channels

Create awareness about the alumni association and encourage giving rather than paying.

Membership Fees increase engagement especially during renewal time; Generates a commitment from members; Creates a sense of pride (feel- good vibes) in the members; and generate regular income you can budget on.

However, Membership Fees may also create a negative vibe from non- members who do not appreciate the benefits of paying membership fees. This can often lead to a divided alumni community and generate heavy admin overheads in distinguishing between alumni services and membership services

9.6 SAMPLE MEMBERSHIP ENGAGEMENT MODEL

9.6.1 FACTORS TO CONSIDER

1.) Inclusivity: make as many alumni as possible feel and be part of the association

2.) Funding: Eliminate direct competition between fundraising for needs such as scholarships and

membership dues

3.) Create synergy between the association and the college

4.) Adopt a Membership Model that promotes engagement, encourages giving and widens the donor

base. The more an individual engages or gives or expands your network, the more benefits she

gets entitled to

5.) Package membership to take into account alumni donations in various funds (such as Alumni Support

Fund & Endowment Fund) as well as participation in various activities such (Such as Mentorship,

Sports, Sponsorship, Personal Wellness, Training, Work- shops, Fun-days and networking events).

You can become a member by participating in Your Alumni Programs, contributing to various funds

or by paying a membership fee.

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6.) Structure membership to take into account diverse alumni characteristics such as age, financial

capability, availability, locality, skills and experience

7.) Create value-addition programs for member benefits by incentivizing members to engage in

activities such as

a.) Organizing, Hosting or attending Alumni Events

b.) Hosting Your Interns or employing Your alumni

c.) Volunteering in various causes & Programs including Mentorship, Fundraising and Secretariat

Support

d.) Belonging to or Leading regional chapters or Class Groups

e.) Actively Participating in a Sub-committee or Boards of Your alumni/college

f.) Partially or fully Sponsoring students at Your or collage

g.) Contributing to the Endowment Fund Initiatives

h.) Contributing to the various Funds including Projects Fund and Alumni Support Fund

i.) Recruiting or referring new members, corporates, alumni and other relationships to the

association

j.) Assisting Prospective students to successfully apply to Your college

k.) Frequently using your mobile app or logging into your website and sharing content

l.) Participating in your digital community by posting or sharing your posts and commenting on

them (Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc.)

m.) Responding to your SMS, Emails and WhatsApp Messages

9.7 SAMPLE PROPOSED MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS

BENEFIT CATEGORY Examples of Benefits

Career Related Benefits Job-search assistance programs Job Networking Platforms

College Related Benefits Parking Space facilities Library facilities Accommodation facilities Conferencing facilities

Education Related Benefits Discount on classes e.g. music classes for children; coding bootcamps, etc.

Financial/ Insurance Related Benefits Group Life Insurance; Last expense insurance, group medical insurance, etc.

Partnerships/ Business Discounted rates on group club memberships, discounted rates on services by alumni; shopping discounts with supermarkets, petrol stations, restaurants, etc.

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9.7.1 MORE EXAMPLES

1.) Access to Camping facilities at your College

2.) Access to facilities at your College for conferences, weddings, music, sports grounds, etc.

3.) Access to Exclusive Networks (Senior alumni in Government; C-Level Executives Networks

etc.

4.) Access to online Alumni Business Directory/ Database

5.) Career Networking Opportunities

6.) Access to Scholarship Material and Advise

7.) Discounts at Alumni Events

8.) Opportunity to support college projects & sponsorships

9.) Exclusive Access to select Recreational Facilities through strategic partnerships

10.) Parking Space at the College Premises

11.) Career Coaching & Mentorship opportunities

12.) Subsidized Fees at Alumni Owned Facilities/ Services such as Doctors; Lawyers; Rental

Properties etc.

13.) Access to group investment opportunities such as class groups

14.) Access to Welfare Support coordinated by the Secretariat such as group life insurance

15.) Legacy Opportunities e.g. Nomination to the board of the college or Leadership Positions

in the association

16.) Access to Alumni Support Fund

17.) Discounts at selected Retailers through strategic partnerships

18.) Access to select Sports Clubs/ Members Club Facilities E.g. United Kenya Club, Parklands

Sports Club, Muthaiga Country Club etc.

19.) Recommendations by the Association and vouching for job interviews etc.

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