Best Practices: Club Events

Host a diverse array of events that appeal to a wide range of members (age, life stage, gender, race/ethnicity, income/occupation, etc.) to offer alumni and friends a Michigan experience that they cannot get elsewhere.

• Ideas for Making This Happen
• How We Can Help
• How Other Clubs Have Made This Happen

Ideas for Making This Happen

Provide events that will offer people fellowship, personal enrichment and new opportunities to utilize Michigan connections. Such opportunities could exist in the following areas:

• Continuing education event (University speaker, local speaker with a U-M connection or a speaker of local interest, career enhancement/networking event)
• Community service event
• Cultural event
• Family-oriented event
• Young alumni event
• Athletic event
• Welcome for members new to area

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How We Can Help

• Provide a certificate of the club's tax-exempt status
• Provide proof of the club's insurance coverage under the Alumni Association's policy
• Serve as a sounding board for your club's ideas and offer things to consider when planning (agenda, a venue, a time for an event, etc.)
• Provide nametags and certificate holders
• Notify clubs when we hear of University faculty and staff who will be traveling to their area
• At a club's request, contact representatives from the University's various schools and colleges to see if there will be anyone traveling to the club's area during a specified time

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How Other Clubs Have Made This Happen

Continuing Education events

The U of M Club of Silicon Valley is one of several clubs that has established a monthly book club for its members.

Finding ways to explore topics of current interest at the local level are a great way to generate interest in a club event. The U of M Club of Delaware arranged a tour of a local museum that was sponsoring a discussion and exhibit on the culture and religion of Islam. The U of M Club of Greater Flint hosted a lecture series related to Islam.

The U of M Club of Orange County hosted a networking and career services event that featured a presentation about what recruiters are looking for in today's job market. A second presentation looked at the local 2002-03 economic outlook. The event also featured opportunities for participants to network with one another.

The U of M Club of Greater Chicago had a career services event that featured a panel of people involved in various aspects of human resources. Each was responsible for a specific topic and spoke for 10 minutes. Topics included resume writing, looking for a job on the Web, networking and interviewing. Two panelists were club board members and other panelists were located through board members' contacts.

Community Service Events

The U of M Club of Greater Lansing makes pillows to send to Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor. When U-M athletes visit kids at the hospital, they autograph the pillows for them.

The U of M Club of New Hampshire is one of several clubs that participates in its local public television station's fund-raising drive. Besides helping out a worthy cause, the club and the University also get great publicity from having members on television.

The U of M Club of Hillsdale County is one of several clubs that participates in the Red Cross Bloodmobile blood drive. The club competed with the local MSU alumni club to see which club could donate the most blood.

The U of M Club of Atlanta participates in Hands On Atlanta, a day each fall devoted to a variety of service projects throughout the city. Club participants spend the morning doing community service and then adjourn to a local sports bar to watch the Michigan football game.

The U of M Club of Louisville volunteers to be Salvation Army bell ringers at Christmas. Of course, the club members wear lots of maize and blue to draw attention to the club.

The U of M Club of New Hampshire has a "Go Blue Spirit Committee" that writes thank you notes to places that have hosted the club and to club members that organize events. The committee also coordinates recognition of club members and sends greetings on behalf of the club.

Cultural events

The U of M clubs of Northville and Downriver join for an annual lunch at the Michigan League, followed by a show at Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. Following the performance, the clubs adjourn to an afterglow with members of the cast.

The U of M Club of New York has a "Conquering Culture" series designed to take advantage of numerous cultural events in Manhattan.

The U of M Club of San Diego discovered that the artistic director of a local theater is a U-M alumnus, so a group of members attended a performance and then arranged for a backstage tour led by the alumnus.

Family-oriented events

The U of M Club of the Twin Cities had an outing to the local zoo with a picnic on zoo grounds.

The U of M Club of Greater Chicago created a family cultural event around the work of the artist Chihuly being exhibited at a local conservatory. There was a brunch before the tour and a special kids room kept younger Wolverines entertained while the adults toured the exhibit.

Young alumni events

The U of M Club of Grand Rapids is one of several clubs that has a young alumni committee that is charged with developing programming specifically for younger members. Ideas they have come up with include happy hours, a trip to a pumpkin patch around Halloween and going through a local corn maze.

The U of M Club of Dallas is one of several clubs that hosts a euchre tournament. Tables rotate throughout the evening so that participants have a chance to play with everyone.

Athletic events

The U of M Club of Washington, DC, enters a club softball team in a local summer recreation league. Club members who are not on the team are still encouraged to come and root for their fellow members, and everyone frequently goes out for dinner or drinks after the game.

If a U-M team is competing in your area, there are a number of different ways your club can get involved. The U of M Club of Indianapolis hosted a reception during the Big Ten tournament for both the women's and men's basketball teams. The U of M Club of the Triangle brings club members to cheer for the field hockey team when it competes against the University of North Carolina. The U of M Club of Honolulu greets the U-M swim team at the airport and presents the members with leis when they arrive to train in Hawaii. If leis aren't native to your club's area, maize and blue attire and a chorus of "The Victors" will do!

Many clubs build an event around attending a local major or minor league sporting event. Here are some ways to put a Michigan spin on the event: The U of M Club of Golden Gate is one of several clubs that hosts a pre-game luncheon at Pacific Bell Park prior to attending a San Francisco Giants game. The U of M Club of Northern New Jersey attended its local minor league baseball team's game and was able to have the club president throw out the first pitch. The U of M Club of Seattle made sure to have its name announced and put on the scoreboard at a Seattle Mariners baseball game.

The U of M Club of Greater Phoenix adds spirit to its football-watching parties by having a band (consisting of alumni members of the Michigan Marching Band, children of alumni who are in local high school bands and general music aficionados) play "The Victors," "Let's Go Blue" and other Michigan favorites. The vice president serves as drum major.

Welcome for new members

The U of M Club of Los Angeles makes newcomers feel at home during football-watching parties by introducing them to the crowd at halftime and giving them Alumni Association trinkets. They also provide first-timers with coupons for free appetizers and beverages at the club's sports-watching venues.