Best Practices for Alumni Clubs | Alumni Association of the University of Michigan

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Name of the event or idea	Thank-you/personal notes
When it was held (specific date or time of year)	The club started sending personal thank-you notes last year after an open house on April 29, 2001, to welcome new members and those members who were out-of-touch for a while. It has become part of the club's protocol after all events and is normally done by the club president or another member of the board.
Cost to participants	N/A
Where the event was held. How this location was determined.	N/A
Total expenses incurred by the club	Postage. Stationery and envelopes with the AAUM logo are provided by the Alumni Association.
How the event was publicized	N/A
How many people attended	The club will normally send out at least two notes per event, depending on the size of the event and the number of new faces.
Approximate time involved in preparation	30 minutes
How registrations were handled. On-site and/or in advance	Not applicable
Other comments (What worked well? What were the challenges?)	It is hard to say how much the thank-you notes contribute to someone's interest in the club. Where the personal notes have made a significant difference is in the club's networking/career services events-they helped us secure a speaker from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation to speak to our group free of charge. We also used this same "personal note" approach to secure panel speakers for our upcoming economic outlook/networking event in November. Although the participants usually confirm that they are receiving the fliers and emails, there is something about a phone call or handwritten note that captures their attention. The club's nominating committee also used the one-on-one contacts to establish the club's slate of officers and directors for the annual elections in June. As a result, seven of the 10 officer and director positions filled in June had a new name for the 2002-03 fiscal year
Contact name and number of someone in the club who could provide more information for other clubs who may have questions	Jason Kraynek, past president, UMAOC 949.581.7179, kraynek2@cox.net