Engaging your alumni: work with alumni relations

Student Societies: Working with Alumni and Supporters For UCL’s student clubs and societies, alumni are a largely untapped resource – from events to mentoring to fundraising, your society’s alumni can provide a wealth of knowledge and experience to help support your activities.

Alumni Relations Why should you stay in touch with your alumni?

10 DOs and DON’Ts for Successful Alumni Relations

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There are thousands of alumni volunteers waiting to share their knowledge and experience

DO plan your communications for the year – consistency is key!

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They can give careers advice and offer opportunities for members

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They could provide event support as alumni speakers, hosts, or sponsors

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They are global - UCL alumni live in 190 countries worldwide, have established groups and are great international contacts

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They are genuinely interested in staying in touch with societies

Ways to stay in touch with alumni •

Work with OVPD to construct an initial email that we will send on your behalf – the Data Protection Act means we can’t share alumni contact details

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Through the Alumni Online Community

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Encourage alumni to get involved in your social media activity

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Share any newsletters you produce

Things to Consider •

Are there any existing activities or events you can involve alumni in?

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What is your programme missing? Can you develop new ideas to engage alumni?

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Why do you want to get in touch with alumni?

What resource do you have to maintain a relationship with alumni?

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There may be alumni who were not a part of your society but would still be able to offer valuable career insight.

DON’T bombard them with communications DO contact us before inviting alumni and let us know if they volunteer for your events DON’T create your own database: this could lead to a data protection breach DO come to us for advice on newsletters, events, general communications and fundraising DON’T create unrealistic expectations - be clear on what you’re asking for and realistic about alumni interest/availability DO seek professional advice from the thousands of alumni mentors on the Alumni Online Community.

DON’T email alumni asking for jobs.

DO invite alumni to follow your social media channels so they can continue to stay in touch DON’T leave without sharing your experience - leave handover notes on alumni activity for incoming officers

alumni@ucl.ac.uk

Society Fundraising The Friend’s Trust: helpful tips The UCL Friend’s Trust awards grants to, societies, clubs and UCL student lead projects that make a real difference to students at UCL. •

Your request should benefit the maximum number of students

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Smaller grants (£200–£500) are more likely to be funded

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Try not to make requests every year, and if you do put in multiple requests, think carefully about how each one is special and unique

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Guidelines, grant deadlines and application forms can be found at: studentsunionucl. org/clubs-societies/resources/friends-trustapplications

Crowdfunding: Hints and tips •

You can set up crowdfunding challenges on websites like justgiving.com

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Have a simple project request – recording a video can help!

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Most successful society projects seek between £200–£2000

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Make sure you update your supporters once you’ve completed your project – they might support other projects in the future

New Student Centre, opening 2018

UCL – Your Lifelong Global Network It’s All Academic In September 2016, UCL launched It’s All Academic – its biggest ever philanthropy and engagement Campaign to raise £600 million for world-impacting research, far-reaching student support and transformative capital projects.

Your university was established through philanthropy and today, the ‘It’s All Academic’ Campaign will transform the student experience at UCL. The campaign will support the building of a new Student Centre on Gordon Street, which will include 1,000 new study spaces and IT and enquiry desks.

From supporting and creating new scholarships and bursaries, to offering professional advice, we are very grateful to alumni who give their time and skills to support the UCL community. www ucl.ac.uk/campaign

Alumni Online Community All students and alumni are invited to join an exclusive social network for members of the UCL community.

Once you have registered you can search the directory for a potential mentor from our pool of experienced alumni. There is no limit to the number of alumni you can contact: gain interview advice, course guidance and recommendations from thousands of alumni who have signed up, and are willing to support you. There are dedicated industry networks and international groups, so you can build new connections with alumni from over 190 countries worldwide.

The AOC is also available as a free app! www uclalumnicommunity.org

UCL Connect UCL Connect, our award-winning professional development series – a great opportunity to find out how to break into an industry sector with speed networking, workshops and international events. www aoc.ucl.ac.uk/alumni/alumni-professional-development