Whether facing budget and staff cuts or event logistics, alumni associations can make good use of volunteers. Three important rules for volunteer program management include maintaining good volunteer relationships, knowing when to ask for help, and recruiting good veteran, novice, and even nonalumni volunteers. (MSE)

An institutional advancement administrator draws on experience running an office with limited resources to offer suggestions to others, including putting basics in place first, then fine-tuning them, and developing a do-everything publication, a plan for special events and fund-raising, an annual giving structure, and a strong core of volunteers.…

Two models of administering college and university alumni chapters--using volunteers or paid staff--are compared, based on comments from alumni directors who have addressed the issues. A flexible club structure, which integrates a fully structured, chartered-chapter model with two versions of predominantly staff-driven models, is proposed as…

College and university public relations professionals have cultivated faculty volunteers and developed new ways to bring the classroom to alumni by involving faculty in homecoming, reunion activities; requesting nominations for alumni awards; informing faculty how their participation affects former students; socializing with faculty to discover…

Although volunteers serve many useful functions in fund raising, soliciting gifts should be left to staff. Volunteers are hard to recruit, keep, motivate, are unreliable, lacking in expertise, and they can balk at the realities of development tasks. Development offices should carefully think through the appropriate roles for these individuals.…

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York) has coordinated a comprehensive fund-raising campaign with special emphasis on several regions of the country. Each regional component is a miniature of the overall campaign. Planning strategies include regional analysis, adaptation of the usual development resources, volunteers and staffing, good…

Campus-activities programs are encouraged to make special efforts to teach student volunteers basic business skills to guide their thinking and decision-making in program administration. The program, its staff, students, institution, and associate members all benefit. A model for training and empowering students is outlined. (MSE)

The bilingual manual for permanent employees and field staff details the regulations and guidelines that govern the activities of Katimavik, a volunteer service program in which Canadian youth, ages 17-21, spend nine months in groups of 12, participating in community work projects and special learning activities in the areas of work skills, second…

The strategies used by a variety of colleges to involve alumni in student recruitment efforts are described. These include awards programs, scholarships, talent scouting, college nights, interviewing, special events, and communication with prospective or incoming students. The importance of training and communication in the alumni-recruitment…

This article outlines reasons why some colleges and universities choose to hire outside firms to manage telephone fund-raising campaigns and offers considerations in selecting the appropriate firm. Issues addressed include finding firms, inviting bids, checking references and facilities, making requirements clear, sustaining the relationship, and…

This book outlines issues of concern to top decision makers in a nonprofit organization that involves volunteers, including the role of the executive staff in supporting the volunteer program. The 12 chapters in the book discuss the following topics: developing a vision for volunteer participation; questions of policy; budgeting and other resource…

Organizers of auctions, fairs, rummage sales, and other fund-raising events at schools and colleges offer suggestions for making sales run smoothly, avoiding burnout, and complying with the law. These include ideas for improving efficiency, using volunteers effectively, making changes to accommodate new situations and conditions, and addressing…

The Pennsylvania State University national alumni admissions program involves alumni in direct recruitment of undergraduate students. This is a major service to the institution, increasing friends of the college and contacts with organizations, clubs, local high schools, and prospective students. Most important, it provides local contacts for…

Fourteen principles for successful operation of a small collegiate alumni program are presented. They address such issues as planning, setting priorities, making decisions, routinizing procedures, using technology, creating a climate for cooperation and productivity, getting volunteers, keeping staff longer, and maintaining a balance between…

A discussion of donor records in college and university fund-raising programs looks at a variety of issues, including who sees them (administrators, donors, volunteers, and members of the legal profession), how access to them is controlled, and what is kept in them. Suggestions are offered for managing such records, and the experiences of a number…