An overview of the management basics every alumni director needs is presented, including: staffing, planning, managing money, budgets, and facilities management. (MLW)

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.…

College and university professionals in publications and public relations recount how they have effectively coped with significant budgetary setbacks. Strategies include more careful and cost-conscious planning, staff reorganization, and reductions in printing and mailing costs. (MSE)

College and university public relations specialists find that, to get competitive coverage for their institutions, they must provide the media with instant access to information and understand the way the media operate. Although the computer is useful in expanding contacts, responsiveness and information of real interest are foremost…

Using a system of alumni class agents for college advancement can be effective, but common problems include weak class identity, large class size, overburdened staff, and poor class communication. Institutions can help by offering on-campus training for class agents, communicating regularly, and recognizing agents' contributions and successes.…

A study to provide some measurable benchmarks of the advancement process at small colleges is described. Data are presented on budgets, spending per function, professional staff, chief advancement officer, support staff, recruitment costs, fund-raising revenues and costs, and developing institutions. (MLW)

Successful use of college and university World Wide Web sites for institutional development requires attention to use of staff/staff time and to site design/content/maintenance. Suggestions include using student volunteers for insight into what makes a site attractive; presenting a development viewpoint; considering users' technological…

To reach older, nontraditional students and alumni, alumni associations must offer a different type of programming Suggestions include ignoring class years of alumni, bringing current and former adult students together, emphasizing career connections, supporting networking, featuring a college speaker to satisfy lifelong learners' hunger for…

Eight high-profile college administrators offer recommendations for successful public relations administration, including being proactive, getting connected on campus and in the community, knowing how to talk to the media, being a good listener, crafting the key messages, knowing the chief administrator, seeing the big picture, and hiring…

Five tactics used by the University of Massachusetts to make alumni operations effective with minimal cost include assuring the campus administration's commitment to alumni club programming, training chapter volunteers on campus and through regional visits, controlling mailing costs, planning events in a cost-effective manner, and deciding whether…

Advice for stretching the capacity of the small college public relations office includes planning well; using strategy; searching out creative ideas; choosing quality over quantity in press releases; using student and volunteer workers; developing strong media relations; accepting advice; and anticipating problems. (MSE)

Recommendations for planning a successful training workshop for college alumni volunteers include assuring the association is organized and the program well timed; making sure everyone agrees to budget and/or financial commitments; using seasoned volunteers to conduct a feasibility study and determine training needs; making training enjoyable; and…

Volunteer fund raisers for colleges bring enthusiasm, perspective, motivation, and influence to the task of soliciting gifts. They stretch staff time, fill out the fund-raising team, and cost little. Careful definition of responsibilities, recruitment, training, and monitoring and rewards for good work are essential to getting the best results.…

The functions of public relations offices are described for four small colleges and one small private school: Spelman College (Georgia); North Harris County College (Texas); Scripps College (California); Lafayette College (Pennsylvania); and Maumee Valley Country Day School (Ohio). Focus is on creative and effective use of a small staff and…