Engaging Diverse Alumni: Case Study of Rutgers Club of Raleigh-Durham

Presenter: John Hiel, RC ‘88

Rutgers Club of Raleigh-Durham

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

The Raleigh-Durham, NC area is known for many things…..

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

Raleigh-Durham is also home to more than 2,300 Rutgers alumni!

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

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1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's 2000's

Graduation Decade

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RC DC GSNBCOOK ENG NCAS LC UCNB

Degree School

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City of Residence

RaleighCaryDurhamChapel HillOthers

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

1. Set date & location for club formation meeting2. Sent e-mail blast to local alums via RUAA 3. Held club formation meeting and had 30 attendees

• Gained input on purpose and direction of Club• Gathered ideas for events to organize over next 6 months

4. Officers named & organization was officially chartered

What We Did: Launching a Club in Four Easy Steps

Priority #1: Build Momentum and Keep Our Alumni Engaged

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

• Surveyed Population for Interests• Used paper-based surveys and free, e-mail-based services such as

Survey Monkey and Zoomerang• What were they looking for in a Regional Club and willing to pay for?• “Socializing” and “Staying connected to Rutgers” were top responses

• People attend free or low cost (<$10/person) events• Survey results led us to develop a range of programming options such

as:• Game watch, cultural events, volunteer/community service

projects• Employed a variety of tools to notify, inform, communicate and share

information before and after each event• E-mail blasts, website (created by our Vice President), Facebook and

LinkedIn, word-of-mouth, etc.

Some of our events...

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

• Football game watches• Wine tasting social• Networking meetings• Jimmy V Celebrity Golf

Classic volunteers

Some more of our events...

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

• “Brews Cruise” pub crawl• Durham Bulls ballgame & stadium tour• Freshman Send Off• Rutgers Against Hunger

Results

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

• Dynamic, active, engaged and self-funded organization• 200+ active members and growing• Conducted 23 events in 27 months

• Avg 25 – 30 attendees/event• Had 85 people at Durham Bulls game and stadium tour in May

• Website averages 85 unique visitors and 179 total visitors / month

• 76 fans and 103 group members

• Entirely self-funded• Most events FREE & RUAA supports us with giveaways/raffle items• Minimal costs to run the Club (i.e. web hosting fees) covered by

adding event fees ($1.00 or $2.00) to price for special events• Ballgame, wine tasting social, etc.

Summary

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

• The alumni demographics in Raleigh-Durham are probablysimilar to most metropolitan areas in the USA• Diversity in grad years, schools and majors• Common thread = Pride in Rutgers

• Do NOT attempt a “one size fits all” approach• Survey, Listen, Experiment, Ask for Feedback, Adjust as Needed• Take advantage of the breadth of experience, interests and passions

among alumni• Give others the opportunity to lead

• Most importantly, HAVE FUN!

Thanks y’all!

Questions?

Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

John Hiel, RC ‘88

Rutgers Club of Raleigh-Durham

Phone: +1-919-753-4541

E-Mail: JohnHiel@gmail.com