Plan New and Unique Events for Alumni in Your Area

Maybe it was, but to keep alums interested, you have to come up with new and creative ways to bring them together.

• Have each person come prepared with at least one new idea. Each can review the attached set of questions to get them started. Individual brainstorming is great for generating ideas. Group brainstorming generates fewer ideas, but fleshes out more depth for each.
• Have fun. There are no boundaries. All wild and weird ideas are encouraged. You never know when what seems like an outrageous idea serves as the spark for the eventual solution.
• Assign a leader. Have someone help guide discussion and take notes on all the ideas. Taking notes on a flip chart helps because everyone can see all of the ideas generated.
• No judgments. Nothing shuts down creativity like making a judgment on an idea. You want to generate new ideas; analysis and decision-making can come later.
• No “Yes, buts ...” Enforce a no “yes, but …” rule whereby statements such as “but it’s too expensive, but we tried it before and it didn’t work, but that’s not possible” are NOT allowed.
• Go for quantity rather than quality. Every idea counts. You can evaluate the ideas afterwards.
• Silence is okay. People need time to think, so just because there’s a lull in the brainstorming doesn’t mean people have run out of ideas.
• Time limit. Idea sessions should last no more than an hour. Brainstorming is hard work and people get tired. Schedule a follow-up meeting to evaluate ideas.

Why does your chapter plan events ?
For whom do you plan events?
Who aren’t you reaching with your programming?
Who hasn’t been involved in the process ?

Here are some ideas for spicing up your events and getting more Badgers to attend!

• Sustain the event. Hospitality doesn’t stop at the door. Don’t plan for just a big bang at the beginning, because you need to focus on keeping guests through the entire event and sending them home on a positive note.
• Keep remarks concise. Effective presentations are to the point. You’ll lose people when individuals speak for too long on a single topic.
• Respect people’s time. Running over the allotted time is not a polite way to treat your guests. They’ll leave with a negative impression, which they’ll share with their friends, and they may not come back.
• Ambiance is key. Lighting, acoustics (make sure you can hear in the back), background music (on during mingling but not so loud that people can’t talk, and off during remarks and presentation) all contribute to the mood of your event.
• It’s hard to overcome bad food. This isn’t something that you can always control, but ask for a list of former clients and to sample dishes, if possible.
• Be attentive to detail. Having a good strategy and “game plan” for your event will make it go more smoothly.
• What’s in a name? What you call an event can either attract or deter potential attendees. Are alumni attending a summer picnic or the annual Super Summer Splash?
• Look at the Big Picture. Match the event format, style and presentation to speaker/topic/venue. Would an interactive panel discussion engage people more than a lecture followed by Q&A?

• Invite all alumni and friends of UW to your events.
• Ask everyone to sign in.
• Have membership brochures on display.
• Offer discounts to members. If it’s a free event, find another way to recognize members (like name tags that say “member” on them).
• When making announcements at your event, plug in the importance of membership.
• Follow-up with nonmembers after the event.
• Use your chapter Web site.

No matter where you are, or who you’re talking to, bring up the benefits of becoming a WAA member. At a game watch talking to Badger fans who aren’t members? Tell them how members stay connected to all the Badger action. Business networking events, social events and even student send offs provide great opportunities to talk up the UW and the benefits of being a WAA member and how it positively impacts your local chapter!

Check out our membership page.