How to Start a U.S. Chapter

UW-Madison alumni chapters vary widely in their organizational structure. But what clubs around the world share is a mission of connecting alumni to the university. Guided by the Wisconsin Alumni Association mission and vision, clubs support the university and foster connections among graduates through events and programs including social outings, scholarship fund-raising, cultural events, and Founders Days celebrations.

The process for starting a chapter is outlined below. Remember, the WAA staff is available for guidance and advice along the way. And, uwalumni.com/chapterleader is a tremendous resource as well.

• Find Other Badgers. Begin by searching the WAA online directory to find out how many alums are in the surrounding area. Call your area representative if you need more information about accessing the system (see right).
• Initiate Contact. Send e-mails to people to see if anyone is interested in helping out (we don't recommend going at this alone - it can quickly become a lot of work). Again, the WAA representative can help you send out a broadcast e-mail. Once you have a handful of people, get them together to decide what type of a kickoff event you want to plan.
• Plan Your Kickoff Event. We suggest you keep your first event simple, inexpensive and, most of all, fun. Many chapters have started out with happy hour events, game-watch parties or brat picnics. Happy hours work because you don't have to pay for the food or drink and they limit the pool of alumni who attend. Brat parties or picnics are a good way to get a greater diversity of people, but may require some up-front money.
• At the Kickoff. At this first event, we recommend you have name tags to help people get to know each other, a registration sheet, and a short survey to determine what events people are interested in as well as who might be willing to serve as a chapter leader or help organize future events. WAA can provide table tents and other items to help build Badger spirit.
• What Happens Next? Determine a primary contact person, someone who is readily accessible by phone and e-mail. Forward their name, address, phone and e-mail to WAA. A WAA representative will contact this person and take him/her through a new leader orientation session (we can do this with more than one person).