Regional Alumni Programs

HOW TO START A CHAPTER

1. Check the alumni website to ensure a chapter does not currently exist in your area.
   
   
2. Contact Maggie Wilson, Associate Director of Regional Alumni Programs at maggiew@gwu.edu. She will connect you with your Alumni Relations staff member.
   
   
3. Request Alumni Count:
   The Office of Alumni Relations keeps a count of alumni by region and can provide you with the number of alumni in your area. This will help determine the scope of programs for your area.
   
   
4. Recruit Volunteers:
   All you need to begin a chapter is one volunteer – the chapter leader. To maintain an effective chapter, you will need to recruit alumni volunteers to serve as part of the chapter leadership. There is no limit to the number of volunteers who can serve in a chapter. For more detailed information see How to Recruit Volunteers here.
   
   
5. Plan Chapter Leadership Meetings:
   Each chapter is required to host a minimum of two programming meetings and one strategy session each year. The number of programming meetings will depend on the size of your chapter and number of events in your region. At least two–one per semester–are required.
   
   
6. Plan Regional Events:
   Plan and sponsor a series of events designed to bring alumni together, recruit more volunteers, and bring GW to your region. For a step by step guide to planning your alumni event, see How to Plan a Regional Event.
   
   
7. Report Chapter Activity:
   Submit minutes of the chapter leadership meetings to your Alumni Relations contact immediately following the meeting. Keep an updated list of volunteers and their contact information.
   
   
8. Communications to volunteers:
   As Chapter Leader, you will act as liaison between the Alumni Relations contact and chapter volunteers. Any program ideas that your chapter has should be discussed with the Office of Alumni Relations before planning begins. This will ensure that finances and staff are available for support.
   
   
9. Communications to alumni:
   For the purpose of advertising events, Alumni Relations will send out all communications to alumni. This helps avoid confusion, and allows for one clear message to alumni. Any new alumni information obtained during an event should be sent to the Office of Alumni Relations for updating in the University database.