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Alumni Club Toolkit

Our office has three priorities: connect, serve and invest. Alumni clubs are critical partners in this work. Below are a series of tools to help your club function efficiently, effectively and in alignment with MSU.

We all have the same purpose: elevate MSU, support students and create meaningful connections between Spartans. Our goal is to make your roles as alumni club leaders fun, successful and impactful. These materials are intended to reduce volunteer burnout, increase participation, inspire innovation and create a more enjoyable experience for volunteers and participants.  

This toolkit contains several materials on a wide rang of topics. Below are a few quick link to help you navigate: 

  • The Power of Alumni Clubs: Highlights the role of clubs and the difference a Spartan community can make and outlines the role of alumni relations directors.
  • Key Initiatives: Outlines several key initiatives club leaders should be aware of including Spartans Serve, Give Green Day and other flagship programs.
  • Operations: Provides tools for club operations including information on financials, bylaws, trainings, volunteer recruitment and the club admin panel.
  • Marketing and Communications: Highlights services provided to alumni clubs to assist with marketing and communications including event planning, logos, licensing, email marketing and website update. 
  • Alumni Club Leader Updates: Outlines the ways in which alumni club leaders can share ideas and stay connected with the latest information. 
  • Additional Information: Highlights information on Spartan athletics and how to request Sparty for an event.

 

Power of Alumni Clubs

  • Alumni clubs and groups are important voices for MSU in their respective communities for their ability to echo key messages from campus. They are critical partners to the University in relaying exceptional stories about alumni in their communities back to campus.  
  • To date, alumni clubs have raised over $10 million for scholarships at MSU. Thousands of students attribute their MSU experience to the financial and physical support of these great Spartans.  
  • Alumni clubs and groups organize and support MSU-related programming in their communities that would not exist without alumni resources, power and financial support.  

Alumni Relations Directors

The Alumni Relations team serves as a resource and a liaison between your alumni club and MSU. Alumni Relations Directors ensure that you receive relevant updates, announcements, opportunities for hands-on involvement and communicate campus needs that align with the club’s giving capacity and priorities.  

Key Initiatives

Spartans Serve

Spartans Serve is a year-round effort designed to demonstrate the global impact that Spartans make through community service.  

Serve.msu.edu exists to bring Spartans together to facilitate project creation and volunteer registration. We encourage clubs to plan year-round service initiatives for their community. 

The following resources are available to help you plan and execute effectively: 

Project planning guide: A comprehensive guide that assists with the creation, registration, promotion, execution and follow-up of a service project. We encourage all project coordinators to review this. 

Recorded trainings:  

  • SD 101: Audio training module focused on Spartan Global Day of Service planning and the impact that alumni club service initiatives can have on communities across the globe (22 mins)
  • SD 201 2022/2023 training: Audio training module focused on participant recruitment and communications for alumni club service initiatives (16 mins) 

Sparty's Kind Kids

Sparty's Kind Kids is an initiative were children think up and submit ideas for making the world a better, kinder place. We pair those ideas with Spartans and alumni clubs around the world as we aim to serve our communities, connect with one another and make people smile.

Flagship Programming

There are numerous events and programs around the year that provide meaningful ways for clubs to connect back to the university. 

Here’s how it works:

Give Green Day

Give Green Day (GGD) is a 24-hour, university-wide fundraising initiative. The goal is to engage alumni and friends in an online effort to show support for students. This is one of the main opportunities for regional and affinity clubs to support university investment initiatives.  

We use social media, email and other digital promotions to invite Spartan supporters to participate financially or help spread the word through their personal networks.  

The resources below are helpful to plan and execute a successful Give Green Day campaign.  

Recorded trainings:

  • GGD 101: A review of goal setting, creative resources and best practices for planning a successful Give Green Day (Worksheet pages 1-4 in binder) (11 min) 
  • GGD 201: An audio training module focused on participant recruitment and communications for Give Green Day (20 mins)
  • GGD 301: A review of tools and takeaways for planning and executing a successful Give Green Day (8 mins)

Give Green Day website: main hub for Give Green Day activity.

Operations

Club Admin Panel

The Club Admin Panel is a tool that allows club leaders to update club information, view shared files and share files with the MSU Alumni Office or other alumni clubs. It’s important that Club Admin be updated regularly with the correct email addresses for board members. We send monthly alumni club leader newsletters to all active leaders listed in Club Admin. We recommend that more than one club volunteer have login/password information.  

Clubs re-certify with MSU annually in June by updating the club’s information in the Club Admin panel.  

Certification is required for clubs to order an alumni relation’s kit, which provides materials to assist in club efforts throughout the year.  

For instructions on how to update Club Admin, refer to this document.

Financials

Alumni clubs are not allowed to use MSU’s non-profit status or tax-exempt number for club business. Alumni club activities are not covered under the university’s insurance. Our office cannot make recommendations or provide guidance regarding liability insurance or obtaining non-profit status. It is suggested that alumni clubs seek the counsel of a local attorney and/or insurance professional who is experienced in working with volunteer organizations and who can best determine and explain a club’s options if an alumni club wishes to obtain insurance to protect its assets.  

Our office does not provide direct funding to alumni clubs or affinity groups.  

Bylaws  

Many of our clubs and groups are governed by a set of bylaws. We recommend that you ask for a copy of your board's bylaws and review them. If your club has discussions about updating or revising bylaws, we have a template (MS word and pdf) for your reference. 

Alumni Club Gift Cart

Many of our alumni clubs have designated endowed and/or expendable funds held at MSU. For those with such funds, they have a designated giving link that goes directly to their “gift cart.” This gift cart is used on club websites, can be shared on your social media and used in emails to encourage donations directly to your club-associated fund.

Alumni University Trainings

Throughout the year, the alumni relations team conducts online trainings and idea sharing opportunities called Alumni University. A wide range of topics are covered and available for viewing at any time. 

View recorded trainings

Volunteer Interest Survey 

The MSU Alumni Club Volunteer Interest survey is an easy way to identify Spartans who want to get involved. You can share a link to the survey on your website, in email communications and on social media. We also have a printable version you can use at in-person events.  

Online Survey

Printable Survey

International Alumni Club Leader Updates

If you are an international alumni club leader, please note that while most of the information above is applicable, but the resources might be delivered in different formats. Please review the International Alumni Club Leader Handbook for tailored resources and information for international alumni club leaders. To learn more about international alumni engagement at MSU, visit the International Studies and Program website.

Marketing and Communications 

There are several marketing and communications tools available for alumni club and affinity group leaders. 

Websites

We offer our clubs a hosted website which we pay for and maintain. This process allows club leaders to be more efficient with their time. Additional benefits include: 

  • Decreased time spent by club leaders creating and editing digital content  
  • Providing opportunities to highlight alumni club content  
  • Improving website and event quality through professional design assistance and copy-editing  
  • Increasing website performance and engagement  
  • Maintaining an up-to-date design that aligns with MSU brand standards  

How to Request an Update to a Club Website

Submit a request - A member of our team will confirm the submission was received, clarify any questions about the project and develop a project timeline.  

Review the project - Once the project has been completed, you will receive an email with a link to the page where the content lives (if applicable). Please reply with feedback and we’ll make any necessary adjustments the following business day. If no changes are needed, the project will be considered completed and closed.  

Email Marketing

Communicating with the broad and diverse community of alumni and friends in your respective areas is a significant task for volunteer leaders. Your outreach ensures Spartans are aware of, interested and contributing to your club and MSU.  

Email is the primary communication option that alumni leaders use to market events. MSUAO created the Email Request Program to establish a process for creating consistent and dynamic communications that adhere to MSU’s current data policies and protects the confidentiality & security of alumni & donor data.  

There are several advantages to using the email request program:   

  • Emails will be sent using data that is current and includes information from various campus units, external partners, data warehouses and alumni & donors directly. 
  • Communications will reach the broadest and most relevant population while also honoring recipient email handling preferences   
  • We have an entire creative team to do the heavy lifting of building and sending emails, freeing up more time to focus on content   
  • The email request program makes participation easier for volunteers, which increases your volunteer retention  
  • The quality of emails will be enhanced through professional copy-editing and design that adheres to MSU brand standards.  

MSU takes data privacy and data security seriously. Protecting an individual’s identity, preserving the credibility of content shared under the MSU brand and curbing practices viewed as problematic (or spammy) by recipients are all considered.  

View an in-depth email request training here.  

How to Request an Email

  1. Visit myalumni.msu.edu/emailrequest to submit a request by filling out the survey. The information submitted may be in bullet points or fully drafted content. Please note: requests MUST be received four business days before the email’s intended send date. (For example, if you need an email to go out on a Friday, the request should be submitted by 11 a.m. EST the previous Monday.)    
  2. Our team will create the email and ensure that the communication is high quality and effective. We copy-edit, draft text, add images, incorporate additional MSU content and get feedback from your alumni relations director.   
  3. Clubs will be able to review a preview of the email if submitted four days prior to the intended send date. 
  4. Club submits feedback after review and we’ll make any necessary edits the next business day. 
  5.  Once approved, we will release the email.  

You can submit a request even if you don’t have all the details of an event. The further in advance a club can plan and submit email requests the more seamless and effective your communications will be. Several clubs have experienced success by planning a monthly communication to their community of alumni that covers events, service projects, club news and MSU news in one email.  

Social Media

Club social accounts are a wonderful way to connect with fellow alumni and share Spartan news. The MSUAO intends to provide guidelines and best practices for appropriate social media usage by page administrators and users. Please reference this website for information on monitoring and moderating, administrators, community guidelines, inclusivity, etc.

Events

Our office is working to better understand, report, resource and celebrate the reach of club and affinity group efforts. 

Eventbrite and Ticket Tailor are the event registration tools currently capable of syncing with the MSUAO platforms. By utilizing these platforms and providing our office with the API key to process events:     

  • Events will be promoted to a broader audience (including internal MSU audiences)  
  • Events will appear on the main events calendar immediately 
  • Event and participant activity will be captured, allowing MSUAO to measure and report on the impact of events locally, regionally, nationally and globally 
  • Alumni will gain a better understanding of what alumni clubs and groups do
  • Fellow clubs will be able to view your events for ideas and partner opportunities 
  • MSUAO will have the necessary information to amplify your events and tell stories related to your market efforts. 

We do not obtain your login information by providing your API key. The API key simply allows for the club account to talk to our site. 

Eventbrite and/ or Ticket Tailor should be utilized for all events other than service projects, which should be registered on serve.msu.edu.

Additional Eventbrite resources and trainings:   

  1. Step-by-step instructions on linking your Eventbrite via API key
  2. For all tips on creating an event and how to collect the best guest information, view these instructions
  3. Eventbrite hints and tips training 

Brand Standards and Licensing

The MSU Alumni Club Brand Basics booklet should be used as a reference guide by alumni club or affinity groups when making graphics, marketing materials or promotional items that feature any of MSU’s marks which include alumni club logos/marks. By following the guidelines outlined within this booklet, you will be adhering to MSU’s brand guidelines and representing the university appropriately.  

Please reference this guide and the MSU Licensing website for information on design approval and licensed vendor information.  

Alumni Club Leader Communications

Alumni Club Leader Updates

Alumni club leaders receive monthly email updates from our office. The topics covered vary based on university initiatives and opportunities for club leaders.  

Alumni Club Leader Facebook Group 

A Facebook group exists for alumni club leaders to share ideas and updates. It provides a place for club leaders to share ideas, receive updates and ask questions.  

Request to Join 

Additional Resources

Resources for Alumni Club student send-offs/Alumni picnics

The MSU Alumni Office is aware of the need to host virtual experiences. If a virtual experience becomes necessary, we have a very specific template and instructions to share. If you are interested in hosting a virtual event, please contact your Engagement Director.

Spartan Athletics 

Ask before you act. Together we will continue to maintain an atmosphere of compliance. Please contact the Office of Compliance Services with any questions about NCAA, Big Ten, or University rules. Michigan State University Office of Compliance Services - Michigan State University Athletics (msuspartans.com) 

View Donation Request Guidelines 

Sparty  

Sparty loves to engage with Spartans! To request his attendance at your next event, please complete the online request form. Please note: Submitting a request does not confirm Sparty’s attendance. Due to his academic and university commitments, Sparty is unable to confirm appearances more than one month prior to the event date. Sparty's availability is limited during major athletic tournaments and he is unavailable on all football Saturdays.  

Request Sparty