• Printing and posting communication pieces
• Complimentary dinners and tokens of appreciation for guest speakers
• Occasional underwriting of partial or entire event costs
• Audio/visual equipment rental
• Local programs for student scholarships or financial aid
• Club gifts to support specific MIT programs, initiatives, or scholarships (e.g. support for K-12 STEM Education programs)

Membership dues should be...

• Solicited from all community constituents annually or more frequently based on the specific community's goals
• Coinciding with MIT’s fiscal year of July 1 through June 30 of succeeding year if offered on a 1-year fixed period
• Offered on a sliding scale (e.g., lower dues for new alumni)

In addition, higher membership categories, such as “supporting” and/or “sustaining” may be added to allow alumni to make larger contributions.

Special Note: The iModules/Encompass system allows for a 12-month rolling membership setup, in addition to the 1-year fixed membership model. Automatic membership reminders can be set-up based on each individual dues-paying member’s membership expiration date. Communities interested in converting their membership form to a 12-month rolling membership base are encouraged to contact their respective Alumni Association Staff Liaison for questions and guidance. Many communities have been able to increase their number of dues members paying by moving to the rolling membership model. See also Managing Memberships in Encompass.

·  Complimentary: Free membership usually offered to the most recent graduates (one year out, for both graduates and undergraduates).

·  Young Alumni: Discounted membership offered to MIT 10s. Many clubs charge $15 and some deduct 50% from the regular membership.

·  Regular: Most popular type of membership offered. Communities average $25 to $35.

·  Supporting: Membership that contributes to overhead cost of communities above and beyond dues. This is usually about $75.

·  Sustaining: Same as above, usually $100 to $250

*Many smaller communities do not have a tiered membership structure. Some focus primarily on providing programs to encourage community engagement and participation.

Alumni communities qualify as charitable organizations either under the Institute’s or their own separately incorporated 501(c)(3) number. The IRS has ruled that membership fees paid to a qualified charitable organization are deductible as charitable contributions to the extent that such payments exceed the monetary value of the benefits and privileges available by reason of such payments. (Basic dues generally do not exceed the value received, and are therefore not deductible). We urge you to consult with your local tax attorney regarding the potential deductibility of your membership dues. Do not promote your dues payments as tax deductible until you have received confirmation from a local authority.

As most communities are operating on the Association’s fiscal year (July 1 to June 30), spring is a good time to think about membership recruitment. The Association recommends a dues-paying membership base that equals ten percent of the total number of your community constituents. Below we have outlined some suggestions for an effective membership drive. Should you need assistance in developing a membership recruitment plan for your community, please contact your Alumni Association Staff Liaison.

• Ask the MIT Alumni Association to create your membership registration form in iModules.
• Send a stand alone “acquisition” membership mailing to all alumni constituents who are not current members. Ask your Alumni Association Staff Liaison for samples from other communities.
• Include a link to your membership form in all your communications or a pre-printed form to allow alumni to sign up for membership.
• On event announcements, be sure to show non-member and member price differences to encourage alumni to become members. Offer pre-event receptions with speakers as a members-only benefit.
• Targeting recent graduates/young alumni: New graduates in your community should receive their first invitation to join the alumni community no later than September following their graduation.  It is strongly suggested that new grads receive a heavily discounted or free membership.
• Targeting lapsed members: Consider a summer telethon to encourage both lapsed members and non-members to sign up. Consider sending your September newsletter to lapsed members with a membership form insert.
• Personally contact the alumni new to your community provided in the monthly New Neighbors reports from the Association.
• Additional alumni segments to consider: Graduate Degree Exclusive alumni, Cardinal and Gray alumni, etc.
• As often as possible, reserve certain alumni community benefits for your dues-paying members. If you offer too many benefits to non-dues paying members on a regular basis (items such as your newsletter, or having similar pricing for events for members and non-members), you may inadvertently remove the value of being an alumni community dues-paying member.
• Look for ways to add value to your membership, such as providing a local alumni directory to members only, having some events for members exclusively, or offer an event that is free to members, but has a cost to non-members.
• iModules’ Encompass platform offers communities the ability to send an email to members whose dues are expiring at the end of the fiscal year and to those who were once members but have let their membership lapse so long as they are still subscribed to that alumni community and have an email address.

Every month, three electronic reports are emailed to alumni community presidents listing alumni who have recently moved into and within your alumni community area. This is a group that you should welcome and solicit for membership. The three reports are listed below:

• Clubname_New_Neighbors
• Clubname_New_Neighbors_Committee*
• Clubname_New_Neighbors_address_updates

*These are alumni that have volunteered for MIT prior to moving to your alumni community area. Consider stewarding these individuals as potential volunteers for your group.

We also encourage your volunteers and board members to brainstorm and make their own list of membership benefits specific to being a member of your community.

Are most of your members about the same age or in the same profession? Do your events attract the same people? For example, if you have low representation among young alumni, try to recruit a young alumnus/a to join the board and to plan an event geared toward young alumni.

An effective way to keep your dues-paid members interested and active is to provide special interest programming. Some ideas include: MIT10 or MIT20 events, business luncheons, career forums, family events, get-togethers for older alumni, etc. If these constituencies are big enough among your constituency, you may want to have a chair on your board assigned to each group.

Many communities have reported terrific results from phone campaigns – both to increase attendance at events and for membership recruitment. Another benefit of phone calling is that you can use it as an opportunity to gather some feedback at the same time.

The Association defines MIT10 alumni as those who received their undergraduate degree in the last ten years.  Here are some key ways to attract this important cohort to your groups:

• Appoint an MIT10 Chair
• Plan an annual event to welcome new graduates to your alumni community at minimal or no cost.
• Provide samples of easy, low-cost MIT10 events that the community can sponsor. Topics such as financial planning, help on buying a house, resume writing, and networking are the most interesting to this population. Simple social gatherings such as happy hours or bowling could also be considered.
• Offer a small gift to MIT10 alumni who come to an alumni community event for the first time.
• Create a standard survey that communities can use to poll their MIT10 constituency and plan events that are best suited to their interests.

The most successful activities for catering to MIT10 alumni are:

• Happy hours (or other purely social events)
• Events combined with MIT10 groups from other universities
• Networking or career development events
• Cultural or sporting events and outings (hiking, biking, etc.)
• Events related to current hot topics in science, technology, or business

The most effective elements to get MIT10 to attend alumni community events:

• LOW COST!
• Eye-catching invites with lighthearted graphics
• Event coordinator is also a young alumnus/a
• Email communications and social media posts for events
• Personal contact with MIT10 alumni before events (e.g. phone calls)
• Less formal agenda
• MIT10 information included in emails