Best Practice Study

Notre Dame Club of Atlanta

April 2004

Project OverviewGoals: Identify great ideas from other clubs Stimulate creative thinking at the board level Implement new programs and club events

Club Management Principle: When we stop innovating, we start declining.

Similar project conducted 2 years ago provided great ideas that led to popular new programs in Atlanta.

Project Overview (Continued)Primary purpose of this document: Present new ideas to

the board and core members of the Atlanta club.

Secondary purpose evolved as the project progressed. Contacted parties and people that were interviewed wanted to hear what Atlanta Club was doing that worked well.

Note: “Best” practices not identified No determination of one as better than the other Alternatives presented wherever possible to drive

discussion

Project Team1. Mike Morris: Club President, Project Leader2. Bob Splude: Club Vice President3. Eileen O’Connor Doran: Club Treasurer4. Rose Carroll: Club Secretary5. Julie Brachowski: Member of the Club’s Board of Directors, Past

Club Secretary, Alumni Schools Committee Chairperson6. Todd Stroup: Member of the Club’s Board of Directors, Past

Club President7. Tim Thilman: Member of the Club’s Board of Directors, Past

Club President8. Tony Suber: Member of the Club’s Board of Directors, Minority

Alumni Network Coordinator9. John Ujda: Member of the Club’s Board of Directors, Club

Webmaster10. Dave McManus: Past Member of the Club’s Board of Directors,

UND Night Committee Chairperson

Our Thanks to the People that Provided Feedback, Advice, and Direction for This Project

1. Karen Putt, Assistant Director, Alumni Clubs and Communications

2. Margo Ball McQuarie, Alumni Board of Directors (Regional Representative)

3. Frank McGehee, Alumni Board of Directors4. Pete Campbell, Senior Alumni Board, Past Member

of Alumni Board of Directors5. John Greer, Alumni Board of Directors6. Tanya Walker, Black Alumni Board (Regional

Representative)7. Bill Brennan, Director, MBA Career Development

Programs, Mendoza School of Business8. Lee Svete, Director, Notre Dame Career Center

Sources Used by the Project Team Club Reports from the Clubs that Won the “Outstanding Club”

Awards in April 2003 They must be doing something right. If we’re going to steal ideas, we’ll steal from the best.

Spreadsheet of club best practices that was distributed to the members of the Alumni Board of Directors Compiled list of best practices from each annual report submitted

by each club Local Clubs from Other Universities

Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta

Saint Mary’s Alumni Club of Atlanta

Big East Alumni Clubs of Atlanta

Duke Alumni Club of Atlanta

Georgia Tech Business Network

Gamecocks Club of Atlanta (USC)

Boston College Alumni Club of Atlanta

Identified Best Practices by Category

Communications Camaraderie Community Service Catholic/Christian Spirituality Current Students Continuing Education Club Management

Communications

ND Alumni Association web site – list club items on calendar of activities

Post notices in church bulletins (Atlanta club started in October as a result of this idea)

Phone tree for big events Publish a book of ND stories from local

alumni Christmas card from the club

Camaraderie Mother’s club Silent auction at UND Night Monthly club luncheons, “Hot Food and Hot Topics” Club-sponsored SYR (Atlanta Young Alumni investigating options for

Valentines Day) Running club Honoring 50 year alumni Young families group: picnic, zoo, Halloween Book Club Irish Buffet with Irish music and dancers Board of Master Gardeners: Find hobbies and interests of club members For special alumni, or ill members, assemble a book of letters: Fr.

Malloy, Coaches, Athletic Director, etc. Scholarship cocktail party

Community Service

Link service to football Mentoring / tutoring program at local school

(Atlanta club is now working with Sr. Patty at the International Community School, Nov. 2003)

Blood drive: Entire event is run by Red Cross. Club drives participation.

Meals on Wheels over Thanksgiving

Catholic/Christian Spirituality

Student send-off with mass Prayer service before board meetings UND with a mass Catholic Diversity Series Program: Attend

variety of church services from different traditions, including Ukrainian, Spanish Language Mass, church with strong gospel choir

Communion breakfast during Advent Attend a Cinco de Mayo mass

Current Students Current student parent coordinators (added by Atlanta in

September as a result of this study) Send parent to Alumni Senate Scholarship designated for minority students Mentoring local students at area high schools Give incoming students “The Shirt” at send-off Ask current students to share stories via club e-mail Merchandise sales when ND athletic teams play at local venues Car dealership loaned a car for summer service student (!?!) Annual career night over holiday break Local Monogram Club Rep checks team schedules to

coordinate events when they are playing local teams

Continuing Education

Donate / sell club’s tickets to local high school for use in a raffle. School used proceeds to send teacher to Excellence in Teaching Conference (very creative)

Partner with local universities

Club Management Occasional use of a paid assistant

Hourly pay Club member that stays at home with kids Help during crunch periods on mailers, administrative tasks

Dues structure: Lifetime Membership Set aside money in account Draw interest as an annuity for the club

Dues Structure: Standard ($35), First 5 Years or Over 55 ($25), Blue ($75), Gold

($100-125) (Note: Higher rates than similar structure in Atlanta) Other Club: Blue ($35) and Gold ($60)

Not-for-profit mailing permit to save money Board members focused on each of the 6 Cs Club leadership retreat

Each person contacted by the Atlanta club for this study wanted to hear a few ideas from Atlanta.

None of these are presented as “best” practices, but they have worked for us.

The following pages are our attempt to give something back to the broader alumni community that supplied us with so many great ideas.

A Few Ideas from Atlanta

Every good idea is just one volunteer away from being a reality.

Add new ideas to club’s position roster as “Open Positions” People that want to get involved often are willing to fill open positions,

so the open slots on roster give them ideas of how to get involved The output of the best practice study will be new open positions on

roster until we can fill them Give ‘em a title and get ‘em involved!

People that want to volunteer can choose from variety of options. Every volunteer with a job gets added to club’s position roster As of 10/03, the Atlanta Club has 75 people filling 114 positions

When we stop innovating, we start declining Develop / involve new leaders to build the future of the club

Club needs to have a pipeline of new leaders to keep club going over a long term

Atlanta Club Management Principles

ND Networks: “The 7th C,” Career & Professional

Development BA of ND: Partner on Programs and Everyone Benefits

(HOA Day, Young Alumni) Andean Health and Development: Helping Alumni and

the Rural Poor in Ecuador Social Ventures Center: Local Involvement With

University Programs Book Awards: Alumni Presence at Top Area High

Schools Metrics Tracker: Using Data to Manage the Club Others

Selected Atlanta Programs

Atlanta club has focused on “The 7th C” for a few years: Career and Professional

Development Quarterly Job Seekers Networking Night, hosted by club members in HR and recruiting Bi-monthly newsletter devoted to just job seeker listing and open positions. Club members

can list name, e-mail, and up to 100 words. Atlanta Club was approached by Lee Svete and Bill Brennan from the Mendoza

College of Business to be a pilot site for ND Networks ND Networks is a premiere business network focused on offering business

knowledge, executive relationships, career development, and professional mentoring. Our desire is to build a strong business community that appeals to all successful business professionals.

First 2 events in September 2003 and January 2004 were shining successes Panel of CEOs, including ND alumni Moira Shanahan, Mike Kohlsdorf, & Frank Belatti Plenty of networking time Over 65 attendees at both events

Demographics: This event drew C-level executives and mid-career professionals. This is an age group that is typically under-represented in club activities

Comments from participants: This program serves a clear need Next event on April 28

Topic: Selecting and Managing a Board of Directors, Corporate Governance, Executive Compensation, and Board Diversity

ND Networks: “The 7th C,” Career & Professional Development

Atlanta has a strong and active Black Alumni communityWe have benefited from having the current and most recent regional BA of

ND board members living in AtlantaClub and BA of ND board members have cultivated active and strong

relationshipsBy partnering on events, more alumni were involved and more publicity

was possible• Atlanta Club has provided financial support and publicity for the first two BA

of ND Fall Affairs to benefit the Frazier Thompson Scholarship Fund• BA of ND organized a team for Hands on Atlanta Day (National Day of

Service), with Atlanta Club providing volunteers and publicity• Atlanta Club’s BA of ND and Minority Alumni Network (MAN)

representatives active in college fairs• BA of ND board members publicize Atlanta Club events through their

communications channels

BA of ND: Partner on Programs and Everyone Benefits

Andean Health & Development (AHD) is a U.S.-based non-profit organization which has been working for seven years in Ecuador, South America, creating a sustainable primary health care system to serve a poor, tropical, rural area of 70,000 residents called Pedro Vicente Maldonado.

Currently, there are no models of rural primary health care in Ecuador that provide coverage to the poor and that are financially sustainable.

Four components distinguish AHD from other initiatives in developing countries: Sustainable funding by 2007 A unique governance structure The benefit that telemedicine will provide to medical researchers and students An understanding of the essential link between health and economic development

AHD’s Board and Officers include ND Alumni Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., Michael Heisler, M.D., M.P.H., David Gaus, M.D., M.P.H./T.M., and Lou Nanni

Andean Health and Development: Helping the Rural Poor and ND Alumni in Ecuador

Andean Health and Development (Continued)

Atlanta Club officers opened discussions with Atlanta Club member Mike Heisler about his involvement on the board of AHD

Mike arranged for a visit by Dr. Gaus during a trip to the US Dr. Gaus addressed the club and presented photos and information to a large group of

club members Fr. Ted Hesburgh joined the meeting via conference call to express his support and

vision for the program Club members were inspired, and committed to help AHD on its capital campaign Raffle and reverse auction scheduled for November 14

Items donated by club members Hand crafted items made by people in AHD’s service area

Space on club application for donations to AHD added under the space for donation to club’s scholarship program

This would be a great program for other clubs to help

Social Ventures Center Gigot Center is opening a Social Ventures Center in Atlanta Atlanta club members providing support, publicity and

contacts Local alumni have been energized by involvement with

university programs

Book Awards Alumni Presence at Three Top Area High Schools Book given during end-of-year ceremony for high school

juniors Presented by alumni that teach at the three schools

Other Atlanta Events / Programs

Metrics Tracker: Using Data to Manage the Club Excel-based tool provides a dashboard for officers and board

members Requires 1-2 hours each quarter to update with new information Metrics include:

# of dues paying club members # of ND@lanta (e-mail newsletters) sent (6 month avg. = 4.7 / month) # of subscribers to ND@lanta (currently 754) # of club events each month (record of 15 set in September of 2003) # of club positions filled (currently 114) # of people filling club positions (currently 75) # Job Seekers served New leaders filling positions

Club has also used downloads of Irish Online data to analyze which parts of metro-Atlanta have the highest concentration of Alumni and friends of the university

Other Atlanta Events / Programs

Pre-game masses during football season. Casual with a “dorm mass” feel.

All events have a club member price and a non-club member price to demonstrate value of paying dues

Putt-putt tournament Fund raiser for Peach State Scholarship Great family event

Club Awards Outstanding Club Member of the Quarter Annual Club Service Award: Given to a pillar of the club that

has been an active leader for an extended number of years

Other Atlanta Events / Programs

Incorporate “The 7th C” into club management structure: Career & Professional

Development Actively support a broader roll-out of ND Networks

ND Networks Demographics: This event drew C-level executives and mid-career professionals.

This is an age group that is typically under-represented in club activities High attendance shows that this program serves a need

Alumni have spoken with their feet Busy alumni made time for these events

Distribute to all club presidents the spreadsheet of club best practices Spreadsheet was given to the members of the Alumni Board of Directors This list was compiled from the best practices in each annual report submitted by each club It was useful to the Atlanta Club Consider sending a copy to each club president

Conference Calls Atlanta club officers hold a monthly call to coordinate club efforts This is only possible because one officer has access to a conference call facility through work Could the Alumni Association set-up conference calls for other clubs?

Items for Consideration by the Alumni Association

Available Upon Request Club Metrics Tracker (Excel) Planning guidelines and communications samples for

ND Networks (Atlanta Starter Kit.zip) Andean Health and Development (AHD) Fund Raiser Putt-Putt Tournament

Contact InformationMike Morris Bob SpludeAtlanta Club President Atlanta Club VPH: 678-475-1307 H: 404-367-0554W: 404-504-7578 rsplude@mindspring.commmorris@northhighland.com