1. Successful Events Tips Presenters: Kim Sciallo UCNB’97 & Lauren Lew UCNB’06 Alumni Organization: University College Rutgers - New Brunswick Alumni Association Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

2. Objectives  The Old Approach  A New Approach  Metrics  Additional Tips and Lessons Learned  Summary Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

3. The Old Approach  Stand-alone Alumni Association  Narrow Demographic  Subsidized Pricing  Postal Mail Advertising Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

4. A New Approach  Broad appeal  Entertaining  Educational Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

5. Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010 GRAPE JAM Wine tasting & jazz

6. Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010 BREAKFAST & BLOOMS Breakfast, speaker & plant auction

7. Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010 GROUNDS FOR SCUPLTURE Docent tour, lunch & artist work space visit

8. A New Approach – cont’d  Price/Value  Free Venues  Low Cost / No Cost Speakers  Group Rates / Negotiations  Give-a-ways  Advertise  Avoid Snail Mail  Leverage Monthly E-mail Blasts  Website/Social Networking Sites  E-mail Distribution List  Collect Feedback Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

9. Metrics Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010  Prices: $20 - $50 per person  Attendance: 25 – 45 people  E-mail blast message open rate: 15% of 5700 messages

10. Additional Tips & Lessons Learned  Minimize last minute cancellations  Self supporting events  Collaborate with other Charter groups  Enlist Volunteers Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

11. Summary Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010  Increase Attendance  Reduce Costs for Attendees & Organization  Use Technology to Get Your Message Out There

12. Thank you! Questions? Contact … Kim Sciallo UCNB’97 - Kim.Sciallo@verizon.net Lauren Lew UCNB’06 - LaurenMLew@gmail.com Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

13. Appendix - The Old Approach (notes)  Stand-alone Alumni Association  Events catered to a narrow demographic and had a limited appeal  Pricing was subsidized by Alumni Association and had a greatly reduced or no cost to the attendees  Advertising was by postal mail only which was much more expensive and slower than current technologies Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

14. Appendix – A New Approach (notes)  Choose events with broad appeal – both entertaining & educational  Breakfast & Blooms – Breakfast, Speaker & Plant Auction  Brewery & Broadway – Beer tasting, lunch & Play  Grape Jam – Wine Tasting instruction, lunch & Jazz  Grounds for Sculpture – Docent tour, lunch & artist work space visit  Price the event well - keep fixed costs down & provide value  Search for venues that don’t charge for their space  Seek out free or low cost speakers from the University or Gov’t organizations  Always look for group rates on tickets and don’t be afraid to negotiate  Provide a small give-a-way item with your “brand”  Advertise  Avoid postal mailings due to expense vs. response rate.  Use your monthly e-mail blast through Alumni Relations.  Develop your own website. Use LinkedIn, Facebook & Twitter.  Keep an e-mail list of your frequent attendees. Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

15. Appendix - Additional Tips & Lessons Learned (notes)  Minimize last minute cancellations by requiring payment in advance, do not accept payments at the door  Self supporting events requiring limited work by the event organizer and limited cost for attendees or the organization  Collaborate with other Charter groups to share the cost and increase the attendance  Enlist Volunteers for delegation of responsibilities or to take the lead on the event Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010

16. Appendix - Metrics (notes) Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010  Prices: $20 - $50 per person  Attendance: 25 – 45 people  E-mail blast message open rate: 15% of 5700 messages  This is a very high open rate! Normal open rate is around 7%.  Use interesting subject lines.

17. Appendix - Summary (notes) Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010  Increase Attendance  Reduce Costs for Attendees and the Organization  Use Technology to Get Your Message Out There  Keep it fresh! Update your material often to make sure that you keep your audience interested.  Post pictures of past events

18. Appendix - Resources  Event locations/group ticket information  N.J. Museum of Agriculture - http://www.agriculturemuseum.org/programs/facilityrental.htmlhttp://www.agriculturemuseum.org/programs/facilityrental.html  Harvest Moon Brewery - http://www.harvestmoonbrewery.com/http://www.harvestmoonbrewery.com/  George St. Playhouse - http://www.georgestreetplayhouse.org/http://www.georgestreetplayhouse.org/  Grounds for Sculpture - http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/http://www.groundsforsculpture.org/  On campus catering menus  Rutgers Dining Services - http://www.food.rutgers.edu/Catering/http://www.food.rutgers.edu/Catering/  Speakers  Middlesex County Extension Service – Rutgers Cooperative - http://co.middlesex.nj.us/extensionservices/index.asp http://co.middlesex.nj.us/extensionservices/index.asp  Rutgers Speakers Bureau - http://ur.rutgers.edu/speakers/http://ur.rutgers.edu/speakers/  RUAA Alumni Resources Page  Source information for trusted vendors for catering, promotional giveaways, awards, etc. http://Ralumni.com/tools http://Ralumni.com/tools Alumni Leaders Conference October 22 & 23, 2010