How to start an alumni community 

Alumni networks are a great asset for schools – to make the most of them, it is important to make sure both alumni and staff are made aware of them 

An alumni network connects former students with school staff and new students. The benefits of an alumni network include:

• a staff pipeline of former students;
• one-to-one mentoring and advice for students;
• insight into career paths and work;
• access to relatable role models for students. 

To start an alumni community, schools must make sure they are engaging staff from across the school. However, the two key people that need be involved in an alumni scheme are a strategic lead and an operational lead.

The strategic lead is responsible for:

• deciding the aims and objectives for the network;
• incorporating the network into the school development plan;
• looking for opportunities for volunteers across the school;
• reviewing progress across the year.

The operational lead is responsible for:

• managing the day-to-day running of the network;
• looking for opportunities for volunteers across the school or college;
• promoting the network in school, in the community, and online;
• signing up leavers from Years 11 or 13.

To successfully start your alumni network, begin the school year by identifying any existing events that your school is holding and explore how to add value to these with alumni. Identify your target alumni for such events and begin the outreach stage to kickstart your network – this can be done via email or social media. It is also important that you build staff awareness of the alumni network, as they can help spread the message and assist in recruiting volunteers. All schools are different, so it is important to find out what works best for you; here are some examples of how to create awareness:

• create an alumni display in a hallway to show the value of celebrating the different paths that former students take;
• shout about the good work that you are doing on any social media channels that your school or college uses;
• spend time on staff training days to talk about building an alumni network and ask fellow colleagues what areas of the curriculum they might like to co-teach with the assistance of an alumni volunteer;
• work with an influential member of staff to help them create an event involving volunteers.

If you’re having an event, collect evidence from it (work completed, quotations, photos, or even surveys) to evidence its impact for spreading the word and informing future events.