Establishing Chapters

Contact us: (417) 865-2815 or email.

How do I establish a local chapter in my community?

Invite alumni in your area to an organizational meeting. Agree on a constitution and elect officers. A sample constitution that can be adapted to meet your chapter needs is available.

How can I find all of the alumni in my area?

The Alumni Office has a list of alumni who live in your zip code area and nearby zip code areas. Contact the office for this list. If the list does not include all of the areas in your community, or if it covers too broad an area, the Alumni Office will adjust it.

How should I contact the alumni in my area?

You can let people know about the organizational meeting by telephone or through local churches. If you would like to communicate by mail, the Alumni Office will help you prepare the initial mailing and pay the postage.

What kind of organizational meeting should I have?

Many chapters have found these are most successful when conducted at the same time as another event. In Houston, for example, a brief organizational meeting was held at an all-alumni picnic. The Kansas City Chapter organizational meeting occurred at an alumni get-together before an Evangel University basketball game at a local college. The less formal, the better.

How do I get the Alumni Board to approve the constitution for our local chapter?

Contact the Alumni Office and arrange to have the matter placed on the agenda for the next Alumni Board meeting. The board meetings usually occur twice a year. Although the Alumni Board has the authority to approve or reject local chapters, no one has been turned down yet.

Once we have established a local chapter, what kinds of events should we plan?

Plan events that will work well in your community and accomplish the goals outlined. Remember that one of those goals is to provide an opportunity for social interaction among alumni in your area. The possibilities to accomplish that goal are virtually unlimited.

What kinds of service projects would help the university or its alumni?

The possibilities are almost endless. The Tulsa Chapter hosts an ice cream social where prospective students and their families can meet a recruiter. The Kansas City Chapter is organizing a program to link a prospective student with local alumni in the field of study the student is considering. In addition to these types of projects, your chapter might want to set up a program to help alumni new to your community feel welcome, become acquainted, or find a home church.

How big should local chapter events or projects be?

A successful event or project doesn't depend on "how big" or "how many" are involved. Instead, measure the success of a project or event by these tests:

Helpful Hints

Contact us: (417) 865-2815 or email.