Start a club

If you did not find a club in your area, or one that matches your particular interests, why not set up your own? The Alumni Relations team can support you every step of the way. 

Here's what to do! 

  • First, find out how many alumni there are in the area – contact Alumni Relations and tell us what club you want to set up.
    • Alumni clubs stand the best chance of doing well if there are a good number of alumni in the area.
    • We will give you an idea of how many alumni we have on our records that match your criteria.
    • Due to data protection laws we are unable to share contact details, but we can still help you launch your club (see below)

  • Create an online presence – a social media profile makes it easier for alumni to find your club.
    • We recommend using whatever platform is best suited to your location - for example Facebook (page or group), Weibo, WeChat, Line, LinkedIn.
    • We can assist with setting this up, offer guidance on names and branding or provide photos and logos. 
    • You could also set up a club email address, usually something like a Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo for example. 
    • If you can find someone to share the responsibility of running the club then you can also give them access to the account. 

  • Plan a launch event - something cheap and simple is often the perfect starting point.
    • Identify a suitable free or low cost venue.
    • Consider a drinks or networking event with no ticket price.
    • Make sure your event is accessible to all.
    • Tell the Alumni Relations team the details! 

  • Promote the new club and launch event - people won't join the club if they don't know about it!
    • Tell your friends in the area, word of mouth is the best promotional tool.
    • Use the club's social media account to promote the event.
    • Alumni Relations can add your event and club to our monthly e-newsletter, St Andrews in the News, which goes to all alumni and friends of the University worldwide. We can also send out targeted messages by email to alumni in your area and use our social media to further spread the word for you. 

  • Tell us how it went - we love to see photos and share stories from our clubs with our alumni.
    • The event went well and you have some people keen to help - great! Consider putting a small committee together. You can do this as formally or informally as you like. 
    • Plan a follow up event - but don't go too big too soon!
    • Set out your aims – will your club focus on socialising, networking, nostalgia, fundraising, recruitment or something else?
    • We will add you to the list of clubs on our website, include your activities in Chronicle, the alumni magazine, and be here to help your club flourish!

There is no right or wrong way to run an alumni club, but the key things are to keep active and keep in touch - and don't forget that the Alumni Relations team is here to help advise you and work with you at all times.

We look forward to hearing from you. 

Good luck!