Advice for Alumni Volunteers

The LSE community is profoundly enhanced by a growing number of dedicated volunteers. Whether you have been volunteering for decades or are just joining this year, we want to ensure all volunteers feel confident and prepared. All our volunteers are supported by our Alumni Association Executive Committee and experienced Alumni Engagement team. We provide a range of services and support to help sustain and promote alumni groups.

With over 80 groups, based in more than 90 countries and serving a network of over 222,000 alumni, you have the potential to make a tangible impact on the lives of LSE alumni all over the globe. The groups are an invaluable source of support to the School and are run by people like you, the alumni volunteers who give their time and skills generously. We are hugely grateful for your ongoing efforts and support.

The sections below provide best practice guidance for all alumni groups and volunteer activities which are regularly reviewed and updated by the Alumni Engagement Team.

Alumni Groups Overview
Financial Management
Data Protection
Communications
Events
Volunteer Resources

Alumni Groups Overview

It is essential that all groups, established and new, have strong leadership and a dedicated committee with clear terms of office. This protects existing committee members from volunteer fatigue, and encourages transparency and inclusivity while encouraging participation from and a pipeline for new volunteers.

Committees and Leadership

In terms of leadership, most groups choose to have one Group Leader, although some groups implement shared leadership, such as Co-Leaders/Co-Chairs. Whichever configuration, it should be designed to enhance the experience of all alumni and volunteers. The Group Leader and all committee members must be alumni of the School.

Term limits

We recommend a term of one to three years for each committee position, with a maximum of two terms in each role. Implementing a staggered or rotation system so that each year a selection of committee members is nominated allows for a continual process of renewal in the committee, while maintaining a degree of stability, continuity and expertise.

Committee Structures

While the number of committee members and officers will vary depending on the size and needs of the group’s membership, our recommendation is for a minimum of three committee members (including a Group Leader). Committee roles listed below are suggestions and a starting point for thinking about your committee and the group’s individual needs.

Group Leader

Lead and supervise the overall efforts of the Group
Liaise closely with the LSE Alumni Engagement Team
Coordinate the overall efforts of the Group including committee meetings and transitions within the committee
When appropriate, act as alumni host at group events
Connect with allocated Regional Liaison Officer and other Group Leaders in the region

Treasurer

Oversees the alumni group’s income and expenditure
Where applicable, maintains the group’s bank account
Reports on the financial position of the group to each committee meeting and at the Annual General Meeting.

Events Coordinator

Supervise the planning and delivery of events – in person and online
Source speakers and venues
Coordinate event details and logistics
Provide regular updates to the Alumni Engagement Team on alumni event registrations and attendance

Communications Coordinator

Oversee and coordinate communications with the alumni community (through Alumni Engagement Team for email to community) and social media;
Manage correspondence/enquiries to the alumni group email address
Connect with LSE Alumni Engagement Team on group updates and activities

Students and Recent Graduates Coordinator

Role open to any alumnus/na who graduated in the last five years
Engage specifically those who graduated within the last five years
Promote LSE initiatives to support this group;
Develop ways to connect alumni in the region and to offer careers support
Coordinate any departure/welcome home activity for the group

Insurance

The School’s insurance policy does not cover group activities, officers, committees or members of the group. The School recommends that alumni groups obtain appropriate insurance for their activities. The School cannot advise in relation to insurance needs, or the merits of particular insurers or insurance policies. Accordingly, alumni groups are asked to seek their own independent advice.

Alumni groups should also carry out risk assessments before any events and make sure that event attendees are aware of any on-site risks. Groups should request allergy and accessibility information from participants in advance to enable to event to run safely. This (and all) data should be held securely. See the Data Protection section for more information.

Legal Entity

The School does not recommend that recognised groups apply to become a legal entity within their countries. If a group wishes to explore becoming a legal entity, they must consult with the Alumni Engagement Team ahead of making local enquiries. Please note that it is not always possible for the School to support these requests.

Identifying future group leaders is an important task for any committee. Succession planning on an ongoing basis is essential to ensuring the continuity of an alumni group. If a group has momentum, through ongoing activities and engagement, it might be easier for you to identify successors for your committee. The Alumni Engagement team, and your Regional Liaison Officer will be able to offer support and guidance for succession planning for all committee positions, but particularly for the nomination of a new group leader.

We understand that established groups might already have a process in place for the identification, nomination of a new group leader, and in many cases for the appointment of all committee members. We encourage all groups to keep the Alumni Engagement Team up to date with any group specific processes for succession planning so that we can provide relevant guidance, support and ensure our records on group committees remain up to date.

All groups should be mindful of the standards and commitments within the Alumni Group Agreements that must be maintained when succession planning or recruiting to their committee.

We have put together the following preferred process for the recruitment of a new group leader which involves the support of your Alumni Engagement Team, and Regional Liaison Officer.

The Group Leader (GL) has served no more than 3 years (or 2 terms of 3 years) and informs current committee members, Regional Liaison Officer (RLO) and PAGE of intention to stand down.

Please give your PAGE representative a minimum of 2 months’ notice of your intention to step down to allow time for recruiting a successor.
Where appropriate expressions of interest are first invited from the existing committee members

PAGE, RLO and existing committee members to review applications.
Transition meeting with outgoing GL, PAGE and GL elect (within 1 week)
Formal handover to newly elected GL (within 1 month)

Alumni in region informed of change in group leadership with announcement of next activity

RLO to connect with new GL, provide advice and to check in monthly.

PAGE relationship manager to provide Group Leaders induction and to book regular check ins for duration of term (minimum monthly).

In exceptional circumstances, where no committee exists or there is no interest from existing committee members:

PAGE and RLO to invite expressions of interest from existing alumni volunteers and contacts in the region – and to expand search based on level of interest:

Interested alumni requested to submit GL application.

Applications open for a minimum of 2 weeks .
PAGE and RLO to collate responses and applications
GL appointed based on strength of application OR Elections held

PAGE to provide logistical support to any election process.

Other applicants thanked for interest and potential to offer other key committee positions such as Secretary or Treasurer.
Transition meeting with outgoing GL, PAGE and GL elect (within 1 week)
Formal handover to newly elected GL (within 1 month)

Alumni in region informed of change in group leadership (within 1 week).

RLO to mentor new GL for 6 months, provide advice and to check in monthly.

PAGE relationship manager to provide Group Leaders induction and to book regular check ins for duration of term (minimum monthly).

Some groups provide a longer transition period (of 3-6 months) for new group leaders to shadow outgoing leadership. For more information on how to include this in your transition of leadership, please contact your PAGE representative.

Many groups hold annual or biennial elections to refresh their committees and recruit new members. These elections can take place either online or in person at the group’s Annual General Meeting (AGM).

We recommend a term of up to three years for each committee position, with a maximum of two terms in each role, and a staggered or rotation system. A staggered/rotation system means that each year a selection of committee members is elected rather than the full committee. This allows for a continual process of renewal in the committee, while maintaining a degree of stability and continuity.

The Alumni Engagement team will be able to provide best practice examples of recent committee elections for alumni groups, as well as logistical support for the elections process if required.

Elections Process

Groups may wish to undertake an election, rather than appointment process to approve new committees or group leadership. When planning an election, the group should:
Inform their PAGE representative of the date of their AGM or date the date of the election.

Minimum of 2 months’ notice of the date of elections.

Confirm all of the committee positions involved in the election.
PAGE to provide example role descriptions for each committee member
PAGE to provide suggested timeline for elections (will be dependent on the number of committee positions involved in the election)
Expressions of interest invited from the existing committee members by current GL:

Interested alumni requested to submit committee applications online.

Applications open for a minimum of 2 weeks.

PAGE and RLO to invite expressions of interest from existing alumni volunteers and contacts in the region – and to expand search based on level of interest:

Interested alumni requested to submit committee application online.

Applications open for a minimum of 2 weeks.

PAGE and RLO to collate responses and applications for review by Group Leader and existing committee.

Elections held:

PAGE to provide logistical support to any election process.
Transition meeting with outgoing Committee members, PAGE and newly elected committee (within 1 week)
Formal handover to newly elected Committee members (within 1 month)

Alumni in region informed of change in group committee (within 1 week).

RLO to provide advice and to check in with new committee members.

PAGE relationship manager to provide induction materials to new committee members and to book regular check ins for duration of term.

The success of every alumni group is dependent on the effort invested by its volunteer organising committee. You should always be seeking to identify, recruit and retain new volunteers and encouraging them to take part at an organisational level. Clear role descriptions and an understanding of what might motivate someone to accept a committee position are also very useful.

Volunteer recruitment
Some suggested ways of recruiting new volunteers include:

Regularly publicising available volunteer roles, with clear role descriptions and terms of office
Holding an annual meeting specifically to discuss forthcoming events and activities, and to obtain suggestions for volunteers who can help with organising them.
Asking enthusiastic members of your community to assist with small tasks such as event planning – for example to support an event in which they have an interest, whether academic, social or career related.
Sharing volunteer opportunities from across the School with your members – often being involved in individual volunteering can develop into a desire to explore longer term opportunities.

Recruiting Recent Graduates to your Committee

It is important to think about ways in which your group can include recent graduates in your activities, and to recruit recent graduates to your committee.

A key item to consider is when inviting recent graduates to participate in group activities is timing. For example, timing a call out to new volunteers to take place in September will include both the new cohort of undergraduates who finish their studies at the School in the summer term, and post-graduates, who tend to return to their local communities in September, following their final deadlines (ahead of formally completing their studies in December of that year).

Another way to raise the profile of your alumni group among students and recent graduates is to build a rapport with your Student Union society counterparts – this can be through promoting their activities to your alumni community, collaborative events and offering guidance. You can find more information about the LSE SU societies here.

Retention

The success of an alumni group can be heavily reliant on retaining engaged and enthusiastic volunteers. Investing time to ensure that they are looked after, and their roles are rewarding. Volunteers should feel they are an important part your alumni group, are fully involved in decision-making, and that their achievements are recognised.

Some suggestions for retaining your engaged volunteers include:

Stay active as a group and be receptive to new ideas
Think about what motivates your committee members: this might include interest in specific areas, whether academic, social or careers-based networking. Understanding volunteers’ motivations can help you to identify suitable tasks together, which will keep their interest. It’s key that volunteers have a say over their role.
Track each volunteer’s term of office and be aware of how they are feeling, especially if they feel underutilised, or alternatively if they feel burdened by the responsibilities of the position – ensure that the workload is shared appropriately.
Invite all relevant volunteers to be consulted on group decisions that affect them and invite them to participate in relevant meetings and social plans.

If you are concerned about recruitment and retention of volunteers to your committee, contact the Alumni Engagement team - we can provide further advice and guidance with reference to your specific group and alumni community

Thanking volunteers

Volunteers should always be thanked for their efforts and if this can be done publicly, even better. A simple “thank you” for organising an event in front of members can really help to make volunteers feel valued. Please also let your main contact in the Alumni Engagement team know the names of any and all alumni who support your group – this way the volunteering can also be acknowledged by the School – through including them in our regular volunteer updates to recognising them in our annual roll of thanks.

The London School of Economics and Political Science is a registered charity and is incorporated in England as a company limited by guarantee under the Companies Acts (Reg no. 70527). As such any campaigning and political activity, including by alumni acting in their capacity as volunteers for the School can only be undertaken in the context of directly supporting the delivery of the School’s charitable purposes.

While alumni groups may express support for particular policies, it is essential to note that alumni groups cannot give their support to any one political party. As a charity LSE must always guard its independence, and ensure it remains politically independent across all activities and initiatives, including those undertaken by recognised alumni groups.

Financial Management

All alumni groups must be self-financing. The School bears no responsibility for the financing or finances of alumni groups. The School recommends that groups do not levy member fees, and that group activity is funded through free activity, ticket sales or events sponsorship.

We strongly advise that each committee includes a Treasurer. Their responsibilities should include keeping a basic written record of income and expenditure, together with a balance sheet. They should also present the group’s accounts to a group meeting on an annual basis. An example role description for a Treasurer is included in the Committee Governance section.

Bank accounts

It is advisable for alumni groups to have a bank account in the name of the group. We realise this is not always possible for international groups. The Alumni Engagement Team can provide a formal letter on request to groups who have signed the alumni group recognition agreement confirming that they are an officially recognised group if this is required. We also advise having two signatories for the group bank account. The School holds no responsibility for the finances of alumni groups who hold independent bank accounts.

The following are examples of financial good practice: Consider the full calendar year when developing the group’s budget. It may be that some events can be part-subsidised, whereas other should aim to make a small profit to compensate.

Estimate likely income based on projected ticket prices (taking into account income from the previous year, where possible).
Regularly monitor income against expenditure.
Reconcile the group’s accounts as soon after each event as possible.
Estimate expenses as accurately as possible based on received quotes.

In addition to self-funding events and activities, committee members of Groups can utilise their alumni and personal networks by seeking some form or sponsorship or underwriting. Many alumni groups find that prominent alumni are able to assist with securing meeting places for events at no cost, which substantially reduces the total cost of events. In other cases, groups have obtained financial support from individuals, firms and organisations interested in promoting their services. Group leaders should ensure that they only accept sponsorship that fits with the values and ethics enshrined in the Alumni Charter/Code of Conduct – and will cause no embarrassment to the group, the LSE Alumni Association, or LSE itself. Please note that any sponsorship agreement will be made between the Group and the organisation, not the School itself.

Before approaching fellow alumni or organisations to sponsor an event please contact the Alumni Engagement Team to determine if there is an existing relationship already in place within LSE. For more guidance for groups wishing to seek sponsorship please contact Alumni Engagement team.

Sponsorship Activity for Alumni Groups

LSE alumni groups can undertake activity at group level to raise funds to help cover costs of running the group and towards supporting events. Examples of what this could be are:

Building links with organisations to sponsor events. Funders could be local businesses, community groups, or local alumni contacts who may wish the alumni group to promote their services in exchange
Utilising in-kind support such as meeting space, facilities and other support towards holding events.

Important points to keep in mind:

All approaches are to be made in in the name of the alumni group itself rather than in the name of LSE in order to appropriately manage the expectation of any donor or sponsor
Appropriate care should be taken to associate only with reputable sponsors or funders
It is for the group to manage the relationship with any supporter of the group, including to agree and deliver on any agreed acknowledgement expectations.

Thoughts for alumni groups to consider when thinking about raising funds through sponsorship:

What is the purpose for seeking fundraising? What budget do you have, what budget are you seeking to relieve? What do you need income for? Do you know what you need?
Think about what the different components are, which elements could be packaged into a sponsorship opportunity?
Think about which components could be in-kind offers, such as using event space at no cost, consider what sponsorship opportunities there can be?

E.g. could sponsors be sought for the components such as refreshments, lunch, drinks reception, in exchange for brand profiling and product showcase during the event?
Create packages of what the sponsorship options are to pitch to sponsors. Think about what they can get in return, what are the benefits?, what reach will their brand profiling be able to achieve?
Are there experienced members of your alumni committee or group who can support with:

The sponsorship options

The sponsorship agreement

Fulfilling the elements in the sponsorship agreement, such as communications with you alumni community.

Considering appropriate sponsors and donors

When approaching individuals or organisations, it is important to take the following into account:

Consider anything that could damage the reputation of the LSE or your alumni group
Anything related to the organisation or individual that could trigger adverse media
Anything unethical

The School considers the following areas of risk in its review of potential funding:

Financial misconduct

Tax evasion
Money Laundering
Fraud
Bribery and Corruption
Organised Crime and Terrorism
Violations of international conventions on human rights
Previous court actions/judgements/investigations/inquiries
Discrimination against individuals
Named on a ‘Watchlist’ or engagement with sanctioned regimes
Negative news relating to behaviour or views of the donor or entities associated with the donor (family, company, organisation, country) including:

Extreme political views
Extreme religious views
Sexual misconduct
Human rights abuse e.g. child labour, human trafficking, poor working conditions
Environmental damage e.g. deforestation, toxic waste
Political engagement with controversial, anti-democratic regimes
Engagement with ‘caution industries’ including:

Arms dealing and manufacture
Tobacco manufacture
Coal mining or Oil/Tar sands extraction
Animal Testing
Pornography
Gambling
Palm Oil
Fossil Fuels
Fracking
Alcohol manufacture

LSE PAGE is the main source of fundraising for the School. Groups are encouraged to promote the School’s priority appeals within the LSE Regular Giving programme to group members and their personal networks should they wish to support the School’s fundraising efforts. Please note that groups should not engage in philanthropic activity for the School unless this has been agreed in consultation with PAGE. If a group is considering fundraising they should contact the Alumni Engagement Team in advance of undertaking any activity.

Data Protection

The UK data protection rules are set out in the DPA 2018 and the UK GDPR. The law applies to any ‘processing of personal data’, regardless of the size of the organisation. For more information on how the School holds, processes and uses alumni data, please view our privacy statement.

The School does not support alumni groups keeping their own databases of alumni records and recommends that groups only hold data that is essential to current activity. If you really need to share any data, it should be kept to an absolute minimum and only be transferred in agreement for how it was captured. While you are holding the data, keep it safe and secure. And when you no longer need it, delete it.

Your group must follow the key principals of data processing under GDPR:

1) Lawful

You will need to have a basis for processing information. These include consent, contract, legal obligation, vital interests, public task and legitimate interest. Most of your group activities will fall under:

Consent – the individual has told you that you can process their information. For some activities, such as email communications or holding sensitive information, consent will likely be the appropriate basis for processing.
Contract – such as event registration and processing of information for purposes of running an event or membership services.
Legitimate interest – holding onto information that is relevant to the purposes of your organisation. This should not be intrusive or excessive.

2) Purpose

Your purpose is what are you doing with the information and why you need it to help run your alumni group

3) Minimal Data

Only hold what is needed

4) Accuracy

Keep your records accurate and up to date. Make any updates and amendments to your data as soon as is possible – the recommended time is one month.

5) Storage

Only keep the data for as long as is necessary. For example, when an event is over, delete the information that you have no need to retain for reuse. Do not hold on to information ‘just in case’.

6) Security

Who can access the data and why? Where is it stored? Make sure the data you hold is encrypted and secure (for example, have strong passwords on documents containing personal data).

7) Accountability

Besides these principles, think about the data you hold. If someone were to ask you how you gained their data, why you have it and what you do with it, what would your answer be? – and if you were at the receiving end of that answer, would you be happy with it?

The Alumni Engagement Team cannot offer you legal advice on how you hold your data or comply with UK GDPR, but if you have any questions, we will endeavour to answer them as far as we can. Please email us with any questions at: alumni@lse.ac.uk.

Communications

The Alumni Engagement team is responsible for creating tailored programmes and opportunities for all LSE alumni. This is enhanced considerably by alumni groups’ programmes of events and outreach activity around the world.

Alumni groups are required to plan their activity annually and share this plan with the Alumni Engagement Team, and all formal alumni group communications should be sent via the School’s alumni CRM/database to ensure LSE has a complete picture of alumni engagement and interaction with our programmes and communications.

LSE has responsibility for managing and maintaining all alumni data, and for ensuring compliance with relevant data protection law. As such, Alumni groups and committees are not permitted to create and maintain their own alumni databases and mailing lists.

So that groups can communicate easily with alumni through our central system, we have created a short form for groups to submit details of events and other activities:

Alumni Group Event and Communication Requests

Once requests are received, the Alumni Engagement team aims to respond and send your requested communication within 3 working days.

LSE and Alumni Website

In support of our alumni groups, the School will promote groups, their events and activities across all digital channels including official websites. Please make sure that you keep the Alumni Engagement team up to date with all of your plans and activities so that we can ensure that are promoting accurate information about your group.

Independent Group Websites

Some alumni groups decide to maintain a presence on an independent external website. LSE PAGE can take no responsibility for independently hosted alumni group websites and we do not monitor or approve these sites. The School will only intervene in exceptional circumstances, such as if the content could be perceived as damaging to the reputation of the School. Therefore, we would ask that you include, in a prominent part of your site, a statement such as:

‘The <Group name> is an autonomous group for alumni of the London School of Economics and Political Science and operates independently of the School. Responsibility for this website, and any and all activities associated with it, are the full responsibility of the group and its organising committee. This website is not maintained, monitored, or in any way under the control of the London School of Economics and Political Science.’

Social Media channels

You may wish to consider promoting your alumni group on social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Facebook provides facilities for promoting news and events, as well as message board facilities for members to socially connect with each other. LinkedIn has a more professional focus and therefore may be more appropriate for interest groups or regional groups that organise a lot of career-related events.

It’s worth noting that people are less likely to join a group platform that is not very well populated, so make sure that you have some content available, such as information on forthcoming events and photos, as soon as it is launched.
The School requests that you include the following disclaimer on your social media pages to make it clear that is it not maintained or monitored by LSE:

‘The <Group name> takes full responsibility for this page/ group, which is not operated by, under the authority of, or in association with, The London School of Economics and Political Science.’

If you are planning on creating social media accounts for your group, please get in touch with the Alumni Engagement team who will be able to provide further guidance.

LSE's social media guidance.

Messaging Apps – Whatsapp, Telegram, WeChat

We understand that some groups wish to use local messaging apps such as Whatsapp, Telegram and WeChat. Please note that we consider these groups private activity and the Alumni Engagement team cannot share alumni contact information direct with groups or promote these to encourage alumni to join. Please also note that LSE staff are not expected to join these groups.

Online Conduct

Please note that the standards and obligations set out in the Alumni Association Constitution, Byelaws and LSE Ethics Code apply at all times.

By way of further guidance for online conduct:

All posts on LSE branded forums, including social media channels, should be free of disability, age, race, gender, religion or sexual discrimination
Alumni should represent themselves accurately and not falsify information, including job or degree status.
LSE is a registered charity and therefore promotion of other charities via the official School channels is strongly discouraged, unless in exceptional circumstances agreed by the Alumni Engagement team
Use of LSE channels by alumni for unsolicited advertising or funding requests is not permitted.
The Alumni Engagement Team reserves the right to request the removal or deletion any posts or online content on LSE branded channels that are considered to breech the any of the above principals or the standards and obligations in the Alumni Association Constitution, Byelaws and LSE Ethics Code.

While all group email communications should be sent through the central alumni system (currently iModules) to ensure compliance with data protection laws – all recognised active alumni groups will be allocated a free LSE alumni email account. Where appropriate this account can be used as a point of contact for group enquiries. This is a pro-account offered through the LSE Alumni Email service with Aluminati.

Accessing your Alumni Group Email

The Alumni Engagement Team will create an alumni group email account for you once all members of your committee have:

Read and agreed to the Alumni Charter
Signed the Alumni Groups Volunteer Agreement
Signed the LSE Confidentiality Agreement

To receive your login information, please contact the Alumni Engagement Team

You can login into your alumni group email account here.

Please note:

Alumni groups should not use personal email addresses or set up duplicate email accounts for groups
The group email account should not be used to create a separate mailing list
The account will be set up and accessible to the Alumni Engagement Team
The login details should only be shared with current active committee members
Any breach of the Alumni Volunteer Agreement and Code of Conduct will result in the closure of the alumni group email account.

Events

A busy events programme can help strengthen a group’s community by engaging with existing members and attracting new alumni to participate, such as recent graduates. It should be varied, relevant and inclusive in order to appeal to different ages, interests and affiliations. Below we have listed some ideas for types of events that your group might wish to organise.

Academic events

For many groups, a lecture or presentation by an LSE academic or senior member of staff is the highlight of their event calendar. Speaker events provide a wonderful opportunity to strengthen alumni connections to the School and provide an enjoyable and informative learning experience. Details on researching and identifying speakers are included in the Event Resources section. The Alumni Engagement Team will endeavour to let groups know if academics are visiting their area.
Professional networking events

Networking events aimed at encouraging members to find out more about the careers and experiences of fellow alumni are particularly attractive to recent graduates and younger alumni. They can be formal with a speaker or theme, or informal over a meal or drinks.
Collaborative events

Organising an event in collaboration with another alumni group can boost attendance and halve the workload. Suggestions include events with equivalent institutions such as Oxford, Cambridge or Ivy league alumni groups, Business School groups or alumni groups from other institutions in your local area.
Cultural events

Trips to local museums, historic houses, gardens, theatres and art galleries followed by a social gathering at a nearby café, restaurant or pub, can be very popular events. Often these events can be linked with an LSE department, academic or current area of research.
Social events

Purely social gatherings such as drinks parties, dinners, outdoor events or events around a significant date are popular. If there’s a local alumni-owned bar or restaurant that you can use – even better!

To successfully manage your alumni event, especially a high-profile one, there are a number of steps that the Alumni Engagement team would recommend that event organisers follow. The list below is intended to help support groups and provide some suggestions for good practice.

The timescales involved in planning each event will vary according to the scale of the event. Some major events need to be planned at least a year in advance, while others may only require a few weeks’ preparation. It is always advisable to start your event planning as early as possible.

Key considerations

The aims of the event including links to the LSE2030 strategy or key research themes.
Who is the audience for your event and how can you encourage high attendance (stream online, collaborate with another group etc)?
How can you ensure that your event is inclusive? Including ensuring you have a diverse group of speakers and the event is accessible.
The event date, time, venue, and catering requirements. Key roles and responsibilities including the lead organiser and named volunteers.
If arranging a speaker or a panel (if applicable), ensure that they are diverse and representative of the alumni community.
Risk assessments – include any plans for vulnerable adults and the safeguarding of children.
Defining event outcomes or what would success look like?
Post-event follow-up (for example, thank you notes to speakers and volunteers and directing to other ways to support LSE).

Please note, alumni events should not:

engage under-18 year olds
support specific political agendas or campaigns
fundraise for non-LSE causes
act as a direct financial benefit to any LSE alumni business

It is recommended that alumni are given at least six weeks notice for any event (please see Communications section for how to promote your event to alumni).

Alumni groups often find it useful to hold an annual planning meeting to determine the events programme for the year. This can then be circulated to your alumni community once dates have been confirmed.

3 – 6 months before the event

Determine the goal of the event e.g: celebrating a special occasion, enabling alumni to connect with LSE faculty or facilitating recent graduates to meet alumni from the local area.
Draft a timeline for key tasks and deadlines.
Allocate tasks and responsibilities to members of your committee and event volunteers.
Prepare an event budget and spreadsheet to keep track of spending.
Research possible venues, taking into account considerations such as availability, capacity, accessibility, costs, layout and transport links.
Agree a suitable venue and date.
Develop the timings for the event.
Identify and approach a suitable speaker (if required).
Review, sign and return the venue contract (if required). Determine the cost of the event for attendees.
Notify the Alumni Engagement Team of the event so that a save the date notification can be circulated to alumni.

2 – 3 months before the event

Update the Alumni Engagement Team on the event details so that the event can be publicised via the LSE channels and social media sites.
Promote the event on the group’s social media channels.
Please inform the Alumni Engagement Team ahead of the event about potential VIP Alumni that you would like to invite to the event.
For a speaker event, request details regarding the lecture title, speaker biography and possibly a short abstract to help market the event.
Check on room layout and accessibility issues.
Complete a risk assessment if required for the venue. Contact speaker to determine any audio-visual needs, as well as confirming transport and accommodation if necessary.
Arrange an audio visual technician to be present, if applicable.
Investigate catering options, including menu (with dietary options) and drinks selection.
Book entertainment and submit deposit, if needed. Consider room decoration, such as any flowers or banners etc.

4 – 6 weeks before the event

Finalise the menu and other catering decisions.
Reserve parking at venue and check details for disabled parking.
Undertake a first draft of the running order for the event (e.g. times for arrival, set-up, registration, drinks, guest lecture, dinner, thanks from the Chair and departure). Draft briefing notes and background information for speakers (if applicable).
Schedule an email reminder to alumni and other guests with the Alumni Engagement team.
Continue to collect attendee names.
Allocate tasks and responsibilities among your committee and identify any additional alumni volunteers to help on the day.

1 – 2 weeks before the event

Ask the Alumni Engagement team to send a final email reminder to alumni, including a request for any accessibility or dietary issues.
Chase any outstanding payments from guests.
Confirm volunteer assignments and roles.
Finalise arrangements with the speaker and send briefing notes (if applicable).
Finalise attendee list.
Produce name badges if required.
Create any signage required (registration, directional).
Produce table plan (if applicable) and send to venue.
Contact venue/caterer with final numbers.
Arrange for delivery of any materials to the venue. Finalise the running order.
Circulate contact list with mobile numbers to all staff/ volunteers (seek permission from all those on the list).
Speak with the Alumni Engagement team about a post-event survey, if appropriate.

On the day

Arrive early with other committee members/ key volunteers.
Meet venue contact and undertake final room checks.
Test audio-visual equipment and meet technician, if applicable.
Meet musicians/other entertainment, if applicable.
Organise registration area and name badges.
Put up signage.
Relax and enjoy your event!

The day after the event

Draft and send thank you letter to the speaker, chair and any VIP guests, if applicable.
Draft thank you message to attendees, with evaluation survey to collect feedback, for the Alumni Engagement team to send.
If event was recorded, send recording your alumni community.
Send registration list to Alumni Engagement Team for uploading onto alumni database.
Meet with your event committee and volunteers to reflect on the event – review what went well? What could you do better next time?

Don’t worry if you haven’t hosted a virtual event before, our top tips will help you run your event smoothly, have fun and keep participants engaged.

1 - Event type

Decide on the right event format for your event and audience. You might go for a panel discussion with alumni or a talk with an LSE academic, followed by a Q&A session. Have a think how you could include breakout rooms for participants to mingle. Decide if you want to include a short video (not more than 1-2 min!) or if your speakers might like to give a short presentation.

More information on using Zoom tools such as breakout rooms to facilitate your event here.

2 - Be prepared

Ensure that you’ve prepared your event carefully by producing a purposeful agenda and ensuring that any co-hosts and speakers know their responsibilities. Joining instructions need to be shared with participants at least 2-3 days in advance. Make sure you know your audience and prepare accordingly e.g. Is this event just for your country or have you invited alumni from around the world, will current students also be attending? We also recommend allocating a member of your committee/event team to answer any questions with access or in the event chat box so that the host can facilitate the event without interruptions.

3 - Test Zoom

Most of you will be using Zoom. Make sure you make yourself familiar with this platform. You may also want to have a test call with your committee members or other alumni to get to know controls etc.

A guide on getting started with Zoom can be found here.

4 - Starting strong

Use one of LSE’s virtual backgrounds (link to virtual backgrounds) so that it is clear that you are the LSE event host. Introduce yourself, your co-hosts, and your speakers. You might want to also give attendees the chance to get into breakout rooms for short but engaging introductions. Remember to:

Adjust the height of your computer so that the webcam is at eye level.
Talk to your camera, and try to use gestures and mannerisms that you would typically use in person, and make sure that everyone can hear you at the beginning of the event.
Lighting should come from in front of you or from the side, in order to best light your face try to avoid sitting with a window behind you.
If you are not using a virtual backdrop, it is best to keep your background clear of distractions.

5 - Don’t forget - Virtual event etiquette

Remind your audience to mute their microphone when they are not speaking (and do this yourself as host)
Explain the chat box for Q&A and raise your hand function
Avoid noisy activities like typing while your microphone is on
Don’t have side conversations during the event
To allow participants to easily identify one another, encourage all attendees to change their Zoom name to include their level of study and LSE department e.g. John Smith (MSc, Geography 1990) or Sarah Jones (Group Leader, MSc Economics 2004).

6 - Keep your audience engaged

You want to create an event that all attendees will remember. Make it fun and use engagement tools. If you have a speaker you could consider including a poll which can be used to engage your attendees in the discussion, or also to get feedback at the end of your event. You could also try speed-networking in breakout sessions. Remember maintaining high engagement levels and inclusivity are key to a successful event. The earlier you engage your audience by writing into the chat, using a poll or raising their hand to speak, the more likely they are to engage throughout your event.

How to use the LSE Logo

Alumni group Zoom account

Please speak to a member of the Alumni Engagement team for more information.

LSE Backdrops for online events and meetings

Relevant topics

Many alumni groups ask for assistance in confirming relevant topics and finding academic speakers. The Alumni Engagement Team is happy to advise on potential speakers for alumni group events. Listed below are some potentially useful sources of information. These should provide a good starting point for your research:

Please include your LSE Alumni Engagement Team contact in any initial communications with LSE academics and staff regarding events.

Volunteer Resources

We really appreciate all support offered to us by our volunteers who lead and manage activities in our alumni groups. In an effort to support and develop further the activities undertaken by alumni groups, the Alumni Engagement Team is positioned to be a resource and will provide the following:

Promotion of alumni groups via the LSE Alumni website, digital communications and social media channels
Positioning on the School’s alumni website to promote the group and its activities
Notification about any speakers or senior leadership travelling to their area if known in advance
Tailored alumni group logo (based on the School’s Branding guidelines)
Regular e-communications to volunteers - carrying best practice and updates
A relationship manager in the Alumni Engagement team
A Regional Liaison Officer on the Regional Liaison Committee to optimise cross group networking, activity and provide Alumni Association support
An LSE Alumni email account for each recognised group
Biennial Alumni Leadership Forum for groups to attend (in accordance with the Alumni Leadership Forum guidelines)
Regularly updated Volunteer Guidance available on the LSE website