Alumni are an integral part of university events and deserve just as much, if not more focus than students when it comes to development. Planning an alumni event looks different for every school. Bigger schools have to plan events for hundreds to thousands of students at a time, while smaller schools could have a small enough group for an intimate dinner. Regardless of the size of your school, when it comes to alumni development at your school’s next event, Swag.com has got you covered. Check out these three ideas for alumni development events, and the must have swag items to go with them.
Tailgate
For a school of any size, you can’t go wrong with an alumni reunion tailgate. Whether your Division III or Division I, perhaps any college alumni’s favorite time to return to the glory days is during football season. A tailgate also provides lots of great development opportunities for your team, so take advantage of having a large portion of alumni all in the same place. Order a few 10’ Square Tent sets, these tents are perfect for tailgates and you can even add a custom design and pick the colors. Throw up your school’s logo or mascot or you could even include a “welcome alumni” graphic.
Another tailgate must-have item is the 8’ Table Topper, which allows for you to custom design your school’s logo on it. While we’re at it, ping pong balls are a necessity for tailgates and are another fun and customizable item to gift alumni at the development tailgate.
We all know it’s not a tailgate without great music, the Outdoor Bluetooth Speaker is small and portable and can be easily placed out of the way. To beat the heat and keep the drinks nice and cool, we recommend the Waterproof 48 can cooler, and the Carhartt Duffel Cooler. Both are great options and can be easily transported between cars and tents.
Golf Tournament
A great idea for a development event at a medium-sized school is to host an alumni golf tournament. Alumni can reunite, makes teams, and compete for a grand prize. In terms of development, the proceeds of the golf-tournament registration can go to the university. Before the tournament begins, we have picked out some gift items to treat your alumni and take your tournament to the next level.
In terms of apparel, the Adidas Men’s Polo and the Adidas Women’s Heather Block Polo are comfortable and sweat resistant, plus, they make even the most amateur golfer look and feel like a pro. In case of a sunny day, polarized sunglasses are a must, and the Flexfit Sport Cap can be customized with your school’s logo are both great items to hand out to alumni before the tournament. The zipper sport drawstring is a nice and light bag that alumni can take with them as they play, and it can hold water, snacks, phone, and wallets.
Wine tasting
If you are planning a development event for a small school, a wine tasting is both a fun and classy option. Working with a smaller sized group, a wine tasting is intimate and once you have the numbers, easy to organize for a decently sized group. Whether you go to a vineyard, a restaurant, or rent out your own space, a wine tasting is the perfect setting to brink alumni together.
If you are hosting the event in a rented space, the first item we recommend is the Napa Wine Glass. If you really want to impress those alums, this glass is affordable, can be ordered in bulk, and looks like it belongs in a 5-star restaurant. To go along with your bottles, the Wing Corkscrew is an easy to use bottle opener, and if your event doesn’t have staff working it, placing a few of these at each table would be convenient.
We all know that you can’t serve wine without pairing it with a nice cheese board. The Marble and Wood Cheese Board paired with a Cheese Knife has a polished and nice look.
