Get in touch with alumni members actively involved in the collegiate sports community. Theses alumni tend to be some of the most energetic and reliably active members and are often more than eager to help in coordinating fundraising efforts. Also, because sports events are generally such a unifying collegiate activity, raising money is much easier when it has some kind of direct link to the sports team. Also, sporting events offer substantial media coverage that can publicize your fundraising effort.
Seek out a good working relationship with the current administration of the college. Properly value the ways rapport can open funding doors. Many sources of fundraising may come from outside of the association itself, and the administration is in a much better place to put the association in touch with these sources. Along with the administration, the alumni should reach out to media outlets attached to the campus community, such as the newspaper and radio station. Often, these media members are willing to promote your fundraising efforts with no more persuasion than a few kind words.
Contact members of the outside media and talk to them about the community nature of the alumni association's fundraising. Schedule interviews on radio station and discuss how the alumni association is aligning itself with the general social improvement of the region. By broadening the identity of the association, the alumni can be perceived as active and loyal members to a community that might not be their actual place of residence. This can sometimes be a difficult bridge to make since many locals who live in small college towns can view alumni as outsiders. However, if the association is a consistently reliable entity of community involvement, the alumni can be a powerful fundraising group. This importance of this change in perception should not be underestimated.