Asking alumni to pay their dues can be an uncomfortable and challenging task. Many members may face financial struggles or simply forget about their commitments, leaving chapter leaders grappling with outstanding debts. However, there are strategies you can implement to make the process smoother for everyone involved.
In this post, we’ll lay out 7 practical ways to reduce alumni debt, encourage timely payments, and ensure your chapter stays financially healthy without alienating past members.
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Our Solutions for Reducing Outstanding Balances
1. Create a Chapter Committee
This committee can monitor chapter alumni debt levels, create a plan to address outstanding balances and track how much is being collected. The committee should report back to the chapter officers for accountability.2. Send Ongoing Notifications
Send an email, formal letter, and call each alumni member to notify them of their debt owed and ask them to pay their balance as soon as possible.
3. Offer Payment Plans
Have alumni members sign a written payment plan with specific due dates if they are unable to pay the amount in full.
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4. Give Discounts
Offer alumni members a discount. Tell them that if they pay today, they can reduce the price of their dues by a certain percentage.
5. Leverage Signed Agreements
Remind alumni members that they committed to a financial agreement as an undergraduate member. Reiterate that breaking that commitment puts the chapter in financial trouble.6. Work with a Lawyer
Lawyers can help you send the alumni members a formal demand letter, prompting them to pay. Make sure the letter mentions that if alumni members opt not to pay, they may run the risk of being sent to collections.
7. Collections are a Last Resort
Send any non-paying alumni members to collections if they refuse to pay or don’t respond to ongoing communications. Keep in mind this is a last resort and may not be appropriate if the amount owned is a small amount of money. Reputation damage may not be worth the amount you’re trying to collect.
