News & Events

Proposal to setup a functioning Alumni Office at PAF College Sargodha

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As an alumnus of PAF College Sargodha, I am writing this proposal to suggest a formal Alumni (SOBA) office of our college at PAF college Sargodha.

Introduction:

All successful universities like Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, King Edwards Medical, Cadet College Hasanabdal have very effective and functional Alumni organizations. Unfortunately, a distinguished college like PAF College Sargodha, where we graduated from, does not have a structured Alumni organization.

Good colleges produce successful leaders, entrepreneurs, politicians and military leaders. Often it is these successful Alumni that want to give back generously to the very institution responsible for their success.

Establishment of proper Alumni Association requires an Alumni office equipped with dedicated full-time resources along with modern tools such as a functional website, iPhone and Android app etc. While most good schools have a fully equipped Alumni office located within the premises of the school, PAF College does not. As an example, consider this: at the moment the junior most entry in our college is 50^th entry. A rough math of 100 students per entry shows that we should have roughly 5000 alumni members. SOBA hardly knows only 20 percent of them. A good Alumni organization should know the whereabouts of every Alumni member of its college. Few months ago, when Tasneem Noorani and Aizaz bhai asked me to arrange a get together of all Sargodhians in Washington DC, I thought the task would be simple. All I would have to do is to call the SOBA office in Pakistan for a list of all Sargodhians residing in North America and I would then extend the invitation. However, to my surprise the list I received from SOBA office was outdated, incomplete and devoid of important information. 

IT IS Time to Structure SOBA:

It is now time to formally restructure SOBA the proper way. As part of Sargodhians of North America (SONA) chapter, we have already started to build a website which will be unveiled on Feb 24. The website will be equipped with modern functions like a member's directory, social networking engine and a payment engine that can be used to collect dues from members through PayPal, Visa or MasterCard. It will also be a repository of current and historical information about our alumni and important events. This website will be integrated with modern smart phone apps so that users can get alerts of important events happening either at Sargodha or elsewhere. Such a tool can also be used to raise funds for important Alumni projects like SST Rashidabad or Sargodhian scholarships.

The Alumni website that we are currently building at our expense can easily be used by our SOBA organization at its Alumni office. However, while some of us are happily absorbing the cost of these modern communication tools, there are additional recurring costs that members must bear. I believe the membership dues can easily cover those costs once the Alumni office becomes functional

To this end, here is what I propose:

1. Establish a formal SOBA office at PAF College Sargodha. The office should run under the supervision of SOBA president or SOBA secretary and it must have one or two full time paid employees. Paid employees daily job functions will be to maintain (edit/update website), answer phone calls (for example forgot my password), locate all lost members, and coordinate various activities. 
2. SOBA office at PAF College Sargodha will be instrumental in bringing every graduating class to Alumni roll.
3. SOBA office at PAF College will also work closely with all local SOBA chapters in different cities
4. SOBA office should eventually be funded through membership dues. (Although it may need some startup funds)
5. SOBA office at PAF college will be responsible to maintain all communications with its members either via website, quarterly newsletters,  email, phone or other forms of communications
6. SOBA office at PAF college will publish a quarterly newsletter and either email or mail to all members.

I believe, it will take at least a year to locate most members, collect all dues and make the office functional. Until the office stands on its own feet, we propose that PAF should fund the Alumni office and take care of monthly recurring cost for at least the first twelve months. The cost of maintaining the office including website hosting and maintenance is expected to be around Rs. 2,00,000 (two lacs) per month or 24,00,000 (twenty-four lacs) per year.

The breakdown is as follows:

1. Two full time people at Rs.40, 000 /month. If these resources can be found within the college, then the money is not needed.
2. Website hosting: Rs 10,000 /month
3. Website maintenance: Rs 10,000 per month
4. Office supplies (newsletters etc.):Rs. 30,000 per month
5. Misc. items Rs. 70,000 per month

Total: Rs. 2, 00,000 (two lacs per month)

Funds needed for the year until the office is self-sustained: Rs. 24, 00,000 /year. (Twenty-Four lacs)

Once the first year’s cost is funded through PAF, the subsequent cost can be funded entirely through membership dues and other member contributions.

Sir, I hope you will give my proposal due consideration.

Regards:

Sohail Shafi

Email: Shafi7117@yahoo.com

1161 Alaudin House.