The site was launched in November, 2002 for two schools in Upper
Michigan (Ishpeming HS and Westwood HS) and has been promoted entirely by word-of-mouth. All Upper Michigan schools are now on the site and there are over 15,500 "Yooper" alums registered as members. alumnac.com membership is higher than on classmates.com for these two original schools. The site was recently made available to all schools in the United States.
What does the site do? Why should I join?
The main function of the site is to enable members to reconnect with each other, to provide an economical (FREE) way to spread information about class reunions, and to have fun. Many members have been able to get back in touch with people they have not seen in years. Members are posted on the page for their graduating class. To find out if an old friend has joined, simply access the page for their school and then to their graduating class. You should join if you wish to contact or be contacted by others and to take full advantage of the website.
Isn't this what classmates.com does?
Yes. However, classmates.com charges a hefty fee to send emails or to receive emails. A very small percentage of people who are listed on classmates.com have paid the fee (and are able to receive your email), so even if you decide to pay the membership fee, your message may still never be received. At alumnac.com, sending and receiving emails is FREE.
Where does the "fun" come in?
Members have thoroughly enjoyed the ability to reconnect with old
acquaintances. In addition, the site has game-by-game results for several sports, old pictures (elementary school photos, reunion photos organized by class), free messaging boards, places to shop, and contests (NFL games, NCAA Basketball Championship (aka March Madness), and NCAA Bowl games). There's also an optional newsletter about new stuff on the site, a recipe board, and other fun features.
Why doesn't alumnac.com charge a membership fee?
The reason the site was developed is to provide a FREE means to contact old acquaintances.
The site offsets its costs from business, real estate, and classified ads on the site. In addition, the site is an Amazon.com associate site. This means if you click on an Amazon link anywhere on the site and purchase something from Amazon on that visit, the site
receives a small commission from Amazon. If you wish to help support the site, please consider clicking on one of these links. There are also other businesses (Blockbuster, NetFlix) on the links page that work the same way.
If I join, will others be able to see my email address?
No, your email address is not exposed on the site. If you wish to contact
another member, alumnac.com sends the email on your behalf (and identifies you as the sender). If you wish to obtain someone's email address, simply contact that person using alumnac.com and ask them to send it to you.
How is the site organized?
The site is organized by state. Click on a state abbreviation at the top of any page. Once there, you will see only cities and schools within that state.
How can a school benefit from the site?
In several ways. First, the site gives schools a valuable (and FREE) way to stay in touch with its alumni. Schools can post announcements or newsletters for FREE on their school page. Schools can also post sports schedules, rosters, and results and use the site as a way to market its athletic programs. Finally, if a school
places a link to alumnac.com on its website, alumnac.com will share any commissions from the Amazon sales 50/50 (from the Amazon link on that school's page). There are also opportunities to sell ads on the site as a way to raise funds for your school. Contact us for more information.
How can I help?
In several ways. First, if you haven't already, join the site (did we mention it's FREE?). Second, spread the word to all your friends and family and encourage them to join. The site is available for all schools in the United States, so send a message about alumnac.com to everyone in your address book. Second, if you own or operate a business
and are looking for a very inexpensive way to advertise, please consider this site in your plans. The annual cost to advertise on alumnac.com is less than $100 per year. For this, you get your own page complete with graphics and can your edit this page as often as you wish (with exposure to over 14,000 members). Third, if you are an Amazon customer, please click on one of the many Amazon links to get to the Amazon store.
What is your privacy policy?
Our policy is to never share or sell personal information (other than
the information that you've chosen to post on the site) to anyone. We
have never and will never compromise this site. We have taken great
care to insure spammers cannot get email addresses from the site.
Can I visit the site without joining?
Of course, but you will not be able to contact others or post messages on
the site.