You may have heard about the upcoming changes to the UCLA Alumni Association membership program. It is our hope that the additional information that follows will help to inform your conversations on the topic, and as such we invite your support in this new endeavor.

The impetus for this change came out of a request from Chancellor Block to look at how we could create a more welcoming membership model to serve the entire alumni community.  We invite you to read more about Chancellor Block’s perspective on the new membership and changes in the Alumni program in the current issue of the UCLA Magazine.

Payments in the new membership will be donations and can be made towards the Alumni Association Fund, Alumni Scholarship Funds or spilt between the two. Gifts may be designated to support  any of the Alumni regional scholarships funds.  While the gift towards membership will also count towards the Chancellor’s Society, it will need to be designated separately.

In February, a letter was sent to all Life members with information of the pending changes to membership.  Hundreds have reached out to the Alumni Association for more information and several alumni have already signed up to become Gold members. Based on alumni feedback the model has evolved to four levels. Those are as follows: Membership (free of cost to alumni with access to use the Library, BruinView for Alumni and Recreation); Blue Membership ($100 annual gift and access to a greater list of benefits including discounts at UCLA Extension and ASUCLA student store); Life Membership (a level reserved only for those who joined as Life members prior to the switch, who will always be recognized as Life Members and retain the same level of benefits which includes access to Bruin Woods, ProQuest Online Library and UCLA magazine subscription); and Gold Membership ($1000 one-time gift and exclusive invites to events, travel and career consulting).   Note that these benefits listed are a small sample and you can view the full list at alumni.ucla.edu/benefits.

Here are some important points to note – the new membership is different, in that it has become a tiered membership.  Contributions are now a 100% tax deductible gift to UCLA and can be designated to support the Alumni Association or scholarships.  To clarify, Life Members will be recognized in this new model with distinction, honoring their support of the Alumni Association.

The new model will take effect this month with an official launch at UCLA Alumni Day on May 16. Please forward comments and questions to Natalee Ellars at 310-206-2139 or nellars@support.ucla.edu.

Thank you and Go Bruins!

UCLA Alumni Association Presidents:

Albert Lemus ’91
Randy W. Schnack ’82
Van N. Schultz ’74, M.S. ’75
Lori Pelliccioni M.P.H. ’96, Ph.D. ’02
Yolanda Gorman ’78, M.B.A. ’83, Ph.D. ’93
Eleanor Brewer M.B.A. ’86
Eric Juline ’69, M.S. ’70
Jeffrey A. Seymour ’73, MPA ’77
Peter J. Taylor ’80
Judith W. Levin ’64
Ralph M. Ochoa ’63, JD ’69
Beatrice S. Mandel ’61