U-M Seattle Operations Guide ↑
2 Organizations and Abbreviations
It is important to establish a few organizational definitions, along with commonly used abbreviations. (BTW, you can click on a column heading to sort the table by that column.)
| Abbreviation | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| U-M | University of Michigan | The hyphen is important when using the abbreviation. |
| AAUM | Alumni Association of the University of Michigan | The AAUM is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1854 and incorporated in 1897. It is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Though a committed partner of the University of Michigan, the AAUM is an independent organization and receives no funding from the University. Its primary source of funding is membership dues. |
| AD | Athletic Department | Although Michigan athletics are part of the University, it is important to realize that the AD often operates as a peer to U-M academics and to AAUM. |
| OUD | Office of University Development | U-M has a network of development (i.e. fundraising) officers, some of whom are dedicated to a particular school (such as Engineering), while others represent the University as a whole. U-M has a full-time development officer working and living in the Seattle area. |
| Club | University of Michigan Club of Seattle | As in “Our Club” or “The Club” – Our local Club is an affiliate of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan, and is chartered by the AAUM, but is a separate organization from the AAUM, in terms of both legal and financial considerations. Our Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Washington in 2017. Washington State has assigned the Club the Unified Business Identifier (UBI) number of 604 115 028. The U-M Club of Seattle is over 100 years old, and is the oldest U-M Alumni Club outside of the state of Michigan. |
The AAUM is the primary source of funding for our club. As stated in our bylaws:
The Club does not charge membership dues exclusive of AAUM.
As leaders of a regional club, we generally work supportively with all members of the greater University of Michigan community, including collaboration with development personnel from AAUM, U-M and from the individual schools within the University.
We also occasionally collaborate with the Michigan Ross Alumni Club of Seattle, which is yet another organization that is separate from our Club.
Next: Purpose of the Club