June Gudeman

Laurie,
You propose a very good question. While I didn't write the curriculum for this course, I am an alumni coordinator for a career college and we have opted to not participate in alumni fund-raising. So, I can only speak from a personal preference and give you my (our) reasons. Probably the biggest reason we've decided not to is because we wanted our grads to feel appreciated and not like all we wanted was their money. I think the large universities have, at times, given "alumni associations" a bad name by badgering their grads for money. I can't tell you how often people find out my job title as alumni coordinator want to tell me how frustrating it is that their own institution only wants their money. It just so happened my CEO felt very strongly that he wanted to stay away from asking for any money from our grads.
Now that being said, I just read your response to the public relations question and it sound like you've already done a great job of gathering your alumni, providing events, and generally making them feel appreciated. At this point, you probably won't battle any negative feelings by asking for some dues to help support your association. In fact, they may be very willing and ready to contribute because they have experienced your motives. Especially if you can help them clearly understand your resources and your financial needs, I don't believe you'll need to be 'pushy' to get them to contribute.
June Gudeman