Because of the potential value of alumni involvement for student success, for connections to society and as a base for future philanthropy, there is growing interest in developing university alumni relations programmes in countries that do not have a long tradition in this area. This case study of Stockholm University describes the goals, strategies, barriers and successes of building an alumni programme in an environment that lacks a tradition of alumni relations and aims to provide perspectives and ideas that can help other universities worldwide with their work towards building alumni programmes that fit their cultural contexts and goals.