Club Volunteer Handbook

Club presidents are the ultimate representatives of their region and help keep local alumnae connected to each other, the College, and the WCAA. Fostering engagement within the area should be a primary goal in guiding the board. The president* sets the tone for the club’s leadership, and guides the board in determining your unique goals and areas of focus for the year.

The president collaborates with a strong board of dedicated volunteers who will be thought-partners to advance the goals of the club. Possible goals include but are not limited to increasing the geographical range of your events, engaging young alumnae, building a strong community service presence, fostering stronger diversity and inclusion in programming, and partnering with SIGs/other clubs.

Responsibilities:

• Provide overall leadership and direction to the club organization. Familiarize yourself with the roles and responsibilities of each of your board members. We recommend you review the descriptions for each role included in this handbook, and reflect on those positions unique to your club and may not be included here.

• Together with the club board, establish and communicate goals and priorities for the club. Be sure to include goals for member engagement, for programming, and for your communication plans.

• Call and lead board meetings at least three times per year, including one club annual meeting.

• Ensure continuity for your club board and leadership roles by providing and fostering opportunities for new leaders to develop.

• Communicate regularly with board officers to ensure they are fulfilling their role responsibilities and offer guidance as needed.

• Exercise overall financial oversight for the club in conjunction with treasurer.

• Approve communication plans for the club.

• Maintain regular contact with the WCAA on club activities and goals by checking in with your key contact. Share your successes, let us know where you could use guidance, and ensure your club submits yourevent attendance. This is important data that helps us to keep track of how alums are fulfilling the WCAA mission of staying connected.

• Submit an annual report of the club’s activities to the WCAA by mid-July or immediately following the club’s annual meeting. WCAA will provide a specific form for the report.

• Attend WCAA trainings.

*In instances where co-presidents lead the club, the same responsibilities are expected, although some may be divided at the discretion of the club.

The club vice president supports the president in providing leadership and direction to the club organization and board. Some clubs have one vice president who helps the president perform portions of their duties, while other clubs have several vice presidents who serve as leaders for various aspects of the club (programming, communication, etc). Whether your role reflects the former or the latter, you may be called upon to share in the president’s responsibilities, as presidents may delegate tasks to vice presidents as they see fit.

Responsibilities:

• Together with the president and other club officers, establish and communicate goals and priorities for the club.

• Attend board meetings, including the club’s annual meeting.

• 与董事会人员密切合作,特别是课题amming and membership, to expand the club’s outreach with previously unengaged and under-engaged alums.

• Communicate regularly with board officers to serve as a resource for questions.

• Help to recognize potential future volunteers who will represent the diversity within the Wellesley alumnae community and provide opportunities for new leadership to develop.

• After every event please complete theEvent Attendance Formor send final attendee information to your key contact at the WCAA. This is important data that helps us to keep track of events and how alums are fulfilling the WCAA mission of staying connected. We love to hear feedback about what made your event successful.

• Attend WCAA trainings.

The Treasurer partners with the WCAA staff to oversee the club’s finances. They are responsible for communicating information about funds to club officers, for tracking expenditures, and for helping to facilitate reimbursements to any volunteers making purchases on behalf of the club.

Responsibilities

• Oversee club finances, which are held in an account at the College.

• Submit requests (including receipts and necessary bills) for vendor payments or reimbursements.

• Help ensure accurate financial records by keeping an accurate record of collections and payments to compare to the College’s accounting records.

• Receive financial reports issued quarterly by the WCAA and update fellow board members.

As club secretary you serve in the important role of keeping minutes and records of the club's meetings. Depending on your club's structure, you may also work with the communications team to keep the club informed of events and activities.
Responsibilities:

• Attend and take minutes at board meetings and the club’s annual meeting.

• Circulate meeting minutes to the board prior to the next board meeting.

• Send annual meeting minutes to WCAA and distribute them to the club.

• Maintain records of club correspondence.

• Inform officers of deadlines for reports, mailings, and future correspondence.

• Coordinate emailing of notices/newsletters to area alumnae; may share this responsibility with a newsletter or communications chair.

• Maintain a roster of officers and other board members with current address, telephone, and email information.

Other optional responsibilities include:

• Writing occasional newsletters

• Sending condolence cards

Depending on the size of your club, you may have additional positions on your board. Below we have outlined some of the most common additional leadership roles for clubs. If your club has a position that is not listed here, consider writing a description that you can use to help guide new volunteers.

年轻的校友代表是主要的俱乐部contact for our most recent graduates. Recruiting and engaging young alumnae is critical to the continued success of Wellesley clubs and the strength of the Wellesley alumnae network. A strong club will engage alums of all ages through its programming lineup but encouraging young alum participation may also require some specific events focused on this demographic that include an affordable price point for a recent grad’s budget.

Typically, young alums are defined as those who graduated within the last ten years, including CE/DS alums who graduated in this time period. Each club may define the parameters for young alums as they prefer.

Responsibilities:

• In consultation with the president and board, identify your club’s goals for young alums. Do you want to debut niche programming, like a young alum book club? Are you looking for ways to connect younger alums with older mentors? Perhaps your club members would enjoy hearing about student life from recent grads. Your club region demographics and previous programming will influence your club’s unique goals.

• Attend board meetings and provide support for club programming.

• Collaborate with the board on young alum communications, including contributions to the club newsletter, email blasts, as well as the club website and/or social media channels.

• Conduct personal outreach for potential young alum volunteers as well as new members who have yet to engage or are under-engaged.

• Plan programs and events specifically for young alums.

• Make diversity, inclusion, and accessibility a part of your planning from start to finish.

• Survey local recent alums to determine their needs/interests and ideas for programming. What would they like to see in your club? What’s keeping them from participating?

Program Ideas for Young/Recent Alums:

• Coordinate with SIG representatives for young alum events.

• Coordinate with the Alumnae Admission Liaison(s) to include young alums in prospective student events and other admission work.

• Plan regular “pay your way” meal meet-ups, including brunch, lunch, and after-work gatherings. Meals and weeknight happy hours are easy to arrange and often well-attended by young alumnae.

• Co-sponsor young/recent alum events with Seven Sisters schools or other alum clubs nearby.

• Host book groups, movie nights, visits to local attractions, outdoor activities (picnics, hikes, beach trips), and group exercise gatherings (spin, barre, yoga).

• Young alums have busy schedules and getting them to commit to attending events in advance can be difficult. Many clubs have had great success with smaller, more spontaneous events, or recurring programs. Here are some examples:

  • The Chicago Wellesley Club hosts a program called “Around Town,” where volunteers and general members are encouraged to “host” an outing to a local event as an open invitation to all, i.e. “I’m planning on going to see the holiday market and skating rink downtown next Friday evening. If anyone wants to join for cocoa and a stroll, meet at the fountain at 7 p.m.!” These types of events can easily be advertised via social media or in a newsletter roundup.

  • Wellesley College Alumnae of Boston have a Metrowest dinner group that meets at a different restaurant each month for a pay-your-own way meal. They also have a Downtown Lunch Group that meets on weekdays, where working alums can meet up midday for an easy way to connect.

  • The Washington Wellesley Club has a young alum book club that meets regularly as a small group. This concept could easily be applied to other activities such as a museum outing group, movie group, art history discussion group, etc.

  • The Wellesley Club of Hawaii hosted a virtual panel featuring recent grads to hear from ’20 and ’21 alums about their college experiences on and off-campus during COVID-19.

• Think of ways you can tag on to other events. Performances, town celebrations, and public events in outdoor spaces are easy events to attend as a group. Events that involve small groups, minimal cost, and the option to join with little advance notice may appeal to young alumnae.

俱乐部团体代表定期沟通with the SIG regional representative to keep them informed about club events and activities and to explore additional collaborative engagement opportunities. The club SIG rep also collaborates with the regional SIG reps to brainstorm, plan, and pilot new programs and activities in their region.

Responsibilities:

• Reach out to the SIG regional representatives to create and maintain communications so both SIGs and clubs know about and can promote the events and activities in the region.

• With the programming chair pilot events and activities that are collaboratively planned and promoted by clubs and SIGs.

• 要求程序利益和特定主题/想法from your board or conduct a club survey (check with your programming chair to see if one is planned) asking what type of new events your club would be interested in trying. If interest varies by club decade or geography, plan accordingly.

• If you conduct a survey, don’t forget to include an option for members to volunteer or plan for an event.

• Coordinate emailing of notices to area alums from your club, SIGs, and other clubs in your region inviting them to attend and collaborate on events and activities. You may share this responsibility with a club communications chair and SIG regional representative.

• After any events, share photos and quotes from alums who attended on your website, social media channels, and with the WCAA.

• Represent SIGs on the larger club board.

• Connect with other club/SIG leaders on Leadershare to brainstorm and share ideas.

WCAA SIGs

• Wellesley Alumnae of African Descent (WAAD)

• Wellesley Latina Alumnae Network (WLAN)

• Wellesley Asian Alumnae Alliance (W3A)

• Wellesley Alum Pride Alliance (WAPA)

• Wellesley Jewish Alumnae (WJA)

• Wellesley Muslim Alumnae (WMA)

The communications chair is responsible for sending club e-blasts and making updates to the club website. This position may work closely with the other officers to create a cohesive communication plan for the club.

Responsibilities:

• Send club emails through the WCAA-hosted website platform (Finalsite) and its email messaging system.

• Keep your club’s website up-to-date with current events and news.

• Learn how to use the website, including:

  • Collecting registration information for an event

  • Selling tickets for an event

  • Viewing who has read or clicked on an email blast sent to the club

  • Hosting video and audio files

  • Posting photo galleries

  • Listing events on your calendar and theWCAA’s all-alum events calendar

The club programming chair serves as a club leader and a member of the club board. Events are the heart of a club, and the activities you choose to host reflect the spirit and character of your members and the richness of the Wellesley network. A successful club will have a variety of events and ways to connect members to each other and to the College. Programs should be diverse in location, time, and content, and should be as accessible as possible to all members.

Responsibilities:

• Together with the board, develop ideas for club programs throughout the year that support the club’s established goals. Possible goals include but are not limited to increasing the geographical range of your events, engaging young alums, drawing on club members to share their expertise on interesting topics, building a strong community service presence, fostering stronger diversity and inclusion in programming, and partnering with SIGs/other nearby clubs.

• 充分利用俱乐部网站推广和计划events. Work with your club communications and website chairs to ensure programs are advertised well in advance.

• Keep the club board informed of attendance trends and make recommendations about continuing or changing events.

• Seek out new ideas. Consider reaching out to other clubs’ programming chairs to learn about their unique programs.
  

Choosing events and activities

Plan programs that:

• Address current alumnae interests and concerns—explore topics such as careers, the arts, education, politics, parenting, health/wellness, community service, admissions events. Often your own members are fantastic resources for potential events, panels, presentations or guided experiences.

• Attract varied constituencies: alumnae of all ages, religions, at various life stages (working/non-working, etc.).

• Start and conclude at specified times.

• Are held at various times of day at enticing and accessible locations.

• Are collaborative with Shared Identity Groups (SIGs).

• Pilot new and different activities that may engage alumnae who have not been involved.

Event Ideas

• Virtual Faculty speaker viewing parties and discussions

• Community service opportunities

• Museum tours (do you have docents among your members?)

• Admission events such as summer send-offs

• Book clubs

• Brunch, lunch, or tea—a Wellesley classic!

• Backstage tours

• Cookie swaps

• Tours of historic landmarks

• Brewery/winery tours or happy hours

• Spotlights on local alums’ events (book release, art show, lecture etc) or distinguished members

• And any other great ideas your board or members may suggest!

女毕业生入学联络人(aal)将在坳工作laboration with their local Wellesley Clubs to facilitate the planning of events for admitted students in the spring (yield events) and enrolling students in the summer (send-off events). Both types of events are great opportunities for students to connect with the Wellesley network. Planning of yield events will be in collaboration with the Office of Admission and planning for send-off events will be in collaboration with the Office of Parent & Family Programs. AALs may also assist in identifying alums from a broad representation of regions and backgrounds to participate in virtual events or The Wellesley 101.

The Office of Admission serves as the primary contact for all AALs. For more information on this role, please contactadmissions@wellesley.edu.

Club communications are sent exclusively through the WCAA-hosted website platform and its email messaging system tied to the College database and always up-to-date with address changes. At least one person on your board should be fluent in this platform.

We strongly recommend each club appoints a communication chair who will be responsible for learning how to send club e-blasts and update the club’s website. Another officer can also take on this role if necessary. Club presidents will be assigned administrative privileges along with any communications, website chair, or other officer that the group requests to be added.

Complete administrative website training isavailable online, including instructional videos, a manual, and a robust FAQ.

What Your Website Can Do

Your group’s website has many features beyond sending emails. Here are highlights of other ways to use it:

• Collect registration information and/or sell tickets for an event

• List events on your calendar and the WCAA’s all-alum calendar

• Host an archive of previous club emails

• Host video and audio files

• Post photo galleries

• See who has read or clicked on an email blast sent by the club
  

Alums can also log into your club site to update their profile information, including contact info, dorm history, career history, religious affiliation, and more, which makes it easier to connect with others.

Mailings

In an effort to reduce our environmental impact, the Alumnae Association no longer facilitates paper mailings for clubs.

Social Media

Groups may choose to run their own social media channels via Facebook, Instagram, etc.

The Alumnae Association does not monitor or maintain those accounts and we ask that you follow our suggestedSocial Media Guidelines.

Be sure to encourage club members to follow the Alumnae Association’s social media accounts so they can keep up to date on our all-alum programming and campus news!

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/wellesleyalums

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/wellesleyalums

Twitter:https://twitter.com/wellesleyalums

Email Troubleshooting

Club members may contact you with concerns that they are not receiving email communications. There are many factors that can be at play when it comes to emails not being received. Please invite them to reviewthis guidewhich walks through steps to help messages from Wellesley make it into their inbox.

Appropriate Use of Alumnae Information

Current alumnae volunteers may be given access to alumnae information. The information provided is for official Wellesley College alumnae use only. Use of the information for any non-Wellesley College Alumnae Association purpose—including but not limited to solicitation of any kind; reproducing and storing in a retrieval system by any means, electronic or mechanical; photocopying; or use of the addresses or other information for any mailing other than alumnae related events—is strictly prohibited. Any misuse of the data may result in legal action from the Wellesley College Alumnae Association.

Any information provided is maintained by the Wellesley College Alumnae Association database and is accurate as of the date it was retrieved.

Wellesley College takes seriously its responsibility to protect the privacy of the members of the Wellesley College community. We have recently updated ourPrivacy Notice, which should make it easier for you to understand what information we collect, why we collect it, and how it’s used.

If you have any questions about appropriate usage of either alumnae information, contactalumnae@wellesley.edu.

New technologies like Zoom have allowed clubs to host virtual programming with excellent results.

The WCAA encourages clubs to consider hosting occasional virtual programming, which is often more accessible to a larger group of alums. When hosting a virtual program, you have the option to invite a speaker outside your area, or invite other participants from outside your club region. Virtual events are an easy way to host a low or no-cost event, be it a demonstration, presentation, or discussion using breakout rooms.

Many boards have also found Zoom to be a convenient way to meet and plan together. The WCAA has a dedicated Zoom account for volunteers to use for meetings and programming purposes. Volunteers are responsible for booking their own meetings and ensuring there are no conflicts with other alumnae groups. For information on how to access this volunteer Zoom account, please ask your WCAA key contact.

In addition to this handbook, the WCAA has many online resources, tools, webinars, and guidelines available for your use. To view our other resources, please visit ourFor All Volunteerspage.