Hosts:
Adrianne Todman ’91, RCC chair, Washington, D.C. – Mid-Atlantic
Stefanie Cargill ’72, RCC Mountain West Region, Arizona
Meri Hoverman, Assistant Director for Clubs and Undergraduate Programs, AASC
After a brief welcome and group introductions, Adrianne and Meri talked about the support structure for club volunteers.
First and most importantly, know that the most fundamental thing that an alumnae group provides is an opportunity for alumnae to connect with each other and with Smith and we are here to support you.
RCCs
As many of you know, Regional Club Coordinators are volunteers who have served as club presidents previously and now work as committee to discuss club/volunteer issues, as well as pool talent and resources to help club volunteers do what you do so well.
There are twelve RCC positions, defined regionally, that mirror the NAAC (Network of Alumnae Admission Coordinators) positions. RCCs talk monthly as a group, and meet once a year at Smith to plan strategically for the year ahead. The chair of the RCC, Adrianne Todman ’91, also sits on the AASC Board of Directors.
There is an RCC in your region who is a resource for you, as well as the other members. In addition to making individual contact with your RCC, there are a series of training calls, hosted by RCCs, that you can join at will. This year’s calls include: Programming and Membership, The Money Call (about fundraising), Communication Tools, Succession Planning, what we’re calling “The Sanity Call”, and Rebuilding. Dates and more information will follow. Additional topics requested: Volunteer Raising and Recruitment.
Services from the AASC for clubs include:
- Web site (there have been issues with the new site, but we can help you do what you need to do in the meantime, and it will be a very helpful site when the kinks have been worked out) – there to help keep you informed and connected with Smith
- Volunteer Connections—a very helpful tool to help you manage your club/group, download files for labels and lists, send mass emails, and manage club events and alumnae interests (for free). Automatic access is given to club presidents; other officers need approval of their president before access is given. Since the data in volunteer connections is linked to our internal database, alumnae contact information is updated constantly (as long as alumnae update their information for Smith) and many groups/clubs have reported that using the mass email feature provides better results (i.e., less bounce backs) than individually maintained lists. Please note, that any alumna can keep her contact information here and also indicate that she does not want to receive mail or email from the college. Stefanie Cargill, RCC in Phoenix, mentioned that she keeps an automatic reply to send to alumnae that includes information about how they can update their contact information themselves. You can also forward updated contact information to alumclub@email.smith.edu.
- Site hosting—cost-free hosting of template or upload sites that link to AASC site (for more info: http://alumnae.smith.edu/volunteer/guidelines.php ). Having a website, with at least some contact information and list of events is extremely helpful for people wanting to connect with the club. Having a local alumna (or more than one!) is great, but the AASC can help you maintain the information, too. Whatever type of support works for you, make sure that several alumnae/volunteers know how to access the site and update information so you’re never completely dependent on one person.
- Other online tools (e.g. handbook, lifetime and group email accounts)
- Newsletter production or bulk mailing, directories—at your request, minimal cost
- Lists and labels – you can create these in volunteer connection or we can send them to you, as long as you give us five business days to work on them.
A word about confidentiality of alumnae information:
Alumnae names, addresses, and biographical information are entrusted to the AASC by each individual alumna and are released only to officers (or their designated representatives) for the purpose of organization business. This information is protected and confidential. It is understood that, in releasing this information, the intent is to use it only for non-commercial, personal purposes and only with Smith alumnae and club member.
Directories
When compiling a directory, it is essential to consider the privacy of alumnae.
To safeguard this privacy you should be clear on the directory survey that the information given will be published and offer alumnae the choice to accept or decline inclusion.
Include the following disclaimer in a prominent place:
The (200X - year) Smith Club Directory is not a public document, and is made available only to members of the Smith College community; it is not to be given or sold to anyone else, nor used for solicitations, political endeavors, or any commercial purpose.
- Speakers Program—now includes book speakers, too! A program that alumnae report enjoying tremendously and want more of, the AASC will fund the visit of a college speaker at your request every year. The procedure is outlined in program brochure. Since this program is funded please contact Meri Hoverman or Nancy Streeter Howes in the AASC, instead of the speaker, so we can arrange to cover the expenses.
- Regional and Special Events
- Training Conference Calls w/ RCCs
- Current student lists—Updated lists available in early fall at your request.
Fundraising: Smith does not expect clubs to raise funds. If alumnae in your area have a fundraising program that is thriving and people enjoy being a part of, by all means continue. For those clubs who have fundraising programs that are draining energy and participation, please feel free to change missions to something that speaks to alumnae in your town or city.
A few follow up notes – things that participants wanted to share but didn’t mention on the call:
Newsletter: out of 950 women on our list less than 200 do not have an e-mail address, which helps us greatly with cost. This allows us to send more newsletters per year.
Expanding the board: under the umbrella of V.P., we added four area vice presidents: Center City, Valley, South Bay, and Westside. They will act as a liaison and host one event per year.
Final thoughts:
Please refer to the handbook for basic guidelines, remembering that they are guidelines and we encourage you to use them as a reference to help inform and support what your particular group of alumnae need and want. In terms of structure, some clubs are finding that having co-presidents is wonderful. With co-presidents, scheduled to roll off at different times, you have the benefit of always being able to share the intricacies of the position with someone who can truly relate. You can each take on tasks that play to your individual strengths and always have one partner that has a little more experience and can pass her wisdom on to the newer partner.
Delegate, delegate, delegate! Share as much as you can with alumnae in your group (emphasis on the word share). People generally love to pitch in if they are invited and know that their help is appreciated. Plus, it generates more involvement, ownership, and pride on behalf of alumnae.
In addition to co-presidents, some of our more geographically large areas like having several VPs, one in each locale, who are asked to reach out to people in her immediate area and host/plan one event there a year. This is especially helpful when your region is spread out or where traffic is a deterrent.
We’ll talk more about membership on the upcoming call, but by design we are all-inclusive! We are extremely proud to consider all alumnae members of the Association and our clubs. |
