Alumnae Five-Year Plan

The Nuts and Bolts of Five-Year Planning

What is your vision for the next five years?

How do you want your five-year term to feel?

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Creating a Five-Year Plan

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What is it?A yearly snapshot of what you hope to

accomplish as a board over the next five years

Includes goals and action steps on everything from communications to events

Also includes class traditions, such as annual get-togethers or memorials

Culminates with your next reunion


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How will this help our class?Provides a timeline of necessary actions in

non-reunion years, as well as in the year leading up to reunion

Provides a means to increase participation by planning events throughout your term

An active schedule of activities, especially in non-reunion years, will broaden your class’s engagement with each other, Mount Holyoke and the Alumnae Association


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Who creates and executes the plan?Class officers primarily, with the support

and suggestions of other class volunteersAssistance can be provided by the Classes

and Reunions Committee, Alumnae Association staff, and the Development Office (Head Class Agents)

Recruit additional classmates as necessary to carry out the goals

Sample Five-Year Snapshot

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Year 1 Goals Year 2 Goals Year 3 Goals Year 4 Goals Year 5 Goals

• Encourage classmates to keep up interest and involvement after reunion

• Complete transition from the former class board, including the transfer of class treasury

• Communicate the highlights of the past reunion to classmates

• Review Alumnae Annual Fund giving results

• Update class website on at least quarterly basis

• Reach out to a different segment of the class via email each quarter for class notes and website profiles

• Plan a mini-reunion with a goal of 20 classmates in attendance

• Continue to update class website on at least quarterly basis


• Reach out to inactive classmates to encourage broader participation in class activities and projects


• Continue to update website on at least quarterly basis


• Continue to encourage participation in the Alumnae Annual Fund

• Find a reunion chair if one was not elected at previous reunion

• Start to gather reunion team

• Attend fall Reunion Planning Workshop on campus

• Set reunion participation and Annual Fund goals

• Nominating Committee begins work to identify next class officers

• Continue to update class website on at least quarterly basis


• Complete reunion team

• Update website frequently to include reunion information

• Personal outreach by board to encourage reunion participation


• Have a great reunion!

Sample Year One: July 2011-June 2012

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Class Goals

•Encourage classmates to keep up interest and involvement after reunion•Complete transition from the former class board, including the transfer of class treasury•Communicate the highlights of the past reunion to classmates •Review Alumnae Annual Fund giving results•Update class website on at least quarterly basis•Reach out to a different segment of the class via email each quarter for class notes and website profiles

Action StepsAll Officers• Gather reunion stories and pictures to send in letter/post to

website• Communicate with outgoing officers to ensure a smooth

transfer President• Review class treasury • Appoint Web Coordinator, if position not filled• Organize schedule for board conference calls/meetingTreasurer• Contact outgoing treasurer to transfer class financial files• Discuss potential budgets for class projectsHead Class Agent• Review class giving history • Work with Development Office on participation strategiesWeb Coordinator• Update website on quarterly basis

Association/Development Tasks

• Hosts Class President, Web Coordinator and other officers at New Class Officer Training in the fall

• Hosts Head Class Agents at Development Training in Fall

• Ensures that outgoing Treasurer submits Financial Form C to Association (September)

• Mails Annual Letter for class• Publishes class notes to Quarterly (four times a

year)

Action StepsPresident• Attend New Class Officer Training• Writes Annual Class Letter/EmailTreasurer• Complies with Association treasury guidelines• Files Form CWeb Coordinator• Attends New Class Officer TrainingHead Class Agent• Attends Development Training• Works with Development Office on fund raising goalsScribe• Gathers information for Class Notes from wide variety of

classmates

Sample Five-year Goals

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Year OneClass Goals

• Encourage classmates to keep up interest and involvement now that reunion has passed

• Complete transition from the former class board, including the transfer of class treasury

• Communicate the highlights of the past reunion to classmates

• Review Alumnae Annual Fund giving results and encourage more participation

• Update class website on at least quarterly basis• Reach out to a different segment of the class via email

each quarter for class notes and website profiles

Sample Five-year Goals

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Year ThreeClass Goals

• Reach out to inactive classmates to encourage broader participation in class activities and projects


• Update website on at least quarterly basis with information about classmates, Mount Holyoke and the Alumnae Association


• Continue to encourage participation in the Alumnae Annual Fund


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Action StepsAll Officers• Gather reunion stories and pictures to send in letter/post to

website• Communicate with outgoing officers to ensure a smooth

transfer President• Review class treasury • Appoint Web Coordinator, if position not filled• Organize schedule for board conference calls/meetingTreasurer• Contact outgoing treasurer to transfer class financial files• Discuss potential budgets for class projectsHead Class Agent• Review class giving history • Work with Development Office on participation strategiesWeb Coordinator• Update website on quarterly basis


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Association/Development Tasks

•Hosts Class President, Web Coordinator and other officers at New Class Officer Training in the fall

•Hosts Head Class Agents at Development Training in Fall

•Ensures that outgoing Treasurer submits Financial Form C to Association (September)

•Mails Annual Letter for class•Publishes class notes to Quarterly (four times

a year)


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Action StepsPresident• Attend New Class Officer Training• Writes Annual Class Letter/EmailTreasurer• Complies with Association treasury guidelines• Files Form CWeb Coordinator• Attends New Class Officer TrainingHead Class Agent• Attends Development Training• Works with Development Office on fund raising goalsScribe• Gathers information for Class Notes from wide variety

of classmates

Sample Five-Year Plan Ideas • Email/liaison with grandmother (50th)/granddaughter class• Build a meaningful relationship with a current class on

campus• Explore AALANA group interests• Generate sustainability ideas for posting on website – “Go

Green!”• Research class in archives• Explore emailing birthday cards• Encourage class officers to be role models through

sending notes to scribes, pay dues, etc.• Do analysis of class composition to decide where to have

mini-reunions• Freshman year dorm mini-reunion Designate an annual class Mountain Day for 5 years and

encourage classmates to get together and share their photos

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ResourcesMore about developing a Five-Year Plan is

included in the Class Officers’ Handbookalumanae.mtholyoke.edu/pdf/volres/coh.pdf

Alumnae Association website also has useful resources alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/volunteers/res/classes/

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Five-Year Plan ChecklistAre our goals realistic for the time, talent and

resources that we have available?

Have all of the necessary tasks to achieve our goals been assigned?

Have we included outreach to classmates in all five years of our term?

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Alumnae Five-Year Plan

Education

Transcript of Alumnae Five-Year Plan