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There are many ways to structure your committee work over the coming year. We find that most Reunion classes have found great success operating as “committees of the whole.” This means that instead of having to do separate gift/program/outreach calls, your committee will have one call regularly scheduled for all parts of planning. In addition, this structure guarantees that everyone will be able to be knowledgeable about the Reunion year as a whole and help coordinate messaging and plans overall.

This isn’t a huge change from how many committees have operated in the past as most of the time people have volunteered for gift and programming. It also gives people a chance to try a little bit of everything or focus more on what they would prefer while making sure everything gets done in the end.

Specific details are listed below as to roles you may choose to volunteer for as part of the Reunion planning process.

Volunteer Position Descriptions

Program and Outreach Chairs

Each reunion class has one or more Chairs who lead the Program and Outreach Committee and facilitate communication between committee members and Carleton staff. 

  • Provide oversight of program and outreach tasks and work with committee members to help the group stay on track, connected, and motivated in their work throughout the year.
  • Lead committee in setting a goal for attendance and encouraging personal outreach to classmates.
  • Work with Carleton staff to provide committee members with the information, coaching, and connections they need to serve as planners and ambassadors for Reunion.
  • Provide leadership to classmates by registering for Reunion early (online registration opens in March).
  • Keep in touch with Carleton staff throughout the year. Provide updates and feedback about progress of tasks, news and questions from classmates, and overall needs of the team.
  • Plan for leadership development, and work with staff to recruit new volunteers for the next reunion.

Program and Outreach Committee Members

Serve on the reunion planning team under the direction of the Program and Outreach Committee Chairs, and can choose to help with program and/or outreach tasks.

  • Work with fellow program and outreach committee members to help each other stay on track, connected, and motivated in their work throughout the year.
  • Assist with specific program and/or outreach tasks.
  • Provide leadership to classmates by registering for Reunion early (online registration opens in March).
  • Keep in touch with Program and Outreach Committee Chair(s) and Carleton staff throughout the year. Provide updates and feedback about progress of tasks, news and questions from classmates, and overall needs of the team.

Reunion Gift Chairs

Each reunion class has one or more Reunion Gift Chairs who lead their class reunion gift effort and facilitate communication between committee members and Carleton staff. 

  • Provide leadership for donors and fellow volunteers by making an early commitment to the Alumni Annual Fund (a gift or a pledge).
  • Lead class gift committee volunteers in setting goals for dollars and participation in the class gift.
  • Coordinate plans with classmate leaders of reunion program and outreach committees.
  • Contact assigned classmates and solicit increased gifts to the AAF in honor of the Reunion. Answer questions, provide updates on Reunion planning and what’s new at Carleton, and thank classmates for their gifts.
  • Serve as advocates and ambassadors for giving to Carleton among classmates and other alumni.
  • Work with Carleton staff to provide gift committee members with the information, coaching, and connections they need to serve as ambassadors and advocates for the AAF, and to solicit and thank their assigned classmates.
  • Work with gift committee members to help the class team stay on track, connected, and motivated in their solicitations and stewardship of classmates throughout the year.
  • Plan for leadership development among Assistant Class Agents, and work with staff to recruit new volunteers, especially in preparation for reunion years.
  • Keep in touch with Carleton staff throughout the year. Provide updates and feedback about progress of solicitations, news and questions from classmates, and overall needs of the team.

Reunion Gift Committee Members

Serve on the reunion fundraising team under the direction of the gift chairs, keeping in touch with classmates and asking them to support the College through a stretch gift to the Alumni Annual Fund.

  • Provide leadership for donors and fellow volunteers by making an early commitment to the Alumni Annual Fund (a gift or a pledge).
  • Contact assigned classmates and solicit gifts to the AAF in honor of the Reunion. Answer questions, provide updates on Reunion and what’s new at Carleton, and thank classmates for their gifts.
  • Serve as advocates and ambassadors for giving to Carleton among classmates and other alumni.
  • Work with fellow gift committee volunteers to help each other stay on track, connected, and motivated in solicitations and stewardship of classmates throughout the year.
  • Keep in touch with Gift Committee Chair(s) and Carleton staff throughout the year. Provide updates and feedback about progress of solicitations, news and questions from classmates, and overall needs of the team.

Responsibilities 

Program

Reunion is a once-every-five-years opportunity to reconnect with your classmates on campus. When thinking about programming, you’ll want to achieve a balance between organized events and free time for your classmates to talk to one another and explore campus. Your committee will help plan up to 3 class events, in addition to the many activities that are organized by the Office of Alumni Relations. Some specific ways you can help make Reunion meaningful and enjoyable for your class include:

  • Help create overall messaging or common theme that will guide your approach to communications, outreach, programs, identity items, etc.
  • Plan a class event! Depending on the type of event this could include recruiting a presenter or emcee, working with staff on logistical needs (A/V, venue, catering, etc.), helping create materials such as programs or posters, and communicating updates to the chairs and the rest of the committee.
  • Organize informal social time in the class lounge each evening, including extra refreshments for the class or informal activities.
  • Make the class lounge feel welcoming. During Reunion, each class will have a main lounge which serves as a general hospitality room/gathering area. You can help collect memorabilia from classmates or suggest special decorations to make your class lounge feel festive. You may want to plan to arrive early on Thursday to help student class hosts set up the lounge.
  • Coordinate your class’s Alumni Association Awards nominations.
  • Help choose an identifying item for classmates to wear during the Parade of Classes.

Outreach

In any given year, fewer than half of your class will be able to come back to campus for Reunion. A thoughtful outreach strategy that focuses not just on attendance but on reconnecting can help keep everyone connected over time and build momentum for future reunions.

Creating and executing an outreach plan that utilizes mail, email, phone, social media, and personal contacts is the secret to a successful reunion. There are several ways that your class will send reunion updates and encourage people to come to Reunion. See the Outreach page for more information on these tasks. You can work on any of the following:

  • Help create overall messaging or common theme that will guide your approach to communications, outreach, programs, identity items, etc.
  • Work with staff on the text for post cards, letters, and emails sent from the committee. The Office of Alumni Relations will handle logistics of distribution.
  • Organize plans for personal calls/emails in the fall and spring. For example, phone/email tree by major, Carleton activity, floor, current location, etc. to encourage classmates to reconnect and to return for Reunion.
  • Create and maintain a class Facebook page or group.
  • Work with staff on content for your class website.
  • Help design 5-8 questions for your online Bio Book.

Communication

The Alumni Relations staff can assist you with keeping in touch during the coming months.

  • Conference Calls: We recommend scheduling 4 conference calls for members of the Program/Outreach Committee between CAVE and Reunion. This will help keep momentum going, give you an opportunity to discuss important decisions before deadlines, and check in on how outreach is going. We recommend identifying a day/time that will likely work for the group to make scheduling these easier. Staff can host these calls and will provide you with dial-in information.
  • Committee Email Listserv: staff can set up a listserv and add all committee members to it. This way, you can easily send a message to one address to reach the entire committee.
  • Google Drive or Wikispaces: These are great ways to share documents and edit collaboratively. Ask staff if you’d like to pursue this or want more information.

Resources

Identification of Planners for Next Reunion

  • As you are preparing for and ultimately enjoying your upcoming reunion, think about other classmates who could serve as volunteers for your next class reunion.
  • You can approach classmates individually, announce the opportunity at one of your class dinners, or recruit volunteers in any other way that you think will work. Remember to contact the Office of Alumni Relations with the names of the new volunteers so we can invite them to be on the committee in five years.