Chapter Handbook

Contents

• Defining Your Chapter Objectives
• Chapter Structure and Organization
• Volunteering Within the Chapter
• Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers
• How to Set Up an Alumni Chapter
• General Operating Procedures
• Planning Your Year
• Organizing an Event
• After an Event

Defining Your Chapter Objectives

There are many goals and objectives of the alumni association and alumni chapter program that each chapter should consider when determining programming for their area. After establishing your chapter and determining your programming, some objectives to consider when evaluating your activities are:

• The chapter should help achieve the goals of the College of the North Atlantic Alumni Association
• The chapter should provide links among alumni, students and the College
• Chapters can provide public relations and service links to the community
• Alumni Chapters should provide alumni with the opportunity to act as ambassadors and advocates for College of the North Atlantic

Chapters may choose to work from these points and select events or activities designed specifically to fulfill these objectives. In addition to defining chapter programming strategically based on the above objectives, each chapter will also want to look for unique, timely and interesting activities which will capture the attention of the members of the Chapter.

Chapter Structure and Organization
There are guidelines for the structure and organization of alumni chapters, however within these guidelines each Chapter operates differently. Flexibility is key to ensuring the chapter and volunteers operate in ways that are comfortable and effective to them. Structure and organization of an alumni chapter includes issues such as volunteer roles and committees within the executive.

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CHAPTER EXECUTIVE AND DUTIES

A strong alumni chapter depends on strong leadership. Leadership in a chapter can involve directing, delegating and planning. Another important aspect of leadership is helping get people involved and keeping them involved.

It is recommended that a minimum of three executive officers, usually a president, vice-president and a secretary/treasurer, are present to run a chapter. In some cases, however, chapter structure may only necessitate a president, with no vice-president or secretary/treasurer, depending on the type of activity within the chapter. The normal term of office will be one year for executive members, but this is renewable should the volunteers wish to continue in their role. A few other volunteers (who may or may not hold titles) should complete the executive.

President

• Calls executive meetings, sets agendas, and chairs or assigns chairs
• Responsible for the on-going coordination of the Chapter
• Assists in program planning and implementation
• Acts as main liaison between the Chapter and Alumni and Advancement staff member.

Vice-President

• Assumes duties of President when necessary
• Assists the President in fulfillment of his/her duties
• Coordinates membership
• Normally succeeds the President at the end of his/her term.

Secretary/Treasurer

• Keeps minutes at all meetings and ensures that they are distributed to members, the Office of Alumni Advancement and faculty (as appropriate)
• Notifies the executive members of meeting times, locations and dates
• Provides the Office of Alumni & Advancement with a list of executive members following the Annual General Meeting and updates the list when necessary
• Manages all accounting procedures and handles the chapters budgeting and requests to Office of Alumni and Advancement for funding
• Collects and updates member contact information and relays this information to the Office of Alumni & Advancement. This is very important to the Office of Alumni Advancement since an up-to-date and accurate alumni database is key to ensuring people receive event invitations and appropriate Chapter and College information.

Optional Executive Positions

Event Planning Chair/Committee

• Plans the content for the year's meetings and events in cooperation with other members of the executive and a committee of volunteers
• This committee may be responsible for seeing that the plans for each meeting/event are executed, including arranging for a location, reservations and set-up.

Membership Chair/Committee

• Responsible for developing ways to solicit new members for the Chapter.
  

Publicity/Communication Chair

• Responsible for publicizing all of the Chapters events
• This could include emailing potential attendees, sending faxes and phoning alumni as a follow up to the event mailing.

Each Chapter executive should determine if the committee structure suits the needs of the Chapter and which committees would be effective in helping with the Chapter's plans.

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CHAPTER PRESIDENTS COMMITTEE

In addition to each alumni chapter executive, it is proposed that the presidents of each chapter will help guide the chapters. This is not to be too time consuming, consisting of an annual teleconference or video conference meeting. The volunteers on this committee use their experiences to assist and provide information to the individual chapters.

The Chapters Committee may also assist in submitting information to the Alumni e-newsletter, which allows Alumni to stay informed of the activities of other chapters, as well as information affecting other alumni and the college community.

Volunteering With CNA Alumni Chapter

There are many opportunities to volunteer within the College of the North Atlantic Alumni Association Chapter program, including serving on a chapter executive, volunteering to assist the chapter in event planning and execution, forwarding event or activity ideas.

The roles of alumni chapter volunteers vary greatly. To become involved as a volunteer with an Alumni Chapter please email us at cna.alumni@cna.nl.ca

Recruiting and Keeping Volunteers within a Chapter

The key to a successful year is finding good volunteers to help organize and run events. Spread the responsibilities among volunteers rather than have the executive or president do all the work. Don't forget to acknowledge your volunteers for their contributions. Recognition and cooperation are the keys to continued volunteer support.

WORKING WITH VOLUNTEERS

Your Chapter should define its purpose and set goals for the year. Strong organization is critical. It also inspires confidence and helps gain support from Chapter members. From this plan, your Chapter can now design the volunteer jobs it will require.

When recruiting for these positions, you need to identify the skills, knowledge and experience required for the job. There should be opportunities for responsibility, growth and development. A good rule of thumb is, "never ask volunteers to do something you wouldn't do yourself". For sources of potential volunteers, consider the people you meet casually at work, at social occasions, or at other Chapter events. Remember, most people have never volunteered simply because they have never been asked. Statistics show that as many as 70% of people volunteer if they are asked directly.

The orientation and training of new volunteers is the foundation of effectiveness. Volunteers should read this information and be given information about the Chapter and its projects, and be involved in the formation of the new chapter where applicable.

In addition to current committee members recruiting new volunteers, the Office of Alumni & Advancement will also assist in bringing in executive members and volunteers. One way the office is working to help increase alumni involvement in the chapters and to increase volunteerism are: including on alumni registration forms an area to indicate interest in volunteering.

Once you have volunteers, it is important to keep them. Regular communication is essential in order to ensure that the volunteers remain content during their volunteer experience.

Finally, volunteers must be recognized for their achievements. Recognition can come in the form of a letter of congratulations/thanks, a note in your Chapter newsletter, or a nomination for the Chapter Award.

As well as assisting with volunteer recruitment, The Alumni & Advancement Office can assist with volunteer roles. Regular contact with volunteers is maintained through the office, and meetings can be coordinated with the assistance of the office. Thank you letters are also sent from the Office of Alumni & Advancement following events.

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Set Up an Alumni Chapter

Alumni interested in forming a Chapter should take these steps:

• With the help of alumni staff and your local campus, poll alumni in your area to determine the interest in starting a Chapter. You will also want to identify people willing to help or serve on a volunteer executive. All CNA Alumni Chapters receive support from the Office of Alumni & Advancement and their local campus
• Hold an informal organizational meeting to appoint a working executive and plan an initial operating strategy
• With the assistance of your local campus, the Office of Alumni & Advancement and a volunteer committee, organize a kick-off/launch event. At this inaugural event, survey those present about their interest in future Chapter events and possible involvement with the executive.

The office is able to help with procedures and advice and can also assist with providing information about past events held by other Chapters.

General Operating Procedures

MEETINGS

Annual General Meeting - A general meeting should be held each year, and this is when a new Chapter executive is nominated and elected. This meeting may be a stand-alone event, or may be included as part of a larger event in order to increase the numbers of attendees. Your new executive should meet shortly afterwards to prepare a program for the upcoming year. A copy of the minutes from the meeting should be forwarded to the Office of Alumni & Advancement, where they will be kept on file.

Executive Meetings - The President will call executive meetings as required throughout the year.

Committee Meetings - The meetings should be called at the discretion of the committee chair.

In addition to regular in person meetings, the Chapter executive can also remain in contact through email and conference call meetings. Each Chapter's staff support within the Office of Alumni & Advancement will generally attend Chapter meetings and conference calls, and will also be in frequent contact with Chapter volunteers by email.

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CHAPTER FINANCES

Once established, alumni Chapters are expected to be self-supporting. All alumni events should aim to be run on a cost-recovery basis. Some costs to be considered could include: promotion, room rental, licensing fees, ticket printing, mailing costs, miscellaneous costs at events (signs etc.), food and drink, AV equipment, paper plates/cups/napkins etc. The Alumni & Advancement Office will contribute $300 to each Chapter Launch event.

Generally, the Office of Alumni & Advancement will financially support up to two mailings per year (brochure printing and postage costs) for each chapter, if chapter size and activity levels warrant.

There are no membership fees for the Alumni Association and its chapters. Some events will have a registration fee or attendees will purchase tickets to attend.

Planning Your Year

It is essential that your Chapter establish clear goals at the beginning of each executive's term in office. When planning your year's events and activities, keep these goals in mind:

• Currently we are preparing a survey that will help determine the needs and wants of your members, and they may also help identify potential new volunteers. Once completed, the surveys can be analyzed to help define specific target audiences, determine events of interest within the chapter area, recruit additional volunteers, etc.
• Despite your best efforts, you can't please everyone! Targeting your events to specific audiences will help achieve smaller, individual successes. Remember that the most successful events are planned and promoted well in advance.
• This is new for us but we can learn from experience. Ask the Office of Alumni & Advancement and other Chapters what events have proved popular in the past with CNA and other institutions. Information sharing among chapters will also be facilitated through our annual or semi-annual Chapter caucus inviting Chapter presidents or designates to gather and share experiences and advice.

Social events will generally be popular within the chapters program, however they are not the only activities chapters may undertake. Other activities chapters may consider includes publishing newsletters, raising funds for scholarships or other community causes or providing educational seminars. Some also could collect and update member contact information for the Office of Alumni & Advancement. This can be done with the assistance of Chapter member printouts from the office for the chapter executive to look through for outdated information. An up-to-date and accurate alumni database is key to ensuring people receive event invitations and appropriate Chapter and College information, and is also a way to identify potential new volunteers. Other events will be identified through surveys and alumni feedback.

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Organizing an Event

Alumni events may be strictly social events and/or activities that raise the profile of College of the North Atlantic in our community. Sample event suggestions include:

• Alumni Student Interaction
  • Alumni/Student recruitment and welcome events
  • Help us recruit the best students to College of the North Atlantic during special recruitment events.
  • Host a welcome to CNA reception/bbq at the beginning of the semester for incoming students to College of the North Atlantic.
  • Chapter Scholarships/Bursaries
  • The Chapter may wish to provide a scholarship for a College of the North Atlantic student.
    
• Graduation
  • Participate in graduation and host events for new graduates
    
• Educational Opportunities
  • Guest Lecturers
  • Career Development Workshops
  • Networking evening to provide new graduates the opportunity to hear from successful College of the North Atlantic graduates
  • Continuing Education Programs (specific to professions, etc.)
    Seminars and workshops that are designed to provide alumni the opportunity to enhance and learn new skills
    
• Social Gatherings
  • Luncheons/dinners with alumni as guest speakers
  • Theme gatherings (i.e. Halloween or season greetings parties)
  • Summer barbecues, or pot-luck dinners
  • Theatre or concert nights-Spirit of Newfoundland
  • Sporting events (i.e. golf, curling, softball, etc.)

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ADVANCE PLANNING

In order to have the best possible attendance at events, six weeks lead-time on publicity is the most effective. Lead-time for the production of printed materials (generally takes about 2 weeks) must also be considered when planning mailings or advertising campaigns, so event details should be finalized at least two months before the date of the event to ensure time for brochure design and mailing. When planning events, it is also a good idea to consider when mailings would need to go out to ensure timely publicity. For example, a September event would mean an August mailing, and generally brochures received in the summer or near the Christmas holidays draw lower returns since people are often busy or away. Remember, just as brochures received during the summer or the holiday season do not often work well, events held in the summer or on major holidays usually do not draw high numbers either.

LOCATION – The Campus will try to accommodate alumni events at no charge for rental but charges will apply for food, etc. Be sure to secure a suitable location for the event. Make sure it will hold the anticipated crowd and has complete facilities (i.e. parking, food services, bar facilities, audio/visual equipment, accessibility, etc). In cases where prior attendance is unknown, be sure your location can accommodate for various sizes of groups. Remember to secure another location for outdoor events in the case of rain or poor weather. If the location requires a deposit and the signing of a contract, please contact the Office of Alumni & Advancement or Campus contact before proceeding. The Office of Alumni & Advancement can provide nametags, alumni pins, event surveys, and other College of the North Atlantic memorabilia and prizes.

PUBLICITY - There are many ways to promote your event. Some publicity ideas include:

• Direct Mailings - This includes mailing invitations, flyers, etc. to specific target groups or the entire Alumni list. Mailings will typically be coordinated by the Office of Alumni Advancement
• CNA E-newsletter - The College of the North Atlantic Alumni Association's official electronic publication is sent to thousands of alumni 6 times per year. A short event description can be included and a direct link will take people to the alumni web site where they can learn more
• Chapter Newsletter if you decide to do one
• Telephone calls - These are usually done as a follow-up to mailings, and can be time-consuming, but can also be effective
• Local Media - Could include public service announcements on radio, television or local papers. The Office of Alumni & Advancement can also sometimes help with distributing press releases
• Advertising at College of the North Atlantic - Events can be listed on events calendar of the college website and on the alumni events web page in the alumni web site. With advance planning of two to three months, events can also possibly be listed in Currents, the College of the North Atlantic electronic publication
• Promoting upcoming events at current events - Have brochures available for the taking, word of mouth from volunteers while mingling and within speaking notes
  

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After an Event

The conclusion of an event doesn't mean the work is over. Be sure to remember the following to fully clue-up each event:

• Send thank you notes to all the volunteers, event sponsor (if applicable), speakers, sand/or dignitaries who attended the event. Remember that recognition is the key to keeping your volunteers involved
• Send a report (with pictures if possible) to the Office of Alumni & Advancement for our records, and for possible inclusion in publications. In the cases where Chapters meet regularly with an alumni staff member, reports may be generated from feedback offered by the committee at Chapter meetings
• Send a complete list of people at your event, so that we can keep our alumni database up-to-date and accurate. This will help you in the future as we can target mailings and provide lists of attendees at your previous events
• Event pictures and descriptions will be added to the web page so that alumni can see the types of events offered by their Chapter, and Chapter executives can get event ideas from other Chapter's past activities

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For more information about CNA Alumni Association and Alumni Chapters please contact the

Office of Alumni and Advancement
Phone: 709-758-7515
Email: cna.alumni@cna.nl.ca

Room A203 Prince Philip Drive Campus
PO BOX 1693
St. John’s NL
A1C 5P7