Role Responsibilities

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 board and the club leadership, and guides the board in determining your club’s unique goals and areas of focus for the year.

Presidents collaborate 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 growing membership, 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 nearby clubs. 

As leader of the club, presidents assume the following responsibilities:

• Provide overall leadership and direction to the club organization.

• Together with the club board, establish and communicate goals and priorities for the club.

• Know where your club bylaws are and be familiar with their contents. 

• 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 leadership 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; serve as co-signatory on bank account with club treasurer. We recommend reviewing the Treasurer’s Toolkit for a full understanding of their role and responsibilities.

• Approve communication plans for the club; together with the communications officers (secretary, website chair, newsletter chair) review all club press releases, newsletters, electronic communications, and other publications to ensure they reflect the club’s goals and priorities.

• 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 your event reports (event sheet available on our Online Resources page) so we can ensure your club is counted in our overall alumnae engagement metrics.

• Submit an annual report of the club’s activities to the WCAA by mid-July or immediately following the club’s annual meeting, and ensure your treasurer submits the club’s financial report. 

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

Board Meetings

The purpose of a board meeting is to plan, discuss, organize, and make decisions for the club. With that outcome in mind, club presidents are asked to consider the following information when organizing a club board meeting:

• Set meeting dates for the full year in advance. Having fewer meetings may result in larger attendance and more substance instead of having monthly meetings. The size of the club and scope of activities also serve as a factor in determining meeting needs. 
   

• Vary times of day, days of the week, and locations to offer flexibility and allow more members the opportunities to attend.

• Determine if participating in a meeting via phone, Skype, or Zoom is a viable alternative. Decide if there are any requirements for in-person attendance versus calling-in. Communicate these expectations to all board members and ensure your bylaws reflect your practice.

• Set an agenda and timeline and keep to it. 

Prior to Each Meeting

• The president should contact chairs who are responsible for presenting reports well ahead of the meeting to allow for preparation.

• Create an agenda; compile necessary factual information, etc.

• Plan the order of business strategically placing items in order of importance.

• Allocate an appropriate amount of time for committee reports and include it on the agenda. Inform committee chairs in advance how much time they will have for their presentation and set an end time to follow-up discussion.

• Distribute the agenda and minutes of the previous meeting one to two weeks ahead of the meeting to serve as incentive to think about items before the meeting.
   

The Meeting

• Start on time. 

• Be familiar with simple parliamentary procedure—it provides confidence to help run the meeting, and will assist the flow of business.

• Give everyone a chance to be heard, but do not let any single person monopolize the discussion.

• Set meeting goals and be sure that the meeting accomplishes something. Even if a decision is postponed to await further research, the meeting has started the decision process. Don’t let items drift on inconclusively.

• With the board, set next steps and assign them clearly.

• End the meeting on time.
   

Follow-up

• Appoint appropriate chairs/committees as necessary.

• Call/email board members tasked with next steps to encourage and remind them of next steps and deadlines.

Volunteers 

Every organization is as strong as the people involved in making it work. The effort to recruit and retain volunteers is worthwhile. Volunteering is rewarding, and many people make time to do it, even when faced with a busy schedule. There are many alumnae who would be happy to volunteer for Wellesley and your club. The challenge lies in finding them and determining the jobs that will provide the best “fit” for each volunteer.  

Recruiting Volunteers

• The first rule of finding volunteers is…ask!

• Talk about volunteering for the club in conversation at events.

• Provide your members an opportunity to sign-up for volunteering anywhere you can think of—on the club’s dues form, at events, on the website, through social media, etc.

• Break jobs into smaller concrete pieces; alumnae are often more willing to volunteer for a job if it is a specific task with a defined amount of time. After success, volunteers are often willing to take on tasks and roles with more responsibility.

• For board positions, consider offering co-chair roles—it splits the job in half. (Even the presidency can be a shared position.)

• Make sure the club nominating committee is comprised of alumnae of diverse ages, geography, interests, socio-economic, ethnic, and religious backgrounds.

• Let volunteers know that serving on a board or in a volunteer position is an honor and will be looked upon with high regard.

Motivating Volunteers

• Leaders set an example by their enthusiasm for the club and club activities.

• Delegate responsibilities, especially to the board. One person cannot do it all. 

• Your board is invested in the club; when people feel they are an important part of the project they feel an increased commitment to it.

• Pair experienced volunteers with new ones, and older with younger.

• Try to give volunteers assignments for which they have an aptitude and will enjoy.

• Encourage volunteers to take on more club responsibilities in areas in which they have a personal connection or interest.

• As president, support club volunteers in what they are trying to do. Praise and thank them personally and at board meetings.

Events

The magic happens when Wellesley alumnae get together to share meals, celebrate, learn, connect, embody Sed Ministrare, and pass Wellesley spirit to new generations of Wellesley alums. There are so many possibilities for gatherings, and some ideas are listed below.  

• Together with the programming committee and the board, determine events for the year.

• Vary program content, times, and locations in order to accommodate your constituency.

• Aside from an annual meeting, you are not required to have any specific type of event.

• There is no defined minimum number of events a club must hold. If it is challenging to find support for the number of planned events, do fewer and do them well.

• Ask for program interest and specific topics/ideas from your board or conduct a survey asking what type of events your club’s constituency is interested in and would support. Don’t forget to ask if an alum would help with an event they have suggested!

• Collaborate with SIG representatives, decade reps, geographic reps, and try new events—and share ideas.

• Keep timing in mind. Make sure there is enough time for planning and publicizing the event, and that it will take place at a time that is convenient for club members. 

• Use the registration system provided by WCAA on alum.wellesley.edu to help the WCAA record accurate attendance and engagement metrics. For more information on creating events on your website, view our video tutorials and Website FAQ

• After your event, submit our Event report, available on our Online Resources page.

• Event Ideas: Faculty speaker events, holiday events, community service, making care packages for students, museum tours, summer send-offs, book clubs, brunch, lunch, tea, happy hours, spotlights on local alumnae events, and any other great ideas you and your board may have.

Communications and Social Media 

You have the power to connect—and build excitement about all the connections that are possible through the club. Let alumnae learn about upcoming events and share photos of past ones! Add personal touches as you introduce the board—what are their favorite books/movies/Wellesley memories? Or perhaps a spotlight on one in each newsletter—how did they come to volunteer and why?

Newsletters/Emails

• Together with the communications leader, establish a timeline for regular communication to the club via email or newsletter including deadlines for members to submit information.

• Be consistent in the information you include in newsletters.

• Send all club emails, newsletters, and invitations through the club website (alum.wellesley.edu). Training for communications volunteers is available online- please visit our video tutorials and Website FAQ.

• If your email requires additional technological assistance, you may use this form to request an email blast, newsletter, labels, or list.

• The WCAA encourages email and e-newsletters for sustainability and suggests mailing only to alumnae with no email on file. If a print mailing is necessary, be sure to include a way for alumnae to update their information: “Update your contact information at alum.wellesley.edu or email recordupdates@wellesley.edu.”

Website

• Ensure your website has current content on it. Work with your website chair or other board members to post a welcome letter, information about upcoming events, list your officers, add a banner photo, include photos to highlight events.  If you and your website chair need assistance, request it here or view our video tutorials and Website FAQ.
   

• If your club does not have a dedicated website chair, this is a great area for a VP to help support the President and Board.

Social Media

• Please post the WCAA social media guidelines on the club website and any social media platform your club uses. 

• Ensure there are moderators for each platform, and that they understand and adhere to the social media guidelines.

• The WCAA does not own and therefore cannot manage or moderate online groups and pages outside of our official channels. Be aware of the groups your club uses and the discussions taking place. These groups can be a great source of positive connection for your club when used responsibly!

Access to Contact Information 

• WCAA strongly encourages use of the online alumnae directory. The online alumnae directory is behind a Wellesley firewall that requires signing in. If alumnae have difficulty logging in, they can call the help desk at 781.283.7777 or email them at helpdesk@wellesley.edu. They can also use the password reset feature.

• If you wish to do individual outreach to alumnae to encourage attendance and other participation, you can request a club list here. A club list will include: name, addresses, and phone number. A lost list will include name and last known address. A do-not-contact list will include names only. The WCAA requires the most recent Annual and Financial Reports to be submitted before we will provide lists. For several reasons, we are unable to provide you with email addresses. For more information, please review our email policy.