Role Responsibilities

The club membership chair is the key resource for alumnae interested in becoming club members, and serves as the point person for existing club members, encouraging and facilitating the renewal of paid memberships. The membership chair serves as a member of the club board and collaborates extensively with the programming and communications chairs. They track current members’ status (about to expire, expired, lapsed, etc) and work to actively grow the club’s membership. 

It is important to note that everyone in your club region is automatically considered a member of the club, in the community sense, regardless of what they pay. 

Clubs also have dues paying members who contribute dues annually as a way to support the club. Membership funds support the club’s treasury. They are not a gift to the College. Paid membership sometimes offers perks such as first access to event tickets, special discounted tickets, and, occasionally, in the case of clubs large enough to support them, members-only events. 

• Maintain up-to-date records of all club members’ membership status.

• Together with the board, develop strategies to maintain or increase membership. 

• Communicate the benefits of being a dues paying member of the club through many channels—newsletters, eblasts, etc. Some of the benefits may be:

  • Support club activities to keep event costs low and lessen the financial barrier to entry for other alumnae

  • Allow the club to try pilot programs that may engage less active alumnae in support of the College’s institutional priority of inclusive excellence

  • Early registration for events and activities

  • Lower cost members only tickets to events and activities

• Provide opportunities for alumnae to become dues paying members online and in person at every event and meeting. 

• Encourage alumnae to process their dues online through the club website. 

• Provide notification of check or cash membership payments and renewals to your key contact at the WCAA. Please include the alumna’s name, class year, and date of payment/renewal as soon as possible so that membership records can be updated in a timely manner.

• Collaborate with classes and SIGs to strengthen connections and increase outreach to nonmembers.

• Maintain regular contact with the WCAA on club goals.

• Understand and help alumnae to distinguish the difference between funds paid to your club, and gifts to the College, such as a class gift or a gift to the Wellesley Fund. All of these funds are important, but a club membership does not count towards College or Class participation. 

• Appoint and oversee one or more committees to welcome newly-arrived alumnae to the area,  and organize alumnae by class or decade, or other such membership breakdowns the board may direct.

Attracting and Keeping Strong Membership 

Together with the programming chair, work to offer events that appeal to a broad range of alumnae interests.

When selecting a planning or steering committee, keep in mind that it should represent diversity across ages, cultures, experiences, and interests. Some clubs have shared that "decade" leaders on the board have been effective in maintaining focus on the varied interests of each community.

Create a membership recruitment plan that works with programming to:

• Address current alumnae interests and concerns—explore topics such as careers, the arts, education, politics, parenting, health/wellness, community service, admissions/current student events.

• Attract varied constituencies—alumnae of all ages, religions, and at different career stages.

• Include both new events and keep popular favorites.

Consider offering several types of membership:

• A free honorary membership for alumnae who graduated within the last year or more than 50 years ago.

• A lower price for young alumnae (one to five/ten years out of school).

• You may wish to consider an option for financial aid for those who may not be able to purchase an annual membership. This is something to discuss with your club board, especially the treasurer.

Include parents of current students:

• Parents of current students often enjoy being included in club activities and learning more about the college where their daughters are spending significant years of their lives.

• Parents bring enthusiasm and knowledge while boosting attendance at programs. Clubs are enriched by parental participation. 

• We hope that you will make a special effort to invite parents to meetings and to become involved in your club. Perhaps a letter could be included in your newsletters as one way of encouraging parents' membership. It is also nice to follow up with a telephone call from one of your members.

Include exchange students and friends of the College: 

• Former exchange students, professors, and other friends of the College may enjoy interacting with your club. 

Offline Payments

• Some alumnae prefer to make membership payments offline via check. Discuss with your board whether you will accept offline payments. If you plan to do so, determine who will receive the checks (we recommend the treasurer) and how they will be tracked

 

Communications and Social Media 

As membership chair, you should reach out to alums on a regular basis to promote the value of club membership and use every opportunity to encourage them to join the club.
 

Newsletters/Emails/Social Media 

• Together with the club communications leader and website chair, establish a timeline for regular communication highlighting the different membership benefits.  If you and your website chair need assistance, request it here or view our video tutorials and Website FAQ.

Website

• Memberships may be paid online via your club’s Forms Manager module. Your club treasurer will first need to set up a BlueSnap account and have the WCAA connect it to your site. 

• Once your BlueSnap account has been created, work with your treasurer and website chair to build a form. Make sure all the details are clear and that the confirmation messages include all relevant information. 

• If you and your website chair need assistance, request it here or view our video tutorials and Website FAQ.

• A note on membership functions: Earlier this year, the WCAA began our Finalsite roll-out. This roll-out is continuing in stages, with new features being added periodically. Some membership features, including membership expiration reminder emails, the ability to look up an individual's membership status, and internal lists of members, have yet to be rolled out. The launch of these functions has been postponed due to COVID related delays, and we appreciate your patience while we prepare these upcoming features. In the meantime, we recommend utilizing Forms Manager to review all membership transactions and maintain your own records of members' status. Membership chairs and treasurers will be contacted when we are ready to launch these additional membership features.

Social Media

• Social media is a great way to show off your club’s events! This is often one of the first things potential new members will see when looking into joining your club. Use your channels to demonstrate the range of activities that club members enjoy, and include occasional posts about ways to join the club. Don’t forget to follow our Social Media Guidelines.

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.