Planning Club Programs & Events

• Seeks to inspire, engage, and connect members of the Vassar community.
• Welcomes all alums in your area. Vassar families may also be invited, as may current students when appropriate (such as during the summer and school breaks).
• Primarily features Vassar alums, or speakers/activities of interest to Vassar alums. Whenever possible, speakers and activities should have some relationship to Vassar.

• Endorses political candidates, organizations, or social movements.
• “Pushes” any particular political or social ideology. 
• Promotes fundraisers for outside groups (even when they are connected to Vassar alums).

• Artistic/Cultural featuring performances, tours of museum exhibits, etc.
• Career Networking/Professional Development such as receptions/workshops/panels
• Community Building including any type of social gathering without specific program content and that aims to connect people, such as happy hours, holiday gatherings, etc.
• Community Service includes getting Vassar folks together around a cause, like volunteering at a food bank, handing out water during a marathon, etc.
• Educational/Intellectual such as featured speakers/experiential hands-on learning/book club

• Develop the idea for your event
• Contact possible event speakers/presenters
• Research possible venues (for in-person events)
• Determine needs for food and drinks, as well as other supplies (e.g., plates, napkins, cups, etc.)
• Check in with Advancement regarding available budget and expected expenses
• Develop a rain plan (for in-person events scheduled at outdoor venues)

• Confirm event speakers/presenters and schedule a planning call as needed to discuss the program, questions, agenda, etc.
• Email your preferred date (or a few date options) to Advancement for approval 
• Once your date is confirmed, reserve a venue (for in-person events)
• Send vendor info to Advancement (who will follow up, approve and sign contracts, and make all deposits and payments)
• Decide upon the target audience for your event. Seek approval from Advancement if your event is virtual and you are considering inviting the entire alum body.
• Gather text content and images for promotional materials, including speaker bio information, headshots or other photos, and relevant links.
• Write copy for email invitations and event registration page

• Submit email/event request form online (all content should be included before submission)
• Coordinate with speakers/presenters. Confirm program structure and expectations for event day.

• Email invitation goes out
• Post event on your social media accounts
• Closely monitor registration to ensure the number of registrants is matching expectations. (Sometimes, depending on cost and effort, it may make sense to cancel or reschedule an event if registration is severely limited; similarly, if interest is high, you may need to adjust the quantity of food, drinks, chairs, etc.).

• For virtual events: Hold a tech rehearsal if needed 
• For in-person events: Confirm guest count with Advancement/vendors if needed
• Develop event timeline/run of show (e.g., Guests arrive at 7pm; Drinks until 7:30pm; Panel begins at 7:40pm, etc.) to help stay organized

• For in-person events: Lead volunteer(s) should arrive at the venue 30-40 minutes before the start-time to set up registration/check-in table. This is an opportunity to display a Vassar banner, organize attendee name-tags, check on the AV/microphone system, and/or lay out the food and drinks. 
• For virtual events: Lead volunteers and speakers/presenters should log in to Zoom at least 15-30 minutes in advance of the start-time to ensure there are no tech glitches and do a final rehearsal.

• Email attendee information to Advancement, including walk-ins and no-shows
• Email presenters and volunteers to thank them
• Discuss with your fellow volunteers how the event went (e.g., successes, lessons learned, etc.)

Share details with your staff contact, including proposed dates, speakers, etc.

• Please be sure to avoid religious holidays and other possible conflicts when choosing dates.
• See below for differences in scheduling considerations pertaining to virtual and in-person events.

Vassar will send out email invitations and host your event web page and registration. When details for each program are finalized, submit Vassar’s online broadcast email/event request form.

• Aim to submit online request forms no less than four (and preferably six) weeks in advance of each event to allow time for copyediting, processing, testing, and delivery to club members.
• Please review all information for accuracy before requests are submitted, and include all relevant details, documents, and images at the time of submission.

• All dates must be submitted to Advancement for approval (ideally) 6 weeks in advance of the event.
• We ask that you do not schedule programming on the same date as a previously scheduled event being promoted to all alums.
• Clubs in different areas can hold local events at the same time.

• Any alum or member of the Vassar community is free to register for any club event (unless otherwise specified). All events will be posted on our calendar at vassar.edu/alums/calendar.
• The default audience for invitations to club programs are alums in the club area. 
  • Consider inviting parents/families to virtual events, as these programs often showcase alums and highlight the benefits of a Vassar education.
  • Current students can also be included in event invitations when relevant.
  • In limited instances, you may also consider inviting broader audiences to whom the event might appeal:
    • If your event features a presenter from the class of 1982, consider inviting the class of 1982.
    • If your presenter is from another geographic location, consider inviting the club in that area.
• In general, email invitations for virtual club programs will not be sent to all alums.
  • If you feel that your program is of broad enough interest to be promoted to all alums, you must provide the following to Advancement (before the invitation email is sent out) so that a determination can be made by the Associate Vice President for Engagement:
    • Specific topic of the program
    • Name/credentials of each presenter
    • Your rationale for wanting it promoted to the full alum body (keeping in mind that all are welcome to attend, event if they are not on the email invitation list)

Consider the following and be sure to discuss your needs with Advancement:

• How will your virtual event be hosted? Do you need to use a Vassar Zoom account? Do you have a volunteer who is able to run the Zoom during the program?
• Do you need to schedule a tech rehearsal or run-through?
• Are there any materials/media that need to be shared before/during/after the event?

If your event is not being hosted on a Vassar Zoom account, email Advancement with attendance info (a list of all who tuned in, and ideally a Zoom report) within a week of the event.

• Please submit dates of in-person programs to Advancement for approval (ideally) 6 weeks in advance of the event. We want to be certain the in-person club programs do not conflict with virtual programs being offered to all alums.
• All events should be promoted well in advance to allow club members appropriate time to plan to attend.

• Advancement will email a registration list on the last business day before your event.
• Advancement will email all registrants to remind them of important event details. Please contact your staff liaison with any additional information (such as where to meet or who to text with questions) to include in the final email.

• Please take attendance at the event and make note of any walk-ins or no-shows. 
• For paid events, please collect contact information for any attendee who did not register and pass this on to Advancement. Advancement will be responsible for following up and collecting payment.
• Take a few photos to share with Advancement, on social media, etc.

Within a week of the event, email Advancement with attendance info (see above), event photos, and a few sentences to be used for posting on social media.