We had a great time at the 2017 Cream & Crimson Alumni Weekend. Thoughtful debate and fresh ideas took center stage, while new connections and old friendships were created. It was truly an IU family reunion. (Tip: If you haven’t already, mark your calendars for the 2018 Cream & Crimson Alumni Weekend, June 7-9.)

Running parallel to Executive Council sessions, constituent societies, affiliate groups, and chapter leaders gathered for two days over five sessions (you can watch recorded versions by requesting by email at rekeith@iu.edu) to discuss the new Chartered Alumni Communities program. This is a recap of those sessions for alumni leaders and staff partners who were not able to attend. If your liaison has not already, he or she will be discussing this program with you soon, as all alumni communities will be required to participate in this new structure.

The concept behind the Chartered Alumni Communities program is simple: What does a successful alumni community look like?

By boiling down all that an alumni community could be to what an alumni community should be, we have developed a simple framework of charter requirements and specific projects that will guide alumni communities. This is the baseline for alumni communities – items which must be checked off to be an official representative of IU in your specific market. This applies to all alumni communities –  affiliate groups, school- and campus-based alumni associations, and geographic chapters. It’s our hope that this structure offers organization and guidance and allows us to best support our plethora of volunteers more systematically.

Supporting two IUAA priorities – Make Involvement Easier and Empower Our Staff and Volunteers – this structure allows Alumni Communities to make the most impact with their time and talent. This is a tiered system, allowing for groups to clearly understand processes that are necessary to be chartered as an official IU alumni community. The three tiers are:

1. Charter Requirements
2. Core Campaigns
3. Optional Campaigns

Charter Requirements

Items which must be completed to organize an alumni group, or that a current alumni group must annually complete to maintain a good standing.

These are the basics — items that have been trained or reported upon for years. There are four major areas of charter requirements – financial, branding, data, and membership. Examples of each are listed below. There will be more requirements, shared with you by your liaison and in training materials.

1. Financial compliance
   • EXAMPLE: All groups must complete annual financial reporting.

2. Brand compliance
   • EXAMPLE: Adhere to IU and IUAA brand standards, using approved marks, colors, and fonts provided by IUAA.

3. Data compliance
   • EXAMPLE: Annually completing the data usage compliance agreement and strictly following the rules of that agreement.

4. IUAA membership program integration
   • EXAMPLE: Ensuring all alumni leadership (i.e. board members) are paid IUAA members

Rebecca Keith, who manages all staff and volunteer training, will begin offering “boot camp” training sessions on each area of compliance. This is a webcast series that helps any volunteer (veteran or rookie) understand the requirements set forth. These will be short – 30 minutes – and there will be a brief quiz at the conclusion of each course to certify completion. If you can’t attend during the live broadcast, each session will be available to watch on-demand. Registration information for this boot camp series is forthcoming. Stay tuned!

Honestly, charter requirements should be an “easy lift” for most of you. You have been completing these tasks for years – we just want to make it easier to report upon the good work you are already doing.

Now here’s the fun part – Core Campaigns.

Core Campaigns

Four key program areas we ask all chartered alumni communities to participate in. Structured training and resources will be provided and full participation is requested. They are being developed currently, and more information on each will be disclosed throughout the fiscal year.

1. Alumni Scholarship Program (For those who have a scholarship account, please support that account; for those who don’t, work with your staff liaison to identify an IU scholarship program that matches your group’s interest area.)
   • Celebrating student recipients; Fundraising for the account; Recruiting students to apply
2. IU Day
   • It’s only the best IU holiday of the year! Mark your calendars – the next IU Day is April 18, 2018.
3. “Welcome To” Program
   • It’s so important to welcome people into your communities. Whether they are new graduates or just new to the group, making someone feel like they belong goes a long way in continuing their involvement.
4. Trustee Election
   • We are lucky at IU to have three alumni-elected trustees. Let’s advocate for the best representative by encouraging all graduates to vote in the election, and also inspire qualified candidates to run for office.

Optional Campaigns

These are other popular alumni engagement opportunities that will be supported by the IUAA in addition to the four core campaigns and can be selected a la carte. These optional campaigns are not a requirement, but are offered to help support and supplement your programming. They are being developed currently, and more information on each will be disclosed throughout the fiscal year. Optional campaigns include:

1. Athletic Game Watches
2. Career & Professional Development
3. Community Service
4. Golf Outings
5. Student Send-offs/Destination IU
6. IU Bicentennial Celebration (coming July 1, 2018)

For those of you who thought we had forgotten about group awards, don’t worry. Our Chartered Alumni Communities Recognition Program will be based on successful completion of all charter requirements and participation standards in all core campaigns. Groups will be recognized at Cream & Crimson 2018 for their trailblazing work. I can’t wait!

We are excited to be rolling out this initiative and realize that it may seem daunting, but a lot of you are already engaged and planning in these ways – and we’ll help you through the process! In utilizing these requirements and campaigns, we believe that we can better support and engage our leaders, communities, and alums. Thank you for your commitment to IU and all that you do for your community!

For the glory of IU,
Rachael