Virtual Boot Camp

Volunteer Immersion Month

October 15, 2020

Welcome: Sarah H. Gomel ‘06

• Class of 2006 Co-VP
• ACL Board Vice President
• AIP Area Chair
• BAF Volunteer
• Chicago, IL

What is the ACL and what is the ACL Board of Advisors?

If you’re a “class leader”, you’re automatically a member of the ACL. Through your class leadership, you are working to keep alumni engaged in the Brown community.

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The ACL Board of Advisors supports class volunteers by recruiting, training and supporting class leaders.

Alumni Relations Class Liaisons

AMY HAUGHEY 

Classes of the 1980s

and 1990s 

+1 (401) 863-9495

amy_haughey@brown.edu

ALICE ROSE P’16 

Classes of the 1970s, 2000s, and 2010s 

+1 (401) 863-3372

alice_rose@brown.edu 

JILL STANGE 

Classes of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s

+1 (401) 863-3769

jill_stange@brown.edu

Housekeeping

• Training webinar is being audio-recorded.
• Polls will be launched prior to each section.
• Please ask questions via the chat window.
• Q & A at the end of the presentation.
• Slides with audio will be shared after the webinar.

Quick Poll – Who is with us tonight?

In which decade did you graduate?

Tools and Resources: Christian A. Martell ‘10

• Class of 2010 President
• ACL Board Member
• BAF Volunteer
• BULAC Member
• Lexington, KY

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Quick Poll – Tools and Resources

What is your favorite part of Brown’s

Virtual Engagement Toolkit?

The Toolkit – Tools & Resources

• Virtual meeting platforms
• Best practices for growing FB/IG membership
• Brown Online Resources
• Brown Virtual Backgrounds

The Toolkit – Email Communications

• Focus: Class/Brown stories and updates
• Engagement tool between events
• Don’t forget to promote your social media accounts

The Toolkit – Social Media

• Spotlight helpful alumni
• Connect through books
• Encourage photo and video sharing
• Use hashtags

The Toolkit – Virtual Events

Virtual Events: William “Bill” Taylor ‘75

• Class Multicultural Activities Co-Chair
• ACL Board Member
• Alumni Interviewer
• Flemington, NJ

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Quick Poll – Virtual Events

Which virtual event approach do you think would work best for your class?

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Virtual Events - The Original Plan

• May 2020 - 45th Reunion
• Class leaders had completed all planning.
• Postponed until 2021 - disappointed, but understood.

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Virtual Events - The Pivot

• Wanted to maintain reunion excitement
• Never done a class Zoom event before.
• Many Class Leaders attended the “Hey Boomer” event done by the class of 1970.

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Virtual Events - Planning

• The class leaders really loved the “interesting topic” approach
• Webinar format felt too limiting
• First step: Zoom Happy Hour

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Virtual Events – Happy Hour

Virtual Events – Happy Hour

• Promotion: BRAVO email and class Facebook
• Successful! 18 classmates talked for about 2 hours
• Attendees begged us to do another one
• We scheduled one 3 weeks later

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Virtual Events – Dance Party

• Memorial Day Weekend celebration to commemorate our reunion
• Dance party with curated Spotify playlist
• Over 50 attendees!
• Included tandem 3 thematic Zoom calls.

Virtual Events – Dance Party

Virtual Events – Racism Panel

• Topic-oriented Zoom call
• Panel discussion format
• Important: Choose an appealing topic
• Racism: How we felt at Brown vs. how we feel now

Virtual Events – Racism Panel

• Zoom format: moderator, 3 panelists, 3-minute time limit on comments
• Racism discussion was a huge success – 75+ attendees
• Well organized, well promoted, great topic
• Expected discussion of 1973 Brown black cheerleaders protest

Virtual Events – Racism Panel

Virtual Events – Next Virtual Event

• Promised to do another racism event
• Decided our next topic: Ancestry
• Smart to go slow with the Happy Hours
• Work out the details of communications and event promotion

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Virtual Events – Take-Aways

• Classmates enjoyed seeing each other
• Doing something not so successfully is better than doing nothing
• Classmates are very, very supportive of each other
• Class leaders should not be afraid to lead

Jeff Anderson ‘84

• Class of 1984 Co-President
• BAF Volunteer
• Alumni Interviewer
• Oakton, VA

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Quick Poll – Social Media

What is the primary means your class uses to communicate with each other?

Social Media Best Practices - Big Bruno ‘84

Social Media Best Practices – Our Philosophy

Engagement + Try new things

Facebook

676 Friends

89% Engagement

Social Media Best Practices – Our Philosophy

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Lead with:

• Humility & Appreciation: Always say thank you!
• Energy & Creativity: Try new things. Test and learn.
• Humor: Make it fun.

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Focus:

• Leverage quantifiable data & technology to measure success.
• Create enthusiasm by setting high goals and expectations.
• Don’t over communicate.
• Involve everyone.

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Social Media Best Practices - Birthday Wishes

Social Media Best Practices - Memories of Senior Year 1983-84

https://www.browndailyherald.com/archives/

Social Media Best Practices - Where Were You? Pay It Forward Day 2019

Social Media Best Practices - Results !

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Social Media Best Practices – Next Steps

Big Bruno ‘84 during COVID

• Trivia Night
• Authors ‘84
• Movies from ‘80s

BrownsBestClass84.com

Social Media Best Practices - General Advice

• Focus your efforts. Different social media formats will work e,g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Choose the tool(s) that work for your class and be consistent.
• Don’t over commit. Doing one thing well will be more successful then doing several poorly.
• Maintain regular communications: posting and sharing. Encourage class leaders to help.
• Tag people and put classmates names in your comments.
• Be authentic, humble, fun and appreciative for everything.
• Build on topics that work for your class culture. (Our class loves music. Posts about ‘80’s music always generates great dialogue.)
• Questions? jeff.anderson@alumni.brown.edu

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Questions?

Resources

ACL website - https://alumni-friends.brown.edu/volunteer/opportunities/class-volunteers/association-class-leaders

ACL Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BrownACL

Virtual Engagement Toolkit/Class Leader Toolkit/BRAVO tools/Class Leadership – The Basics Webinar: https://alumni-friends.brown.edu/volunteer/tools-resources

Brown Daily Herald Archives: https://www.browndailyherald.com/archives/

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Wrap-Up

• Thank you for attending today’s session!
• Email with resources to follow
• Tell Us How We Did and What Else You’d Like To Know: Email Survey Coming Soon
• Watch for More ACL Training
• Thank you for all you do to support your class and the Brown community!