https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?

extid=CL-UNK-UNK-UNK-AN_GK0T-
GK1C&mibextid=1YhcI9R&ref=watch_permalink&v=735064621452344
 How do you structure a strategic plan?
For an alumni relations department at a college or a university, a typical 5-year strategic
plan includes:

 Goals
 Objectives
 Action Plan
 Timeline

Let’s look at how to plan for each to create a well-structured alumni relations plan. 

You can use the same template to craft a plan that is anywhere between one to five years
long.

Goals
What is the overarching goal you aim to achieve? Goals are qualitative targets and
define the end purpose of your plan.
 An example of a goal for an alumni association strategic plan is: Creating a sustainable
outreach effort that drives meaningful alumni engagement.

To finalize the goal(s) of your alumni association strategic plan, follow these steps:

 Start with scripting the vision, mission, and values of your alumni association department.
 Identify how alumni relations fit into this?
 Understand what your overarching mission is to strengthen or maintain alumni relations?
You can take inspiration from this 5-year strategic plan of Pepperdine University in
California (2018-2022).
S
 ource: Pepperdine.

Common goals for an alumni engagement plan include:

 To identify and cultivate partnerships with alumni and enhance the impact of the college
alumni community globally.
 Evaluate the needs, expectations, and attitudes of various alumni groups, and segment
them into appropriate groups for better engagement.
 To identify engagement opportunities beneficial for alumni as well as the university and
cash in on them.
 To create a community that encourages participation, philanthropy, and engagement to
further the mission, values, and prospects of the university or college.

These broad goals are further split into smaller, shorter objectives. While your plan’s goal
talks about the end-result in a qualitative, subjective manner, objectives are quantitative and
can be calculated, or studied definitively.

Objectives
What are the specific objectives that will help you measure the success of your
alumni engagement plan? Objectives are tangible and talk about particular outcomes that
your action plan needs to achieve.

For example,

→ To engage the current network members in two-way communication.

→ Identifying top engaged players and leveraging their influence.

→ To reach out to 1500 new contacts in the next five years.

To set the objectives for your alumni relations strategic plan,

 Jot down specific short-term targets that correlate with and work towards your main goal. 
 Note the desired outcomes of each of these targets. These are your objectives.
 Divide the objectives by team, skillset, deadlines, and chronology (what objectives must be
prioritized to allow the next set to operate).
 For instance, if your main goal is to create a sustainable outreach effort that drives
meaningful alumni engagement, your objectives can be:

1. Developing a strategic approach to engage x number of current alumni in a dialogue. You

engage in studiable conversations that help you understand:
 Their preferred mode of communication.
 What do they expect from the alumni network?
 What keeps them in the network, and what will be a deal-breaker?
 How are they willing to support the university? (e.g., donations, spreading the word,
mentorship etc.)

2. To create an outreach effort that learns from these findings and helps with future
networking.

3. Identifying x top engaged players and leveraging their influence for outreach.

For automated, personalized communication at scale, check out CallHub’s tools tailored for
higher education institution needs: Calling And Text Marketing For College And Universities.
Here’s an example of objectives set by Tulane University in New Orleans for their 3-year
alumni relationship plan:

Source: Tulane University.
 Your objectives simplify your cadence and set the foundation for what activities you will
undertake to achieve the overarching goal. Once you finalize the objectives and sub-
objectives, the next course of action is to strategize an action plan.

Action Plan
How do you plan to meet the objectives of your alumni relations strategic plan? Your
action plan should cover all the day-to-day activities and tactical ideas that the team will
undertake.

A typical alumni relations strategic plan covers the following points:

 Communication: What do your members prefer? Start with asking the existing members
how they would like to communicate with the university and then use a multi-channel
approach for outreach. Your action plan regarding communication must include who
you reach out to, when, and how. 
A 2018 study about communication preferences pertaining to loyalty programs (similar to an
alumni network) discovered that 

– 42% of respondents prefer communication via emails.

– 32% prefer marketing via text messages. 

– 15% said mobile apps.

Taking inspiration from these numbers, you can start with sending out emails and texts to
ask for their preferences and then move on to specific channels that they prefer. 

Related Reading: Contacting Alumni Email Sample and Tips To Enhance Your Interactions
 Incentives: How do alumni benefit from being a part of your network? Setting and
conveying the incentives that come with being a part of your esteemed alumni network can
increase positive responses and sustained engagement. Examples include: access to
campus facilities, event passes, career opportunities.
 Events: An alumni event can be a reunion, fundraiser, seminars that benefit current
students, career events, etc. 

These events are high-investment, high-reward nature, and reflect high engagement levels
among participants and respondents (individuals who RSVP, even if they can’t attend).
 Keeping a note of such alumni can help you with leads for future communications, donation
appeals, and peer-to-peer networking.

Related Reading: Alumni Engagement Metrics: Why Responses Are a Better Success
Measure Than Participation
 Marketing: An alumni relations action plan is incomplete without a strong marketing
campaign. Marketing includes:

– Social media ads that target your online followers.

– Sending emails and text messages as the first touchpoint to your lists.

– Following up with individuals who have shown interest.

– Personal communication with highly engaged individuals.

For details on how to strategize your marketing campaign, read A Quick Guide To Essential
Nonprofit Marketing Strategies
 Appeals: Whether you are making a low-engagement appeal (e.g., following on Facebook)
or high-demand requests (e.g., donating), three things are absolutely essential:
1. An effective call to action.
2. The CTA framed in the right manner.
3. Appropriate timing for the appeal.

Adding ‘appeals’ as part of your action plan will give you adequate time to intelligently and
effectively strategize them.

 Tracking and Analysis: A one, three, or five-year plan cannot succeed without constant
monitoring of progress, success points, and improvement opportunities. Use software and
human resources to continually check: 
1. How far along each activity has come in achieving its targets.
2. If you need to evolve or dissolve strategies.
3. When one action concludes successfully, how and when you transfer to the next.
For more on how to effectively set your action plan, read Alumni Engagement Strategy &
Best Practices: 9 Top Ways to Nurture Your Network.
Timeline
 When should each action take place, and what deadlines should your objectives
follow? A set timeline will help you divide your action plan into segments and make the end
goal more manageable.

Once you have allotted specific tasks to team members, you need to pencil down a timeline
for them to follow. A 5-year strategic plan gives you ample time to divide the months and
dedicate them to specific objectives.

Draw a timeline considering:

 Months that have historically been successful for alumni outreach.

 The average time your alumni take to respond from the first point of contact.
 An average number of touchpoints it takes you to get results from an alum.
 Start and end of the academic year.
 What activities can go parallelly, what actions can overlap, and what activities need to see
success before moving to the subsequent ones?
Consider the German Marshall Fund Of The United States’s alumni engagement plan for
2017-2020:
Source: GMFUS.

Once you set up a timeline for all action points, your alumni relations strategic plan is
complete on paper. Now you only have to build a list of prospects and put your plan into
action. One best practice that improves engagement and makes alumni outreach more
effective is personalization. 

For personalizing communication, marketing campaigns, and appeals, you need to start
building a good contact list with a lot of data on your alumni. If you are unsure how to start,
here’s our guide to help you weed out old and inefficient techniques and replace them with
methods that work phenomenally: List Building– New Inbound Marketing Channels You
Cannot Ignore!
Feature Image Source: Nick Morrison/Unsplash.
 Planning the Perfect Class Reunion

The following is meant to serve as a guide in planning your reunion. No two reunions are alike but every reunion
requires upfront planning to be successful.

How do we form a reunion committee?

Every reunion begins with the formation of a reunion committee. Start by forming a core local team of dedicated
and enthusiastic individuals who are willing to go the extra mile to ensure a successful reunion. Appoint a reunion
chair who will arrange and drive meeting agendas. Appoint a treasurer to oversee finances. Beyond these two key
individuals, solicit classmate volunteers who can actively participate and be assigned to work on various reunion
tasks. Don't underestimate the work involved. Share the work amongst as many who are willing to offer their help.
There are many details and arrangements that have to be taken care of. Successful reunions are the result of
successful committees. Committees that are active and well organized will be positioned for success. Organizing a
successful reunion can be a truly enriching and rewarding experience where old friendships are reestablished and
new friendships formed.

When do we start?
Some reunion committees begin forming and start planning up to two years in advance of their reunion. The amount
of lead time you need really depends on how elaborate of an event you are planning but generally speaking the more
time you give yourselves the better! Whether you are planning a simple family picnic or a formal event you will
minimally want to start planning at least 12 to 16 months in advance. Don't expect to pull off a successful reunion if
you start planning just 6 months before the event as many of your classmates will need significant lead time in order
to participate especially those living far away. Another consideration is that prime locations and other services you
need for your reunion may require 1-2 year advance booking.

How often should we meet?

Your reunion committee should plan to meet once a month either in person or via conference call. You may even
consider augmenting some of your meetings by using an online chat room or message boards. This can be a
convenient inexpensive way of discussing some of the finer details of the reunion and may make it easy for non-
local classmates to participate and contribute.

What work items does the reunion committee need to consider?

Consider dividing the work activities of your reunion committee into subcommittees or work groups.

Here is a listing of some of the tasks you will need to consider:

 date selection
 determine event venue and format
 event program (speakers, tributes, etc)
 event location / lodging selection
 financing
 classmate contact listing
o postal addresses, email addresses, phone numbers
o search for missing classmates
 web site development / maintenance
 decorations
 entertainment
 photographer
 registration & name tags
  momentos
o reunion / memories booklet
o novelties
o prizes / awards
 marketing & communications
o mailers, emailings
o newspaper and internet advertising
 deceased classmates tribute
 additional reunion activities
o school tours, pre & post reunion events
 class gift to your school

What are some of the upfront expenses we might incur?

Here is a listing of some expenses you might incur along the way. One thing to consider to avoid these expenses is
to use a professional reunion planning service. Many of these services will handle all your upfront costs for you.

 Stationary supplies
 Postage
 Printing (reunion booklets, name tags)
 Gifts / novelties
 Decorations
 Web site development & hosting
 Liability insurance
 Reunion facilities deposit
 Entertainment deposit
 Deposits for additional activities (tours, etc)

Timeline for success

While it's a good idea to begin planning your event as soon as you know you are going to have one, here is a
timetable to consider for planning your event.

Twenty-four months before

Form a committee
Recruit and appoint subcommittee members
Survey classmates for ideas and venue preferences
Determine event format
- picnic, dinner-dance, etc
- informal, formal
- single day event, multi-day event
Brainstorm additional activities (school tours, etc)
Set date(s)
Scout candidate reunion facilities and hotels
Develop budget
Start developing mailing list

Eighteen months before

Select and reserve reunion facility and hotels
Arrange for and hire entertainment, caterer, photographer, etc.

Twelve months before

Determine cost per ticket Send initial mailer announcing date and location of reunion
Publicize reunion information
- public web sites
- newspapers
Arrange for additional leisure activities (sightseeing tours, etc.)
Pay deposits

Six months before

Mail reunion registration materials
Confirm all reservations, caterer, entertainment, etc.
Select menu
Meet with hotel and reunion venue staff

Four months before

Make payment arrangements with all suppliers for group functions
- meals, tours, photographer, DJ, etc.

One month before

Finalize any last minute details

When should we have our reunion?

Certainly Friday or Saturday are the most desirable dates to consider for your reunion. The most popular times of the
year to have a class reunion are early summer through late fall. Thanksgiving weekend is also a fairly popular time
as many classmates may be in your home area visiting family for the holiday. There are several factors you should
consider when selecting a date. Certainly the weather is more accommodating during these periods especially in
areas of the country where the winters are cold. If your classmates are in the child rearing stages of life the summer
months might be a more ideal time while children are out of school on summer vacation, especially for those
classmates traveling from out of town. Of course fall is also a wonderful time of year as it evokes memories of
homecoming and football games. You may want to consider coordinating your event around your high school's
homecoming as it offers an opportunity for classmates to participate in additional activities on your reunion
weekend.

Should we have a single day or multi-day event?

Some classes just have a one evening reunion event while other classes host multi-day reunions. Those classmates
who have attended reunions repeatedly echo the same words after the reunion is over....'the evening went by too
fast'...'there just wasn't enough time to talk with everyone I wanted to'. How do you pack 5, 10, 20, 30 years of each
others lives inside of 5 hours? The answer is you can't. Hosting a multi-day reunion however gives your classmates
additional time to relax and get reacquainted. This is also a far more attractive venue for those traveling from afar to
attend the reunion. It may involve a little more work to host a multi-day reunion but offers many advantages to your
classmates. Following are some suggestions for the weekend should you choose to hold a multi-day reunion.

Friday night
Many classes kick off their reunion activities with an informal Friday night get together that are referred to as
'Mixers', 'Warm Ups' or 'Icebreakers'. As these names imply this event is intended to loosen classmates up in an
informal, neutral and relaxed atmosphere prior to the grand event. Typically these are held at a local restaurant or
bar. Usually light Hors d'houevres are served and classmates pay for their own cocktails at these gatherings. Keep
this event simple. Don't put a lot of undo stress on yourselves as you need to direct most of your energies toward
planning the big event. If such an event is not offered, consider getting together informally on your own with some
classmates you were close with in high school. It gives you extra time with those you were closest with.

Saturday
While the night is typically reserved for the big event, consider adding some daytime events. One of the most
popular events you might want to consider arranging is a tour of your old high school. After 10, 20, 30... years this
can be a wonderful rejuvenating experience to once again walk the hallowed halls of your youth. If your event
happens to coincide with your school's homecoming or a school football game, encourage classmate participation
and try to organize special seating arrangements so your class can all sit together. Some classes also organize
activities like a morning golf outing, local site seeing tour or a group shopping trip.

*No matter what pre-reunion events you plan, don't underestimate their value in terms of making classmates more
comfortable attending the reunion event. They all serve as relaxers or anxiety reducers so to speak that can help
make the big event a smashing success.

Sunday
If your class isn't already burned out from Friday and Saturday festivities you might want to consider a wind down
event such as a Sunday picnic. This is a chance for any last minute catching up and to say your good byes in a less
hectic atmosphere. For younger classes, make it a family event with spouses and children invited.

What kinds of activities should we provide at the reunion?

If you are planning a more formal evening event, certainly the night will contain a sit down dinner and likely music
entertainment. You can add some formality to the evening with an official opening welcome and a few brief
speeches and awards before dinner. Perhaps a tribute to classmates who have passed away. One thing you need to
remember is that people are coming to the reunion to catch up with old friends. You need to allocate the majority of
the evening to free socializing. You might also want to consider setting up a continuously running slide show of old
class photos in one corner of the room....this is always a great attraction. Consider setting up a nostalgia table for
classmates to view memorabilia and artifacts from your class past....this is a great way to jog faded memories and
spark discussions amongst classmates. Ask each of your classmates to bring one piece of personal memorabilia for
the nostalgia display. If you want to encourage dancing make sure your music provider plays music form your era.

Staffing the event

Unfortunately the reunion committee's job isn't over after all the plans and arrangements are complete. On the day of
the reunion there is still the work of registering guests as they enter. You've worked hard and you too deserve to
enjoy the reunion. Some facilities may provide this service for you or you might want to consider asking friends or
family members to handle this for you. You might even be able to make arrangements with volunteers from the class
year ahead of you or behind you to provide this service in turn for providing this service at their reunion. Given the
likelihood that they may know people in your graduating class it could be an attractive opportunity for them as well
to help out. 
How to Plan a Class Reunion Checklist

Class reunions can either be nerve-wracking or something you can

look forward to attending. Some may find meeting an
ex-girlfriend/boyfriend awkward or seeing past friendships that
turned sour uncomfortable. But overall, class reunions can be quite fun
and beneficial for you.

Reunions are a great way to reconnect and mend old friendships. They
are great avenues to be updated with your classmates’ lives and they
create the perfect setting to just comfortably talk about life, career,
and family. It is also a good opportunity to build connections and
business networks.

Reunions can be enjoyable and memorable if planned right. And it

doesn’t matter if you are not a professional event planner. You can
organize and plan the reunion well enough with the help of your high
school reunion planning checklist.

10 Essential Steps to Include in Your High

School Reunion Planning Checklist
1. Appoint committees and assign tasks
Committees will make the event planning and execution so much
easier. Identify major roles and responsibilities and assign them to
volunteers according to their qualifications and areas of expertise. It is
also important to consider the number of expected participants. The
number of committees depends on how big the event will be.
Some of the committees you want to consider include:

 Reunion Chairpersons [leaders in charge of managing each

committee]
 Finance Committee
 Program Committee
 Communication and Advertising Committee
 Welcome and Decoration Committee
 Food Committee
 Registration Committee

Once committees are established with the needed members, decide on

dates for necessary meetings. Exchange contact information with the
team and decide on possible venues for the meet-ups.

2. Set the budget

Create and propose an initial budget plan according to the expected
number of participants and event costs. Collaborate with the finance
committee. To raise funds, you can rally up sponsors aside from
selling tickets. Start contacting prospect sponsors to lower down
registration fees. And also set up features on your site to
accommodate digital donations.

A lower registration fee will encourage more people to join. Some may
be coming from other cities and will be paying for accommodation,
food, and transportation among others. Cutting down registration
costs will definitely be appreciated.

3. Research and brainstorm

This is a crucial item for your high school reunion planning checklist.
Do initial research on the possible theme, date, venue, event activities,
and event program. Brainstorm with the whole team. Ask for
preferences and trends you can use in deciding the theme, program,
and activities.

For example, you can have prom night as the theme to re-enact the
past. You can encourage participants to wear the same outfits they
wore on their prom night if they still have them. This will make the
reunion more memorable.

4. Pick a date
Class reunions are held all year round. Some of the popular choices
include early summer and Thanksgiving since they don’t clash with any
school classes and work commitments. But the most important thing
to consider is the availability of everyone.

Select a shortlist of possible dates. And after that, create a poll to

identify the availability of the majority.

5. Choose the venue

In choosing the venue, take into account the number of attendees and
the nature of activities. Some may choose their school grounds. This is
a more practical choice especially if you don’t want to spend too much
on the venue.

School grounds are not only cheaper options but they create a more
intimate setting. What brings back nostalgia from school memories
better than walking through your school campus.
6. Finalize the program
With the help of the program committee, create and finalize the
program and the activities or performances that will be showcased.
Start to send invitations to potential speakers and performers to get
their availability.

Create activities that are engaging and fun. Think of creative ways
to engage attendees. One activity that we did in our high school
reunion was a “bring me” game. The mechanics of the game are very
simple. As the name suggests, you will be bringing whatever item the
emcee will be asking for. Some of the funniest asked items were our
high school IDs or an embarrassing picture with classmates.

7. Decide on the staff you’ll hire

Though there are volunteers, some professional help will be needed
during the event. Some of the services you might want to hire include
catering services, music and lights, photography and videography, or a
professional DJ.

Ask for recommendations from your team. They might have

connections with one of the services above.

8. Set up your reunion website to sell tickets

Your high school reunion planning checklist will not be complete
without adding the advertising step. Promoting your class reunion is
easier when you set up a website. People are now more engaged in
virtual platforms especially in this time of pandemic. You can advertise
and promote your class reunion directly on your website. You can even
utilize it to post announcements.

Make sure to contact the participants as early as possible and direct

them to the reunion website. Having a website will also help answer
the attendees’ inquiries and help you receive suggestions from them if
they have one.

You can create a manageable and easy-to-navigate class reunion

event using Event Smart. Make an event page where participants can
stay updated.

How to set up a class reunion event with Event Smart

9. Develop registration procedures

Selling the tickets and setting up the registration are some of the final
steps you need to include in the pre-event stage. Set up your ticketing
and registration process. An easy and smooth registration process can
make your upcoming reunion a success.

Use Event Smart to quickly create your class reunion registration website.

With Event Smart, you can customize registration forms, and collect
payments online through credit cards or PayPal. Registration becomes
easier and faster for your reunion attendees with just a few clicks.

We recently helped a customer in setting up registration for their

upcoming high school reunion with the following requirements:

“I’m setting up a reunion website for my high school with two paid
events -Friday cocktails and Saturday dinner. Will Event Smart be able
to present both choices so people can select Friday only, Saturday
only, or both days? We’ll use simple PayPal to get payments.”

Through Event Smart, you are able to sell tickets from events with
specific dates.  Once participants purchase the tickets, you’ll receive
an email of confirmation to track sales.

10. Plan for a tribute presentation and tokens

Reunions are not complete without tribute presentations like videos
showing highlights of your high school days. It can be a football win.
Or recorded videos of random goofy moments.

You should also present tokens of appreciation to guest speakers.

After the event, you can use your website to post some pictures of the
class reunion. Create engagement. It’s nice to create a platform where
the participants can continue to connect and engage with each other
because for sure, this won’t be the last class reunion they will be
attending. Encourage those who weren’t able to come to attend the
next one.

Conclusion
Organizers and the planning committee should not be excluded from
the fun. Planning and organizing a class reunion could be easier and
more enjoyable when you follow a simple reunion planning checklist.
Just follow these ten simple steps from the class reunion checklist and
you’re good to go!
 INDEX
 
Introduction

Part I: Where to Start

 CHAPTER 1 : YOUR FIRST STEPS

 CHAPTER 2: THE REUNION PLANNING COMMITTEE
 CHAPTER 3 : THE REUNION TIMELINE
 CHAPTER 4 : TRACKING CLASSMATES

 
Part II: Money Matters

 CHAPTER 5 : REUNION BUDGET

 CHAPTER 6 : REUNION TICKET SALES
 CHAPTER 7 : REUNION FUNDRAISING

Part III: Getting the Word Out

 CHAPTER 8 : CLASSMATE SEARCH

 CHAPTER 9 : THE REUNION WEBSITE
 CHAPTER 10 : CORRESPONDENCE
 CHAPTER 11: STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING REUNION ATTENDANCE

 
Part IV: Planning the Class Reunion

 CHAPTER 12 :WHERE AND WHEN

 CHAPTER 13 : REUNION AMBIENCE
 CHAPTER 14 : THE REUNION FESTIVITIES
 CHAPTER 15 : REUNION GIVEAWAYS
 CHAPTER 16 : REUNION MEMORY BOOKS
 CHAPTER 17 : REUNION REGISTRATION AND ON-SITE LOGISTICS
 CHAPTER 18 : LOOSE ENDS

Introduction
 
Planning a reunion can be a challenging and daunting task, however armed with this
book, we guarantee to help make your job a lot easier. We will address all of the
elements that are critical to having a successful reunion from start to finish. You will
benefit from the information in this book whether you are only considering having a
reunion or if your planning is already well under way. In either case, you will find great
tips and ideas to make your reunion a success.
 
The suggestions in this book apply to a reunion with as little as 50 classmates or more
than 500, and they are valid if you are planning a 5-year reunion or a 50-year reunion.
Most reunions occur around milestone anniversaries such as the 10-year, 20-year or 30-
year mark, although odd-numbered years work as well.
 
In the following chapters, we provide you with critical information needed to keep you
on track and on budget so that you can have the best reunion possible.
 
Some of the things we will cover in this book include:
 

 5 best ways to find your old classmates

 8 things to do at your old school to help plan the reunion
 7 best ideas for increasing attendance at the reunion
 5 best ideas for selling more tickets to the reunion
 7 best ideas for reunion fundraising
 6 best ideas for displays at the reunion
 7 best ideas for awards at the reunion
 5 best ideas for photos and videos at the reunion
 5 best ways to keep people coming back to your website
 Tips for forming the reunion planning committee
 Tips for compiling the Memory Book
 Everything you need to know about the reunion program
 Everything you need to know about registration and logistics
 A timeline for everything related to the reunion
 Sample letters, broadcast emails, checklists, and budgets
 Tips, tricks and ideas to get the most out of your reunion website

 
High school reunion planning in the 21st century has been greatly facilitated thanks to
the internet. The World Wide Web has made it much easier to search for classmates,
vendors, favors, and do all kinds of research to help plan the event. The Web has also
made communicating with classmates and collecting information so much easier than it
was prior to the internet age.
The best way to correspond with classmates is through a reunion website that acts as a
communications center where you can disseminate important reunion details, collect
information, sell tickets, create a buzz, and so much more.

In the past, creating a website required someone with the technical knowledge and skills
of an experienced computer programmer. Thanks to do it yourself reunion website
builders like the one at MyEvent.com, the task of creating a reunion website has been
made extremely easy. One of the chapters in this book will be devoted to getting the
most out of your website, and throughout the book we will throw in tips on how your
website can help with your reunion planning.

Today, more people are online than ever before. With the increasing popularity of social
networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, there’s a whole new way of getting
the word out. We will explore social media in Part III Getting the Word Out.

Part I: Where to Start

 
This section summarizes the step-by-step instructions on planning your reunion. To ensure you
have sufficient lead-time, you should ideally start planning 12 months in advance of the event. If
you only have six months or less, you can still pull it off but you may need to adjust your
timeline accordingly. We will go into each of these steps in depth later in the book.
CHAPTER 1 : YOUR FIRST STEPS
 
STEP 1: Recruit Committee Members

The first step in planning your reunion involves evaluating if there is enough interest in having a
reunion. This requires that someone take the initiative to get the ball rolling (which is most likely
you, if you are reading this book!). This may seem like an obvious step, but some people
overlook it and jump right into the actual planning before having addressed this fundamental
point.
 
To know if you have the prerequisites for a successful reunion, you should know if you will be
able to form a committee. This is not absolutely necessary, but if you are planning a reunion
entirely alone you will need a lot of free time. Make a few phone calls to former classmates to
recruit potential committee members. We will examine the key elements in forming a committee
and what the committee does later in this chapter.
 
If you can get a committee together and you are commemorating a milestone reunion, your
chances are pretty good for generating a lot of interest in a reunion. There is a natural tendency
for people to want to reacquaint with old friends and see what paths people took since having
graduated from high school.
 
STEP 2: Create A Website

At this stage, you want to start to create some interest in the reunion. Build your website and start
uploading content. The more content that you can put on the website the better.
 
Classmates who visit the website will see it as a sign that you are serious about the reunion and
will help to spread the word.
 
Reunions are about nostalgia, so putting up a lot of pictures and stories from high school is
highly recommended. Include a page that reflects back to the time when you graduated. It’s very
easy to find pictures and information for the year that you graduated on sites like Wikipedia.com,
Brittanica.com, and other encyclopediarelated websites.
 
You should post a message that tells visitors you are in the early stages of planning the reunion.
Invite everyone who visits the website to register on the Classmates page and to tell their friends
about the website. Encourage people to come back often as there will be many updates in the
coming weeks and months.
 
STEP 3: Prepare Business Cards

If you are planning a reunion of a significant size, you may want to create business cards with
the name of the school, the reunion year, and your school mascot on them. Also include the
reunion website address, your name, telephone number, and email address. Business cards are
very inexpensive and are convenient to leave with old classmates that you meet face to face.
They are also good to leave with vendors and once again show a level of seriousness that usually
results in a well - attended and successful event.
 
STEP 4: Take A Trip To Your Old School

Going back to your high school will achieve several objectives, some of which will be
immediately useful and others that will help you later on. Make sure you do these things below:
 

 Inform the school about your intention to plan a reunion.

 Ask if anyone else has contacted the school with the same idea. If so, contact that person and
try and join forces or decide which reunion will be planned. There is no room for competing
reunions.
 Give the alumni director some of the business cards, in case former students contact the school.
 Obtain a complete class list with any contact information the school can provide.
 Ask the administrator of the school website to add a link to your website.
 Ask to borrow the school banner and mascot for the event.
 Ask if they still have any yearbooks from your graduating year.
 Come prepared with your digital camera and video camera to photograph the school grounds.
You can use this later, on the website and at the reunion. 
STEP 5: Prepare A Preliminary Budget

Have this ready before your first committee meeting. (see Chapter 5.)

STEP 6: Assemble A Reunion Committee

In step 1, you put out feelers to see who may be available to help plan the reunion. Now you
need to get more serious and get people to commit to the event. Pick a date for your first
meeting. Your committee can be as small as one person (if you have unlimited free time) or it
can consist of many people. It all comes down to the various tasks that you need to consider. The
more people you have, the more the tasks will get spread out.
 
You are looking to create a diversified group of people who weren’t all part of the same crowd
back in high school. This will help spread a wider net when trying to locate people, and when
encouraging people to attend.
 
STEP 7: Reunion Administration

Open a bank account and organize your paperwork. Create a file (on your computer or in a
notebook) to keep track of missing / located classmates, ideas for entertainment, venues,
vendors, Memory Books, ads, donations, who has RSVP’d, paid, etc.
 
STEP 8: Getting The Word Out

This is a task that will be shared to a certain extent by all committee members and each
classmate that is planning on coming to the reunion. (Detailed in Part III).
 
STEP 9: Planning The Event

You will want to assign particular tasks to committee members that have experience in that area.
There is a lot of planning needed for the event since it includes the actual reunion and everything
that happens that night (detailed in Part IV).

CHAPTER 2: THE REUNION PLANNING COMMITTEE

 
The Planning Committee can include as little as one person (not highly recommended)
or several people, and it can include sub-committees as well. It is easier to manage
smaller committees, but larger ones benefit from having more people to get things
done. Remember that you can always enlist volunteers outside of the committee for
non-decision-making tasks. It really does come down to assigning the various tasks to
as few or as many people as there are on the committee. Whatever you decide, strong
leadership from the chairman of the committee will be crucial for keeping everything
and everyone on track.
 
To establish an effective committee, choose your members carefully. Anyone in the
entertainment, hospitality or food service industries would be a great asset in planning
the event. It is also wise to include business owners, as you may be able to approach
their companies to pick up the tab for long-distance bills, postage, office expenses,
prizes and more. We stress again the importance of including alumni from various social
groups. The more diverse your committee (from cheerleaders to the chess club), the
better the turnout. This is particularly relevant when it comes to getting the word out,
something that all members of the committee must partake in.
 
How many committee meetings you have will depend on several factors, such as how
much time you have left before the reunion, how big your committee is, and the size of
the reunion you are planning. Committee members can have conference calls and
update each other via email. However, meetings are critical to the success of the
reunion. People will definitely be more proactive in fulfilling their responsibilities when a
meeting deadline is coming up as opposed to a task simply written on a list. You cannot
afford to have committee members procrastinate! Regular meetings are a good way to
avoid this pitfall. We recommend meeting approximately every 8 weeks. You should
look at the committee meetings as minireunions. It’s a good opportunity to reconnect
with old friends and have a good time prior to the reunion.
 
Committee meetings are only useful if they have a specific purpose, so be very
organized and come prepared with an agenda that has been distributed to the
committee members beforehand. Everyone 11 should know what their responsibilities
are ahead of time so that they can also come to the meeting prepared.
 
Although some committees attempt to plan everything as one unit, it can be far more
effective to break this unit up into smaller groups, or teams. When dividing the
workload, try to match people with tasks to which they are best-suited. Someone who
works in advertising or public relations, for example, is well-suited to getting the word
out. Business people may do well in negotiations with vendors. You may want to draw a
diagram to help you sort out the chain of command, as well as the responsibilities of
each team, and its members. Make sure people know which decisions can be made on
their own and which decisions need the entire committee’s consultation.
 
You will always get better results when you assign tasks with specific goals and
deadlines. A strong assignment would be: "Graham will check out potential venues and
report back to the committee by January 15, detailing the top three choices, including
pricing, and the pros and cons of each option.” This will be much more effective than
“Graham will take on searching for a venue.”
 
Each task needs to have an “owner”. Assign a committee member (or in the case of team
assignment, select a team leader) to each of the tasks. For each task, you will have a task
description, the name of the committee member assigned to the task, committee
expectations regarding the task, and a due date by which the task must be completed.
This is a key factor in how successful the planning committee is in effectively managing
their time.
 
We recommend the following breakdown of responsabilities:
 

If you have other responsibilities on your list and you are unsure which team should take
them on, a good rule of thumb is: If the task involves spending money or the task is
related to something that can be seen at the event, send it to the Event Team (Planning
the Event). Conversely, if the task results in ticket sales or communicating with alumni,
assign it to the Promotion Team (Getting the Word Out).
 
It is important to note that although one team is responsible for finding classmates, all
committee members should be involved in the search. This is the most challenging and
time-consuming undertaking you will face. After an initial search, the Promotion Team
can assign the names of those still not found to the committee members deemed most
likely to locate the individual.
 
At the final meeting before the event, everyone becomes one team unit again. As you
map out the day of the event, assign individuals to each of the various tasks that require
preparation (eg. preparing registration lists, prepping name tags, decorating, setting up
displays, assembling registration kits, etc.).