Strategic Plan

Distinctive Attributes of the Sweet Briar College Alumnae Association

Women who attend Sweet Briar College experience a sense of community, intellectual engagement, deep friendship, and shared tradition. Feelings of unity and belonging developed by students are retained by alumnae. Alumnae become useful members of society, demonstrate their affection for Sweet Briar throughout their lives, remain constant in their loyalty and commitment to the College, to the current students and to each other.

Alumnae contribute to the College by actively recruiting new students, by networking with students and other alumnae, and by participating in classroom and campus activities
Alumnae and students share the knowledge and appreciation of the history of Sweet Briar's founding family and the land bequeathed to the College, resulting in strong ties to the College and to the campus
Alumnae support the College through financial contributions that constitute a significant portion of the College's budget and endowment
Alumnae have a commitment to leadership and volunteerism in their communities and the result is that Sweet Briar College is well-represented in local and national organizations
The Alumnae Association of Sweet Briar College recognizes the presence and work of the Alumnae Office staff which is dedicated to sustaining and furthering the efforts of the Alumnae Association with strong philosophies of teamwork and partnership

Theme I: The Sweet Briar College Alumnae Association will strive to involve the full membership in the Association

Communication about the Association, its members, programs and events should reach all members of the Sweet Briar community: faculty and staff, students, parents and alumnae
1. Explore the use of new and existing technologies for communication
  - Expand the use of the Alumnae website
  - Encourage all alumnae to register with the website
  - Maintain a current alumnae database to facilitate networking opportunities
  - Develop active methods of communication with geographically distant alumnae
2. Continue to evaluate and improve the Alumnae Magazine to meet the needs of the Association and the College
  - Use the website to expand class notes, exchange news and suggestions for articles, and to assist in recruiting alumnae in their volunteer jobs
  - Continue to demonstrate the positive impact of alumnae on the College
  - Inform the alumnae about College events and initiatives
3. Continue to evaluate and improve communications through special events, Reunion and Council
4. Encourage all members of the Association to be ambassadors for the College by:
  - Acknowledging that they are alumnae and including that information in public materials and media
  - Displaying Sweet Briar insignia/logo on their cars, clothes, etc.
Evaluate current Club and regional events as well as develop new events to increase alumnae participation
1. Continue to provide leadership and assistance to alumnae volunteers working on regional events by providing new and creative ideas for club events including:
  - Events planned around local activities such as theater, gallery, and sporting events, to draw more alumnae into active affiliation with Sweet Briar
  - Events planned to celebrate the Sweet Briar Centennial
  - Events with a faculty member as guest speaker
  - Informal gatherings
  - Evaluate current club guidelines
2. Develop strategies to involve alumnae in low-density regions
  - Explore use of the website and regional tours
  - Evaluate current club and regional structure in low-density areas

Theme II: The Sweet Briar College Alumnae Association will cultivate more volunteers to carry out the goals of the Association

Encourage new graduates to be active volunteers by:
- Developing ties with the students through special programming while they are in college
- Providing volunteer opportunities that fit into limited time
- Providing volunteer opportunities of interest to new graduates
- Providing volunteer opportunities for alumnae in low-density and distant areas
Develop new ways to recruit new volunteers by:
- Promoting volunteer opportunities in the Alumnae Magazine including articles written by alumnae
- Using Reunion and Council to inform alumnae of volunteer opportunities
- Using Club and Sweet Briar Day events to recruit volunteers
Use alumnae database to track interests and other volunteer and career activities to help match alumnae with available volunteer opportunities and leadership positions

Theme III: The Sweet Briar Alumnae Association will be an active partner with the College to support the themes of the College's Strategic Plan

Develop and implement programs to further the goals of the Office of Co-Curricular Life and Career Services
1. Develop an alumna/student buddy system, an alumna who will follow a student through her college years
2. Involve alumnae during orientation week to create a "link to the future"
3. Develop an alumna mentoring program in partnership with Career Services
4. Expand the Alumna-in-Residence program
5. Expand the alumnae networking program to include professional and social opportunities
6. Involve more young alumnae in career fairs for students and recent graduates
7. Use alumnae as a resource for developing student intern opportunities
Improve and expand the Alumnae Admissions Representatives (AAR) program and alumnae recruiting efforts
- Explore expanding the "College for a Day" program concept to include a class for prospective students
Support year-long learning on the Sweet Briar campus
1. Develop an alumnae education program that fosters the concept that Sweet Briar College can be an alumna's learning community for the rest of her life
2. Expand the Alumnae College during the summer
Ensure that Sweet Briar will be a diverse community that includes and values many cultures and perspectives
1. Use the AAR program to assist recruiting students from diverse backgrounds
2. Increase involvement of minority alumnae and alumnae living abroad in an effort to recruit new students
3. Develop community involvement opportunities for students during breaks in the academic calendar
4. Develop a minority/diversity alumnae advisory group
5. Strive for continued minority representation on the Alumnae Association Board
Work with the College to develop educational programs using the land and historic district
1. Offer special environmental and historic preservation seminars during Reunion and Council
2. Hold alumnae meetings at different locations of interest on the campus
3. Plan national and regional symposiums on historic preservation

Theme IV: The Sweet Briar Alumnae Association will evaluate current and develop new programs to meet the needs and interests of its members

Use the website for expanding alumnae programs
1. Explore creating courses to alumnae on the website
2. Create a virtual tour of the historic buildings for the website and advertise on the Internet
3. Offer syllabi for first year seminars
Expand the Association tour program
1. Explore modestly priced summer family tours
2. Explore offering regional tours to involve more alumnae on the local level

Theme V: The Sweet Briar College Alumnae Association will increase financial support for the College

Communicate the compelling reasons for supporting the College and the accomplishments made possible by alumnae support
1. Use the Alumnae Magazine to:
  - Demonstrate the impact of the financial support provided by the alumnae
  - Show examples of benefits provided by alumnae financial support
  - Identify areas that will benefit from financial support
2. Use Reunion, Council, and regional events to communicate the need for and impact of alumnae financial support
Work with the Development Office on programs to reach new donors
1. Explore incentives exclusively for donors
2. Develop a program to solicit alumnae for corporate gifts
3. Create a Parent Donor Program to keep parents as donors after their daughters become alumnae
4. Research alumnae links to corporations with a history of significant grants to partnerships with colleges
Develop new ways of generating earned and contributed income
1. Explore generating income through summer programs on campus such as math or science camp for high school girls or an expanded Alumnae College
2. Create more matching gift programs for clubs; the match could be used to send club officers to Council
3. Look for a challenge grant to increase participation in the Annual Fund and Planned Giving

Theme VI: The Sweet Briar Alumnae Association will be organized to work in partnership with the Alumnae Office to provide the best leadership and support for the Association programs

Review and revise Board and committee structure to support Association programs effectively
Develop a Board assessment procedure
Use alumnae database and networking to ensure that the best new leadership is recruited
Continue to ensure that new programs will become self-sustaining so that Association operating funds are not in jeopardy and that the Alumnae Office has adequate staff to take on new projects
Keep abreast of the changing focus in higher education that affects our constituency and its expectations of the role of the Association
Develop methods to evaluate the success of the overall alumnae programs
1. Explore methods used by other institutions and organizations
2. Use focus groups, surveys and other evaluation tools to assist in the process
Review and evaluate annually the progress of the Alumnae Association, vis-a-vis the Strategic Plan, suggesting and implementing changes as needed

adopted by Alumnae Board 4/17/99

T O P ^