Regional Association Handbook Table of Contents

COMMUNICATION

Get the word out and the people in

The success of your regional association depends on how well you communicate, both among officers, and with your constituents. Successful events are ones that people attend and enjoy. Members cannot attend if they don’t receive the necessary information in time. Clear and frequent communication from your officers will go a long way toward making your events successful. With good communication, you won’t have to put out many fires because your leadership team will have taken care of most of the details ahead of time.

As more alumni leave the College to live in places far from the Purple Valley, regional associations are becoming more important than ever. The next section includes several methods to keep your officers and the whole Williams regional family in the know.

Electronic communication

Listservs — This method is extremely useful for regional associations. A listserv is a program that allows users to send e-mail messages to everyone who has an e-mail address in the Williams database. They foster frequent, instant communication, at no cost to the association. In fact, listservs should be your primary method of communication. Many associations send updates to their constituents at least once a month. A few things to know about listservs:

  • It is important to have an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of every update. Periodically, people will want their e-mail addresses added or removed from the list. Make this as easy to do as possible.
  • Some alumni don’t use e-mail and never will. Use “snail mail” to contact them.
  • Remind people in your USPS mailings that they must have an active e-mail address with the college to receive e-mail updates. Something to the effect of, “If you aren’t receiving RA emails, there is a good chance the College doesn’t have your current address in their system.”
  • Encourage people to update their e-mail addresses with the college.

Talk isn’t always cheap
To send 150 people a paper announcement first class costs over $55. If your region did this monthly, it would cost $666 a year! The listserv will save you $$$.

If you have questions about the listserv, contact the Alumni Relations office. As a regional officer, there are two listservs you should know about and use.

Regional Association Listserv — This is a list of the people you represent. Your constituents are automatically on this listserv if they have an e-mail address in the college database. The listserv includes alumni, parents (current and past), widow/ers, art history MA grads, CDE grads, and friends of the College. This listserv should be used when you want to make an announcement to your entire regional family. If you only want to invite a portion of the region (e.g., only incoming freshman) to an event, do not use the listserv.

The Listserv is not a soap box
Resist the urge to send along humor, political messages, or anything not directly related to Williams or your RA. Unwanted email is one problem we do not want to promote.

The College’s Official Policy:
The listserv is not a conduit for solicitations of a commercial, financial or political nature. It is not for spam, flames, virus warnings, or chain letters. And it is not to be used for fund raising solicitations.

Contact Rob Swann if you have questions about the appropriateness of a message.

Regional President Listserv — All regional presidents are automatically subscribed to this listserv. If you need advice from other presidents, or have some good advice for all of them, simply type Reg-Pres-L@alumnilists.williams.edu into the “To” line of your e-mail. Then type your question or suggestion as with a normal e-mail message, and when you hit “send,” your comments will go to every president on the list. Keep this in mind when composing your message.

The Internet — The Williams Alumni Web site http://www.williams.edu/alumni/ is a valuable resource. Consult the links at the website’s top left corner (Alumni Communities, News and Events, etc.) for regional officer tools, RA news and events, and lists of potential faculty speakers.

Regular mail — While all events should be announced via e-mail, it is important to send oldfashioned mailings as well. All regional mailings should be sent from Williamstown.

Paying for mailings:

  • The Alumni Relations Office covers the cost of materials and subsidizes postage costs at the following rates:
    • Postcard: 23¢. The RA rate: 17¢.
    • First class letter: 37¢. The RA rate: 27¢.
  • Mailings for Presidential events are funded by Williams.

Some associations occasionally will mail at a third class rate to save money, but it usually takes a substantial amount of time before the mailing reaches its destination.

Regardless of the methods you use, remember to keep in constant contact with your officers. Keep abreast of a subcommittee’s progress. Delegate responsibilities, and let committees and individuals organize and run events, but check in with them from time to time. Ask them to make you aware of concerns about planning and/or execution. Many issues can be solved or avoided entirely if the right person is notified.