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The Association • Strategic Plan 2007-2012


“Calvin as Home: A Good Spot of This Earth”

Mission Statement
The Calvin Alumni Association is committed to
building community among Calvin College alumni and friends,
providing opportunities for service
and inspiring alumni to answer God's call in life and vocation.
 

I. Introduction

The Calvin Alumni Association (CAA) has used a five-year strategic planning system since the Alumni Board expanded to “international” representation in 1991. This “third edition” is the effort of the Alumni Association Board of 2006-07, with assistance from former Alumni Board members and college consultants. The plan was presented for adoption by the board on May 17, 2007. The Alumni Association celebrated its 100 th anniversary of “agitating the matter” of college-alumni relations in April 2007, and we look forward to continuing our faithful task of carrying out the mission of the Association in the “good spot of this earth” that has been given to us.

In preparation for this plan, the Alumni Board heard from Calvin faculty and senior administrators on the challenges facing the college and the ways in which alumni might engage these matters. The Board also conducted numerous issue-oriented planning sessions among current and former Board members and commissioned a benchmarking report to measure Calvin against alumni operations nationally. Out of these conversations came the strong opinion that for Calvin to be successful in the future, both current Calvin students and alumni of all ages, occupations, ethnicities and locations must be able to truly consider the college as “home” – a central community that enriches their lives lifelong. For it is only with that deep sentiment among students and alumni that Calvin can thrive as a place that offers the heart, mind, body and soul to God with passion and purpose.
 

II. Home is Where the Heart Is: Major Themes for 2007-2012

A. “Calvin is Your Home”: The Alumni Association is committed to building a community for current and former students that inspires members to count Calvin as their life-long “home” – their “alma mater” – for learning, spiritual growth, key relationships and ministry support.

B. “You are a Calvin Knight for Life”: The Alumni Association is committed to developing themes, traditions, symbols and common practices that build a “Calvin identity” which all students share, thus encouraging students and young alumni to be engaged with and remain connected to the college.

C. “You are Part of a Calvin Community and Culture”: The Alumni Association is committed to developing a culture of “mutual benefit” among alumni in which members can find and rely on one another – and are active in supporting one another and the college.

 

III. Home Construction: Targets to implement themes


A. Calvin is Your Home

1. Develop, fund and staff a comprehensive alumni hospitality and services program.

Goal: Ensure adequate infrastructure and financing to meet alumni needs.

  • Year 1: Improve Spoelhof facilities. Compose a long-range budget and staffing plan for college review
  • Year 2: Conduct a survey of alumni interests. Develop an alumni center fund-raising plan. Explore other revenue sources for the CAA.
  • Year 3: Start the silent phase of the alumni center campaign with a lead gift.
  • Years 4-5: Start and continue the public phase of the alumni center campaign

2. Develop leadership that represents all alumni.

Goal: Strategically recruit, retain and promote talented alumni volunteer leaders able to represent all members of the Association.

– Alumni Association Board –

  • Year 1: Continue restructuring board composition based on February 2007 nominating committee goals
  • Years 2-4: Review 2012 target composition and continue progress
  • Year 5: Meet 2012 targets set by the nominating committee

– Alumni Chapter Leadership –

  • Year 1: Conduct assessment of current leadership, set goals and targets, and begin a recruitment plan for strengthening and diversifying chapter leadership
  • Years 2-4: Continue chapter leadership recruitment plan based on Year 1 goals and targets
  • Year 5: Meet 2012 targets

3. Create new affinity groups.

Goal: Meet the changing interests of alumni to affiliate around special interests that may extend beyond class year and/or geography.

  • Year 2: Plan for affinity group infrastructure (staffing commitments, procedures and policies, priorities, methods of support)
  • Year 3: Initiate two pilot groups and gather feedback
  • Years 4-5: Initiate one additional affinity group each year
B. You are a Calvin Knight for Life

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive student relations strategy.

Goal: Ensure that Calvin students, upon graduation, appreciate the importance of Calvin in their lives and are inspired to stay connected with alma mater.

  • Year 1: Launch a comprehensive student relations program, beginning with at least one specific event/marker for “Theme Year -5: Calling” (prospective students) and “Theme Year -4: Arriving” (first-year).
  • Year 2: Develop at least one event/marker for “Year -3: Connecting” (sophomore)
  • Year 3: Develop at least one event/marker for “Year -2: Exploring” (junior)
  • Year 4: Develop at least one event/marker for “Year -1: Preparing” (senior)
  • Year 5: Review the student relations program for successes and gaps

2. Develop and implement a comprehensive young alumni relations strategy.

Goal: Keep young alumni closely connected to Calvin and one another during the unique life challenges of the years immediately after graduation.

  • Year 1: Do a “life stage mapping” of young alumni, identify themes for each year and launch a comprehensive young alumni program, beginning with at least one specific event/marker for “Year +1 (first year out of college)”
  • Year 2: Develop at least one specific event/marker for theme year +2
  • Year 3: Develop at least one specific event/marker for theme year +3
  • Year 4: Develop at least one specific event/marker for theme year +4
  • Year 5: Develop at least one specific event/marker for theme year +5

3. Implement a comprehensive alumni data collection strategy.

Goal: Develop and implement a comprehensive plan to build more complete data files on students and alumni to allow for more targeted communication and increase the opportunities for affinity groups to form.

  • Year 1: Establish benchmarks for data priorities with advancement division personnel, set annual targets and establish strategies to acquire and retain critical information about alumni for use by the college and CAA
  • Years 2-5: Partner with the development office to meet data-set targets
C. You are Part of a Calvin Community and Culture

1. Increase the connectedness of Calvin alumni and students.

Goal: Grow the percentage and number of alumni who actively support current students and one another through networking activities.

– Career Networking –

  • Year 2: Develop an online career networking system that works for alumni. Establish internship benchmarks and annual promotion with the career development office, aim for 25 additional internships .
  • Years 3-5: Monitor annual progress toward target of 25 additional internships each year

– Mentoring –

  • Year 2: Establish benchmarks for mentorships with the mentorship office and partner on promotional strategies, aim for 25 additional mentorships
  • Years 3-5: Monitor annual progress toward target of 25 additional mentorships each year

– Life-Stage Mapping and Events –

  • Year 3: Complete a study that analyzes Calvin connections to key life stage events for alumni, identifies gaps and recommends systematic interventions by the CAA
  • Years 4-5: Address identified gaps through two new interventions each year

2. Implement a comprehensive e-communication strategy for alumni.

Goal: Fund, implement and maintain a web community that provides critical online alumni services and supports alumni communications to Calvin and each other.

  • Year 1: Purchase and implement an adequate internet alumni portal system
  • Year 2: Develop an alumni website/portal that draws alumni with regularity
  • Years 3-5: Deliver educational offerings to alumni via the internet
  • Years 3-5: Implement strategies to increase traffic in the portal and on the external Web site

3. Increase the effectiveness of the alumni giving program.

Goal: To increase the percentage and amount of alumni giving to the college to give Calvin a better foundation of financial support for the years to come.

  • Year 1: Establish benchmarks with the development office for alumni giving over the next five years and begin implementing programs to increase these numbers (40% giving, $400 average gift and $4.5M alumni giving to the annual fund)
  • Years 2-5: Partner with the development office on at least one initiative a year to move the college toward 2012 targets

IV. Annual Review and Re-forecasting

An annual review of this plan will be conducted as part of the Executive Committee's summer executive planning sessions, at which time “re-forecasting” will result in revisions to the targets. This is because of the numerous contingencies noted under each section of the plan. The Nominating Committee of the Alumni Board, as part of its governance mandate, will review the board's annual progress (through its committee structure) each May; this assessment will assist the Executive in its summer re-forecasting work.

The CAA Board will conduct a formal review of the plan at every October meeting and use it to mark progress toward strategic goals through 2012. The president-elect of the Alumni Association is specifically charged with keeping the spirit of the plan engaged during the annual business of the board and reports to the Executive and to the Board on progress.