Key Volunteer Coordinator (Decade/Division Chair)
Recruitment Drive Participant
Class/Option/Group Chair
Reunion Gift Chair
Solicitor
On-Campus Alumni Caller
Solicitation Letter Signer
Appreciation Contacter
Leadership Steward
Event Participant/Host
Researcher
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Key Volunteer Coordinator (Decade, Division)

Role:
Key Volunteer Coordinators assist the Alumni Fund staff with volunteer recruitment and management for the alumni contact effort in their Decade (for undergraduate degree holders) or their Division (for graduate degree holders). Their main function is to recruit and supervise Class, Option, or Group chairs. Their secondary responsibility is to assist the Alumni Fund staff with developing and implementing strategies to identify, train, retain, and recognize Alumni Fund volunteers, which will continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the Alumni Contact Program.

Time Commitment:
Key Volunteers are asked to make a three year commitment (negotiable and renewable). Mid-July through mid-September is the peak activity period for this position. Supervision efforts vary, although most contact with fellow alumni volunteers (by phone or email) are required 1-2 weeks prior to the volunteer recruitment, appreciation or solicitation activities. Key Volunteers are expected to attend the annual Alumni Fund Conference on campus.

Responsibilities:
• During the Summer Recruitment Drive: To renew current Chairs (Class, Option or Group) and to contact and recruit alumni to serve as Chairs (Class, Option or Group) to fill vacant chair posts (contacting about 5 potential volunteers per Class/Option/Group). The immediate goal is to fill one vacant Chair position each year.
• Discuss the responsibilities with each volunteer agreeing to be a Chair and train them as necessary.
• Complete volunteer interest forms for all alumni contacted who agree to volunteer in some capacity and return them to Alumni Fund Office at end of the Recruitment Drive.
• Maintain regular contact (monthly suggested) with each Chair between October and May to determine their needs and to thank them for their efforts.
• Receive and respond to requests by the Advisory Council and Fund staff for suggestions and comments regarding the strategies being implemented in the Alumni Contact Program.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.

Summary of the Process:
• The Alumni Fund office will send each Key Volunteer Coordinator a list of current Class, Option or Group Chairs within their Decade or Division in July. During July, Key Volunteers will contact current Chairs and try to get them to renew for the coming year. If they choose not to renew, determine if there is another volunteer position they wish to fulfill (Materials on all the volunteer opportunities in the Alumni Fund and in the Association are accessible on the Caltech website).
• In July the Fund office will send each Key Volunteer a list of five to ten current and potential volunteers in each Class, Option, or Group without a Chair or where a Chair has chosen not to renew.
• During the year, Key Volunteers are asked to support their Chairs with any needs and to work with Fund staff to quickly resolve any issues. From time to time, Key Volunteers will be asked to respond to provide input to the Alumni Fund staff and Advisory Council.
• The Alumni Fund staff will provide electronic volunteer progress reports on a regular basis so that Chairs may determine the progress being made by their solicitation contacters.

Recruitment Drive Participant

Role:
Recruiting Drive participants assist the Alumni Fund staff identify and contact fellow alumni interested in volunteering for the Alumni Fund. Typically, recruiting drive participants assist with renewing (“renewers”) current volunteers for future activities, reactivating former volunteers (“reactivators”), or recruiting alumni (“recruiters”) to become new volunteers for the Fund (some may have previously volunteered for other Caltech groups).

Time Commitment:
Participate in a two-week Recruitment Drive (January, May or August). Generally this activity requires between 4-6 hours for each recruitment drive.

Responsibilities:
• The number of expected contacts will vary depending on whether the recruiting drive participants are asked to help by renewing, reactivating or recruiting alumni volunteers. The typical contact goals for renewer-types is 15-20 current alumni volunteers; reactivator-types is 12-15 former volunteers; recruiter-types is 10 potential alumni volunteers – all as identified and provided by the Alumni Fund office during the two week recruitment period. The typical recruiting drive goals are: for renewer-types - 80% renewal percentage of current volunteers; reactivator-types - 30% reactivation percentage of former volunteers; recruiter-types -10% recruitment of new volunteers.
• Discuss various volunteer positions with each potential volunteer: Solicitation Contacter, Appreciation Caller, etc.
• Complete volunteer interest forms and return to Alumni Fund Office at end of Recruitment Drive.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.

Summary of the Process:
• The Alumni Fund staff will outline the preference for the type of recruiting preferred (renewal, reactivation, new recruiting) for each Recruitment drive and will ask the recruiting drive participants to rank their recruiting preferences. Due to the needs of the Alumni Contact program, recruiting drive participants may be asked to help in their second or third preference area.
• The Alumni Fund office will send volunteering information to a pre-determined group of potential volunteers to target for the upcoming Drive. This group of potential volunteers is based upon those areas with the greatest need for volunteers.
• The Fund office will next send each Recruiting drive participant a list of volunteers to renew, reactivate or recruit who the Recruiting Drive participants are expected to contact during the recruitment drive. An effort will be made for recruiters to contact potential volunteers who have some commonalities with them—same class year, same option, etc. However, recruiters may be asked to help recruit volunteers across class and division lines where volunteer numbers are low.
• Recruitment volunteers need to be familiar with the Alumni Contact calendar to be able to ask volunteers about specific events and times for their participation.

Class, Option or Group Chair

Role: The Class/Option/Group Chairs assist the Alumni Fund staff and Key Volunteer Coordinators with volunteer recruitment and management for the alumni contact effort in their Class (for undergraduate degree holders), their Option (for graduate degree holders) or Group (Groups are portions of large options or combinations of small options; for graduate degree holders). Chairs will also be asked to participate in the Solicitation Sprints and can choose as many “optional” responsibilities as they wish (listed below).

Because of the size of some classes/ options/groups, co-Chairs are often named and divide the responsibilities (often by time zone or season). Persons interested in being a co-Chair, but not able to accept the full Chair responsibilities should let the Fund office know when they are recruited.

A calendar has been created to display the timeframes and weekly responsibility levels of the Chair position (see Chair Calendar).

Time Commitment: Class/Option/Group Chairs are asked to make a two year commitment (negotiable and renewable). The basic responsibilities typically require 4 hours for recruiting volunteers, up to 6 hours managing volunteers, and another 5 hours for participating in solicitation sprints. August through October is a peak activity period for this position. Supervision efforts vary, although most contact with fellow alumni volunteers (by phone or email) are required 1-2 weeks prior to the volunteer recruitment, appreciation or solicitation activities. Chairs are expected to make every effort to try to attend the annual Alumni Fund Conference on campus (with partial reimbursement of travel expenses).

“Basic” Chair Responsibilities:
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute and the role of the Alumni Fund.
• Basic recruiting and stewardship: thank and renew current solicitation contacters for next year from the previous year. Fill at least one vacancy of non renewing contacters. The typical volunteer goal is to maintain at least five solicitation contacters for the class/option/group.
• Volunteer management: communicate with solicitation contacters 1-2 weeks prior to the upcoming solicitation sprint and verify that materials sent from the Alumni Fund office have been received and answer any questions about the, and to remind them to send in their forms after the solicitation sprint. Chairs also check to see if solicitation contacters want to make thank you calls to the alumni they contacted who follow through and make a gift.
• Basic Solicitation: participate in at least one solicitation sprint (will be asked to contact six alumni unless more are requested).
• Make your annual contribution to Caltech.

“Optional” Chair Responsibilities:
Additional Recruiting:
• If more than one previous contacter did not renew, fill the additional vacancies. Since the goal is to have at least five solicitation contacters per class/option/group – work with the Fund staff and obtain a list of 15 to 20 potential volunteers and former volunteers and attempt to recruit new volunteers and reactivate former volunteers.
Additional Volunteer Management:
• Chairs may desire to distribute the materials directly to their solicitation colunteers (some Chairs want to distribute pledge forms and let the office send envelopes and training materials).
• Chairs may contact their volunteers (mostly by email) at some point during the two weeks of the Sprint to see how things are going.
• Chairs may contact their volunteers to gather feedback and submit to the Alumni Fund staff as well as enroll them for the next sprint, for appreciation calling, or for an upcoming recruitment drive.
• Encourage volunteers to participate in one of the two Recruitment Drives that take place each year.

Summary of the process:
• The Alumni Fund staff will send each Chair a list of current Class, Option or Group Chairs within their Decade or Division in July. During August and September, Chairs will contact and renew solicitation contacters for the coming year. If they choose not to renew as a solicitation contacter, determine if there is another volunteer position they wish to fulfill (Materials on all the volunteer opportunities in the Alumni Fund and in the Association are accessible on the Caltech website).
• The Alumni Fund staff will check with the Chair to determine what materials will be distributed by the Fund office and what will be distributed by the Chair in preparation for Solicitation Sprints.
• The Alumni Fund staff will provide electronic volunteer progress reports on a regular basis so that Chairs may determine the progress being made by their solicitation contacters.
• The Chair will communicate directly with the Fund office about needs of solicitation contacters and will serve as the “eyes and ears” of the Fund among the alumni volunteers.

Reunion Gift Chair

Role:
The Reunion Gift Chair works closely with the Alumni Fund staff to assist with implementation of their class reunion gift drive (for undergraduate degree holders at this time). Chairs will also be asked to participate in the Solicitation Sprints and can choose as many “optional” responsibilities as they wish (listed below).

A calendar has been created to display the timeframes and weekly responsibility levels of the Reunion Gift Chair position (see Reunion Chair Calendar).

Time Commitment:
Reunion Gift Chairs are asked to make a two year commitment (negotiable and renewable). The basic responsibilities typically require 4 hours for recruiting volunteers, up to 6 hours managing volunteers, and another 6 hours for participating in solicitation sprints and editing solicitation letters. September and May are peak activity periods for this position. Supervision efforts vary, although most contact with fellow alumni volunteers (by phone or email) are required 1-2 weeks prior to the volunteer recruitment, appreciation or solicitation activities. Chairs are expected to attend the annual Alumni Fund Conference (September) and Reunion Weekend (May) on campus.

“Basic” Chair Responsibilities:
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute and the role of the Alumni Fund.
• Basic recruiting and stewardship: thank and renew current solicitation contacters for next year from the previous year and work with Alumni Fund staff on reactivating former volunteers during the Summer Recruitment drive. The typical volunteer goal is to maintain at least five solicitation contacters for the class/option/group. The recruiting drive goal for renewing current volunteers is 80%; reactivating former volunteers is 30%; recruiting new volunteers is 10%.
• Volunteer management: communicate with solicitation contacters 1-2 weeks prior to the upcoming solicitation sprint and verify that materials sent from the Alumni Fund office have been received and answer any questions about the, and to remind them to send in their forms after the solicitation sprint. Chairs also check to see if solicitation contacters want to make thank you calls to the alumni they contacted who follow through and make a gift.
• Basic Solicitation: participate in at least one solicitation sprint (will be asked to contact six alumni unless more are requested) and edit solicitation letter/email copy for the Alumni Fund staff to send over your signature.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.
• Attend Reunion Weekend (May).

“Optional” Chair Responsibilities:
Additional Recruiting:
• If more than one previous contacter did not renew, fill the additional vacancies. Since the goal is to have at least five solicitation contacters per class/option/group – work with the Fund staff and obtain a list of 15 to 20 potential volunteers and attempt to recruit new volunteers.
Additional Volunteer Management:
• Chairs may desire to distribute the materials directly to their solicitation colunteers (some Chairs want to distribute pledge forms and let the office send envelopes and training materials).
• Chairs may contact their volunteers (mostly by email) at some point during the two weeks of the Sprint to see how things are going.
• Chairs may contact their volunteers to gather feedback and submit to the Alumni Fund staff as well as enroll them for the next sprint, for appreciation calling, or for an upcoming recruitment drive.
• Encourage volunteers to participate in one of the two Recruitment Drives that take place each year.

Summary of the process:
• The Alumni Fund staff will send each Chair a list of current Class, Option or Group Chairs within their Decade or Division in July. During August and September, Chairs will contact and renew solicitation contacters for the coming year. If they choose not to renew as a solicitation contacter, determine if there is another volunteer position they wish to fulfill (Materials on all the volunteer opportunities in the Alumni Fund and in the Association are accessible on the Caltech website).
• The Alumni Fund staff will check with the Chair to determine what materials will be distributed by the Fund office and what will be distributed by the Chair in preparation for Solicitation Sprints and other activities.
• The Alumni Fund staff will provide electronic volunteer progress reports on a regular basis so that Chairs may determine the progress being made by their solicitation contacters as well as quarterly progress reports for the class reunion gift effort.
• The Chair will communicate directly with the Fund office about needs of solicitation contacters and will serve as the “eyes and ears” of the Fund among the alumni volunteers.

Solicitor

Role:
To serve as a fundraiser for the Alumni Fund by asking fellow alumni, mostly current donors, to renew their annual support to the Institute.

Time Commitment:
Solicitors are asked to make a commitment to participate in at least one 2 week Solicitation Sprint; three sprints per year (October, March, August).

• Phoning generally entails three one-hour calling sessions per Sprint.
• Emails take about the same amount of time
• Writing personal notes may take somewhat longer.

Responsibilities:
• Of 10 alumni donor cards provided, contact 6 alumni during each Solicitation Sprint to thank them for their past support and to ask for their continued support of Caltech with a renewed gift to the Alumni Fund (phone contact is preferred, personal email and letters are also used).
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute and the role of the Alumni Fund.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.

Optional Responsibilities:
• Make appreciation (“thank you”) calls, if possible, to those alumni you called who later make a gift as part of an appreciation session (December, June, September).
• Participate in one of the two Recruitment Drives (August, February).

Summary of Process:
• The Alumni Fund staff or a Class/Option/Group Chair will distribute materials to you prior to the solicitation sprint, including ten alumni donors cards selected by the defaults: class/option and time zone. Solicitors have the option of making special requests for specific cards (of friends) prior to the start of a calling sprint.
• Efforts will also be made by Fund office for solicitors who have established relationships with prospects to be able to contact these individuals.
• Phone call contact is preferred. If this is not possible after five attempts, a personal email or letter can be sent.
• Solicitors are asked to return their response cards to the Alumni Fund office after the solicitation sprint ends.

On-Campus Alumni Caller

Role:
To join current Caltech students Alumni Fund’s Student Phone Program, making calls to fellow alumni and asking, mostly current donors, to renew their annual support to the Institute.

Time Commitment:
On-Campus Alumni Callers are asked to make a three hour commitment. Weekday and weekend phoning sessions are available at the Alumni Fund’s Student Phone Program on campus.

Responsibilities:
• Of alumni donor cards provided, contact 10 alumni to thank them for their past support and to ask for their continued support of Caltech with a renewed gift to the Alumni Fund.
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute and the role of the Alumni Fund.
• Make your annual contribution to Caltech.

Optional Responsibilities:
• Make appreciation (“thank you”) calls to alumni who have made a gift to Caltech.
• Participate in one of the two Recruitment Drives (August, February).

Details of Position:
• Please contact Amy Hasquet at the Alumni Fund office to schedule a calling session at the Student Phone Program, 626-395-8625.
• The Alumni Fund staff will provide materials to help you prepare to make calls prior to the calling session.

Letter Signer

Role:
To personalize a mailing for solicitation and/or appreciation (“thank you”) purposes to alumni by allowing your signature to be added to the piece.

Time Commitment:
A short time to generate several versions of one’s signature and send them to the Fund office. An hour or so to review a mailing piece and make suggestions. A short time to approve the final copy.

Responsibilities:
• Inform the Fund staff whether you wish to sign letters, emails, or both and if you wish to focus on specific segments of the alumni population.
• Once the parameters are established, be ready to make a prompt response to a request by staff to review the draft version a mailing piece.
• Make a prompt response to the final version of the piece.
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute and the role of the Alumni Fund.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.

Optional Responsibilities:
• As time permits, all letter signers are encouraged to participate additional volunteer activities including Recruitment Drives, Solicitation Sprints and/or Appreciation Sessions.

Summary of process:
• The Fund staff will work with the Letter Signer to select mailings that fit the volunteers time schedule and they type of mailing desired.
• The Fund staff will allow for one week for the Signer to review and respond to the draft version of the mailing piece, then for three days to receive approval of the final version.

Appreciation Caller

Role:
To contact alumni donors who have made their gift to the Alumni Fund this year to say thank you for their continued support.

Time Commitment:
Two-week “thank you” session; Three sessions per year for a min of 2 and a max of 6 weeks per year. Each session generally entails 4 one-hour calling periods within the two weeks.

Responsibilities:
• To contact 12 to 15 Alumni Fund donors during the two week appreciation session that follows a solicitation sprint, to thank them personally for their gift.
• Participate in one of the two week solicitation sprint if desired.
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute and the role of the Alumni Fund.

Optional Responsibilities:
• As time permits, all volunteers are encouraged to participate in one of the two Recruitment Drives that take place each year.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.

Summary of the process:
• Alumni Fund office selects 12 to 15 donor thank you cards and mails directly to the Appreciation Caller, with default to the volunteer’s class/option and time zone.
• Appreciation Callers have the option of making special requests prior to the two week calling session. Because of the need to thank special groups of donors, Appreciation callers may be asked to thank donors from a variety of class years and divisions.
• Appreciation Callers are encouraged to discuss volunteering with the Alumni Fund with the alumni donors whom they are thanking, if this seems appropriate.

Leadership Steward

Role:
To work closely with the Alumni Fund staff and participate in phone calls and meetings with alumni, both donors and prospects, to increase their connection with the alumni community and the Institute.

Time Commitment:
Leadership stewards are asked make a one year commitment. There are no specified sprints or sessions, this contacts will be determined based on need and the availability of the leadership steward.

Responsibilities:
• Assist the Alumni Fund staff with maintaining contact with 3 to 5 Alumni Fund Leadership-level donors at different times during the year.
• Help share information of current activities and news at Caltech that would be of interest to the alumni.
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute and the role of the Alumni Fund.
• Stewards are encouraged to discuss volunteer opportunities with the Alumni Fund with the alumni they are contacting, if this seems appropriate.
• Make an annual gift to Caltech, preferably at a level of $1,000 or more.

Summary of the process:
• The Fund staff will work with the Steward to select the alumni with whom the volunteer would most like to contact.
• The Steward coordinates schedules with the Fund staff for contact purposes.

Event Participant/Host

Role:
Event hosts work with Fund staff to organize a particular event, providing “on site” support. Event Participants attend Fund-sponsored events and interact with other alumni and guests (often students)

Responsibilities:
Hosts will help create and sign invitations, assist in local logistics (sites, caterers, entertainment, etc.), and serve as program emcees as needed. Participants attend events and interact with alumni and guests.

Time Commitment:
Event hosts are asked to make a 5-10 hour commitment over one month period. Event participants are asked to make 4 hour commitment (or the length of the event).

Responsibilities:
• Event hosts will help create and sign invitations, assist in local logistics (sites, caterers, entertainment, etc.), and serve as program emcees as needed.
• Event participants attend events and interact with alumni and guests.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.

Summary of Process:
• The Alumni Fund staff will provide a event calendar along with additional materials to help determine which upcoming activities may match your interests.

Researcher

Role:
To improve accuracy of alumni contact information (mail address, phone, email) by utilizing public records (company directories, online search engines, operator assisted searches).

Time Commitment:
Researchers are asked to make a 3 hour commitment. There are no specified sprints or sessions, these contacts will be determined based on need and the availability of the researcher.

Responsibilities:
• Once the parameters are established, determine the timeframe with staff. For example, the researcher may prefer to track down “lost” alumni (no valid contact information), or try to get more complete information on alumni with only one valid contact mode (for example, an alumni with a phone number, but no home or business mailing address, no fax number and no email address).
• The researcher will be asked provide feedback on what methods were used to obtain new information on alumni and how effective these methods were by the agreed-to deadline.
• Be knowledgeable about the needs of the Institute, current events of interest at the Institute, and the role of the Alumni Fund.
• Make an annual contribution to Caltech.

Details of Position:
• The Fund staff will work with the Researcher to develop an appropriate list of names of alumni based on the resources available to the researcher.

Click to fill out a volunteer interest form.

Reunion Pictures

You may download them and print them yourself, or you may order directly from the photographer, Don Ptashne. He is offering professional quality photos and enlargements for sale on his web site.