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Building a BYU Alumni Chapter Leadership Board

This article is a guide to help you build a chapter that meets your area's needs. The list below are suggestions, but the only requirement for a board is that it contains at least three individuals.

Have a Clear Vision

  • What kind of activities do you want to host?
  • What positions are you required to fill?
  • What additional positions would you like to have on your Board?

Who to Choose:

Think of the strengths of individuals and who you think would be a good fit for the roles. Identify the skill sets and passions of people you are considering: what are their interests? (i.e. careers, mentoring, event planning, relationship building, service, fundraising, sports, music etc.)

Be Willing to Ask for Help

Why You Need to Ask:

  • Generally, people who want to be involved won't offer to help until they're asked.
  • Never assume someone will turn down the position; more people are willing and ready to help than you would expect.
  • You may think some individuals are too busy to ask; however, oftentimes busy people are the ones who are the best at time management, executing tasks, and are most willing to help.
  • Consider making an announcement in your ward bulletin.
  • Ask current members to invite new people to the board.
  • It doesn't matter whether they attended BYU or not; anyone can be a part of the BYU Alumni Association.

Who You Should Ask:

  • Anyone you think would enjoy being involved!
  • Ward members
  • People from different generations
  • Single people
  • Married couples
  • People with different occupations
  • Recent graduates
  • Retirees
  • People from different stakes

Why Diversity?

  • With greater diversity comes a broader range of ideas, perspectives, and energy.
  • The more age, gender, situation, occupational, and background diversity you have on your board, the more inventive and interesting your group will be.

Tips for Recruiting

  • Some people may be hesitant to join at first; invite them to a board meeting so they can see how the board works and what may be expected of them.
  • Discuss your upcoming events and activities, they will be able to experience your excitement and enthusiasm first and be more likely to join.
  • Ask them to help with a specific activity; as they participate and enjoy the event they may want to stay involved.

Be Flexible

  • Give options regarding assignments.
  • Allow individuals to be involved as much or as little as their time and comfort level allow.
  • Some prefer to take charge, be innovative, and lead big events, others prefer to work in the background and have specific tasks to complete.
  • Include many specialists on your team to involve a variety of individuals.

Be Specific

Every board member should be given:

  • A specific job title.
  • A job description; this should include a layout of what is expected of them.
  • Details about the time commitment.
  • Adequate training to their specific tasks.
  • Ample appreciation for everything they are willing to do.

Be Willing to Delegate

  • Make assignments, delegate responsibilities, and give them decision-making authority.
  • As long as members have a clear understanding of your vision and the responsibilities, you can give them the ball and let them run with it.
  • Get people involved as soon as possible, this will help them feel like a contributing member.
  • If you have staffed your board with responsible people, they will do a great job!

Be Accommodating

  • Be accommodating in regard to the frequency and time of your board meetings.
  • What may be an ideal meeting time for you may be an inconvenient time for your board members; try to accommodate their needs and work around their schedules.

Be Consistent

  • Try to hold board meetings at the same time each month.
  • Aways have the next meeting on the schedule before the end of a current meeting.
  • Try not to cancel board meetings; this kind of inconsistency will cause interest to wane.
  • Begin and end meetings on time; people are more willing to participate when you are respectful of their time; socializing should occur after the meeting.
  • Have an agenda and clear focus for your meetings; this will facilitate efficiency.

Keep Board Members Informed

  • The Secretary should take notes at each meeting to be sent to all board members.
  • These notes should include all assignments that were made during the meeting as well as the dates the assignments need to be accomplished by.
  • At the next board meeting, review the previous month's assignments and have each board member report on what they have accomplished.
  • The expectation to report will encourage board members to accomplish their assignments and attend board meetings.

Be Appreciative

Ideas of how to show appreciation to your board:

  • Summer BBQ
  • Christmas Party
  • Provide refreshments at meetings
  • Small gift
  • You can never say “Thank you!” too much!

Roles

Chapter Chair

The first position is the chapter chair. This is the foundation which everything else lays upon. It supports and encourages, fostering an environment that emulates growth.

The Chapter Chair's job is to lead, organize, and direct Chapter operations, replenishment grant funding, select Chapter finances, and invite alumni to stay connected to the spirit of the Y through meaningful service in the chapter. It's the Chapter Chair's job to get people excited and invite them to join them on this committee.

  1. Chapter Leadership— The job of a leader is one to follow and listen. The chapter chair is adapting the plan as situations arise and being the voice of encouragement to gather everyone together to brainstorm how to plan events and navigate problems when they arise. Everyone has strengths and sometimes a frustrating aspect of an individual can actually be turned into a strength when given the correct situation. See the strengths of committee members and invite them to consider roles that would fit their advantages. The best way to do this is to listen. Here are a few tips to get started.
    • Obtain information from the Alumni Office about setting up your local chapter and organizing your committee
    • Begin holding regular meetings
    • Begin planning activities and events. There are many things that you can do, and the Alumni Office and other chapters can help you get started
    • Check out our off-campus event calendar on Chapterpedia.
    • Talk to other chapters
    • Plan on attending the annual Chapter Training at BYU in the Fall!
  2. Connect with Alumni— To gather a committee first find people willing to join. The search is continuous for people to help because big undertakings become lighter as everyone carries a load. As one talks with people, they will find friends where they least expected it to be and sometimes there are people willing to help in other ways besides being on the committee. This support is just as important as the people on the committee. Here is a list of places one can look for to help as either a committee member or some other support.
    • Immediate friends
    • Referrals from others of BYU Alumni
    • BYU Sports enthusiasts
    • The alumni data list for your area. You may find someone you didn't know was BYU alumni who is willing to help.
    • Parents who have children attending or who attended BYU
    • People who have consistently given to BYU over the years from your area — this information is available from the Alumni Office
    • Constituency group members in your area
    • People who attend your chapter events
  3. Replenishment Grant— Part of BYU Alumni's mission is to help students currently attending the university. As a chapter you are trying to raise funds to provide support for students to make their path a little easier.
  4. Signature Authority— Chapter chairs have the authority to sign for various financial decisions regarding the accounts.
  5. Work with BYU Staff— The BYU Staff are here when you get lost. It's easiest for the BYU office to coordinate with one member of the committee. The chapter chair is the one who should be coordinating with the BYU staff for support. Even if you personally aren't familiar with the process of things, there are lots of others who have, and the BYU staff know it well. Reach out when you need assistance.
  6. Speaker's Bureau— It's important to have a spokesperson for the area. Part of the chapter chair's responsibility is to be the spokesperson for the group.

Chair Elect

Whenever planning anything, it's wise to have a back-up plan. In the case that a chapter chair moves or is unable to fulfill their responsibilities this role is the person who replaces the chair. The chair elect role is revolving around supporting the current chapter chair and connection. This includes actively recruiting the next chapter chair elect and chapter leadership.

  1. Chapter Sustainability— As good as starting a successful chapter is, it's just as important to keep the momentum going. This role includes taking on the chapter chair role when the current chapter chairs leave and help recruit other leadership positions such as the secretary, the treasurer, and other sub-committee leadership positions.
  2. Connect with Students— The BYU Alumni Organization wants to support students. This is why it's important to talk with students to learn their needs and what ways your chapter can support them other than providing grants/scholarships. As alumni, you have experienced the part of life students are trudging through right now. There is invaluable advice the members in your community could give to students currently attending BYU. Try talking with students from your area or check out BYU Connect.
  3. Connect with Community— In order to have successful events one needs to know how the community wants to participate. The best way to do this is to gather people from various areas and backgrounds to have a voice in your committees.
    1. Try to find additional committee members from other stakes.
    2. Look for liaisons in various wards.
    3. Talk with parents of students, sports enthusiasts, and other alumni (ask what activities they would be interested in participating in.)
  4. Coordinate with reps of sister organizations— BYU isn't the only organization trying to support people. BYU-I, BYU-H, Ensign College, and the church can be good resources to coordinate with for activities. We are trying to build up a community whose purpose is to support each other.

Secretary

This position is best filled by an organized individual. They coordinate the events and keeping track of the chapter plan and remind everyone about meeting and event timelines.

  1. Reporting System— When one uses a reporting system it allows them to review what went well about events and what can be improved for the next time. It helps everyone remain organized and stay on the same page.
  2. Communications— When working with many different individuals and projects it's key to have good communication. This role helps facilitate good communication among the board.
  3. Signature Authority— Secretaries have the authority to sign for various financial decisions regarding the accounts.

Treasurer

This role is best filled by someone trustworthy, and knowledgeable about finances/willing to read all BYU financial policies. When planning it's very important to keep careful watch over finances. This can be the difference between a successful or unsuccessful chapter. Along with this, there are a lot of specific guidelines BYU has regarding finances and it's important to have a role dedicated to knowing the ins and outs of the policies.

  1. Signature Authority— Treasurers have the authority to sign for various financial decisions regarding the accounts.
  2. Ensure Compliance with Finance And Fundraising Guidelines— It's the treasurer's responsibility to ensure that the accounts are in accordance with BYU Alumni Chapter Finances & Fundraising guidelines. This is because the financial operations of chapters in the US are governed by the 501(c)(3) IRS status granted to BYU which allowed the educational activities to go without assessment of corporate federal income taxes. The treasurer can read more about the guidelines here.
  3. Balance and Report— Due to BYU's non-profit status all chapters are to work on a break-even basis. Any events that have a ticket price should cover the cost of the event and generate a small surplus to raise money for replenishment grants.
  4. Submit Annual Report— At the end of the year each chapter will submit a financial report with all the events and money they raised for the year. Information on this can be found on alumni tools.

Sub-Committees

Even with main support pillars it can be intimidating to start a chapter. It's easier if sub-committees report to the secretary, treasurer, and chair elect who then report to the chapter chair. Sub-committees should be built around the needs of the chapter which might be different depending on the location. Below is a list of some examples of sub-committee roles.

  • Media Specialist
    • Ensure emails and communication get sent to alumni.
    • Manages social media page.
    • Recruit Social Media Contributors.
    • Work with Stake representative. Recruit new or additional representatives, as needed.
    • Work with chairs of other committees to promote events.
  • Replenishment Grant Fundraising Chair
    • Create and oversee at least 1 fundraiser per calendar year.
    • Fundraisers may be virtual, a donation drive, or a physical event.
  • Replenishment Grant Selection Chair
    • Recruit a replenishment grant selection committee and replace committee members as needed.
    • Using criteria for the grant, eliminate applicants who don't qualify or who submitted incomplete applications.
    • Reorder remaining applicants from most to least credits and assign each letter of the alphabet in place of their name to facilitate a blind selection.
    • Submit revised applications to the committee.
    • Submit committee decisions to the chapter chair.
  • Community Service Chair
    • Find a service opportunity.
    • Recruit and oversee committee in planning events.
    • Coordinate publicity with BYU Provo office and chapter media specialist (if applicable).
  • Events Chair (Can be split into more roles depending on the size of the events)
    • Recruit Committee members as needed.
    • Organize a student-to-alumni event.
    • Keep track of the BYU Off-Campus Calendar for events happening in the area.
    • Coordinate with Performing Arts, Athletics, or other organizations for events.