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Leadership & Volunteers

Leadership and Volunteers

Carolina Clubs Volunteer Job Descriptions

Club Chair/Co-Chair

Length of Commitment: One -Two Years
(Chair will move into the Past Chair position and will serve for an additional year)
Time Involvement: 10-15 hours per month
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

Duties/Responsibilities:

  • Represents the University and the General Alumni Association in the local area
  • Serves as the main contact for interested alumni in the local area
  • Schedules and presides at all meetings of the Club Leadership Committee
  • Maintains contact with the General Alumni Association
  • Appoints committee chairs (if applicable) and assists with committee member selection
  • Ensures that all committees stay on target with their specific tasks
  • Helps select successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional, but highly recommended)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the UNC General Alumni ssociation
  • Enthusiasm for UNC
  • Generally aware of, and has interest in, current issues, trends and events pertaining to UNC and the local community
  • Ability to recruit, delegate to, and involve a diverse group of people
  • Effective managerial skills, flexibility and willingness to work in collaboration with other departments and groups that represent UNC

Chair-Elect

Length of Commitment: One Year
(Chair-Elect will move into the Chair position)
Time Involvement: 5-10 hours per month
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

Duties/Responsibilities:

  • Shadows Chair to learn all aspects of the leadership position
  • Takes on one or two primary responsibilities of interest (e.g. event chair, communications coordinator, etc.)
  • Assists in selecting a successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional – but highly recommended)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the General Alumni Association
  • Enthusiasm for UNC
  • Generally aware of and has interest in current issues, trends and events pertaining to UNC and the local community
  • Ability to delegate and involve a diverse group of people
  • Effective manager
  • Flexibility and willingness to work in collaboration with other departments and groups that represent UNC

Treasurer

Length of Commitment: Two Years
Time Involvement: 3-5 hours per month
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

 

Duties/Responsibilities:

  • Maintains club bank account for club financial transactions and makes sure there are two current signatures (one of which belongs to a GAA staff member) on file for checking account
  • Accepts all payments and makes all disbursements for club business
  • Keeps accurate records of all financial transactions
  • Prepares financial reports for Club Leadership Committee meetings and for the annual report
  • Assists in selecting a successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the General Alumni Association
  • Enthusiasm for UNC
  • Experience with accounting procedures is a plus

Coordinator of Programs (or Specific Event)

 

Length of Commitment: One Year (or event specific)
Time Involvement: 3-5 hours per month*
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

Duties/Responsibilities:

  • Coordinates the planning and implementation of an event
  • Works with the Club Chair and treasurer to establish pricing for the event designed to cover all expenses incurred (keep in mind the cost of mailing the invitation, etc.)
  • Works with the General Alumni Association staff (and Coordinator of Communications if applicable) to ensure invitations are sent to alumni in an appropriate and timely fashion
  • Assists in selecting a successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the General Alumni Association
  • Enthusiasm for UNC
  • Generally aware of, and has interest, in current issues, trends and events pertaining to UNC and the local community
  • Ability to recruit, delegate to, and involve a diverse group of people
  • Effective managerial skills

* Time involvement will increase during months surrounding event

Coordinator of Student Involvement

 

Length of Commitment: One-Two Years
Time Involvement: 3-5 hours per month*
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

 

Duties/Responsibilities

  • Coordinates the planning of a spring reception for all students who have been admitted to UNC to provide them with an opportunity to talk with and meet area alumni
  • Coordinates the planning of a summer send-off party for all students who have enrolled at UNC to provide them with an opportunity to talk with and meet area alumni and other area UNC students
  • Coordinates phone calls and letters to those students who have been admitted to UNC as well as follow-up with those who have enrolled
  • Coordinates special projects for area students (good luck on exams note cards, holiday parties with the Club, etc.)
  • Assists in selecting a successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the General Alumni Association
  • Enthusiasm for UNC
  • Effective managerial skills

*Time involvement will increase during months surrounding event

Coordinator of Communications

Length of Commitment: One -Two Years
Time Involvement: 3-5 hours per month
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

Duties/Responsibilities:

  • Establishes local area communications networks (e.g. e-mail lists, phone trees)
  • Provides information to the General Alumni Association for printed notices in an appropriate and timely fashion
  • Collects and sends information/photographs to the General Alumni Association for the Carolina Alumni Review and Clubs web pages
  • Assists in selecting a successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the General Alumni Association
  • Enthusiasm for UNC
  • Effective managerial skills

Coordinator of Young Alumni Activities
(Recommended for areas with more than 1,000 alumni)

Length of Commitment: One -Two Years
Time Involvement: 5-10 hours per month
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

 

Duties/Responsibilities:

  • Serves on the Club leadership committee and reports on young alumni activities
  • Plans and coordinates activities geared specifically toward alumni who have graduated within the past 10 years
  • Serves as main contact with the General Alumni Association for young alumni events
  • Helps select successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the General Alumni Association
  • Graduate of the University within the past 10 to 15 years
  • Enthusiasm for UNC
  • Generally aware of, and has interest, in current issues, trends and events pertaining to UNC and the local community
  • Ability to recruit, delegate to, and involve a diverse group of people
  • Effective managerial skills
  • Flexibility and willingness to work in collaboration with other departments and groups that represent UNC

Coordinator of Membership

 

Length of Commitment: One-Two Years
Time Involvement: 3-5 hours per month
GAA Staff Resource: Jennifer Chandler ’12

Duties/Responsibilities: 

For Your Carolina Club

  • Helps establish systems which encourage local alumni to support and become involved with the Club
  • Assists Communications Chair in establishing area communication networks
  • Assists in selecting a successor
  • Attends the Annual Conference for Club Leaders (optional)

For the General Alumni Association

  • Promotes advantages of General Alumni Association membership to area alumni
  • Assists Treasurer and Program/Events chairs in establishing program incentives (Carolina Alumni member/non-member rates for events)
  • Reviews lists of area non-members of the General Alumni Association and seeks membership from those individuals (optional)

Qualifications:

  • Current member of the General Alumni Association
  • Generally aware of, and has interest, in current issues, trends and events pertaining to UNC and the local community
  • Effective managerial skills

Working with Volunteers 
Why Do People Volunteer?  

  • Passion for the cause
  • Networking opportunities
  • Meeting new people
  • Getting involved with a group after the individual has relocated to a new area
  • Sense of fulfillment
  • Satisfaction – immediate, short and long term
  • Recognition, value
  • To have fun
  • To contribute something
  • Sharing an interest with others
  • A sense of doing something worthwhile

Identifying Carolina Club Volunteers  

  • Friends
  • Referrals
  • Regular attendees at club events
  • Surveys
  • Phone trees

There is no one best way to recruit new volunteers for your club’s leadership committee.  The most important thing is to be consistently on the lookout for new volunteers whenever you meet fellow alumni.  If you meet someone who shows an interest in being involved, follow up with them right away!

The General Alumni Association can provide an updated list of UNC alumni in your area (broken down by class, zip code, alphabetical, etc.) for use when you want to contact alumni directly.

The General Alumni Association has many surveys that can be tailored to meet your club’s needs.  Surveys help by allowing the area alumni to indicate the type of function(s) they are interested in and if they might be willing to volunteer to help organize any of the club’s activities.

Tips for Recruiting and Delegating
Recruiting

How

  • Don’t be afraid to ask!
  • Don’t assume that people are too busy.
  • Play up the importance and positive impact of the position.
  • Present the position accurately in terms of difficulty and time required.
  • Give the job a name – define a time frame, provide guidance, and explain expectations/goals.
  • Don’t add to the responsibilities during the job.
  • Make sure the task/goal is obtainable.

Who

  • Team players – people who are comfortable working in a committee framework
  • Representatives from diverse backgrounds, experience and ages to insure diverse activities and insights

Delegating

Delegating tasks and responsibilities is what will help reduce the workload for all and keep the members of your committee interested and involved.  When working with your committee, be sure to:

  • Divide the work equally among members according to their greatest strengths and areas of interest
  • Be sure to check in or follow up with your committee members – don’t allow them to feel deserted or uninformed

Motivating

The task or job has to be meaningful to the person(s) involved.  When working with your board/committees:

  • Show appreciation!
  • Cultivate a common vision–work together as a group to plan and set goals
  • Share in the decision making
  • Develop a stable environment–tradition is a great motivator

Volunteer Leaders
As a volunteer leader, you should:

  • Be certain to show appreciation and give credit where it’s due!
  • Emphasize the importance of the work that is being done
  • Give responsibility/a sense of ownership
  • Stick to organizational structure
  • Be flexible
  • Provide enough training to allow the volunteer(s) to feel as if they can successfully complete their task
  • Make volunteers feel as if they are on the “inside” and are ” in the know” with your group’s activities
  • Make sure volunteers realize that there are opportunities to move up within the club structure