Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Saturday, February 20, 2010
W.E.B. DuBois Library, Room 2601
8:30 a.m.

Board Members:  Tom Campbell, Jackie Carlson, Shyno Chacko Pandeya, Sara Coady Howe, Mary Custard, Ed Godek, Ron Grasso, Madeline Haynes, Andy Hochberg, Paul Hohenberger, Sean LeBlanc, Andy MacDougall, Mike Mahoney, Carole Mansur, Adam Martignetti, Molly McCullough, Zachary Morello, Dayna Morton, Michaella Morzuch, Kendra Porter, Bob Shaughnessey, Kim Sherman, Joel Slovin, Ron Spicer, Matt Thornton, Jeanne Traester, Petra von Ziegesar and Kevin White

Absent:  Dave Hautanen, Dave Richter and Vaughn Rist

Staff:  Melanie Cosgrove, Kevin Fleming, Deb Goodhind, Norma Heim, Elena Lamontagne Breck Pierce, Janine Sicks and Anna Symington

Guests: Scott Robbins         

Call to Order
The meeting convened at 9:05 a.m.

Welcome and Introductions
Board members who were unable to attend the October Board meeting formally introduced themselves to the group and outlined their past volunteer experience with UMass Amherst and the Alumni Association.

President’s Update
Sean praised the Volunteer Advocacy and Public Affairs Committee and staff members for the work they put into organizing and promoting the New Orleans Community Service trip in January.  He was impressed with the online publicity of the service trip as it happened, as well as the positive alumni feedback received regarding the Association’s participation in such an effort.  Anna noted that the Committee hopes to coordinate similar service trips in the future.

Sean thanked all members of the Communications, Marketing and Membership (CMM) Committee for their diligent participation in developing the membership restructure proposal that would be presented to the full Board later in the meeting.

The ad hoc Alumni/Donor Database Committee, comprised of Sean, Tom Campbell, Ron Grasso and Andy Hochberg, met recently with Anna Symington and Mike Leto, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations, to discuss common interests relative to the database.  The Committee plans to reconvene with campus administrators in March. 

Executive Director’s Report
Anna asked the staff members in attendance to introduce themselves to the Board.

This year’s Commencement Ball, an ongoing student tradition, will change venue from the Student Union Ballroom – where we have reached maximum attendance capacity the last few years – to the Mullins Center, where we hope to increase attendance from 650 to 1,000. 

Planning is underway for Reunion Weekend, the Eleanor Bateman Alumni Scholar reception, and the Distinguished Alumni Awards Luncheon.  Staff is working with several committees to develop options for increasing legislative attendance at the Luncheon

Staff is working to redesign UMassAlumni.com, the @UMASS and Student@UMASS newsletters, and our broadcast email templates.  The aim of the redesigns is to improve navigation, strengthen the Alumni Association brand and increase student and alumni engagement.  Board members will be asked to participate in usability testing of certain redesigns in the next month or so. 
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Consent Agenda

Tom presented the consent agenda that included the following items:

  • Approval of Minutes – October 17, 2009
  • Bylaw Amendments
  • Standing Rules – Nominations and Elections

 

He explained that the Board would take one vote on all of the agenda items together unless one or more items were requested to be withdrawn and discussed separately. 

Bob requested that the approval of the October 17 minutes be removed from the consent agenda for further discussion.

Motion: by Ron Grasso, seconded by Kevin White, to approve the consent agenda as presented with the exception of the approval of the October 17 minutes.  The motion passed unanimously.

Bob noted that he was listed as absent from the October meeting but did attend a portion of the meeting.  He requested that the minutes be changed to reflect him as in attendance.

Motion: by Bob Shaughnessey, seconded by Andy Hochberg, to amend the minutes to reflect Bob as in attendance at the meeting.  The motion failed with 12 ayes, 12 nays and 1 abstention.

Motion: by Andy Hochberg, seconded by Ron Grasso, to amend the minutes to reflect Bob as in attendance for a portion of the meeting.  The motion passed with 27 ayes and 1 nay.

Membership Program Proposal
Ron Grasso reported that the CMM Committee has been working aggressively since the October Board meeting to develop the membership program proposal, convening 14 meetings in just 17 weeks.  The Committee is very proud and excited to present this proposal to the Board of Directors.

Ron reminded board members of the brainstorming session conducted at the February 2009 Board meeting, at which time directors indicated that a major component of the Association’s mission is to build alumni and student affinity for UMass Amherst, promote inclusivity of all UMass Amherst constituents, and encourage increased participation in all aspects of Alumni Association programs and services. 

In consideration of the Board’s feedback, as well as the comprehensive analysis of the current membership program completed by last year’s CMM Committee, and alumni feedback received from a variety of sources, the CMM Committee developed and presented a framework for restructure at the October Board meeting.  The Board charged the CMM Committee with formalizing the draft model presented at that time, and identified several action items to be considered when developing the formal proposal, including:

  • Evaluate the proposal’s effect on revenues, and present a budget for one-time transition costs and ongoing program expenses
  • Investigate and identify technology and software upgrades required to provide and track flexible payment options, generate reports for ongoing membership communications, and implement self-printable alumni ID cards
  • Recommend a transition schedule, considering technology modifications, messaging to current members, and communication vehicles for announcing the membership restructure

 

Ron presented the membership proposal, developed with the goal of creating a framework for inclusivity.  The proposal will consider all alumni as vested members of the Alumni Association, with eligibility to receive associated benefits and services immediately.  Annual and Maroon membership dues will be discontinued, but Life Membership will be retained at the $1,000 level, with all its related services and benefits, and a new level of membership will be added, expanding the opportunities for alumni who wish to provide further support for student and alumni programs.  The new level, a Legacy Membership, will be available at $2,500, and those individuals investing at this membership level will receive additional benefits. 

In addition, the proposed restructure will allow the crediting of all membership dues paid to date toward a Life or Legacy Membership for all current and past Alumni Association members.  Alumni may continue to invest and support the Association in any amounts they choose, however often they wish, toward reaching the Life or Legacy Membership levels and their associated benefits.  Alumni who have paid dues in the past or invest in the Alumni Association going forward will be considered Sustaining members.

Prior to finalizing the proposal, the CMM Committee conducted an email survey of over 70,000 alumni to confirm what programming, services, communications and benefits provided by the Alumni Association are most valued by alumni, as a means to assist the Committee with developing a meaningful membership benefits structure.  The survey received a 5.5% response rate and data analysis indicated that alumni value much of what we already provide, including campus and Association communications, social and professional networking opportunities, career development programs and associated online tools and resources.  They also value discounts on general merchandise, entertainment and travel, and on-campus merchandise. 

In response to the survey results, the CMM Committee examined current benefits and made recommendations regarding what benefits would be appropriate relative to the new membership levels.  Ron asked the board members to refer to the proposed benefits listing included in their packets.  He noted that when developing this listing, the Committee placed emphasis on providing benefits and services of value, but at no cost to alumni, to build affinity and promote a culture of inclusivity.  In addition, the Committee worked to identify value-added benefits for Life and Legacy members.  Many of these benefits already exist in the current membership program; other new benefits are under negotiation. 

Ron provided an overview of one-time transition costs, projected at approximately $87,000.  This projection includes printing and postage costs associated with distributing a direct mail piece to all alumni announcing the membership restructure, software development costs to implement printable alumni ID cards, and fulfillment costs for new Life and Legacy members who automatically qualify for an upper-tier membership level.

Ron next presented the projected revenue and expenses for the membership restructure in comparison to actual costs of the current membership program.  While initial membership revenues are projected slightly lower than current actuals, the overall effect of the restructure is anticipated to be revenue-neutral, as expenses are also expected to decrease due to the reallocation of membership salaries, as well as the elimination of printing and postage expenses associated with the current membership renewal process.

Funding for the Clubs program will also remain revenue-neutral.  The Committee recommends establishing a new line item in the Association’s annual operating budget as a Clubs Program subsidy, in replacement of the previous membership allocation, to be used to support various Club events on an as-needed basis.  The annual allocation will be determined using an approximate average of the total net profit/loss incurred by the Clubs Program over the past several years, and in consideration of the total revenues and expenses projected for the Clubs Program in the upcoming fiscal year.  Ron Spicer noted that this revised funding structure would allow for a more equitable allocation of funds as needed across all Clubs, as well as continue to maintain each Club’s current levels of programming. 

Board members reviewed the proposed transition schedule, developed with the goal of implementing the proposed membership restructure effective July 1, 2010.  The schedule addressed development of various communications to all UMass Amherst constituents, updating UMassAlumni.com and other marketing vehicles, finalizing benefits negotiations, and implementing technology and software upgrades as required.  In addition, the Committee identified several qualitative measures that they recommend be used to evaluate overall student and alumni participation in all Alumni Association programs.

Next steps to finalizing the proposed restructure include:

  • Tasking the Finance and Investments Committee with evaluating use of membership reserves in consideration of the approved membership restructure
  • Tasking the Nominations Committee with recommending revisions to the standing rules for nominations and elections
  • Amending the Association’s articles of organization, bylaws and clubs partnership agreement to reflect the approved membership restructure.

Ron fielded a number of questions from Board members relative to the proposed restructure.

Motion: by Tom Campbell, seconded by Mary Custard, to approve implementation of the proposed membership structure effective July 1, 2010.  The motion passed unanimously.

Learning Commons Tour
Board members participated in a tour of the Library’s Learning Commons presented by Jay Schafer and Emily Silverman.

Strategic Planning Session
Kim Sherman facilitated a discussion among Board members relative to the Alumni Association’s mission statement and core values.  Board members participated in breakout sessions to discuss the current mission statement in relation to current Alumni Association initiatives, and then reconvened as a larger group to develop a more concise mission statement.  The Board agreed by consensus to revising the mission statement as follows: to connect, represent and engage alumni, students and the university community while advocating for the university’s interests.

Anna will work with staff to wordsmith the new mission statement as appropriate and begin developing core values for the Board’s consideration at their next meeting.

Old Business
None

New Business
Anna and Kevin Fleming will be traveling to California and Florida in March to attend various alumni events and recruit additional volunteers.  Kevin reported that the Alumni Association’s National Community Service month is in April.

Sara noted that three of our current Board members – Dayna Morton, Adam Martignetti and Zachary Morello – will be panelists on an upcoming Career Connections program for MBA candidates.

Adjournment 
Motion: by Andy Hochberg, seconded by Mary Custard, to adjourn the meeting.  The motion passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.