• Send a prompt welcome note to those who are listed in the monthly New Neighbors report. Pay particular attention to those who have volunteered for other communities.
• Ask your Alumni Association staff liaison for lists of alumni who have a history volunteering for other MIT programs.
• Periodically ask your Association staff liaison to provide you with lists of past event participants to identify frequent attendees to cultivate for future volunteer opportunities.
• Keep job descriptions current for alumni community positions including tasks and time involvement.
• Include a volunteer sign up line on all electronic or postal mailings.
• Distribute handouts at events inviting members to indicate interests, suggest program ideas, and update their addresses.
• Use iModules to collect names of all event attendees including free events.
• Ask a board member to welcome first time attendees to all events.
• Use identifiable ribbons or different colored dots on first time attendees' name badges.

Job Descriptions
All volunteer positions should have up-to-date job descriptions, which outline the roles and responsibilities of the position. 

The president or president-elect's chief responsibility should be volunteer management. Understanding volunteer's roles and responsibilities should enable communities to know where additional support is needed. Sharing the workload makes the volunteer feel supported and appreciated and emphasizing trainings and teamwork will help to keep volunteers refreshed. If done correctly and consistently, volunteers will have the motivation and ability to do their jobs, the alumni community will function well as a whole, and everyone will share in its success.

We can't emphasize enough the importance of thanking your volunteers in a timely and appropriate manner. A sincere, public thank you at an alumni community event is important to those who worked behind the scenes to put the event together. Not only does it recognize people for a job well done, it also gives potential planners an incentive to volunteer to organize an event the next time around. You may choose to hold a thank you reception or picnic for all volunteers at the end of the year. An MIT memento can serve as a special thank you for a larger effort, and the Association can provide certificates of appreciation for your use.

The Association established the Volunteer Honor Roll of Service to recognize individual extraordinary performances in the current year by volunteers at the local level. Alumni, parents, widows, spouses, faculty and students are eligible. We urge you to nominate an outstanding volunteer for his or her efforts this year, by going to our Recognition and Awards page.

There are a range of Association awards, for which nominations can be made through your Association staff liaison. These nominations are considered during the winter by the Awards Committee, and are presented at Alumni Leadership Conference. Alumni community presidents receive information about the awards as well as nominations for Association officers annually. All alumni communities are strongly urged to send in recommendations and nominations.

For the long-term health of your alumni community, it is vital that your leadership pay significant attention to succession management. All too often, Association staff receive a springtime call from an alumni community with the outgoing President saying "I cannot be President anymore, but there is no one to take my place." Adequate succession management planning on an ongoing basis will help prevent such a situation.

As indicated earlier in this section, volunteer management should be the primary responsibility of the president and/or the president-elect. In many cases, the president-elect will chair the Nominating Committee, which should be a year-round, standing committee of the alumni community that is always on the lookout for potential new volunteers.

Establishing an alumni community structure allows opportunity for new volunteer development, and training is important. Many boards falter in leadership succession when they rely on only a few key officers to get all the work done. Building a variety of committees, with both short-term assignments and long-term leadership positions, will help to establish a pipeline for future leaders. Even in the smallest communities for example, one officer should not take it upon him/herself to organize each event, but should instead delegate specific tasks to willing volunteers, provide training, and communicate to other leaders about jobs well done. Keep records of your volunteers, the activities they carried out, and basic contact information for future events. In addition, keep your Association staff liaison informed of any updates or changes so they can ensure each volunteer has access to the tools and resources needed for their role.

Discussing succession with volunteers on a regular basis is also important. Planning with a volunteer how he/she wishes to move up the club's leadership ladder — from a committee member, to committee chair, to vice president, etc. — is a useful way to help the volunteer better understand the alumni community structure and the opportunities available to him/her. In addition, you can consult with your Association staff liaison to help volunteers and leaders plan for further succession onto Association boards and committees and the MIT Corporation. Showing volunteers future opportunities can enhance the appeal of current volunteer positions.