Avi Chai Academy

Sharefest! #1 Featuring:

Westchester Hebrew High School

Solomon Schechter Westchester

SAR Academy

Sharefest! Goals

• A chance to reflect on your own work as you present, and to tell your story

• Gain feedback from your peers and mentors• Learn about the thinking and strategy of

others• See other perspectives and skills in action• Sharing, supporting, learning, inspiring,

challenging!

Westchester Hebrew High School:

P.O.S.T plan

P = People and Persona:

ALUMNI

 

A) Young Alum:

• College and Just Starting Out – ages 18 – 25, M/F.

• Graduated from WHHS in 2003-2010.

• Most living and studying in the NE corridor (New York, Boston, DC), with very

few in other locations. Some studying in Israel.

• Still have relatively strong connection to school; come back to visit teachers;

attend each others’ smachot, read email newsletters, etc.

• Currently attending undergraduate and graduate programs; recently graduated,

looking for or working at first job.

• Highly tech savvy, with excellent computer and web skills; communicate via

texting, extensive use of Facebook for personal communication and social

media; communicate via email with professors, potential employers and current

employers, networking via LinkedIn.

P = People and Persona:

ALUMNI

 

B) Career Kicking Off Alum:

• Career Launched and settling down – ages 26 – 32, M/F.

• Graduated from WHHS in 1997-2002.

• Many living in the NE corridor, with some venturing further afield for job

opportunities or as a result of marriage.

• Connection to school has waned; though some with younger relatives still

keep in touch with mild interest. These alumni attend WHHS’ annual alumni

basketball reunion and also stay in touch with their peers, perhaps via

Facebook, LinkedIn or other social media.

• These alumni have been working for 4-10 years; many have married and are

starting families.

• Tech savvy, with extensive computer and web skills; communicate via texting,

use of Facebook (degree unknown) for personal communication and social

engagements; use email and many have iPhones or blackberries

P = People and Persona:

ALUMNI

 

C) Career & Family Alum:

• More established in career and family – ages 33 plus, M/F.

• Graduated from WHHS in 1996-1970.

• Uncertain as to where these alumni live, though many are located in the

Tri-State area.

• Connection to school varies, but many have lost touch.

• These alumni are mostly established in their careers and have 10+ years

of work experience.

• They are more likely to be involved in various volunteer capacities in their

communities – i.e. synagogues, JCC, secular community organizations.

• Tech knowledge varies with age, so there is a wide range of technical

abilities within this group. Email seems to be common as is Facebook,

though not nearly as prevalent as with the younger groups.

 

P = People and Persona:

ALUMNI

 D) Alumni Parents

• Ages 45- plus, M/F

• Most alumni parents remain local, though some have relocated to

Manhattan and Florida (some are snowbirds).

• Connection to school varies; many have lost touch. A few staunch

supporters remain, usually living in the area. A small number has

become alumni grandparents with their grandchildren attending the high

school.

• Alumni parents are extremely established in their careers, or are retired.

They are often involved in various volunteer capacities in community

organizations.

• Tech knowledge varies with age, so there is a wide range of technical

abilities within this group. Email seems to be common as is Facebook,

though not nearly as prevalent as with the younger groups.

 

P = People and Persona:

ALUMNI

E) Alumni Grandparents

• Ages 55- plus, M/F

• Alumni grandparents live in the area, as well as Florida.

• Connection to school is weak. Alumni grandparents are mostly retired,

though grandparents of recent alumni are still active in the workplace.

• They are often involved in various volunteer capacities in community

organizations.

• The tech knowledge of this group varies significantly as well, with

younger alumni grandparents savvier and older ones – less so. Some

grandparents rely on facebook and certain photography sites (Snapfish,

etc.) to remain in touch with grandchildren and great grandchildren,

though their abilities with these functions is limited.

 

O= OBJECTIVES

Alumni:

WHHS Goals:

Find and connect

Engage and involve via Facebook and

alumni events

Become ambassadors and mentors

Become donors and leaders

Their Goals:

Reconnect with classmates and teachers

Forum to remember their days at WHHS

Keep posted about births, marriages,

deaths and other life cycle events

Networking for career and employment

opportunities

 

 

Alumni Parents and Grandparents:

WHHS Goals:

Connect

Cultivate and involve via Facebook and events

Ambassadors/loyalty

Become donors

Become leaders

Their Goals:

Pride in children and grandchildren’s

achievements

Hearing about life cycle events

Keep families connected

 

S=STRATEGYAlumni:

Create opportunities for alumni to connect

with each other and with WHHS teachers

and staff.

Offer a variety of ways for alumni to share

memories of high school days as well as

news events in their lives (births,

engagements, marriages, deaths, etc.).

Support the professional development of

alumni though networking events online and

in person.

Encourage alumni to get involved with

WHHS as mentors, ambassadors and

volunteers.

Raise funds from alumni to support WHHS.

 

 

Alumni Parents and Grandparents:

Create opportunities for alumni parents to

connect with each other and with WHHS

teachers and staff.

Offer a variety of ways for alumni parents and

grandparents to share s news events in the

lives of the alumni children and grandchildren

(births, engagements, marriages, deaths, etc.).

Encourage alumni parents and grandparents to

get involved with WHHS as mentors,

ambassadors and volunteers.

Raise funds from alumni to support WHHS.

T=TECHNOLOGY

1. Launch cause page and ask students to develop a supporting YouTube video.

2. Incorporate Facebook page and cause link on all communications and website

3. Consider overhaul of website & if not feasible, consider update of alumni pages.

4. Update website with alumni profiles

5. Import updated contact information once received from Avi Chai Foundation, into database

6. Set up e-mail and other communication templates and schedule for alumni communication.

7. Alumni spotlight in e-newsletter and post on website

8. Conduct picture contest to get alumni to tag themselves

9. Assign staff to post items and to review postings daily and respond with useful info when

needed or facilitate getting info from other WHHS staff

MEASUREMENT

• Reach 80% of viable contact information.

• Increase alumni participation/like of Facebook page by 20%

• Recruit 10 key alumni who serve as gateway to other alumni

• Increase “discussions” on our Facebook page to reach one per month.

• Secure 10 new alumni volunteers to serve on 40th Anniversary Dinner

Committee

• Secure 5 new alumni donors per month (exceeded this via our Cause

Campaign)

• Improve e-mail capture

• Maintain at least a 30% e-mail open rate

BENCHMARKS

Breakdown of Populations Targeted for the Avi Chai Experiment:

ALUMNI  

             

59 No Contact Information at all

388 No Phone Numbers

622 No E-Mail Addresses

821 No Facebook, Linked-in or Twitter Addresses

100-200 Missing Names

Of the Alumni listed with addresses, we know that some addresses are incorrect. The addresses belong to their parents

and mail is not being forwarded.

400 We also have 400 e-mail addresses for alumni but without names

and address contact information. We are unable to link them to a

name in order to put them into the database.

ALUMNI PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS        

    

3 No Contact Information at all

363 No Phone Numbers

547 No E-Mail Addresses

586 No Facebook, Linked-in or Twitter Addresses

Constant Contact E-Mail Newsletters –

30% Open Rate

Facebook Fans – 154

Total Records in database – 3243

Solomon Schechter Schoolof Westchester

SAREntering the Twitter World

One Tweet @ a Time

Where is Tweeting Taking Place @ SAR?

• SAR Academy – school gave it a try with little effort or promotion– @SARAcademyTrans

• Not active, 92 Followers (about 50% parents, 50% lurkers)

– @SARAcademyNews• Active for 50 tweets and 89 followers – then we questioned value• Was not publicized or pushed• Did not have clear ownership or purpose• Great first attempt

– Next steps– Decisions: Purpose, Ownership, Promotion, Consistency,

• SAR High School– Rabbi Jon Kroll, early adapter and popular HS Administrator

• Followers primarily students• Tweets game scores in real time and then other items

• Development Office (me) in my parent/professional capacity– Junior College trip – Junior two-day trip

Where are we? Where are we going?

• 89 Followers• But who are

they???

Next steps– Decide on:

Purpose Ownership Promotion Consistency

SAR High School

• Posting & Ownership by Assoc Principal Judaic Studies• Began by delivering real-time sporting event scores• 145 Followers, Mostly HS Students, Teachers and

Alumni

Enter Avi Chai Social Media Academy

• Increased knowledge re SM tools• Increased interest• Desire to begin

Parent / Professional Role• Understood that parents had a keen interest in

school programs that their kids were involved in but had no direct access

• Teens often non-communicative• My Relationship spectrum with parents ranges

from personal to professional and everything inbetween

• Opportunity for cultivation without any strings and recipients had high interest level

Looking for the Right Opportunity

• Wanted to start small• Test technology• Assess parent interest in controlled

setting• Spark interest from Administration• Socialize concept and begin the

discussions

Moving Parents to the Twitter World• Challenges:

– Changing behavior requires significant energy

– People who don’t normally tweet and use a smart phone ↑challenge

• Content needs to be relevant, compelling, in this case personal

Making the Content Personal

Results• Lots of buzz, in the office and with a circle of parents• Actual ‘followers’: small number- 4 from the trip but more lurkers

who read posts but were not inclined to register• Thankful parents • More great cultivation• More to talk about with prospects

• In line with the SAR brand, open lines of communication, transparency

Results/Feedback

• Fun• Loved the

pics• Parents

expressed interest and gratitude

• College Counselor now on board

Tweets Can Help Cultivate Relationships, Even after the Fact

ResourcesA few ideas:

The Twitter Guide Book

http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/ :

Twitter: I think I get it. Now what do I tweet? http://www.bigducknyc.com/blog/twitter-i-think-i-get-it-now-what-do-i-tweet :

Avi Chai Academy: Tools Workshop 2 http://www.slideshare.net/darimonline/avi-chai-academy-tools-workshop-2

Take a Twitter Audit http://www.chrisbrogan.com/take-a-twitter-audit/

Journal DueToday!

SHIFTS IN MINDSET AND WORK PATTERNS. 

We're interested in knowing how your thinking, observations, engagement, planning,

work patterns or creative problem solving is changing. 

Email to lisa@darimonline.org