Engaging Chapter Members
We want to encourage each chapter to engage with campus clubs, campus administration, veteran organizations in the community, local businesses, and more.
Programming
Engaging in your community means more than just engaging with student veterans on your campus. We want to encourage each chapter to engage with campus clubs, campus administration, veteran organizations in the community, local businesses, and more.
There are a plethora of benefits to engaging in your community, including fundraising efforts, event participation, veteran advocacy, and inclusivity. We call this engagement “programming”.
The bottom line is programming is essential for your chapter’s existence and will serve as your how-to playbook in reaching the chapter goals.
The key to valuable programming
The key to valuable programming is understanding the who, the what, and the why.
- Who is programming designed for? Student veterans, the campus at large, the community, or all the above?
- What is your chapter going to host for the desired population? Consistency is key! Regular chapter meetings, and various events will be the life blood in keeping your members engaged.
- Finally, why are you hosting these events? It’s not as simple as saying “because it will be fun!”. Think about the larger impact, and that will drive the remaining details. Are you hosting a back-to-school event to kick off the year establishing inclusivity on campus? What about a service project to give back to the community? Yes, it can be fun, but also consider what difference your chapter programming can make at large!
Types of Programming
Now, let’s cover different types of programming your chapter can facilitate!
At SVA, we recommend considering four different themes of programs: Service, Professional, Development, and Team Building.
These four areas will be sure to entice your members to participate, help build comradery, and give your chapter members, college, and community tools and resources to be successful in the areas they are interested in! This includes advocacy, future careers/education, veteran support, you name it.
Refer to the list below for some fitting examples of event ideas! This is not an exhaustive list, but it is a great starting point to get those creative juices flowing.
Service
- Volunteer on campus or in the community
- Mentor incoming student veterans
- Pizza/Ice Cream/Coffee, etc. With a Vet. Invite others on campus to enjoy a treat and conversation with student veterans
Professional
- Military culture/Student Veteran education for campus (faculty, staff, other students). Dismantle inaccurate stereotypes about student veterans
- Partner with local community groups for professional mentoring.
- Encourage the use of Veterati, a mentoring program for veterans and military spouses.
Development
- Resume writing workshops
- LinkedIn workshop
- Job search guides
- Transfer workshop (for 2-year school, or graduate workshops for 4-year schools)
- How to translate military experience into civilian terminology.
- Interview skills
- Leadership workshops
Team Building
- Hikes
- Dinners
- Bowling
- Movie night
- Shooting range day
- Campus lunches
- Tailgates
It is crucial that you, as chapter leaders, really understand the culture of your chapter and campus. Consider surveying your members to see what they are interested in. Using tools like social media to encourage participation and voting on events can be a great start in learning what veterans, military-affiliated students, and allies are interested in! Always refer back to your strategic plan to keep in line with your chapter goals.
If the goal for your chapter in the upcoming year is to establish a presence and name for your chapter, you may want to focus on service and team-building activities. However, if your goal is to foster growth and development for your chapter members, your focus may be on professional and development activities. There are no right answers! You can do them all or just one!
Events
When you are considering what type of event to host, you also want to think about the mode in which this event will occur. Your chapter can host in-person events, virtual events, or a hybrid event which would be partially online and partially in person!
If we learned anything from COVID-19, it’s the power of virtual events! As a country, we collectively learned how to effectively operate in a virtual world. Virtual events can be more cost-effective and reach more people. Of course, we can’t do everything online, so always consider the pros and cons of the mode of events for your chapter.
We have provided you with a checklist of items to consider when you plan for an event. A big piece of event planning is how to pay for it. Please refer back to the strat plan module on budget and fundraising for a refresher if you need it. Remember, you should always refer to the Chapter Guide for more details and information!
Plan ahead! You may think an event will be easy to plan, but when you dig into the details, they tend to be more involved than we initially thought. The checklist provided to you has suggested timelines and areas consider. Remember to delegate tasks to other members.
Promote, promote, promote! Utilize word of mouth, social media, sites like Eventbrite, campus webpage, flyers, and partnerships with other clubs and organizations to also promote.
Finally, you want to capture if your event was successful. There is more to success than just making money for your chapter. Yes, making money is important so you can continue planning more events, but there are other things to consider when we discuss “success”.
To gauge aspects of successful events, you can provide feedback surveys to attendees as well as asking yourself some of the following questions:
- Did the event stimulate new discussion and/or thinking?
- Did the event provide new knowledge?
- Was there inclusiveness and diversity in event participants?
- Did the event raise Chapter awareness and public profile?
- Did people network and meet others to develop relationships?
Chapter meetings
There are three types of meetings.
- Regular meetings: These occur more often and on a recurring basis. Discuss with your chapter leaders about setting the same day, time, and location biweekly or monthly. Regular meetings should encourage attendance from all Chapter Officers and other students, special guests, or campus administration can be invited.
- Ad-hoc and planning meetings: Ad-hoc and planning meetings are called for special occasions. These meetings are generally called for event planning or to address any pressing issues that can’t wait for a regular meeting.
- Open meetings and Town halls: Incorporating open and town hall meetings onto your chapter calendar is a great way to include and engage with chapter members, student veterans, military affiliated students, veteran allies, and campus administration. Consider inviting guests to give presentations on veteran benefits on campus or in the community, or just give space for students to ask questions and be involved!
We DON’T recommend hosting meetings like that!
We DO recommend using Robert’s Rules of Order to help guide your meeting types and agenda.
Again, the Chapter Guide is a great place to check back on when you are planning your organization meetings!
All meetings should be promoted with an official agenda and meeting meetings should be recorded throughout.
It is important to understand the life cycle of student veterans. Many students create a clear path from admission to graduation, and there isn’t much emphasis placed on campus and community engagement. However, students who are engaged often have more success in their classes and through their higher education journey when they have made connections with others. Student veterans are more likely to be older than non-veteran students, they are more likely to be married, have children, and hold part-time or full-time jobs. These are all important elements to consider when you are engaging with the student veteran population, hosting events, and holding meetings.
In-person, virtual, or hybrid meetings are all great ways to remain flexible with your campus population. It is up to chapter leaders to engage with your fellow students and build the college experience through your programming and meetings. Meet your peers where they are at by ensuring events and meetings are accessible to them and meet their needs.
Lastly, the most common mistake in hosting meetings is not staying organized. We have already provided you with an agenda template, but it is equally important to record meeting minutes during each meeting. This will assist with continuity and goal setting.
What’s the key to a successful meeting? Participation! Okay, that’s not the only key, but that is an important one. What is a meeting if no one contributes or even shows up?! As we mentioned, regular meetings should be planned to accommodate most if not all officer schedules. For your open/town hall meetings, offering food is always a great way to get people to attend, but also review some of the professional and development ideas we provided at the beginning of this module to encourage individuals to show up and participate!