U.S. Fund for UNICEF Campus Initiative LEADERSHIP TRANSITION HANDBOOK

U.S. Fund for UNICEF Campus Initiative LEADERSHIP TRANSITION HANDBOOK

Table of Contents Introduction and Club Organization 1 Transition Guidelines 3 Sample Outgoing Officer Questionnaire 5 Sample Position Descriptions 6 Sample Club Leadership Application 7 Leadership Planning Calendar 8 1

LEADERSHIP TRANSITION In order to ensure the continued success of your campus club in the years to come, proper planning for the future is essential. Elections and major decisions should not be left until the end of the semester. Studying and preparing for the summer generally take priority over campus clubs. With some of the tips below, we hope to ease the transition between semesters by ensuring future club leaders are prepared to take action for UNICEF! Campus Initiative leaders are an integral part of a vast network of volunteers across the United States that has increased awareness of issues of child survival, advocated on behalf of UNICEF, and raised or leveraged funds for the organization for nearly 60 years. Students wishing to pursue a leadership or member position with the UNICEF Campus Initiative should be prepared to make this role an important extracurricular priority. A Campus Initiative leadership position requires an intensive commitment of time and energy to both individual work and productive collaboration, but and offers student leaders a unique and exciting opportunity to shape the course of their Campus Initiative Club while gaining valuable leadership and nonprofit management skills. The transition of leadership typically occurs in the early spring. Either the new or outgoing officers are responsible for communicating new contact information for the club officers to the National Headquarters each time a transition occurs. CLUB ORGANIZATION There are a number of ways that UNICEF Campus Initiative Clubs organize their leadership structure. Most UNICEF campus clubs are led by a President or Co- Presidents, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. These elected officers are generally upperclassman. Also, a chapter Advisor is there for support. The same person may not fill more than one Leadership leadership positions may not be filled by the same person. Leadership responsibilities: Plan and implement at least one education, advocacy, and fundraising activity per year on your campus and in your community on behalf of UNICEF. Continue to increase the quality and professionalism of Campus Initiative activities to increase the effectiveness of the movement for child survival. Promote membership management and leadership development by conducting effective recruitment campaigns each semester, organizing initial and ongoing membership development activities, taking steps toward retention, building a strong committee leadership structure, and ensuring an effective selection and transition of new leaders. 2

Ensure that all Campus Initiative members and leaders are registered as volunteers in the Online Volunteer Center at unicefusa.org/volunteer and are subscribed to the Campus ebulletin. Use the Online Volunteer Center to post events on the Calendar of Events and summaries of those events on the Bulletin Board. Use downloadable resources available in the Volunteer Center. Complete the Online Reporting and Reflection Survey twice per year (December and May). Be educated about current elements and activities in the movement for child survival by visiting the Online Volunteer Center and http://fieldnotes.unicefusa.org often. Maintain political impartiality on issues when representing UNICEF and, when asked, coordinate campus involvement in UNICEF sponsored public policy concerns. Maintain Campus Club infrastructure by tracking finances, membership, and oncampus coalition responsibilities and ensuring the timely processing of donations. Coordinate partnership development on and off campus. Requirements: Leadership terms should ideally last at least one full calendar year. Individuals serving as Campus Initiative leaders should be prepared to commit no less than 5 hours per week. Leaders will host leadership meetings no less than once a week. Leadership teams will host structured member meetings weekly or at the very least biweekly. Leaders serve as the main contact for national priorities and initiatives and should feel comfortable understanding, adapting, and implementing these initiatives locally. On occasion, Campus Initiative leaders may be asked to participate in local volunteer opportunities, site visits, trainings, and other special events. While not mandatory, participation in these opportunities is highly encouraged for the continual enrichment of the leadership team and program. 3

Sample organization chart: President (or Co-presidents) Advisor Vice President Secretary Treasurer Chair: Education Chair: Advocacy Chair: Fundraising Position Descriptions: President: The presiding officer of the club who sets the agenda and plans for meetings and events. The president works with the advisor, the program manager of the Campus Initiative, and other club officers to accomplish the goals of the Campus Club. Vice president: Assists the president in his or her duties, and presides over the club in the absence of the president. Also is the chair of education and is responsible for setting up appropriate committees to deal with educational outreach. Secretary: Takes the minutes and types the agenda of the meetings. Also is the chair of advocacy and is responsible for setting up appropriate committees to deal with advocacy issues. Treasurer: Oversees all funds and transactions associated with the Campus Initiative Club. The treasurer s duties may include: obtaining a budget from the college or university, whether it means working with a student government or requesting money from a campus activities fund, developing an individual budget for each fundraising event, overseeing funds associated with the club, sending contributions to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF within 30 days of an event, and keeping careful records of all financial transactions that occur during his or her term of service. TRANSITION GUIDELINES We suggest that two months before the end of the semester you inform all of your members that elections are going to take place in the next weeks. Current leaders should also take an active role in identifying potential leaders within the club and encouraging them to run for office. Send out emails and have a meeting to discuss the election and go over the position descriptions. Decide the format of the election beforehand so candidates may prepare. 4

After the election, work with the new team to ensure a smooth and successful transition. Here are some suggestions that may help you achieve this: Allow incoming officers to shadow you for the rest of the semester so they can get a feel for what leading a UNICEF campus club is like. Encourage them to meet with the advisor on a regular basis to make plans and decisions for next year. Plan for a few meetings, and then host the meetings with the new team so they can see the process in action.. Then, ask them to host a meeting of the club own their own. Take notes! What did they succeed in? What can they improve on? Let them know! Alternatively, you may have interested candidates hold an internship or shadow position for one year/semester before running for office. Create subordinate positions (chair, junior, vice-), etc.) for different club departments, such as education, outreach, marketing, events, advocacy, community relations, recruitment, fundraising, etc. These positions will vary according to your club s size and needs, but they provide a chance for more club members to be involved with the club s planning and organization. Meet with incoming officers to go over the club s accomplishments and help them plan for the following year. Identify challenges and pending issues, as well as promising projects and ideas that should be further developed. Share information about successful partnerships that were established with other campus offices/departments/student groups, and any tips that may help incoming leaders in the future. Refer to the Sample Outgoing Officer Questionnaire for a list of questions that you should go over in your transition meeting. Don t forget to hand over any files or pieces of and other information that the new leaders will need. Give them the passwords to the campus club email and/or Facebook group administrator status. Give them contact names for the club members. Any past meeting minutes or posters would also be helpful for the muse. Remind all officers to keep careful records of all activities and financial transactions that occur during their term of service. Besides needing these records for completing the Reporting and Reflections Survey in December and May, they also provide useful information on the club s activities for future club officers. You may find it helpful to compile a Club manual with your group s documents and useful information, which can be serve as reference and be passed down to future club leaders. Some of the records you might want to keep are: - Club constitution and bylaws - Club website, Facebook group and email login and passwords - Constituent ID number 5

- Campus Handbook - Contact information for club members, partners, University offices and clubs - Meeting minutes (include number of attendees, length of meetings) - Past posters, flyers, advocacy letters, etc. - Club organization chart, position descriptions - Records of financial transactions (including names, dates, events, amounts, the purpose of the transactions, etc.) and donations submitted to the US Fund for UNICEF - Records of events/activities (event name, date, description, number of attendees, amount raised, planning time and process, partners, etc.) - Any other helpful resources or information (including challenges, tips, etc.)) Finally, point new leaders in the direction of the Campus Initiative Section of the Online Volunteer Center at www.unicefusa.org/volunteer, where they can have access to numerous documents and resources that they can use for the group. After two months of shadowing and preparing, these leaders will be ready to take over the club s leadership and make your campus club proud! Sample Outgoing Officer Questionnaire Boston University Complete this before / during your organization s transition meeting. This information will be helpful to your successor. Please use these questions to begin a conversation for an effective Officer Transition. 1. What I liked best about my job was 2. What I liked least about my job was 3. Most difficult decision I made was 4. What I could have done to make the experience better was 5. Obstacles to performing my job effectively were 6. Aids which assisted me in handling my job were 7. Things I wish I d known before I took the job were 8. Our constitution/history/files/books, etc. are located 9. Our past and future years budget, plans, and financial info are located 10. The best qualities of and the best way to utilize our advisor are 11. Things I hope I never forget 12. Things I wish I discovered sooner 6

13. Things I still need to learn 14. The most helpful people / resources have been 15. I am most proud of 7

SAMPLE POSITION DESCRIPTIONS - University of California Irvine President: lead UNICEF at UCI; very active in all events; plan and run the general and officer meetings; oversee the committees; delegate responsibilities to other officers and members; manage the club e-mail and mailing-list accounts; track and communicate with new and continuing members; make room reservations; delegate himself/herself or another officer to maintain the club website and maintain its content; manage the club financial account; attend all required workshops; check club mail box in the Office of the Dean of Students weekly; keep constitution updated; keep President s manual updated; collaborate with other organizations and clubs; communicate frequently with the faculty advisor and U.S. Fund for UNICEF Campus Initiative representative. Vice President: very active in all events; assist President in planning the officer meeting agendas; oversee the committees; manage the club email and mailing-list accounts; e-mail mailing-list weekly about upcoming events and meetings; track and communicate with new and continuing members; make room reservations; assist President in managing the club financial account; keep minutes of officer meetings; create and update a calendar of events; keep Vice President s manual updated; run meetings and undertake relevant actions in the absence of the President. Chair of Community Service: lead the Community Service Committee; very active in all community service and major club events; organize at least three different childbased community service projects per quarter relating to the theme; collaborate with other organizations and clubs; create activities to do with local children; provide a summary of committee activities via e-mail to the President and Vice President after each general meeting; complete Event Log for each community service event; keep officer manual updated. Chair of Awareness and Publicity: lead the Awareness and Publicity Committee; very active in all awareness and publicity activities and major club events; organize at least one campus-wide awareness and publicity event per quarter; recruit new members; make and set up posters announcing meetings and events; publicize events in campus media; create presentations to educate the club about local and global issues related to the quarterly theme; collaborate with other organizations and clubs; provide a summary of committee activities via email to the President and Vice President after each general meeting; complete Event Log for each awareness and publicity event; keep officer manual updated. Chair of Fundraising: lead the Fundraising Committee; very active in all fundraisers and major club events; organize at least three fundraisers per quarter; make contacts for donations; apply for campus funding (ASUCI, Volunteer Center, etc.); assist President and Vice President in managing club financial account; provide a summary of committee activities via e-mail to the President and Vice President after each general meeting; complete Event Log for each fundraiser; keep officer manual updated. 8

Campus Initiative Club Leadership Application Sample About: The Campus Initiative is a student-led organization that partners with the U.S Fund for UNICEF to educate, advocate and fundraise for UNICEF s lifesaving work. It is a growing movement rooted in a belief that college students have a vital role to play in helping the world s children survive. The Campus Initiative supports UNICEF s child survival work in more than 150 countries, because college students have a unique opportunity to engage a broad range of people and resources from student groups to professors, to international forums on child survival issues. Position Descriptions: -President: The presiding officer of the club. Sets the agenda and plans for meetings and events. Works with the advisor, the Program Manager of the Campus Initiative and other club officers to accomplish the goals of the campus club. -Vice President: Assists the president in their duties, and presides over the club in the absence of the president. Also is the Chair of Education and is responsible for setting up appropriate committees to deal with educational outreach. -Secretary: Takes the minutes and types the agenda of the meetings. Also is the Chair of Advocacy and is responsible for setting up appropriate committees to deal with advocacy issues. -Treasurer: In charge of all money-related issues and balancing the groups account. Also is the Chair of Fundraising and is responsible for setting up appropriate committees to deal with fundraising events. College or University: Name: Date of birth: Year Phone: Current address: City: State: ZIP Code: QUESTIONS (Please fill out on a separate page and attach it to this form) Tell us what you know about UNICEF. What organizations or teams do you now belong to or have you belonged to? Please include any leadership experience. List any honors or special achievements you have received, and explain: What other activities, such as volunteer activities, do you participate in? What leadership position are you applying for? (Choices are President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer). Why do you feel you deserve this position? More specifically, what can you add to the club to make it a better group? What ideas would you bring to the table? It is our aim to get to know you as well as possible through this application. With this in mind, please list any concerns, experiences, or anything else you would want us to know. Signatures I authorize the verification of the information provided on this form as to (Your club name) Signature of applicant: Date: 9

LEADERSHIP PLANNING CALENDAR September Recruit new volunteers to join your efforts. Ensure all new volunteers register at unicefusa.org/volunteer. Host a training and orientation meeting for new club members, and create a yearlong plan of your club s activities. Send your plan to volunteer@unicefusa.org. Start planning for Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF. October Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF Start preparing for Universal Children s Day (November 20). November Universal Children s Day Send in any donations collected in October by November 30. Prepare an education and/or fundraising activity for World AIDS Day on December 1. Start planning an Inspired Gifts campaign or a State of the World s Children launch event. December UNICEF s Birthday - Host a local launch event for UNICEF s annual State of the World s Children report. World AIDS Day Encourage members of the community to give Inspired Gifts during the holiday season. Complete the Reporting and Reflection Survey online by December 31. January Check in on your goals for the year and plan for the second half of the year. Start creating a TAP Project taskforce. February Start recruiting restaurants for the TAP Project. Start planning for leadership and officer transition, announce that elections will be held in the next month 10

March TAP Project Nominate yourself or others for the UNICEF President s Volunteer Service Award. Hold elections for next year s leadership positions April National Volunteer Week - participate in a Global Youth Service Day project in your area. Train new officers to prepare for leadership transition May Hold a transition meeting with new officers and hand over all relevant information Complete the Reporting and Reflection Survey by May 31. 11