Level of difficulty: Advanced
Cost to attend: High

Project: Three adjacent classes (’69, ’70, and ’71) held the first ever cluster mini-reunion that was not in New Haven. This cost-efficient afternoon/evening event (including a reception at an historic home) anchored a plan-your-own-weekend for those who were out-of-towners.

Lead time: 15 months
Date of event: October 20, 2018

Resources:
1 lead volunteer – 100 hours; 2 hosts – 10 hours each; 4 others – 4 hours each

Funds required: Hosts provided appetizers and drinks for reception ($100); leader provided birthday cup cakes ($45).hers – 4 hours each

Results: 34 attendees, including 6 members of the Class of ’69, 7 members of the Class of ’70 and 9 members of the Class of ’71

Why a success? This was the first-ever multi-class cluster mini-reunion outside New Haven! The event broke even, and served as a pilot for other lower-attendance low-overhead mini-reunions. This collective 70th birthday party was held at a top travel destination (Charleston, SC), with historic ties to Yale, but few current alums. Many attendees took advantage of the plan-your-own-weekend opportunities, enjoying historic gardens, colonial estates, ante-bellum plantations, Fort Sumter, and more. It brought Yalies together, within and across classes.

Details: Planning began in the summer of 2017, with a meeting in Charleston. Planning continued over the next year, with email exchanges, a meeting of three of the Class leaders during Assembly 2017 and two more meetings in Charleston. The extra planning time was needed to coordinate among the decision-makers of several Classes who had not previously worked together.

This cluster event was a model of low-cost programming in the context of a planned weekend. Local hosts sponsored the reception at their ante-bellum home. Afterwards, dinner was held at a private room in a local restaurant with pre-paid prix-fixe dinner of $125 per person.

Lodging was extra, but not an issue for locals; and some out-of-towners stayed with local friends. A group lodging rate in a historic inn was obtained for those wishing to stay nearby – but in keeping with the cost-saving approach, no block reservation fee was incurred. In contrast the Class of 1955 held a three night mini-reunion in Charleston in 2017 utilizing an event planner for a total per person cost of $895 (plus lodging).

This cluster event was also a role model for holding single-day anchor events in popular destinations that offered a plan-your-own-weekend.

• Charleston’s fall climate is great for golf, beach, and other outdoor activities, including walking tours.
  Many visit Charleston for its historic sites and well-preserved historic homes and gardens.
• Calendaring the event to occur during Charleston’s nationally acclaimed Annual Fall Tour of Historic Homes, ensured that there would be many reasonably priced unique educational and touring opportunities.
• Holding the Reception at a private historic home provided a special exclusive opportunity in keeping with the city.

This cluster event was a role model for holding a simple, low-cost, single-day multi-class event outside New Haven.

• The simplified contract structure – the only contract was with the restaurant – was easy to administer. This contract did require YAA approval, but it eliminated the need for an event planner. YAA urges an event planner for events outside New Haven, but this adds thousands of dollars (sometimes many thousands) to the cost of the event.
• YAA helped set up registration for the event, but otherwise the three Classes called on few YAA resources. The cluster reunion was designed as break-even, and succeeded.
• The hosted-reception-plus-dinner was elegant and cost-effective. A simple reception was held at the historic home of (and sponsored by) two Yale alums representing two of the cluster classes. This not only contained costs, but provided a unique ambiance and created a connection among those in attendance.

The cluster reunion’s convivial reception and dinner, on time and on budget, evidenced sound planning and implementation.

Possible improvements: It’s ten times easier if the lead volunteer lives in the city where the mini-reunion is being held.