Reunions 101 HOW TO GET STARTED

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1 Reunions 101 The Lakewood Rangers Education Foundation is committed to helping your class plan its high school reunion. The following is list of services the Foundation provides as well as helpful tips to guide your class in the planning process. HOW TO GET STARTED 1. Federal tax ID In order to set up a bank account, you must first obtain an EIN for your class. This can be done online through the IRS at Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-Number-(EIN)-Online. It takes only a few minutes to apply and receive a number. 2. Bank account To open a class bank account, all signatories (those who have full access to the bank account) must visit the bank together. Make sure to bring your EIN certificate and your photo IDs. First Federal Lakewood is the most popular choice of bank, but all banks provide this service. 3. Start-up funds The Foundation and Lakewood High School do not hold class funds. Any rental deposits (room, party center) are the responsibility of the class. Ask that all committee members pay for their Event tickets in advance, once the rough costs are identified, to ensure start-up funds. Skin-in-the-game ensures an active reunion committee. DO NOT have a pre-reunion fundraiser (to defray future costs/event ticket prices). This will ultimately cut into your final sales, as classmates use it as a reason not to attend the target event. Also, some classmates may feel they shouldn t be directly subsidizing the attendance of others. 4. Event Planning Invite as many classmates as possible to be on the Planning Committee. Some may provide early input, others may bring organizational strength and advantageous skill sets. Some may find their contributions to the committee wane as time and responsibilities require. This is good and expected. Over time, many classmates may find such limited roles to be a good thing; a class that stays close requires reunion committees to have members that carry over from event to event. Life circumstances change, so don t let them prevent someone from making a contribution they feel is important. Please keep in mind classmates suggestions should all be accepted as serious and should not be summarily

2 dismissed as off base or nonsensical. Inclusiveness is the approach for greatest success. Rational discourse then can rule the conversation about the event itself. Polls/surveys are an excellent form of group input, especially when presented to the whole class, that can generate sustainable buzz for your event. 5. Event Plan on organizing ONE great event a wonderful Saturday afternoon/night event. Don t plan a whole weekend of activities. Classmates will be returning home to family, friends, a city they maybe haven t seen in 10, 20, 30 years. Let them plan organic events, gettogethers, outings on their own. Friday night/sunday events that might make sense and have no cost will draw folks away from your primary event and dissuade ticket sales. If other classmates feel other events should surround the reunion, encourage such planning but don t promote them as heavily as the main event. Other important items to note: Timing Don t plan your event around a holiday weekend, but the weekend prior to/post holiday may enable folks to plan an extended visit and set travel arrangements if they have enough advance notice. Like a wedding, picking a date is the first thing a committee should agree upon. Venue The committee should generate a short list of venues that would attract classmates who will be attending from out of town. Local alumni know what s currently great about Lakewood/Greater Cleveland, but you need to get folks home for your event to be a success. Classes have used the stadiums, House of Blues, Old Arcade, Lake Erie Screw Factory, etc. as great venues to showcase both class and hometown pride at their events. Don t forget to work any connections classmates/committee members may have in the Greater Cleveland community. This is key, especially when it comes to venue booking. Food Experience has proven heavy appetizers or lighter fare works best and promotes mingling with one another. A sit-down/buffet dinner can work but is entirely venue dependent and often limits new conversations, dancing, etc. Drinks AVOID an open bar; alcohol can exacerbate feelings, tensions, and issues people associate with their time in high school. Incorporate two drink tickets into the event price, and then folks may utilize a cash bar. Memorials DO put together a presentation, speech, moment of silence for those classmates, faculty, and staff who have passed since the class was last together. It encourages bonding and reflection as a group and honors those who are no longer with us. Music DO use a DJ; DON T use a band. Dancing and meaningful conversation require volume control. If a DJ fee is a concern, an ipod and speaker work too. Ask for a volunteer from the class to put together a playlist. High school-era tunes are always popular.

3 6. Social media We encourage you to start a Facebook page for your class. It s the easiest way to track down lost classmates. However, seek out everyone and use all means of communication available. DO NOT rely solely on Facebook as your only contact point. A majority of your class may not use social media, so assign a committee member to be primarily responsible for the class list ( /home addresses). LREF will provide you with a most current list. This may also be somewhat inaccurate but is a great starting point. Each committee member should be responsible for classmates and act as a point of contact for this group in order to update personal contact info. As your contact list grows, be sure to occasionally send out lost classmate lists and engage everyone to get the word out and generate buzz about the event. IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER: not everyone wants to be found or reconnect. Classmates can and will do/say crazy things about you and other folks throughout this process. Don t take it personally or get defensive. It s hard to be a gracious host. Per the LREF Promotion section listed below, treat and time the one-time mailing to classmates as if it were a wedding invitation. Send out/post event updates frequently and keep the tenor of the conversation as excited as possible. This is truly a one-way conversation, and if framed appropriately, can generate enthusiasm and excitement toward seeing one another. Initial apathy, class disdain, etc. may keep a classmate away. 7. Website Several classes maintain a website. You can obtain a domain name at a low cost through several services, such as GoDaddy, Register.com, Google Domain, etc. There are several online tools to help you build a website. Here is a list of the top rated builders: Class QUEST is another option. It s free and geared toward planning a class reunion. Make sure to set aside $ to fund the domain name/hosting for five years. 8. Ticket Sales DO allow for ticket sales at the door. One reunion class accounted for 25% of all attendees, guaranteeing enough sales to cover all expenses. DO establish a two-tiered ticket price, with the advance, lower tier providing enough of an incentive to promote online sales and usable cash flow. It also allows for fence-sitters and folks with job/family/health circumstances to delay making a financial commitment until they find it feasible to do so. A presale ticket price at or below $50 per ticket seems to be a generally acceptable price point. DO target attendance and budget at 150 tickets sold MAX. This is a proven model for reunion classes celebrating 30 years or less. Any additional walkup sales can be easily incorporated into the planned food/drink/event structure. 9. Online reservations The Foundation uses the free ticketing service, itrulycare. You must have a PayPal account in order to process the ticket sales. PayPal does charge a fee for credit card transactions, so you may want to consider that when setting your prices.

4 FOUNDATION SERVICES ACCESS Class list You will receive an Excel spreadsheet of mailing addresses and s of your classmates. We realize that contact information may change during the planning process. Therefore, there is no limit to the number of times we will produce a list for you. LHS tour Although the original buildings are gone, many classes like to tour the new buildings. These tours take place on Saturdays at 10 am. Tours must be scheduled in advance. Let s celebrate the construction and new buildings and the evolution of the community. Alumni always point out that the old will always be better than the new. This is your opportunity to make a direct in-person comparison. Some classes have suggested an informal Friday night event with tours of the elementary schools. (These tours must be arranged far in advanced and are based on building staff availability.) It further cements a class attachment to what the school district does, not necessarily the buildings themselves. It gives Alumni a chance to focus on programming and the need for resources, funding, and giving. PROMOTION Postcard mailing The Foundation sends a one-time mailing to the class list. Some classes send a save the date postcard in the winter. Others send complete information closer to the reunion date. It is your class s choice. All non-deliverable postcards will be given to you. Website We list your reunion activities on our website calendar. Enewsletter All reunions are added to the calendar of events. Enewsletters are mailed the first week of the month. Facebook We will post reminders on our Facebook page at your request. TAX EXEMPTION The Foundation is 501(c)(3) organization. We provide a certificate under our EIN to exempt your class from sales tax for services and supplies. It can also be used to solicit donations from local businesses for raffle/door prizes, etc. REUNION EXPERT Bill Fraunfelder is a member of the Foundation s Board of Trustees. He has served on every reunion committee for the Class of He is here to help you with any questions you may have. Feel free to contact him at CONTACT Feel free to contact the Foundation staff at any time with questions. Call or foundation@lakewoodcityschools.org.

5 HOW YOU CAN HELP THE FOUNDATION CLASS GIFT The expense of mailing the class postcard ($ ) is funded through our fundraising activities. Most classes make a donation to the Foundation to support our mission to provide educational opportunities for the 5,400 students of the Lakewood City Schools. All donations to the Foundation are tax deductible. Classes raise this money by giving classmates an option to donate when making a reservation or by holding a silent auction or raffles at their events. We will be happy to provide you with language or explore projects that your class may want to fund. CLASS LIST We ask that you send any mailing or address changes to us so that we can update our records.