Building the Association

Dear Alumni,

In October, we introduced ourselves and promised that, unlike previous attempts to establish a sustained, alumni network and provide meaningful support to The Daily Free Press, we wouldn't be going away.

Here's a closer look at our plan of action - what we've done, what we have left to do - and how we hope to see our efforts connect alumni of all generations:

LAYING THE GROUNDWORK

Believe it or not, as of this month, the association has been active for just over a full year, most of which we've spent shoring up an infrastructure: compiling a database of hundreds of alumni, navigating the thicket of rules and regulations to earn state and federal non-profit status, drawing up a financial plan to support our efforts and that of the FreeP's.

A year ago, we created a set of by-laws akin to the rules adopted by most non-profits. We met frequently with the students running the newspaper's Board of Trustees to open lines of communication and to ensure that our efforts dovetailed with their needs.

Our first major action was building a web site in January, led by our webmaster Maggie Mastricola. Even if we were still a fledgling group, we wanted alumni to see that we meant business and that we would be a permanent presence. That web site, www.dfpalumni.org, will be constantly improved and updated, and we hope to hear your feedback on how we can make it more effective. One place to send your feedback -- the site's forums.

BECOMING A NON-PROFIT

Our next major action was initiating the process to become a state and federal non-profit corporation. The importance of non-profit status, aside from legitimizing our effort, is that it enables financial supporters to write-off contributions to The Daily Free Press when they file their taxes. We want supportive alumni to be sure that when they donate to the FreeP, they get something in return - besides the satisfaction of supporting an organization they care about.

In February, the state granted our petition to become an official non-profit in Massachusetts. The federal process is a much more byzantine and time-consuming challenge. As we move through federal red tape, we will fund-raise through the Daily Free Press itself, which makes your donations tax-deductible.

Fundraising efforts, when they do begin, will be targeted at specific goals for the newspaper. For example, if the student board alerts us that they need a new computer, or a new software upgrade, we will review their requests, and if appropriate, reach out to alumni to help reach that goal.

BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP

Because we understand that raising money is a critical but sensitive issue, our alumni liaison, Kyle Cheney, will attend student board meetings to maintain open communication and to keep the alumni board informed about the choices that the newspaper's leadership is making with alumni dollars. Attending board meetings is also a way to keep students informed about our efforts, and to ensure we are working toward mutual goals.

In the Freep's leadership, Back Bay Publishing Co., the alumni have a willing and excited partner. They have agreed that supporting our effort will bring significant returns in the future, in the form of an enhanced newsroom and a ready-made post-college network for students.

OUR VISION

The alumni board's early efforts were all about outreach - building the database, the website and crafting our first newsletter - in addition to solidifying our structure.

But with the groundwork mostly out of the way, we can begin to focus on our mission: bringing a diverse set of alumni together to help each other and to help the FreeP.

We began this effort in October, when we held the first of many alumni events, coordinated by the board's event-planning committee. (See more about the event below). But this was only a start.

We've changed our bylaws to create chapters, so alumni in other parts of the country can establish meet-ups of their own, bringing long-lost friends back into the fold. Any three people in an area can form a chapter after being recognized by the Alumni Association. We hope our Web site becomes a popular hub for an exchange of ideas, not just to help the FreeP, but to post employment opportunities, advice and even to talk about the news of the day.

We hope our board in Boston grows to include alumni of all generations of all types of expertise. And we hope to, eventually, see many of them involved and even taking leadership positions on our board. We are collaborating with Back Bay Publishing to get a list of graduating students every spring to add to our mailing list and to exponentially grow the ranks of connected alumni.

This is a major part of our effort to become sustainable. If alumni reading this are aware of anyone who should be on our mailing list or in touch with us, please pass along their email addresses or forward this along to them.
We look forward to hearing your ideas about how to implement our vision.

Sincerely,

Dan Atkinson, President
Neal Simpson, Vice President
Jessica Kribbs, Treasurer
Kyle Cheney, Alumni Liaison
Chloe Gotsis, Clerk
Maggie Mastricola, Webmaster
Bill Yelenak, Director
Chris Cassidy, Director