Harvard Club of San Francisco

HCSF Activities Policies and Procedures

The events that our Club organizes and presents to its members are among the most important products of our work. They provide unique, interesting, and engaging sessions for our members that highlight and enforce their connections with Harvard and HCSF and help maintain our organization. For this, we have an Activities Committee, (currently) three Activities Vice Presidents, and the following Policies and Procedures for organizing and implementing our events.

Basic Objectives

Events organized and presented by HCSF need to be consistent with the values and traditions of Harvard. They should be relevant to the interests of our membership and should encourage members of the Harvard community to join our Club and maintain their membership. They should provide special value to HCSF members when possible, be politically neutral, and be consistent with HCSF’s values and objectives. Our Activities Committee should provide opportunities for members to participate in organizing and presenting our events.

In view of our Harvard relationship, speakers and other prominent participants featured in our events should have a Harvard connection whenever possible, but we should welcome others without a Harvard connection if they and their subject would be of special interest to our members. In a scenario where there is no Harvard connection, there should be a meaningful value proposition to the Club. For example, with the annual Nutcracker ballet event, we are able to offer a significant discount to our membership, or with joint events with other Clubs, we are able to provide members with the opportunity to expand their network and community in the Bay Area. We are extremely grateful for the generosity and contributions of our speakers and their participants. As a non-profit organization, we are unable to compensate them monetarily, but we hope they benefit from the opportunity to share their knowledge and interests.

Pricing for attending one of our events can be flexible, based on the cost of presenting it, enhancing interest in it, and promoting and maintaining HCSF membership, but an overall objective is to sustain our Club and its costs of operation. In order to promote HCSF membership, we aim to provide differential pricing for members and nonmembers, with the goal of getting nonmembers to consider converting into members. We do have a subset of events (e.g., some outdoor events) where the primary goal is to foster community rather than grow short term revenue or membership. We believe that such events will impact long term engagement with the club.

Responsibilities, Coordination, Final Approvals

The Activities VPs, working with our Executive Director, shall have primary responsibility for seeing that HCSF’s events are organized, implemented, and monitored to assure that the aforementioned basic goals are met. Although these VPs have their own individual responsibilities and interests, they must work together as a coordinated and informed team. They should keep each other, and the Executive Director, currently informed of their work by email or phone and should meet together regularly, in person or virtually, as a team. They should also communicate on a regular basis with the Communications & Social Media VP, whose responsibilities include HCSF’s website and newsletter.

The Activities VPs, working with our Executive Director, shall also have responsibility, in keeping with HCSF’s basic goals, for organizing and approving events that are co-sponsored or cross-promoted with other alumni groups and clubs (Harvard-related or otherwise).

Organizers and hosts of HCSF events, if not one of the Activities VPs, should be members of HCSF and familiar with the objectives and protocols laid out in these HCSF Policies and Procedures. In the case of virtual events, the host should be capable of handling the applicable platform.

There is a separate policy doc regarding the organization of SIGs, where instead of a board member, a vetted member of the HCSF community may organize these events on behalf of HCSF instead.

In order to provide resources for the planning of current and future events, the Activities VPs shall take steps to develop data, by record-keeping and surveys, about the types of events that interest members, the attendance of HCSF events held, their pricing, and their net costs.

The Executive Director shall have responsibility for scheduling and administering the implementation of events. One of the Activities VPs shall be designated by the President to give final approval of each event before it is listed on the HCSF website. If one of the VPs is not designated, the HCSF President shall so approve each event. If the President is not available to approve an event, the Executive Director shall approve the event.
 
Event Proposal Requirements

An Activities VP or other member of HCSF who wishes to submit a proposal for an event shall provide the following information to the Executive Director for final approval by the designated Activities VP or President and implementation:

For a virtual event:

✓ Organizer’s name, Harvard school and year
✓ Host’s name
✓ Event title
✓ Event description
✓ Photo(s) to accompany event description
✓ Event day AND date:
✓ Event’s start time
✓ Event’s end time
✓ Ticket prices
✓ Registration limit if any
✓ Registration deadline if any
✓ Refund deadline date
✓ Is there any special information required to register?
✓ An HCSF board member, officer, or representative must be present during each virtual event. An HCSF representative is an HCSF club member who is a vetted organizer (e.g., for certain SIG or outdoor events).
✓ Speaker and HCSF event organizer need to be capable of operating applicable platform.
✓ Speaker presentation needs to be approved by HCSF event organizer.
✓ Set up a practice session if needed.
✓ Log-in information will be forwarded to registrants the day of the event at noon. For daytime events log-in information will be forwarded the afternoon before. Event registration will close at that time.
✓ During the virtual event, HCSF host needs to check on attendees from registration list.

For a physical gathering event:

✓ Complete an HCSF budget form for the event
✓ Organizer’s name, Harvard school and year
✓ Host’s name
✓ Event title
✓ Event description
✓ Photo(s) to accompany event description
✓ Event day AND date:
✓ Event’s start time
✓ Event’s end time
✓ Ticket prices
✓ Registration limit if any
✓ Registration deadline if any
✓ Refund deadline date
✓ Is there any special information required to register?
✓ Venue name
✓ Venue address
✓ Venue phone number
✓ Venue contact
✓ Will anything be served (e.g., snacks, appetizers, beverages)? Please specify.
✓ Log-in information will be forwarded to registrants the day of the event at noon. For daytime events log-in information will be forwarded the afternoon before. Event registration will close at that time.
 

Summary
 

Basic Objectives

• Events to be consistent with the values and traditions of Harvard.
• Relevant to the interests of our membership.
• Encourage members of the Harvard community to join our Club and maintain their membership.
• Provide special value to HCSF members.
• Be politically neutral.
• Not be a "sales pitch" for any individual or organization.
• Provide opportunities for members to participate in organizing and presenting our events.
• Speakers and other prominent participants featured in our events should have a Harvard connection.
• Do not present a conflict with the values and objectives of HCSF.
• Flexible pricing based on the cost of presenting it, enhancing interest in it, and promoting and maintaining HCSF membership.
• Pricing to sustain our Club and its costs of operation.

Responsibilities, Coordination, Final Approvals

• The three Activities VPs, working with our Executive Director, have primary responsibility for HCSF events.
• Must work together as a coordinated and informed team.
• Keep each other, and the Executive Director, currently informed.
• Meet together regularly, in person or virtually, as a team.
• Communicate on a regular basis with the Communications & Social Media VP.
• Organize and approve events that are co-sponsored or cross-promoted with other alumni groups and clubs (Harvard-related or otherwise).
• Organizers and hosts to be members of HCSF and familiar with these objectives and protocols.
• For virtual events, the host should be capable of handling the applicable platform.
• Develop data, by surveys and record-keeping, about the types of events that interest members, the attendance of HCSF events held, their pricing, and their net costs.
• Executive Director shall have responsibility for scheduling and administering the implementation of events.
• One of the Activities VPs shall be designated to give final approval of each event.
• If one is not designated, the HCSF President shall so approve each event.

Event Proposal Requirements

• Provide a virtual or physical gathering event proposal to the Executive Director for final approval by the designated Activities VP and implementation.