Tracking Classmates
The first step to planning a reunion is reaching out to your old classmates. You need to evaluate if there is enough interest in having a reunion. So you're going to have to start by contacting them through social media sites like Facebook & LinkedIn, you should create a class group in Facebook to start spreading the word. Once you determine the level of interest and who's willing to attend, you can begin working on establishing a date that will for them and posting updates on how everything is going to unfold.
Choose a Date
Once you have your list of potential attendees, work on establishing a date for your reunion. You must select the date that works for the most amount of people. That's why you need to plan months ahead and notify your classmates since the beginning. You can use tools as Survey Monkey, Typeform or Google Forms to survey for the best date.
Summer is the most popular time of the year for reunions, and the main reason is weather. Thanksgiving weekend is also a common choice as it coincides with trips back home for a lot of people.
Form a Committee
Make a few phone calls to former classmates to recruit potential committee members, choose them carefully, you should assign each member tasks depending on their strengths and abilities, for example:
Create Your Reunion Website
Once you have the ball rolling, it's time to create your reunion website. MyEvent it's an online ticketing and fundraising platform. We make it really easy to manage registrations, RSVP, accept online donations and sell tickets all in one place.
Over the past 15 years, we've helped thousands of classmates reunite through websites that help them plan, manage and raise funds for their reunion.
Promote the Reunion
Start by posting updates through Facebook and emails. Grab the attention of your classmates by only including key information such as when & where, and the link the reunion website. Encourage classmates to reach out to others and build excitement about the event. Keep updating your class reunion website with the latest classmate's registrations and activity feed. Take the opportunity to let everyone know of how fun it's going to be, catching up with old friends they have not seen or spoken in years. You can do all this through your website using the built in social media features.
A Picture is worth a Thousand Words
Post images from high school through Facebook and in your reunion website, bring the nostalgia back. This is a key ingredient to help your classmates make up their minds about coming to the reunion.
Selling Tickets
Another way to raise funds for your reunion is by selling tickets. When you set the ticket price, you need to consider the type of reunion you are having and the number of people that will be attending. Your ticket price should be established based on your expenses and how many tickets you expect to sell. You can mention that they will receive 100% refund if they cannot attend; therefore there is no reason not to purchase their tickets right away. You can easily sell tickets right from your reunion website; it's fast, easy and secure. Being able to purchase reunion tickets online with a credit card, is much more convenient for your classmates and a lot less work for you.
Teamwork
Leverage the strength of your committee, you should ask each member to commit and try selling a certain number of tickets. Your MyEvent reunion website allows you to track ticket sales in real time, this way you can measure the progress across time.
Check-in
Start by creating a diagram that indicates where you want to place the reception area, registration, tables, bar, food stations, display, etc. When guests arrive, they need to be welcomed to the event. Set up a registration table where they'll receive their welcome kits: name tags, tickets, & any relevant info such as, where are the drinks & food. You can include their yearbook photo on the name tag. Print the name tags using your MyEvent Dashboard.
The Ambiance
Your event comes with a built-in theme! Help classmates reminisce about their school days by including graduation-year memorabilia as well as newsmakers from that era in the decorations.
Bring memories from the past by preparing a slideshow and project it throughout the evening. Your classmates will appreciate the gesture.
Music & Photos
Book your band or DJ as soon as you have confirmed the date of your reunion. Make sure their repertoire is what you are looking for, particularly if you would like to stick with tunes from your high school days.
Make arrangements with a photographer, this is a good investment and takes away the responsibility of documenting the whole event out of your hands.
Make a Toast
Take the time to express gratitude. Most likely a few of your classmates traveled far to be at the reunion. Thank everyone for being there, keep it short and start having fun.
Balance the Account
Balance and update the account to include any funds raised at the event as well as any last minute expenditures. Close the bank account, unless you want to keep it for the next reunion. If you have a large surplus, contribute to the school's endowment fund in honor of your event, or put it towards keeping the website alive. or fund the next big event.
Send Thank You Notes
Give thanks to everyone for coming to the reunion, especially to your committee members for all the help. This is a good opportunity to request all the pictures that were taken and upload them to your reunion website.
Post-reunion Meeting
Have a post-reunion meeting with your committee members two weeks after your event. Celebrate your accomplishment, but also take a moment to examine what worked, where the bumps were, and what can be improved for next time. Write these notes down for future reference.
Keep in Touch
Keep the lines of communication open. Start a reunion newsletter, survey your classmates about what they liked and disliked about the reunion, this will give you great pointers for your next event and if your class is eager to stay in touch, don't wait for the next big thing! start planning a night out to a sport event or concert. Have a standing bar night once a month. The possibilities are endless…
The more organized you are, the more relaxed you will feel and the more successful your reunion will be. When to start planning depends on size of reunion and how widespread your relatives are. Regardless of the type and size of your reunion, this guide will help you plan a stress free class reunion.
Planning a class reunion is a challenging task, however being able to meet, reconnect, reminisce and create lifelong memories makes it all worthwhile! Hopefully this guide will help you locate and reach out to your classmates and plan the most fun and well attended class reunion possible.