Award: Gold

Institution: Brown University

Title of Entry: Virtual Engagement Toolkit: Engagement in a time of social distancing

About this Entry: When our staff began working from home on March 12, no one knew how long we would be in lockdown. What we did know is that we needed to continue to support our volunteers, and that adaptation to the virtual world was the key. We created a Virtual Engagement Toolkit to help volunteers in their endeavors to sustain a strong Brown alumni community during a time of social distancing.

The COVID-19 pandemic presented an opportunity for our staff to step away from the in-person event centered model of engagement and re-examine what an engagement model could be. Through the creation of the Volunteer Engagement Toolkit, we began to develop a new paradigm for alumni engagement where communications via email and social media are defined as equally crucial as virtual events.

The Alumni Communities Team moved from the ideation stage to publicizing the Virtual Engagement Toolkit within 5 short weeks. This project gave our team a common purpose and shifted us out of a zone of uncertainty to one of exploration and possibility.

We centered the volunteer experience throughout the design of the Virtual Engagement Toolkit. We created detailed instructional how-to activity guides to ensure that less tech-savvy volunteers could easily implement a virtual engagement activity with little to no assistance.

Right from the Virtual Engagement Toolkit's publication date, our volunteer community used the toolkit to source virtual engagement activities. While Brown reunions did not happen in 2020, classes came together for virtual dance parties on Memorial Day Weekend.