Hubs are built on generations of Shapers, and alumni serve as stewards of the Global Shapers Community. Having an active alumni network can be beneficial for a thriving hub and impactful projects, while alumni are usually happy to stay involved after stepping back from the frontline.
Alumni Engagement Basics
- Keep Track of Your Hub Alumni: Once Shapers leave a hub to become an alumni, their Forum Spaces (formerly TopLink) account will no longer indicate the hub they were associated with. If Shapers leave the active community before becoming an alumni, they will lose their Forum Spaces (formerly TopLink) account altogether (and will not be part of the official Global Shapers Alumni Community). As turnover in hubs can be high, informal knowledge about alumni can be lost quickly.
- Maintain a Membership Database: Keep alumni data in a (separate) membership database. Indicate the year they left and the reason for leaving (transitioned to the alumni community, left for other reasons before becoming an official alumni, was excluded, etc.). This will help future curatorship teams assess the situation.
- Regular Updates: If resources allow, regularly update this information through LinkedIn searches or direct outreach. This helps identify which alumni could potentially support the hub in specific areas.
- Monitor Local Alumni: Keep an eye out for alumni who have moved to your city after transitioning to the alumni community and might be interested in joining the local alumni network.
- Ask for Feedback: Ask your alumni about how they would like to stay involved and contribute to the hub - after all, they know best.
Have an “Alumni Officer” in your hub. It’s not an official role but having someone dedicated to updating the alumni database and engaging your alumni community can significantly boost your hub’s impact. This person can be an active Shaper or an alum themselves.
Tips for your Hub Alumni Officer
Once you figured out the basics above e.g. refreshed Alumni database and found out how they can be best involved to support the Hub, look into a few strategies below to help keep your hub’s alumni network engaged:
- Inform Your Alumni About Hub Activities. Many alumni are happy to stay in touch with your hub via a newsletter, a separate WhatsApp group, or other channels. Find out what's your Hub Alumni engagement objectives and which channel can help best reach those
- Topics: A newsletter can introduce new Shapers with a picture and short bio, update ongoing projects and events, and share other hub- or Forum-related updates and opportunities.
- Channel: Keep in mind that alumni’s engagement on channels used only for hub communication (such as Forum Spaces or slack) might decrease after their alumni transition.
- Open or Organize Events for Alumni. Nothing beats in-person connections. Consider opening certain hub events to alumni, such as your annual celebration, project demo day, or interactive events like clean-ups. You can even organize an annual alumni event (maybe including an alumni graduation) specifically designed for your hub’s alumni community.
- Time Availability: Keep in mind that time availability of alumni might be different from that of active members, especially if you consider whole-day events.
- Plus 1s: If possible, organizing specific events for alumni which can be open to their partners and/or kids can make the event more accessible for alumni.
- Leverage the Alumni Community to Increase Impact. Alumni might no longer be able to contribute many hours to project work, but they can make valuable connections, open doors to other communities, provide ideas and strategic insights on projects and hub governance, or mentor younger members.
- Clarity: To make it as easy as possible for alumni to contribute, be very clear in your asks, e.g., write an email template they can send to their connections that highlights what the Global Shapers Community and your hub are, what the project is about, and what exactly the hub is looking for from external partners.
- Celebrate Shapers Who Become Alumni. These members have usually contributed a lot to the hub – maybe even before your time. Joining the alumni community can be a bittersweet moment.
- Acknowledgement: Announce the names of alumni leaving the hub at a monthly hub meeting so others can say goodbye and thank the alumni-to-be.
- Goodbye Gesture: A small gesture like a handwritten card, an engraved pen with a parting wish from the hub, or a cup with a hub group picture can go a long way.
Depending on your hub’s context and the level of alumni engagement you provide, consider an alumni membership fee. This can help finance hub projects and reduce the membership fee for younger Shapers who are at an earlier stage in their professional development.
Alumni Benefits
Upon graduation, all Alumni receive a welcome to Alumni community email. Make sure your Alumni have read through the graduation email and especially the Alumni Network section of the Global Shapers Community Charter. It is important that they know their membership benefits and how to access them as it allows them to continue advocating for your Hub as well as being your ambassador. Here are some of the benefits for members of the GSC Alumni Community everyone should know about:
- Continued access to Forum Spaces (formerly TopLink), the GSC Newsletter (where all events and opportunities are announced), and the Alumni Celebration Day (announced in the newsletter and on Forum Spaces (formerly TopLink) calendar).
- Eligibility to become WEF digital members and attend digital events.
- Eligibility to apply to regional retreats and SHAPE events (up to 15% of SHAPE seats go to alumni!).
- Eligibility for leadership roles as Community Champions or Experts.
- Access to relevant open opportunities as certain Forum meetings or Global Future Councils as shared in monthly Global Shapers Newsletter.
- Eligibility to write for the WEF's Agenda.
Apart from these opportunities, your hub alumni can:
- Attend or organize Alumni events and retreats in their city, sub-region, or region, usually announced during Alumni Celebration Day and via unofficial channels. Alumni retreats are independently organized and don’t need to be selected or approved by HQ.
- Get involved with the “Pockets” initiative, a theme-based global community initiated and led by members of the alumni community (reach out to lulu.yng@pm.me to learn more).
- Apply to open a new hub, if they move (back) to a city which doesn’t yet have a hub
- Pay-it-forward: If alumni are interested, introduce a system where alumni sponsor a younger Shaper to attend a regional retreat or SHAPE. Once the younger Shaper progresses in their professional career, they can return the favor to another younger Shaper. This is being practiced by some Hubs and proves to be a very valuable support mechanism within the community!
Last, but not least...
Set boundaries. The experience, knowledge, and network of alumni can be very useful, but alumni should not implicitly or explicitly influence hub decisions, especially regarding strategy, recruitment, or elections. Alumni involvement should always follow an explicit ask from the hub to ensure they do not overstay and take space away from younger members.
As per Community Charter, alumni agree not to use their status to affect hub governance, engagement or impact. Alumni do not vote in or influence hub decision-making, interfere with hub elections, or mandate hub projects or partnerships. If Alumni cannot fulfil these standards or do not uphold the Responsible Behaviour section of the Charter – Global Shapers Headquarters may decide to cancel memberships at its sole and absolute discretion. Alumni will be notified of the decision by email.