Events & Programs Overview
The HAA facilitates a number of centralized events and programs to support Clubs and SIGs in their efforts to connect alumni to each other and to Harvard. A brief listing is included here; contact your staff liaison for more information.
Alumni Day
All Harvard alumni are invited to participate in this annual University-wide, global event honoring alumni impact, citizenship, and community. This alumni celebration is held on campus each spring and simultaneously live streamed for those who cannot attend in person. Clubs and SIGs are invited to host their own local Alumni Day celebrations, which can be timed to enjoy the livestream together, replay it asynchronously at a time that works in your corner of the world, or simply celebrate as a local community. Resources and tips to help make your Alumni Day celebration a memorable one are available.
This community service program empowers volunteers to make a tangible difference by instilling the belief that higher education is attainable for all, offering diverse opportunities for engagement and support to local middle school students and families, regardless of their background, fostering a community-driven approach to college readiness and accessibility.
On one night each year, Harvard alumni around the globe come together at more than 100 Club and SIG–hosted sites to explore and expand their Harvard network by connecting with alumni for professional and personal networking in a relaxed environment. This typically free event is robustly marketed by the HAA and is a great way to introduce your organization to potential new members and participants. Clubs and SIGs are invited to host events, and SIGs have the opportunity to receive alumni opt-ins to their communications solicited via the registration form of this annual event.
Harvard Moves: 5K Your Way
Get ready to move for a virtual 5K—your way! You can run or roll in your neighborhood, go for a bike ride, or take a walk on a treadmill. Maybe you'd even like to partner up with your local Crimson family to hike a favorite trail. No matter how you decide to move, we hope you will join us for a fun way to stay active, celebrate your global Harvard community, and support students by raising critical funds for undergraduate financial aid.
Introduce talented young people to the opportunities available at Harvard, recognize their scholastic and personal achievements, and raise the visibility of Harvard in your local community through the Harvard Prize Book program, which invites Harvard Clubs & SIGs to sponsor Prize Books awarded at local high schools of their choice for the costs of the books.
Hometown to Harvard
Clubs and SIGs connect to Harvard and benefit their local communities by sponsoring local educators and nonprofit leaders to participate in Harvard professional development programs online or on campus.
Shared Interest Group (SIG) Meetups
Shared Interest Group Meet-ups take place during College Reunions, providing an opportunity for SIGs to connect with both existing members who are celebrating their reunions and other reunioners who may be interested in a SIG and looking for opportunities to build their engagement with the alumni community. Meet-up are hosted by SIGs with facilitation and marketing support from the HAA.
Learn from the extraordinary Harvard faculty and reconnect your alumni with the classroom experience through the HAA Speakers Bureau Program, which provides domestic Harvard Clubs and SIGs with the opportunity to host distinguished members of the Harvard faculty and administration. For international Harvard Clubs and SIGs, the HAA makes every effort to inform international Clubs and SIGs of any Harvard faculty members traveling to their area.
Summer Community Service Fellowships
Help make a summer of public interest work possible for a current student and impact your community by providing a stipend to enable a Harvard undergraduate working with a nonprofit host organization in your local community or whose mission is aligned to that of your organization.
Host a viewing of The Game and cheer on Harvard in their annual rivalry against Yale. The Game is broadcast on television in the U.S. and via web around the globe, making this a prime opportunity to gather your local community in support of the Crimson. Take advantage of broad HAA marketing to attract a broad alumni audience to your viewing party.
Welcome to Your City is an event that provides University-wide recent graduates (10 years out) a targeted first opportunity to connect with their local Harvard alumni community. Hosted by local Harvard Clubs, co-hosted by Shared Interest Groups, and championed by College activities chairs, these typically free events occur on a single day in the fall and have little to no formal programming, focusing instead on the formation of personal and professional bonds via casual conversations. Cities with over 2000 alumni in their area are invited to participate by the HAA.
Welcoming Admitted and Incoming Students
Harvard clubs often provide admitted students with their first in-person welcome to our Harvard community through yield-building events in the spring and welcome events in the summer (northern-hemisphere seasons). The HAA is eager to support your efforts with these two opportunities -- New Admits Yield Increase Welcome Events (March/April) and Welcome to Incoming Students & Their Families (July/August) -- to help new admits and incoming students connect to the Harvard community.
Winter Recess Student Programming
Winter/January Recess provides Clubs and SIGs an opportunity to engage with undergraduate students who might be in the local area for the break. The HAA supports student-inclusive programming during Winter/January Recess through email promotion to current students. Both single-day and multipart programs are welcome, and programs focused on career pathways are particularly in demand.