SIG Application Form

Thank you for your interest in spearheading a new Shared Interest Group (SIG) under the Yale Alumni Association. Shared Interest Groups are Yale-affiliated, mission-driven, and volunteer-led organizations that crosscut and intersect multiple alumni constituencies. Becoming a SIG requires adherence to Yale University policies and guidelines—it also requires a meaningful commitment on the part of the volunteers to establish and sustain an emerging SIG until more alumni volunteers and leaders are onboarded and become actively engaged. Please thoroughly review the criteria and requirements before filling out this application. Once completed and submitted, the application will be reviewed by the YAA SIGs Team for consideration, and we will follow up accordingly.

Please enter your name(s) and degree(s):

Please enter your email address(es):

Please enter the proposed name of the organization:

In accordance with University Policy the name of the Shared Interest Group (SIG) must include the word Alumni and cannot include the word Association, Foundation, Fund, Center, Club, or Institute.

Please enter a 1-2 sentence description of the proposed organization:

What is your organization's mission/vision statement?

Please give an overview of proposed activities, with a focus on engagement between alumni and between alumni and Yale:

Please include the following:

o Communication (what content will be shared by the organization to whom via what means)

o Participation (events & programs, both in person and/or online)

o Volunteerism (opportunities for alumni to participate in the leadership and governance of the SIG, as well as opportunities to serve the larger community)

How will your group define membership (ex: alumni, staff, faculty, etc.)?

What is your proposed governance structure?

What kind of relationships do you have with existing Yale organizations (ex: Centers, student groups)?

What relationships do you intend to have with existing Yale organizations?

I acknowledge that I have read the policies and guidelines in the About Interest Groups section on the YAA website. Please read and click each of the following items to confirm your agreement.

Adherence to and acceptance of the University's policy on the use of the Yale name and its marks, logos, designs, symbols, and insignia.

Acceptance of and adherence to Yale’s Belonging guidelines and principles.

View Yale's Belonging guidelines and principles.

It is the YAA's responsibility to remain neutral on all political issues both inside and outside the Yale community, as dictated by YAA policy. Any position of the SIG must always be qualified with clear language that states. "The [SIG] does not represent the President and Fellows of Yale University or the Yale Alumni Association."

The SIG is committed to embracing diversity in all forms. The SIG will offer critical opportunities to foster communities of respect, enriched by the diverse talents, backgrounds, perspectives and experiences of alumni.

No discrimination based on ability, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or Yale school will be perpetrated or tolerated.

The SIG shall sponsor programs and activities that are inclusive, protect confidential information regarding alumni and students, refrain from engaging in or promoting commercial ventures, political activities or non-SIG-related agendas, and always adhere to Yale’s policies on non-discrimination and harassment.

Abstention from fundraising of any kind for purposes that are not related to the SIG's stated mission or YAA approved programs.

Obtain written approval from the Yale Alumni Association to conduct fundraising of any kind for purposes that overlap or conflict with the University's priorities. This would apply to fundraising in such areas as accepting corporate support, funding academic chairs, and creating student scholarships.

SIGs may solicit corporate sponsorship for events only in an amount that does not exceed the greater of (1) the expenses of a particular event, or (2) the SIG's annual operating expenses. Requests for and acknowledgments of corporate sponsorships must clearly state that the contribution is to the SIG and not to Yale University.

Remain an independent organization and not become a chapter of a non-Yale organization.

Represent less than half of all Yale alumni in its membership.

Have at least 100 members, with at least 25 years between the years of the most recent and longest-held degrees within the member base.

Refrain from starting or investing in any commercial enterprise.

Not set up a regional Yale Club as a "front" for promoting the goals of the SIG.

Not be established specifically to support a Yale research center or initiative.

Refrain from admitting to its membership any individuals who are not currently members of the Yale community. Members of the Yale community include alumni and their spouses/partners, students, faculty, staff, parents, and visiting fellows. At the discretion of the SIG, non-Yale community members may participate in SIG events.

Be entirely led by alumni, i.e., with a governing body comprised of at least three- fourths alumni and with the primary officers (President, Vice President(s), Secretary & Treasurer) all being alumni or having alumni status as defined by the YAA.

Please type your name (s) below to affirm your answers and statements.

Please enter the date: