Shared Effort

At its meeting in February, the Board of Directors of Princeton Project 55 approved a new name for our
organization: we are now Princeton AlumniCorps!

During the committee's deliberations more than 300 possible new names were proposed and considered.

The change in our name culminates a two-year process growing out of our strategic plan. “Our name of Princeton Project 55 served us well for 20 years,” said Board Chair Kenly Webster ’55. “It honors the legacy of our founders, as indeed it should. Now, looking forward to our next 20 years, we will be able to grow and broaden our impact with a name that both reaches out to Princetonians of all ages and compellingly characterizes what we do.”

The Board has discussed a possible name change many times over the past two decades, but the issue became more urgent when members recognized that Project 55 needed to reach out more vigorously to attract Princetonians of all ages and to communicate its actual mission more effectively to everyone. In June 2008 the Board asked its Communications Committee to research a potential naming strategy. Committee members conducted research on several fronts:

• How we communicate now and what our name should say about us
• The story of PP55, its founding and evolution
• The current mission and strategic priorities
• Board feedback and discussion at its quarterly    meetings
• Surveys and interviews with key constituents and peers, and eventually…
• A proposal for a new umbrella name

Between December 2008 and February 2010, Communications Chair Lanny Jones ’66 and his committee held in-person or teleconference meetings about once a month. Board Chair Kenly Webster ’55, President Bill Leahy ’66, and Executive Director Kathleen Reilly were also involved throughout the research process, as was trademark attorney Dick Woodbridge ’65, who donated his services pro bono. During the committee’s deliberations more than 300 possible new names were proposed and considered.

Criteria:

*Does it reflect our overarching mission of inspiring and building civic leadership among alumni across generations by engaging them in significant activities that influence and improve our society?
*Is it distinctive and legally available?
*Is it short (ideally 5 syllables or less)?
*Is it inclusive and expansive?

Guiding Principles:

*In order to preserve brand recognition and honor the history and heritage of our organization, the original name of Princeton Project 55, or the“55” numerals, need to be included somewhere in the naming platform – either in the unchanged overall name, the subtitle/tagline, or names of key programs

*Possible new names were tested for reactions from our key constituencies: the full Board, key founders and funders from the Class of ’55, alumni from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, PIP alumni, sponsoring organizations, the Alumni Council, and other campus groups

From the outset, the committee concluded that, while the “55” numerals in the present name were an obstacle to recruiting Princeton alumni from other classes, it was also important that the brand-recognition built up under the original name be preserved. The result was the recommendation, approved by the board in February, that our flagship Public Interest Program now be known as the Princeton Project 55 Fellowships Program.

As one Board member, Arthur McKee ’90, put it: “One of the reasons why I drive up to Princeton from Washington four times a year is because I have been able to get to know members of the Class of ’55, which otherwise I would never have done. And not only was I inspired, but I am currently and will be in the future inspired by what the Class of ’55 has done and what it still will do. We can and we will honor not just the legacy but the action and the lives of the members of the Class of ’55.”

“The committee and others kept coming back to the concept of a ‘corps,’” Jones said. “With the existence of the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Service Corps, and City Corps, the term has evolved to connote innovative service. ‘Corps’ also of course conjures the image of a volunteer or unified team. Hence Princeton AlumniCorps: a cadre of alumni, shoulder to shoulder, working together for systemic social change.”

The new name is just one piece of a larger strategic effort to engage, mobilize, and inspire alumni to be active citizens. Over the course of the next year we expect to announce new programs that will help us carry out our mission.

Communications Committee: Lanny Jones ‘66, Chair, Illa Brown ‘76, Jim Lynn ‘55, Anne-Marie Maman ‘84, Kathleen McCleery ‘75, Pete Milano ‘55, Kathy Miller ‘77, Natasha Robinson ‘04, Chet Safian ‘55, Tony Spaeth ‘55