AAUW 5 Star Award! | AAUW Capital (NV) Branch

The AAUW Five Star Program

The AAUW Five Star Program is designed to help individual branches become more aligned with AAUW’s strategic priorities and advance our mission of achieving gender equity for women and girls. AAUW Capital Branch is proud to have achieved 5 Star status for the past several years, and we intend to keep earning our 5 Star status in the future!

What follows are the 5 Star criteria for FY 26:

Programs: Hold at least 4 programs that align with AAUW’s strategic plan.

Advancement:

Raise $30 per member in FY26 towards the Greatest Needs, Defend Higher Education or Public Policy Funds
Increase contributions to the Greatest Needs, Defend Higher Education or Public Policy Funds by 15% from the last fiscal year
Retain at least 80% of branch membership
Increase the number of individual donors compared to the previous fiscal year
Make a branch contribution to the Defend Higher Education or Public Policy Funds
Recruit at least one Legacy Circle member from your branch in FY26

Communications & External Relations:

Branch has a designated communications point person and follows AAUW National on platforms where it operates social media accounts.
Share 3-5 posts aligned with AAUW’s mission per quarter on branch social media accounts (can be shared/reposted from AAUW National accounts).
Include information from AAUW National in branch newsletters at least quarterly (pulling from Mission & Action emails, etc.).
Ensure all branch leaders subscribe to AAUW emails and share the email re-subscribe link with members quarterly in member communications.
Twice a year, assess national website and include updated information on branch website (linking to new strategic plan page, sharing latest content updates, sharing latest membership information).

Public Policy & Advocacy:

Appoint a branch public policy chair for FY26.
Conduct a meeting with an elected official regarding an AAUW public policy position. This could include local, state, or federal officials.
Participate in a state lobby day.
Hold a program on a policy topic related to public policy principles and priorities (this also counts towards a Programs Star).
Conduct a voter registration or voter education event.
Organize a group action—such as letter-writing, attending a school board meeting, hosting a town hall—aligned with AAUW Action Network calls to action.

Governance & Sustainability:

Branch board creates or annually reviews a succession plan to ensure future leadership is identified.
Branch board develops and implements a plan to participate in the Five Star Program.
Branch board develops or updates their strategic plan to align with the AAUW national strategic plan.
Appoint a Diversity Officer to lead branch diversity and inclusion planning or formalize diversity and inclusion programming in another branch position, such as Programs VP.
Hold at least one branch program focused on justice, equity, diversity, or inclusion topics (this also counts towards a Programming star).
Complete an environmental scan of your branch, using the DEI toolkit resource.
Participate in the Annual Branch Survey.
Update branch bylaws to reflect changes approved by AAUW membership in 2023.

The AAUW Five Star Program

Programs: Hold at least 4 programs that align with AAUW’s strategic plan.

Raise $30 per member in FY26 towards the Greatest Needs, Defend Higher Education or Public Policy Funds

Increase contributions to the Greatest Needs, Defend Higher Education or Public Policy Funds by 15% from the last fiscal year

Retain at least 80% of branch membership

Increase the number of individual donors compared to the previous fiscal year

Make a branch contribution to the Defend Higher Education or Public Policy Funds

Recruit at least one Legacy Circle member from your branch in FY26

Branch has a designated communications point person and follows AAUW National on platforms where it operates social media accounts.

Share 3-5 posts aligned with AAUW’s mission per quarter on branch social media accounts (can be shared/reposted from AAUW National accounts).

Include information from AAUW National in branch newsletters at least quarterly (pulling from Mission & Action emails, etc.).

Ensure all branch leaders subscribe to AAUW emails and share the email re-subscribe link with members quarterly in member communications.

Twice a year, assess national website and include updated information on branch website (linking to new strategic plan page, sharing latest content updates, sharing latest membership information).

Public Policy & Advocacy:

Appoint a branch public policy chair for FY26.

Conduct a meeting with an elected official regarding an AAUW public policy position. This could include local, state, or federal officials.

Participate in a state lobby day.

Hold a program on a policy topic related to public policy principles and priorities (this also counts towards a Programs Star).

Conduct a voter registration or voter education event.

Organize a group action—such as letter-writing, attending a school board meeting, hosting a town hall—aligned with AAUW Action Network calls to action.

Branch board creates or annually reviews a succession plan to ensure future leadership is identified.

Branch board develops and implements a plan to participate in the Five Star Program.

Branch board develops or updates their strategic plan to align with the AAUW national strategic plan.

Appoint a Diversity Officer to lead branch diversity and inclusion planning or formalize diversity and inclusion programming in another branch position, such as Programs VP.

Hold at least one branch program focused on justice, equity, diversity, or inclusion topics (this also counts towards a Programming star).

Complete an environmental scan of your branch, using the DEI toolkit resource.

Participate in the Annual Branch Survey.

Update branch bylaws to reflect changes approved by AAUW membership in 2023.