UWC Annual Report 2016

UWC in The Netherlands 2017 and beyond
In 2017, our efforts will be focused on spreading UWC broader and deeper into society, promoting the UWC xperience and
stepping up our fundraising efforts in a difficult market. The organisational changes from 2016 will provide us with new energy to
expand UWC momentum in 2017. One of our aims is to intensify the working relationship between UWC the Netherlands and
UWC Maastricht in several fields, such as short programmes, fundraising and communication.
UWC fundraising through partnerships
Our target in the coming years is to steadily increase
the number of placed students. It is therefore crucial to
grow our scholarship programme accordingly. In 2017 a new
fundraising plan will be put into practice. We will broaden
our fundraising base by entering into new partnerships, and
enhance partnership relationships. We will focus on broadening
our scope of individual donors and further developing our
relationships with corporate donors. One of our priorities is
to co-create employee engagement programmes, using the
expertise and uniqueness of the UWC educational models
and the skills of our students and alumni.
Increasing financial support by alumni is another priority. We
will step up our efforts to reach out to our extensive alumni
database, developing initiatives to involve year groups through
their representatives. More attention will be given to specifics
forms of giving, such as recurrent, tax-advantageous gifts and
the possibility to put UWC in your will.
Two UWC summer xperiences In 2017, the
UWC xperience will organise two summer courses in cooperation
with IMC Weekend School. We can therefore facilitate
around 70 students from secondary schools in The Netherlands.
The UWC xperience will be brought back under the general
UWC the Netherlands umbrella, participating in and giving
back to the recruitment, fundraising and communications
activities.
UWC Maastricht under new leadership
With the arrival of its new Head of College Lodewijk
van Oord, UWC Maastricht will move to a new phase,
building on the solid foundations of the past eight years. The
closer cooperation between UWC the Netherlands and UWC
Maastricht will enable us to achieve economic as well as
operational synergy gains. With 186 boarding students UWC
Maastricht, our flagship college in The Netherlands, serves as
our billboard. The school is like no other able to convey the UWC
message to their pupils aged 4 to 19, their parents and the wider
educational community in The Netherlands and beyond.
New impulse for student recruitment
During 2016 student recruitment was given new momentum
with the reinforcement of the team and the increased
number of information sessions for prospective students.
In 2017 promotion efforts will be intensified to increase
the number of applications. Questions such as how we can
reach more students, especially from migrant background
and from lower socio-economic areas and how we can
properly distinguish ourselves from other schools will have
to be answered. Cooperation will besought with other youth
organisations to promote UWC more widely with the short
programmes of the UWC xperience as an important vehicle.
Ensuring the lasting quality of
student selections In 2016, a special Taskforce
Selections, consisting of professional recruiters, teachers and
experienced selection volunteers, have reviewed the
selection procedure used by the Dutch National
Committee. We believe this crucial aspect of our mission
merits a relentless focus on quality. In 2017, we will continue
implementing recommended improvements to ensure our
procedure for selecting students to go to UWC schools
conforms to the highest standards achievable concerning
transparency, objectiveness and accountability.
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