Frequently Asked Questions
Communications
How do I receive the Club newsletters? / why am I not getting Club emails? / Why didn’t I hear about an event?
Check that your email in the Alum Directory is accurate, and make any necessary changes by following these instructions. If your profile is up-to-date but you’re not receiving newsletters, make sure you’ve selected the checkbox next to “Clubs/Affiliate Groups News & Events” emails.
You can always view our newsletters on our website, but those posts will not include event organizer emails. We also post about our events to our social media and update the calendar on our “Events” page. While we want to broadly publicize our events, we also don’t want to spam people! Consider regularly checking our website or adding us to your favorites on social media to stay in the loop.
How do I opt out from the club newsletters? / How do I unsubscribe?
The Club cannot directly edit our mailing list recipients, so you’ll need to update your preferences in the Alum Directory to stop receiving our emails. For your convenience, we have compiled step-by-step instructions.
We are unfortunately not able to offer assistance if you have followed the above instructions and are still receiving our emails. You may find it helpful to look up instructions from your email provider for setting up a filter.
Dues & Events
What is Open Collective?
We use Open Collective, an open-source fundraising and budget management platform, to collect payments for dues and paid events. Our members are now able to set up a recurring dues payment or make a custom contribution of any amount and frequency!
Additionally, we use Open Collective to manage our events (both free and paid); it allows us to track attendees, keep everyone up-to-date, and manage expenses. Previously, we used Eventbrite for dues and select events, but our profile there is no longer active.
How do I cancel my event registration?
Attendees cannot cancel their own registrations. For free events, you can just let us know you’re no longer able to attend. (We appreciate the heads-up!) For paid events, we are generally not able to accommodate refunds, but we may be able to make an exception on a case-by-case basis for extenuating circumstances. We recommend “donating” your ticket(s) if you are not able to attend a paid event; we can post to our social media channels to offer your spot(s) to other alums!
Where is the event? / Why can’t I see the event address?
Many of our events are hosted at private residences. To protect the privacy of the alums who have graciously opened their homes to our community, we do not post their addresses publicly. After registering for an event, you will receive a ticket confirmation email from no-reply@opencollective.com with the event address and any location notes. You will also receive additional event updates from that no-reply email address, so make sure those emails aren’t being sorted into spam.
Who is invited to MHC NorCal club events?
Unless otherwise specified, we welcome Mount Holyoke alums regardless of club affiliation! We work closely with the Mount Holyoke Club of the Peninsula and often collaborate on and cross-promote events. Guests are generally welcome, but you can always reach out to us if you’d like to check.
If an event is aimed at a specific group (e.g., alums of color only, NorCal Club alums only), we will make that clear.
How do I cancel my dues payment or modify my payment method?
Follow these instructions to manage your Open Collective contribution(s) and payment method(s).
What should I do if I run into a technical issue while using Open Collective?
Open Collective has fairly extensive documentation, so you will likely find the answer to your query by searching online. If you’re not able to resolve your issue that way, please contact their support team, as the Club is unfortunately not able to assist you.
Can I provide feedback about an event I attended? / How do I express interest in a certain type of event?
We’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us if you’d like to share your event experience or tell us about the kind of programming that would most interest you. You can also fill out our <5-minute member survey to help the Board learn more about what you’re interested in seeing from us.
Previously, we’ve had members request more family-friendly events, as well as events in the Berkeley area, so we’ve organized an ice skating and cookie exchange, a meetup at the Berkeley Playhouse to see Seussical, and a meetup at the Haas Pavilion to watch women’s gymnastics.
Why are so many Club events in the Bay Area?
The MHC NorCal Club includes alums living in a very geographically large region, from the state’s borders with Oregon and Nevada down to the Bay Area. As most of our members and our board are based in San Francisco or the East Bay, our in-person events tend to take place in those areas (and occasionally in the Peninsula or South Bay when we collaborate with the MHC Pen Club). We regularly offer virtual programming, so check our calendar for upcoming events!
We regret that we’re not able to offer in-person events in locations convenient to all of our alums. If you’d like to host an event in your area, you can read more about the support the Club can provide for ad hoc member-led events here. If you’d interested in getting more involved with the Club and live in one of the counties listed below, our lower-commitment Regional Representative position may be a good fit for you!
| Region Name | Counties |
| Far North | Del Norte, Siskiyou, Modoc, Humboldt, Trinity, Lassen, Mendocino, Lake, and Plumas |
| Sacramento Valley | Shasta, Tehama, Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Yolo, Sutter, Yuba, Placer, and Sacramento |
| Sierra Nevada | Sierra, Nevada, El Dorado, Amador, Alpine, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mono, and Mariposa |
| San Joaquin Valley | San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced |
Other
How do I update my contact information with the College?
Follow these instructions to update your Alum Directory profile.
How can I get more involved with the MHC NorCal Club?
Check out this page for ways to volunteer! You can also support the Club by paying your dues.
Can I provide feedback about this website?
While this is not a question we have actually been asked, Adrianne (comms chair) is very interested in hearing about your experience with our website, especially if there’s any content you found particularly helpful or confusing or if there’s anything you’d like to see us add. Contact us if you have any feedback (positive, neutral, or negative) or if you notice any broken links or typos 🙂
What should I do if my question isn’t answered here?
Please reach out! As we are an all-volunteer organization, response times vary based on board member availability. Note that if your question is answered on this page, you are unlikely to receive a reply. If your question is not on this page and you haven’t received a response, feel free to send a follow-up, as we may have missed your email.