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 The Capital IDEA Alumni Association is dedicated to linking alumni, students and friends in lifelong support of Capital IDEA and the Community.
Alumni Linked Together In: Continuing Education - We encourage CI Alumni to continue to seek out educational opportunities after they graduate. It is our goal to inform our alumni of, or make available to them, as many opportunities as possible. Financial Independence - CI Alumni are connected with resources like professional financial planers to help them realize their dreams of financial independence (see ciaa_pathtoprogress). To learn more about the company that is donating these services visit www.austinassetmanagement.com. Networking - CI Alumni who are searching out career growth opportunities in Central Texas will find CIAA to be a key resource in their efforts. Giving Back – CI Alumni have many opportunities to help support Capital IDEA and get involved in programs that directly venefit current Capital IDEA participants.
Our History On September 6th, 2006 the first meeting of the Capital IDEA Alumni Association was held at the Capital IDEA office. In attendance were three CI staff members and seven CI Alumni. Though few in number, the group worked diligently over the next several months, meeting weekly at first, then monthly, to discuss their ideas and hopes for the alumni association. Over the next few months the alumni made enormous progress. They managed to launch their website, start up their first giving back project, PROPS, and laid out plans to start up the Sponsor-a-Scholar fund through which graduates can donate back to Capital IDEA and collectively sponsor a student. Today, there are several areas new alumni can get involved in including the Speakers' Bureau, Tutoring, the Path to Progress financial planning program, and, most recently added, E-Pals an email based mentorship program. (for additional information on these projects please see Get Involved). Our Future Volunteering. CI Alumni develop volunteer programs that directly assist current Capital IDEA participants. The first such project, known as PROPS, is a support program for single parents enrolled in Capital IDEA. Single Parents face many challenges that make completing their education extremely difficult. PROPS offers support to these parents by organizing events throughout the Spring and Fall semesters that focus on at least one of the areas most important to the participants: time with their children, social time with other adults, alone or study time. Website. The CIAA web site allows alumni to participate in the association despite busy home and work schedules. The continued enhancement of the web site over this next year will extend the reach of the organization and allow members to reap the full benefit of their Capital IDEA connections by allowing graduates networking opportunities to advance their careers and by offering support to those who wish to return to school to further their education. Financial Planning and Austin Asset Management. Austin Asset Management Group, an Austin based financial consulting firm, began donating valuable financial planning sessions to CI Alumni in 2006. This lead to the development of the Path to Progress Program, through which graduates of Capital IDEA can take part in the financial planning offered by Austin Asset Management. In the donated sessions CI Alumni cover important financial concerns like retirement plans, long term investments, planning to by a home or saving for children’s education with a profession financial planner. CIAA members can request more information or a certificate for a financial planning session from Liz Roman.  Read more here. Get Involved!
It is our hope that involvement in CIAA will be a rewarding and enriching experience for all of our participants, allowing them to continually experience the joys of both giving and receiving. Involvement is open to all past graduates. If you would like to participate in the Alumni Association please contact Liz Roman and she'll get you started. If you would like more information about the Alumni, or the type of projects they work on please contact one of our officers. |