Five-Star Success Stories

For 44 years, AAUW Morgan Hill has embodied purpose, compassion, and meaningful impact. Our hard-working members advance AAUW’s mission through scholarships, grants, and programs, reflecting true Five Star spirit. By being highly visible in the community — pitching our red logo tent at events and educating residents, we’ve become the group people trust and want to join. Although we debated participating in the 4th of July parade, it has proved worthwhile; new members have joined after seeing us, reminding us that showing up strengthens both our branch and our membership.

For our Branch, the key to earning 5-Star success is program planning. Each year, our Programs VP balances the interests of the branch on local issues with an eye to Public Policy opportunities. It is a concerted effort to ensure that our series of Programs delivers exciting and insightful content to our branch members that also aligns to AAUW Policy Priorities and our AAUW mission. Additionally, our branch board actively engages in 5-Stair achievement attainment at our August planning meeting.

The Fairport Area Branch (FAB) is a small AAUW branch in western New York that maintains a steady membership of 30-35 individuals. Approximately half of our membership serves on our Executive Committee which convenes biannually. FAB hosts at least five mission-driven programs each year, focusing on topics relevant to women and girls such as education, legislation, gender equity, the arts, technology, medical research, and economic security.

The Presidential Council participated in the AAUW Five-Star Program upon its introduction. Five-star goals are reviewed at our fall executive meeting, followed by a progress report at the annual spring meeting. We added a social media component last year and gratefully received the five-star award this past year.

Being recognized as a Five Star branch was a natural result of our long history of advocating for and promoting the mission of AAUW.

We are proud to have created events and actions that have been recognized state-wide, like our Legislative White Paper and our Civics 9-1-1 series. Along with our college scholarships, we highlight exceptional students in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs with our Trailblazer Awards.

When impactful women become a family, you just might hear, “I have found my people!”

The North Hills Pittsburgh Branch board annually reviews the criteria for the 5-Star Program. This shapes our branch strategy and programming. We have a partnership with La Roche University an AAUW Institution Member. We engage students to explore becoming branch members and apply for our Incentive Grant. Funds are raised through our annual fundraiser “For the Love of Books.” We collaborate with the LWV Greater Pittsburgh and La Roche University to conduct voter registration on campus twice a year.

One program that contributed to our branch’s 5-Star success was our partnership with League of Women Voters. Our members, LWV members, and some friends and family, wrote messages on voting information flyers. These were mailed to over 450 Fort Bend County residents living in areas with low voter turnout. This not only strengthened community engagement, it strengthened our own branch. The next month, a member of LWV joined us as an AAUW member and is now our new Public Policy Chair!

The Lake Washington Branch begins program planning with a review of the criteria for the 5-Star Branch recognition program, making as many programs as possible compatible with AAUW policy priorities. We were recognized by Lake Washington Institute of Technology for our $2000 scholarship and participated in their reception for scholarship recipients and donors. We share our AAUW Branch business cards whenever we can. Members have continued to be generous with branch and individual donations to national AAUW.

Lake Washington Branch Board members with scholarship recipient at Lake Washington Institute of Technology.

We believe it is Public Policy which has energized Appleton (WI) AAUW and moved us in new directions. The Five-Star program has been a useful tool for direction and possibilities. Our programs had never been frivolous, but they have become springboards to action. We write post cards, we register voters, we attend rallies and meetings with government officials. We know more, we do more, and we formed a coalition of women-forward organizations to be more effective.

As we moved into the community more, we have gained younger members. We have more attendance at monthly meetings and state conventions because they are worthwhile sources of inspiration and information. Our newsletter has become a multipage offering of opportunities that require a special calendar as first page to keep them straight.

“Our members know how to get things done!”

As the largest branch in Wisconsin, we are proud to have achieved 5-Star status every year since its inception. Our fundraising, programming, public policy work and dedication to an annual full day, college focused STEM day for area 8th grade girls align perfectly with the mission and goals of AAUW. AAUW Racine’s book sale funds thousands of dollars for local scholarships and support of National. Our dedication to gender equity for women and girls has been strengthened by the guidance of the 5-Star program!

AAUW West Suburban-Milwaukee (WSM) was honored to receive 5-Star recognition for the 2024–2025 year, a testament to the branch leaders’ collaborative efforts across all five categories. By appointing a 5-Star Coordinator, we ensured that one person could bring together the many moving parts into a unified outcome.

Support for the 5-Star program by the WSM leadership is embedded in our strategic plan, providing a clear roadmap that guides our branch and strengthens our role as an affiliate of AAUW National.