About ARC17
What is ARC17?
ARC17 is the Annual Reunion Class of '17 Fund. It is a class-run, annual reunion fund, where paying members get access to annual reunions held in different locations each year.
What's the Vision?
Our vision is to be the most connected class of all time, a group that gets together and grows together. After spending two years growing and learning together at the GSB, we wanted a way to maintain and grow these relationships. ARC17 is a mechanism to give continuity to our GSB experience. We spent two years building relationships and without regular upkeep, these friendships will fade away. Five year reunions are far apart (and if you miss one, you'll have to wait an entire decade before seeing the class together again).
Annual reunions are opportunities to have meaningful interactions that will lead to even more frequent touch-points with old and new friends throughout the year. The goal is for ARC to host a reunion in the years the GSB does not.
How Does it Work?
As a GSB Class of 2017 graduate, you pay once upfront to reunite with our classmates each year in different locations annually. The idea is simple: get broad-spread buy-in from the class (currently over 170 classmates are members), grow the investment, and with the proceeds fund reunions in the years Stanford does not organize a reunion (year 2, 3, 4, 6, etc).
ARC17 will cover all official events at the reunion, including our venues, speakers, and catering. Accommodations, transportation, and any unofficial events will not be covered. Each event will have a budget allocated by the Investment Committee and approved by the Governance Committee that will take into account the local price index and the schedule of events proposed by the host(s).
Where Did This Idea Come From?
This model has been proven by several GSB classes, and we’re drawing on best practices from the Class of 1968, the Class of 2006, and the Class of 2011 to make ARC17 is a success.
What's the Legal Structure?
After consulting with several law and accounting firms, ARC17 is structured as an LLC controlled by members of its executive. This legal structure is intended to allow the entity to achieve its mission while minimizing the overall administrative burden on the volunteers that run it. ARC17 is not officially affiliated with Stanford or the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
What Will the Annual Reunions Look Like?
ARC17 reunions will be hosted in different cities each year by a different classmate (or group of classmates). Reunions are designed to be fun and to encourage meaningful interactions between classmates. Reunions will include guest speakers, fun activities (games), sharing-focused activities (Talk17, View from the Bottom/Middle, topic-focused meetings, speeches, etc.), and ample opportunities to casually hang out.
In addition to old friends, a major objective of the reunions is to kindle new friendships by promoting conversations between people who, for whatever reason, didn't get the chance to meet properly at school. We will hold reunions in major hub cities (NY, LA, London), smaller cities (e.g. Austin, Seattle) and aim to hold one in every 4 events internationally (Europe, Asia, LatAm, etc.). Our first reunion took place in 2019 in Los Angeles. Our second was scheduled for Mexico City in May 2020 but due to COVID-19 was cancelled. We are hosting a virtual gathering in 2021.
More Questions?
View our FAQ document and if it's not answered there, drop us a line (gsb@arc17.com).
Who Leads ARC17? How Can I Help?
ARC17 is made possible by a diverse group of volunteers from the Class of 2017, including folks who helped us get class buy in and organized events (some even baked cookies for our on campus AMAs!). The current ARC17 executive is: Gabrielle, Tom, Cindy, Bryce, and Natalie - with additional volunteers to help coordinate the local events each year. If you'd like to join our team or host an event, please send us a note.