The Three Rs of Membership:Revitalization, Retention, Recruitment

AAUW Wisconsin State Convention

April 25, 2010

Ann Gustafson, Chair, AAUW Membership Committee, agus_mbrshp@yahoo.com

GOALS FOR TODAY’S DISCUSSION

Revitalizing your branch – looking for that ‘spark’ in your branch

Retention – how do you keep members longer than one, two or three years

Recruitment – what resources are available to help recruit new members; how do you access those resources

REVITALIZATION

How would you describe the current climate of your branch? Most members are excited about the mission and

the branch’s programming Only a few of the members are excited; others

appear to be going along for the ride Ho-hum – difficult to get people to get involved or

interested in what we are doing

REVITALIZATION

Good leadership is key to branch revitalization Branch President Branch Board

Create an environment that supports the mission, sets standards of excellence, and encourages “outside-the-box” thinking

REVITALIZATION – cont.

Branch self-assessment Do current members make AAUW a priority? Is it relevant to their lives?

Programming – Mission driven Meets the needs of your community

Do members feel needed? How do you get them involved and to make a

commitment?

RETENTION

Membership retention makes your branch a sustainable part of the organization

Characteristics of a sustainable organization Competent, sympathetic leaders Has universally agreed upon annual goals Has strong organizational systems to accomplish

goals

RETENTION – cont.

Has the proper resources and information technology

Has a compelling reason for its existence and is continuously guided by its mission

Becomes an organic extension of the community in which it exists

RETENTION – cont.

What can you do as a branch to help retain members? At the time that they join Throughout the first year? The second year?

What can you do personally to make members want to continue to be part of your branch?

RECRUITMENT

RECRUITMENT

Let’s go fishing – You need to believe that there a lot of “catchable”

fish in your pond

Don’t make finding potential member harder than it needs to be

RECRUITMENT – cont.

Five Rules of Fishing –

1. Fish where the fish are

2. If you don’t bait your hook, you’re not going to catch any fish

3. Use the right bait for the right fish

4. Throw back bad fish

5. Know that fish know other fish

RECRUITMENT - cont.

Fish where the fish are Who are your fish

Where do they hang out

Don’t go fishing alone

RECRUITMENT - cont.

Bait your hook Develop a strong PR team

Encourage members to “tell their AAUW story”

Pull them in with irresistible, compelling meetings

RECRUITMENT - cont.

Use the right bait for the right fish What kind of fish are you looking for

What will attract them

What works for you

RECRUITMENT - cont

Throw back ‘bad fish’ Don’t be desperate when fishing

Focus on those that will work for you

RECRUITMENT - cont.

Know that fish know other fish Ask them to invite their friends

Make it exciting to bring friends

RECRUITMENT – cont.

AAUW Outreach to new populations in new ways: Blogs – http://blog-AAUW.org AAUW Experience – AAUW’s on-line community Social media!

Facebook – www.facebook.com Twitter - @AAUW, @NCCWSL, @ClaudiaAAUW,

@christytj Second life

REVITALIZATION, RETENTION, RECRUITMENT

“Rather than keeping up with the changes in your organization, the challenge is keeping up with the changes in the lives of your members. To put it simply, it is not about you. It’s not about the organization. It’s about the members.

Mark Levin, CAE