Membership – What’s in it for me?
Although we are getting our club year geared up with meetings, projects, and programs we have already been hard at work RECRUITING new members. And after we thought we were on our way to some sort of normalcy, BAM! The delta variant of COVID creeped into our communities. We find ourselves asking again how do we hold a successful recruitment event? Fingers crossed we can mask up and continue with in-person events – at least for now!
Here are some tips for a “successful” recruitment event:
- Set a goal. Set a REALISTIC goal so you don’t get frustrated and remember we are still in a pandemic.
- How will you fund this event? Does your club have it budgeted? If you need some creativity be sure to reach out to your members and see what talents they have to offer – any bakers? any caterers? any own a store where they can offer donations for needed supplies? Did your club win one of the quarterly $25 gift cards from GFWC-NC? See the last paragraph of this article for more info!
- Know who you want to recruit – get club members involved in asking friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.
- GET THE WORD OUT! Post on social media. Distribute fliers at local schools and colleges, your nail or hair salon, your local library. Put an ad in the newspaper. Ask how to get on your news station’s community bulletin.
Need some ideas for keeping your members engaged and connected? Check out a few virtual social and volunteer ideas listed below:
- Spooky Halloween/S’mores Fall Event – send members a S’mores pack in the mail and gather together to share ghost stories.
- Share a Workshop – Does a member have a special skill to share with the membership?
- Trivia Night – there are online versions you can find, or you can make your own.
- Brewery Tour or Tea Party – have each member purchase a couple of beers from a local brewery to try as a group or send members a variety of tea bags and a treat and have a tea party.
- Arm’s Reach Show and Tell – ask members to grab one thing within arm’s reach and tell the club about the item.
- Competition – have members show off special hats, etc and provide a small prize to the winner.
- Beauty Night – have members bring their own beauty masks, nail polish, etc and chat while all of you have time to pamper yourselves.
- Sandwich Making for a Local Shelter – find a local shelter taking donations and have each member make a certain number of sandwiches to be picked up the next day and delivered by one of your members.
And if you try one of these, please post on social media, utilize #GFWCNC!!
Don’t forget our incentive for this club year! The GFWC-NC Membership Committee is going to have a drawing at the end of each of the four “seasons” for a $25 gift card that we hope will help your club celebrate its newest members! Maybe host a social, or purchase a gift for each new member, or whatever you choose. Then at the end of the year there will be another drawing for a grand prize that will include a $100 gift card and lots of other fun stuff for your club. The catch?? Your club must submit the GFWC Seasonal Recruitment Campaign Report to GFWC and send a copy to Kim Fulcher. Be sure to submit for each “season” your club adds new members. Even if you only took in one new member – REPORT it and your club will be eligible for the drawing – first one will be in September so don’t forget to submit your report by September 1, 2021!