CHAPTER SESSION: Creating Advocates Among Members

Nonprofit chapters need to continually generate awareness to recruit, invite, and induct eligible candidates while engaging established members in a specific way to ensure that they renew their membership each year. All of these components, explained fully in the membership lifecycle of the Society Pride and Awareness Recruitment Kit, will need to be in constant motion for your chapter to create a truly successful and long-lasting membership experience for its members. Chapters that specifically focus on recruitment and retention efforts will be more fiscally secure, and have a larger pool of volunteer leaders to help sustain the chapter in the future.

To effectively build awareness and recruit new members, your chapter needs to rely heavily on its volunteers who have the time and skills to form relationships with potential members. In addition to these volunteers dedicated to recruitment efforts, active members who are proud of their membership experience will also be great assets to your recruitment efforts. Enhancing member pride will help to create those advocates - who may not serve in a leadership role, but definitely help to develop the chapter's image and reputation.

Chapter pride is the emotional connection members have with their chapter and with the organization overall. If your chapter provides a positive and rewarding experience to its members, they will develop a sense of chapter pride. It is important to be mindful of chapter pride because it directly affects the group’s image within the community. Members are likely to share their experiences — both good and bad — with others.

Through resources such as the chapter sustainability pyramid and the Society Pride and Awareness Recruitment Kit, developed by STTI staff, this session will explain how to develop members' pride through assessment, education, rewards/celebrations, a welcoming environment, and much more. Attendees will learn the best practices in these areas, and walk away with new ideas to implement at the local level.