1. Member Recruitment and Retention
Tia Miller
Organization Leadership Conference

2. Why Did you join? Why have you stayed?

3. Ask Yourself What do members get out of joining?
What are their expectations of the group?
How do members want to be involved?
What do members want to get out of it?
What can current members do differently?

4. Members are Involved How?
Shows up at meetings, but never speaks up or volunteers to help with projects
Actively contributing ideas, not involved outside of meetings
Supports your events, but never attends meetings

5. Is there room for them?
Where do new members fit into your organization?
Is there a structure in place for them to be involved as a chair or as a member of a committee?
Do the meeting times fit their schedule?

6. It’s easy to lose members along the way or for them to become disengaged because the organization is not what they expected it to be. It’s up to you as a club officer to set and manage your members’ expectations. You can do that both during the recruiting process and in how you run your club meetings and day-to-day operations.

7. Be honest and upfront regarding what your organization is about.
It may be tempting to go for image over substance, but you’ll just be creating an expectation you won’t be able to meet.
Be clear regarding expectations about meeting attendance, organization activities and how much participation – and effort – is required once they become a member.

8. Running Meetings The 5 R’s Give them a Responsibility.
Help build Relationships.
Enforce Requirements. 
Give out Rewards. 
Assign them a Role-model. 

9. Running Meetings
Make the meeting fun and interesting with lots of participation.
Have icebreakers to give the attendees a chance to meet other people.
Call the meeting to order on time.
Have an humorous story, YouTube Video, or a thought of the day.
Officers report on their activities and items of interest.
Committees report on their area of responsibility and upcoming activities.
Recognize birthdays, big accomplishments, milestones.
End the meeting on time.

10. Other Helpful Tips 1. Distribute Your Minutes
2. Involve All of Your Members
3. Evaluate Your Organization
4. Assign Responsibilities by Month
5. Use Technology Effectively
6. Have Each One Bring One
7. Develop Incentives
8. Provide Confidential Information
9. Create a Clear Mission Statement
10. Experiment, Experiment, Experiment!

11. Easy Ideas Punch Cards Member of the Month Snacks/Activity each week
Face to Face Interaction
Incentives
Discounts
Conference Attendance
Free Stuff

12. Final Thoughts
Remember, membership retention – like a marriage – is work. In fact it’s often harder to keep members than to get new ones. A great recruiting pitch may get members in the door, but it’s how your organization functions that’s going to keep them hanging around.