Last Updated November 19, 1999; comments to marshamiller@indstate.edu

RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS  

Establish a membership theme --- samples: Take the Initiative… Join AAUW; Each One, Reach One; AAUW -- We've Got a Good Thing Growing	Make a list of the colleges current members attended. Select one member to contact women graduates in the community from her respective college. Select members to contact their alumni offices for the names of eligible women.	Have a name box and a pad of paper at meetings for members to drop in the name of prospective members. Include the form in your branch bulletin.
Give a gift membership to the mayor or mayor's spouse.	Ask the branch Public Information Chair to add a paragraph on membership to every article put in the newspaper. Include a statement of eligibility (and diversity), an invitation to join, and the name, address and phone number of a contact person.	Wear AAUW jewelry or clothing items.
Announce that any member bringing a new member during November will receive a freshly baked pumpkin pie. Use the same idea for any month of the year. How about some plant cuttings for the spring?	Participate in a community celebration -- build a float, service a booth, conduct a tour. Wear an AAUW button or clothing.	Send program presenters the latest National membership brochure/application form; they may be eligible to join.
Increase your branch's visibility through posters. Use them to solicit new members, to publicize branch meetings and projects, and to encourage participation in a fundraiser.	Include the names and guests (aka prospective members) in the branch bulletin; then send them a copy.	Display an AAUW road sign at your community's city limits.
Former members are excellent new member prospects. Invite them to special branch activities and follow-up with a phone call, fax or email.	Have an annual historical meeting. Invite all former members since 19__. Or have a decade coffee for current & former members who joined during the 1950s, '60s, etc.	Order a copy of AAUW publications for the local library. Also mail a copy of your state publication to city and college libraries. Order copies of the AAUW issue briefs, books, videos, etc., to be placed in the school, community, and college libraries.
When you send letters of invitation to recruitment events, try opening with an interesting sentence; e.g., we've reserved a place for you at ____; how many hats do you wear? whatever the number, AAUW can help you wear them better!	Deliver a daisy and the National membership brochure to educators during the first week or classes; give them an AAUW pencil, bookmark, etc.	Promote half-price memberships between January and March 15.
Plan an award/special recognition for members who recruit one or more new members.	Set a membership goal and display a growth chart at meetings and in the bulletin.	Tell prospective members why you joined AAUW, and most important of all, why you have stayed a member.
Design, print, and place AAUW bookmarks in local bookstores, school, community or college libraries; list local programs & projects.	Develop a positive community image of DOERS!	Ask nearby colleges for an alumnae list and write or call the women in your area.
Have your branch listed in the Chamber of Commerce's roster of organizations	Open your meetings to the public to show the value of AAUW.	Send a prospective member a branch bulletin, an application form, and the name of a contact person to phone.
Leave branch bulletins, membership brochures, and copies of the National publication in school/college lounges, libraries and waiting rooms. Staple branch information or contact name inside.	Prepare a window display about AAUW during National Women's History Month (March).	Scan local newspapers for prospective members: new educators and other professionals, brides who are college graduates, spouses, and other newcomers to the community.
Always have an AAUW membership brochure with you (purse, briefcase, notebook, backpack, suitcase…).	Place an ad for AAUW in the publications of the local college to attract faculty members, graduate students, faculty spouses, and graduating senior women.	Be sure people know that the ONLY requirement for membership is a baccalaureate or higher degree and/or current enrollment as a full-time two-year or four-year degree program. They need to know that one does not have to be invited to join!
Have AAUW included in Welcome Wagon's list of community organizations. Prepare a welcoming letter which includes branch activities that impact the entire community. Write this P.S.: If you are a woman college graduate or currently enrolled college student and are interested in membership, contact _______. It would also be advantageous to include the AAUW mission and diversity statements on the material.	Participate in county or community fairs, special projects, bazaars, etc. Have AAUW information available (membership brochure/application, public policy brochure, Educational Foundation brochures, LAF brochures, copies of research studies, copies of issue briefs. Have a TV running with one of AAUW's videos showing..	Recruit women who will only be in your community a short time. Membership is transferable without further dues payment.
Promote branch meetings and activities through public service announcements on radio and TV, through the public access channel on cable TV, in newspapers, and with ads in shopper guides.	Adopt a college and make AAUW known through posters on campus, articles in campus newspapers, and participation in campus activities.	Display posters in laundry rooms of apartment buildings, in libraries and school lounges, and on college bulletin boards, etc. Get a community map and divide it up into quadrants and get volunteers to cover the areas; make a list of where the posters are for future removal/updating, etc.
Have a special branch activity where the admission is bringing a prospective member.	Ask the AAUW College-University Representative of the college in your community for a list of faculty and spouses.	Show any of AAUW's videos. Contact the Sales Office; Indiana members can contact the State President to use the State Lending Library's copies.

 

RETAINING CURRENT MEMBERS  

Make renewal easy! Put a renewal form in the April and May issues of your bulletin. Give clear instructions for payment. Attach a return envelope addressed to the branch treasurer.	Have articles in your branch bulletin periodically that focus on the benefits and services of AAUW. Resell AAUW; show some of the shorter videos as introductions to branch meetings.	Give special recognition to new members, 5-10-15-20+ year members at the April or May meetings.
Have a new-member interest group or new-member orientation group to help with bonding and information sharing, etc.	Use name tags. Mark guests, new members and continuing members in different ways.	Print a thumbnail sketch of each new member in the branch bulletins.
Provide incentives for renewing. Have a drawing for free Association, State and/or Branch dues, or for a colorful geranium. Give a prize for the first, fifth, etc. check received.	Recognize members for personal accomplishments -- promotions, leadership roles in other organizations, honors, birth of a child -- in the bulletin, at meetings or with postcard pats.	Pair a continuing member with a new member as a big sister/mentor/buddy.
Involve every member, including new members, in some branch activity. Active members do not drop out!	Take attendance informally at meetings and branch activities. If three months go by without any activity, contact the member with a We've missed you message, an update of branch activities, and an offer to ride with you to the next meeting.	Survey members at the end of the year about met and unmet expectations, interests, programming, meeting time, etc.
Have a designated person send a handwritten letter of welcome to each new member.	Before sending in the membership application, record information for the branch yearbook and membership card file.	Consider new members NEW for two years! This highest rate of dropout occurs during the first and second years of membership.
Develop friendships among members by having mixers at meetings and holding social activities, such as Out-to-Lunch Bunch.	Make sure all members are receiving their AAUW publications and new members are receiving their New Member brochure or whatever is currently sent from National to new members.	Assign someone to greet members/distribute name tags at meetings.
Offer flexible meeting times and programs so interesting that busy women will want to find time for AAUW.	Sponsor a board-hosted potluck supper for new members.	Orient new and continuing members to AAUW through AAUW Capsules at branch meetings, articles in the branch bulletin, orientation games and skits, and new member orientation sessions.
When a member is moving from your branch, send her name and new and old addresses to the State Membership Vice-President. She will forward the information.	Recommend branch members for important elective/appointive positions outside of AAUW.	Keep a membership record file. Record the interests and offices of new and current members. Note the number of times each prospective and dropped member was contacted and the responses.
Present the alternative of becoming a Member-at-Large to members who are considering dropping.	Send or phone a thanks to early renewals.	Have a special activity where admission is based on evidence of membership renewal.
Phone late renewals. Personal contact keeps members active!	Highlight a Member of the Month in the branch bulletin.	Establish a New Member Telephone Committee. Have Committee members call new members monthly about branch meetings and activities.
Provide for the special needs of members; e.g., tapes of meetings for shut-ins, rides to meetings, babysitting or adult care for member who wishes to attend a state meeting.	Offer an installment plan for dues payment or establish a membership retention fund which provides loans or grants for dues.	List an AAUW telephone number in your local directory.
Display pictures on a portable bulletin board to introduce new members, to promote name-face recognition among members, and to highlight branch activities.	Encourage local branch officers and board members to attend state meetings. One gains new information, perspectives, strategies and enthusiasm by networking with members from other branches.	Place an ad in the local paper outlining your branch accomplishments for the year to remind members and the community that AAUW is making a difference. This will also stimulate the interest of potential members who support our issues and activities. Be sure to include a contact name and number in the ad.
Ask members to form a committee to research and write a series of short bios of women who have made a difference in your state. Run them on cable television or the local radio stations during Women's History and/or Black History Month.	Assign members to find information to submit for the branch page on the Indiana State website. Information about branch activities; women's accomplishments in the community, historical information related to women or AAUW issues & interests.

 
This originated as a handout from Iowa AAUW, 1995, Hildahl/Ahrens; I made slight revisions to update or generalize the info.
 

 


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