Recruiting New Members: How We Do It
By Phoenix Marks, Fort Lauderdale Branch President
While confirming the acceptance of our newest membership applicant in an email to Donna Sallee, our branch’s second vice president and membership chair, National Arts Credential Officer Winnie Thompsom wrote: “You and your branch deserve recognition of the wonderful job you are doing recruiting new members! Would you share how you are doing it with the rest of us?”
It’s a good question to ask. During this month’s board meeting, I was again reminded of the need to share “how are we doing it.” One of our board members shared that several local arts organizations are folding as their members age out. So, from a place of service and commitment to NLAPW, it is my pleasure to share one branch president’s secrets to “how we do it” with the intent that other branches may glean at least one kernel to add to their treasure chest of growing membership strategies that will help their branch and women in the arts to continue to flourish.
I have been president of our branch for eight of the past 10 years and am completing my fourth term. We had 35 active members in 2015; today, we have 42. This year, we gained four new members to date. We are a dynamic group of talented local, statewide, nationally, and internationally accomplished professional artists ranging in age from mid 40s to early 90s, with the majority of our members in their 60s and 70s. We annually experience attrition due to members’ long-term illness and passing.
In a play on the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” it takes an environment to attract and nurture new members where multiple members (i.e., president, board members, membership chairs, active members) share responsibility and take pride in raising our membership, the heart of our branch, utilizing multiple approaches.
Just as any business or organization has a culture, so does the Fort Lauderdale Branch. Key words that sum us up include friendly, open, creative, warm, inviting, interested, helpful, fun, uplifting, high energy, enthusiastic, positive “can do” attitude. When our members recognize other emerging and accomplished women artists who also reflect these attributes, they find ways to encourage them to get to know us and encourage them to apply for membership.
Our branch’s approach to attracting, growing, and maintaining membership is multifaceted. It takes multiple “organically integrated” strategies” to get to “Yes,” welcoming a new member.
President’s Vision
“Grow Our Membership – Keep Us Strong” is my No. 1 goal guiding our branch. It is consistently echoed and shared at all branch events, board meetings, membership luncheon meetings, exhibitions, and published materials.
“It takes the village” — the talented hearts and efforts of all our members to achieve. Board members are asked monthly to bring in one new member during the year or their term. General members are asked at monthly luncheons and through our members’ handbook roster to be inspired to invite a friend to a luncheon. If they like us, invite them to join as a member.
Have a Goal Bigger Than Individual Members’ Goals
This is a big draw for attracting new members and maintaining our general membership. It speaks to their hearts and reflects their sentiments to make a difference in the world by helping the next generation of women artists. For our branch, our bigger goal is our Annual Achievements Awards. Collaborating with a local college, we award three $1,500 scholarships to exceptional young women artists (visual, literary, and musical composition or chorographic arts) to help with their college expenses. After covering expenses for everything we do, from luncheons, exhibits, and workshop fees to our annual coffee-cake fundraiser, all remaining income goes toward these awards.
Monthly Luncheons
From October through April, we host our monthly membership meetings. More than listening to our interesting presenter or updates on branch business, members enjoy attending to “catch up” with other members, share our group with their guests, and bring friends to introduce them to our branch. Supporting current members and attracting new members is always at the top of the minds of board members at these luncheons.
At these luncheons, guests who may become prospective members learn about us in a fun, light-hearted, high-energy, and casual way. They connect with other like-minded and spirited women artists, experience the camaraderie among members and our branch as a whole, learn of our branch events and accomplishments, and meet our members.
As part of the opening program, I always share my brief and inspiring “who we are” speech, two to three minutes on NLAPW’s “origin story.” It never gets old, and everyone enjoys it. And, as we do at all our events, I make the ask, inviting those who are possibly interested in membership to connect with our membership co-chairs, who are there with applications and are ready to answer any questions.
Workshops
Holding one or two workshops a year has proven to be an easy and successful avenue to attract new members.
After a day of playing together and learning new art techniques, members and prospective members feel quite uplifted and positive about Pen Women and specifically our branch.
There is ample time during these workshops to talk up the benefits of being a member. In the 2016 Winter issue of The Pen Woman magazine, our first vice president at the time, Lois Perdue, who led workshops on creating abstract mini paintings, shared our branch’s success with offering workshops to attract new members.
Provide Extensive Exhibition Opportunities to Showcase our Members and Branch
Since most of our members are visual artists, we hold five to seven art exhibitions each season at galleries and other high-traffic venues. This has proven to be a powerful way to maintain members and attract new members interested in showcasing their art and expanding their audience.
This year, we even attracted a new member who discovered us when she viewed one of our exhibits. The works inspired her to look us up online, attend a monthly luncheon, and complete her application. Now she is inspiring one of her artist friends to join us as well by inviting her to attend our monthly luncheon meetings.
Our annual juried fine art exhibition is the only time nonmembers can participate in any of our exhibits. This show is our way to introduce local women artists to the Fort Lauderdale Branch of NLAPW. Nonmembers are limited to participate in two of these annual exhibits.
It also serves as an opportunity for prospective members whom board members and membership co-chairs are nurturing to complete their NLAPW application. If they are accepted into this juried exhibition, it will help them fulfill one of the three required juried exhibitions on the membership application. Since this is a significant way for us to attract possible new members, we market this exhibit extensively, including investing in an eNewsletter and website campaign.
‘Handholding’ Through New Member Application Process
We’ve found that completing National’s membership application can be daunting for many of our prospective new members, regardless of their professional abilities and accomplishments. Our membership chair takes a proactive approach to help speed up the paperwork and documentation that helps ensure we get the application right the first time. We’ve found that this helps prospective new members stay enthusiastic rather than discouraged while applying.
Through emails, phone calls, and one-on-one meetings, the chair works with each prospect to identify only what is needed to make the application. Then, she organizes each application as best she can and presents the package at a board meeting to be thoroughly reviewed. Board members make suggestions for any needed improvements such as missing items. After we work on this directly with the applicants, packages are presented at the next board meeting to hopefully be approved.
Once the board approves the final application packages, the membership chair ensures that the package is easy to review and is complete. She completes the actual membership application form, organizes all supporting documentation, obtains signatures from the artist and the sponsor, and forwards the completed package to National’s credential officer to review and approve.
New Members Luncheon
Each April, past presidents and board members celebrate our new members with a special luncheon at one of the board member’s home. It’s proven to be a powerful bonding event. After eating, we play by creating table decorations for the following week’s Achievement Awards Luncheon, where we honor our annual student scholarship award winners.
The Numbers Matter
Since growing membership is my biggest goal as president, ensuring that the Fort Lauderdale Branch has a strong and bright future, it is also the top item on our monthly board meeting agenda after the treasurer’s report. It may be the membership chair’s report, but all board members contribute to a monthly discussion on who is a possible good new member prospect and how we can help her get to “yes” — become an active member.
Here are some line items from my January’s monthly agenda:
Membership: Donna and Karen
- Members and patrons’ numbers for 2024-2025:
- Membership applications sent to National since December 1
- Membership applications approved by National since December 1
- Membership applications to review and approve
- Membership applications in process (candidates’ names)
- New possible members (names)
- Renewal update (status of former member)
Tap Into Members’ Strong Art Network
Many of our members are active in other arts organizations, from various art societies and associations to local, state, and national art guilds. Knowing human nature, it’s only natural that they want to play with like-minded and spirited artists and invite them to monthly luncheons and other events. These friends of members are often “converted” into new members.
For the Fort Lauderdale Branch of NLAPW, recruiting new members “takes a village” — a multifaceted, comprehensive approach. The responsibility doesn’t rest on any one person or board position. It does take asking multiple times in multiple ways while always being positive and inviting. It’s a strategic approach that appears seamless to outsiders.
It does take nurturing our current membership to continue to build enthusiasm for our branch. In turn, they help nurture the seeds for new members by inviting them to branch activities. And we always have fun through the process and look forward to getting to “yes,” welcoming our newest member.