Will Your Members Continue in Your Chapter?

Picture this…
A member induction ceremony is taking place and your chapter has several new members. How exciting!

The question now becomes will those new members still be with your chapter next year? In 2 years? In 5 years?

Here are some strategies to engage and maintain your membership.

Welcoming and getting to know your members:

•     All members should welcome your new members.  Go out of your way to talk to them and make them feel they belong in your chapter.
• Assign each new member a mentor.
• Have a greeter who welcomes every member.
• Engage in ice breaker activities to ensure that members sit with different members at each meeting and get to know each other.
• Highlight your new members so we all get to know them.  Put an article about your new members in your chapter newsletter.

Programs

•     Encourage member input before planning programs.
• Provide programs that appeal to both retired and working educators.

Participation

•     Make sure new members have the calendar of meeting dates for your chapter.
• Find out how to communicate with new members (text, note, email. Apps-for example GroupMe, Remind) and contact them prior to the meeting to remind them of the meeting date and location.
• Assign new members to committees.
• Give new members a task at the meeting. 
• Get them involved in area or state events by giving them a job to do and welcoming them to DKG events.

Meetings   

• Change the meeting date and time to accommodate all members.
• Allow members to bring their young children or provide someone to watch the children.  Many high school students are looking for community service hours.
• Check on members who are absent from meetings.  Call them, text them, or write them a card or note.  Be sure they know they were missed.

Recruiting new members is vital to all chapters. Using the Membership Plan or some other way of gaining new members should be a goal of every chapter.  It is important that we not only recruit new members, but that we maintain those members in our chapters once they choose to join us.

Please check the DKG.org website to find many ideas on gaining and retaining new members.