To help us and others with this dilemma, we went to the experts. YOU! After our AGM at Quilt Canada 2015, members told us their success stories and advice. It was a worthwhile conversation for everyone in the room and we promised to show you the feedback from that discussion.
Town Hall Discussion
How to Increase Guild Membership
After the Annual General Meeting
members were invited to participate in a discussion on how to increase guild
membership. There was good participation resulting in the following
suggestions:
-The needs of membership should be
determined through the use of a survey such as Survey Monkey or another
suitable tool. Results would then be shared
with all membership and guild activities adjusted accordingly.
-Large guilds often have sub-groups
who meet within an existing meeting or separately to ensure that the interests
of all members are addressed. Mentors
can be assigned to either a sub-group or to new members to assist them in
learning the ropes.
-Whenever possible speak with a
departing member to determine why they are leaving the guild- the information
provided may result in further adjustments to guild programs.
-Ensure that meetings have
structure and purpose i.e. format, projects, strong interaction, sharing of techniques,
etc. Keep members challenged and
interested.
-Where feasible guilds have
introduced sliding scale membership fees e.g. reduced fee for youth, early
renewal discount, snowbird rate.
-Most in attendance were in guilds
that use social media which kept membership informed and engaged.
We hope this helps and if you have any tips, please add them in the 'Comment' section!
Our club has 2 meetings a month, so for the first meeting each month, we are trying a 'Mix & Mingle' session at the beginning of the meeting. The members pick up a table number and each table is assigned one of 3 questions to discuss - no right or wrong answers (ie - do you prewash?). Only one session so far, but we think it's a good idea.
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