Membership Recruiting Retention 12 th District Membership Workshop

Membership Recruiting & Retention 12 th District Membership Workshop September 26, 2020

Facilitator Tom Poulton 12 th District 1 st Vice Commander LTCTRPRET@Yahoo. com (614) 783 -1950 (c) 2

Recruiting & Retention RETAIN REINSTATE RECRUIT 3

Recruiting & Retention What or how much do you think you really know about the American Legion? 4

Recruiting & Retention American Legion Training Opportunities Basic Training District Training in a Box Training Newsletters Service Officer Training Membership Workshop Training Videos Mylegion. org Local & Regional Events Buckeye American Legion College (BALC) National American Legion College 5

Recruiting & Retention Membership Considerations Why should someone join your Post? Why should a new member stay in your Post? Why should new members get actively involved in Post activities? Would a woman/minority/young vet feel welcome at your Post? Would a woman/minority/young vet want to stay a member in your Post? 6

Recruiting & Retention The image of your post is what the COMMUNITY thinks it is, not what YOU think it is. And, DEFINITELY not just what you “want” it to be. 7

Recruiting & Retention 8 The Post and Membership • Active, innovative Posts retain their members and draw new members • Meaningful activities based around Legion values help create a positive reputation in the community • A Post should be proud of its community, and a community should be proud of its Post • Every Post activity is a membership activity

Recruiting & Retention Why do we spend so much time and effort working our membership every year? 9

Ohio 3 -Year Membership Comparison as of January, 19 2018 Renewals 10

Ohio 3 -Year Membership Comparison as of January 19, 2018 Traditiona l New Members 11

Ohio 3 -Year Membership Comparison as of January 19, 2018 Death Rate 12

Ohio 3 -Year Membership Comparison as of January 2019 Active Members by War Era 13

Essentials to Membership Growth Training…Learning Leadership…Get out in Front Mentoring…Developing Members Motivating…Involvement Monitoring…Follow up 14

First Things First #1 The Commander Must: • Identify priorities • State expectations • Explain responsibilities • Lead to success 15

First Things First #2 The 1 st Vice Cdr / Membership Chair Must: • Have a positive attitude • Be committed to membership • Manage the process • Provide progress updates • Maintain and promote objectives • Reward successes 16

First Things First #3 Develop the Membership Committee: • More is better and more effective • Divide up the work • Establish goals • Alternate responsibilities • Involve the entire membership • Make it a family project – Legion, Auxiliary, Riders, SAL 17

First Things First #4 Develop a written plan • What do we need to do? • How are we going to do it? • Who is doing what? • Identify target dates and milestones • Keep it simple and flexible 18

Retention Why is Retention so important? • Membership is our lifeline • Strong membership means more clout in Washington • Better programs for veterans • Increased participation in Legion programs • Better position in our communities 19

Retention What can we do to Retain our Members? • Don’t forget our current and longtime members • Include members in planning and activities • Encourage their attendance at meetings • Ask your members to help • Find ways to help them understand the American Legion 20

Retention Best Practices Make your membership program important at your Post Set and work your membership goals Retention is a year-round priority and needs to be worked Keep your members involved Welcome and keep tabs on your new members Recognize and reward your members who reach milestone membership anniversaries 21

Retention Best Practices Buddy check with members = Retention. Wear your The American Legion Emblem clothing. Broadcast your events in the community. Increase your Post social activities. Get members involved at SOME level. Involved members stay involved. 22

Retention Best Practices Local school activities = stronger community impact. Utilize a membership team at the Post level. Participate in community events = increased visibility. Involve members in a “think tank” to increase buy-in. Promote Legion training programs; Basic Training, Training Newsletters, Workshops, BALC, Newsletters 23

Reinstate Why is reinstatement so important? • We need to reduce our membership losses • Greater membership = more support in Congress • Greater membership = more program support • Members join for specific reasons – why do they quit? • Sometimes expired members do come back 24

Reinstatment Best Practices Use the Buddy check to keep in touch with your members Expired members may have problems that you can assist with Show an interest in why they quit – they may rejoin Invite expired members to be your guest at events – they may rejoin Keep in touch with expired members – they may rejoin Include newsletters to expired members – they may rejoin 25

Recruiting Why is Recruiting so important? • Statistics don’t lie • Always be ready with a few membership applications • 4. 1 M more members available with the Legion Act • Transfer members from Post 888 • Build and maintain a relationship with local National Guard and Reserve members in your community. 26

Recruiting 27 Who are your Potential Members? Members of immediate family Extended relatives Church members Active-Duty members Neighbors and Friends Reserve / NG Members Business acquaints Teachers Police officers Co-workers Firefighters Medical Profession members Other Veteran Organizations Mail Carriers

Recruiting Best Practices Build and maintain a relationship with the person in charge of veteran admissions and/or veteran student organizations that may be on college campuses. Network with first responders, civic and community organizations, as well as other veteran service organizations to expand your pool of potential members. Ensure that your post is building its brand - make sure your post is an asset to the community; inform them of your post’s programs, participate in public, community and school activities, etc. 28

Recruiting Best Practices 29 Don’t narrow your focus to veterans in only one or two war eras. The Legion Act has improved American Legion membership. We can find veterans everywhere we go. Maximize DMS / Post 888 transfers Use the Buddy Check. Work your post’s Expired Members listings that can be found under the Find Members in my Area section in mylegion. org

Recruiting Best Practices Seal the deal • Attention getter • What’s important? • Be succinct - have talking points • Keep it brief – 15 -25 seconds. • Carry applications 30

Recruiting Best Practices Keep your new members • Statistics don’t lie • Welcome your new members • Broadcast your Post activities • Be my guest • Keep in touch • Don’t let members get away 31

Revitalization, the fourth R Webster – to bring an organization back to life, to make it operative again. • At Post level with District help to reverse failing membership trends. • At District level with Department help to bolster membership in a number of Legion Posts. 32

Revitalization, the fourth R • An event preplanned and organized in advance • Advertised in multiple media formats • Team managed to include a Service Officer(s) • Using Post 888 information in mylegion. org • Mass mailing, telephone calls and / or a walk-in event • Follow–up is required to confirm recruiting effectiveness 33

Membership Rewards: • We have greater strength in Congress • We can better assist our veterans • We can do more programs in our Posts • We can do more in our communities 34

Membership Rewards Membership also has cash rewards: • Post quota cash rewards • Post anytime awards for membership • Individual membership recruiting rewards • District cash rewards • Refer to the current Awards Manual 35

Review Membership is a top priority Develop a membership committee Develop and implement a plan for success Establish goals and follow up Remember your focus items Keep it simple, interesting and rewarding 36

Lastly Membership success is not determined by fancy footwork or gimmicks or bars Effective American Legion programs that provide help for veterans, promote a strong national security, promote Americanism programs and provide assistance to our youth are things that make us great and will help us grow 37

Recruiting & Retention Questions? ? 38

I want You to be a Legion Member 39