Building Membership: Part
I
This article originally appeared
in Exchange, a
newsletter published by the Wisconsin
Historical Society. (Volume 42, Number
1, 2000) It is the seventh in a series
of articles titled Public
Appeal. The series deals with public
programming and public information. It was
written by Tom McKay, retired local history
coordinator for the Wisconsin Historical
Society.
The historical side of a historical society seems fairly obvious. Historical societies collect, preserve and disseminate history. Often, people understand less clearly the society side of a historical society. A historical society brings people together in an association. Through this association, people pursue or express an interest in history. They formally associate by becoming members of the historical society. Every historical society needs to build and maintain a strong and active membership.
The initial membership in a local historical
society develops almost as a byproduct
of forming the organization. People come
together to plan for a major community
anniversary, to oppose the threatened
destruction of a local landmark, or simply
to pursue a mutual interest in local
history. The membership begins with this
group of organizers. From this point
on, every historical society constantly
needs to be aware of the importance of
adding new members to the organization.
Members of a historical society join the organization for two primary reasons. First, they want to participate in historical activities. Second, they want to support a community service organization. Historical society leaders sometimes overlook this second reason for becoming a member and bemoan the number of members who do not take an active role in the society. Historical societies should learn to accept and appreciate these members who sign up to support a community organization just as they might make a financial contribution to youth baseball. Such members make a valuable contribution to the financial base of the society.
While recognizing that some members will never be actively involved, many historical societies can do a better job of drawing in members who want to participate in historical pursuits. In small, volunteer-operated historical societies, opportunities for participation should amount to more than a chance to attend meetings of the membership. Good meetings with interesting speakers or programs serve as a good start toward an active membership, but a member with a strong interest in history also will want a role in the work of the society.
A well-developed committee structure can allow a small society to bring a large number of members into the organization's historical work. Few recently joined members of a historical society will want to assume a leadership position, nor is it a good idea to give a crucial post to a member without knowing the person well. However, committees appointed for planning special exhibits, developing walking tours, cataloging collections, creating school programs, or conducting other projects and programs can provide new members with opportunities to pursue their interest in history through active participation in the society.
Even the smallest historical societies must consider the basic services they offer to members. Meetings featuring speakers and other programs remain an important service to members in most societies. No definite rule exists for the best number of meetings a county or local historical society should offer each year. A local historical society should hold a large enough number of meetings that members feel a part of the society and a small enough number of meetings that it can arrange interesting programs. Two meetings a year are probably not enough, and twelve meetings may well be too many.
A newsletter represents another staple
in the service to members. The newsletters
of local historical societies range from
single-sheet letters to publications
of 20 or more pages. The best newsletters
combine information about a society's
activities and upcoming events with historical
features. Articles about local history
enrich a newsletter, and even if the
number of pages available limits content
to brief notes such as "100 years
ago," every newsletter should contain
some type of historical feature.
Meetings with speakers or programs and newsletters with information and historical features are member services. As a historical society's membership grows larger, an accompanying decrease occurs in the percentage of the members who can pursue their historical interests directly through committee or volunteer work in the society. Adding more services for members creates more ways in which members can participate in historical activities and extends the possibility of keeping a greater percentage of members involved in the society. Historical bus tours, museum exhibit openings, and performances of historical music or entertainment are examples of events which large numbers of members could attend. Some events, such as a special museum open house, might be for members only. In other cases, members might receive a discount on the cost of a program such as a bus tour.
Offering members enjoyable programs, events and opportunities to contribute to the work of a historical society generates a membership that truly feels a part of the organization. Historical societies, large and small, need to remember the central position of members in the organization. This is the first step in building an active and growing membership. From this step, historical societies can continue to expand their support through active membership recruitment-the topic of the next column in this series. |
