Grow Your Chapter

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Grow Your Chapter

• Membership Campaigning Made Easy

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Grow Your ChapterTable of Contents

• Planning Overview
• The Steps
• Gather your membership campaign team
• Set your campaign goals
• Determine your campaign content
• Identify and select new member sources
• Design your campaign approach
• Manage your campaign
• Report your results
• Appendix - Additional Resources

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Plan Your Campaign
We are always looking for more effective ways to
attract members to ASWA. There are so many
possibilities that its hard to narrow down the
choices and develop a coherent approach. The
national Membership Committee has put together
this package to help chapters select the best
options for their situation and their membership
needs. We hope the steps outlined below and the
details in the following pages help you design,
plan and implement a successful chapter
membership campaign this year!

• Gather your membership campaign team
• Set your campaign goals
• Determine your campaign content
• Identify and select your new member sources
• Design your campaign approach
• Manage your campaign
• Report the results of your campaign

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Step 1

• Gather your membership campaign team

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1. Gather your membership campaign team

• Work with your chapter president to recruit a
  strong membership committee
  
• Do not allow anyone to tell you that everyone
  belongs to the membership committee and special
  members do not have to be appointed - that
  usually means that no one has specific
  responsibility for membership activities and you
  will find yourself doing all the work
• If your chapter is going to be aggressive about
  going after new members, it takes follow-up and
  you will need help
  
• You need members who
• are comfortable talking to other people
• can call people on the phone and talk about the
  organization with enthusiasm
  
• will invite people to a meeting
• will call them back after they have attended to
  thank them for coming and invite them to the
  chapters next meeting

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Step 2

• Set your campaign goals

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2. Set your campaign goals

• You might want to increase membership by 10 in
  the next 6 months
  
• Setting a specific membership goal keeps the
  committee focused
  
• Setting a timeframe for completion keeps
  attention on your schedule
  
• Prepare your budget
• Knowing what you have to spend will help ensure
  you make the best use of your resources
  
• Youll also know your financial constraints

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Step 3

• Determine your campaign content

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3. Determine your campaign content

• What type of campaign will be most effective?
• In this step of the process, you will select the
  content of your membership campaign. As you
  probably suspect, there is a wide variety of ways
  to build your campaign.
• You can focus internally, creating incentives for
  existing members to bring guests to meetings and
  sign up new members
  
• You can carry out a letter-writing or
  phone-calling campaign, targeting potential
  members on lists you obtain from selected
  organizations
• You can go the direct contact recruitment route,
  meeting with other organizations and telling them
  about the benefits of membership in ASWA
  
• Whatever approach you and your committee select,
  the most effective one will be the one you follow
  through on.

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3. Determine your campaign content (contd.)

• There is no magic to recruiting members. People
  will join your chapter if its focused on issues
  important to them and provides programs that are
  current and useful.
• Become well-versed in your chapters program
  focus for the year. This will allow you to
  discuss it enthusiastically and intelligently
  with prospective members. Issue-oriented
  programming will always attract new members.
• However you decide to do your membership
  recruiting, remember these 4 areas to emphasize
  
• Fulfill needs Examine the local business
  environment - offer something to accounting
  professionals thats not available now
  
• Provide opportunities networking, business
  contacts, leadership skills and mentoring
  
• Be proactive with outreach Publicize your
  meetings, attend meetings of other organizations
  and talk about ASWA write and call prospective
  members introduce meeting guests to a variety of
  members
• Emphasize the benefits ASWA has to offer
  Personal, Local and National
  
• The next few pages list a variety of ways to
  bring new members to your chapter. You may want
  to focus on one of these, or select several to
  work on simultaneously.

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3. Determine your campaign content (contd.)

• Member-Focused Campaigning
• Hold a new member recruiting contest with points
  for guests brought to meetings, membership
  packages distributed, new members actually
  recruited, etc.
• Have every member invite at least one guest to
  each meeting
  
• Invite other organizations to hold joint meetings
  with your chapter
  
• Educate chapter member employers on the benefits
  of ASWA membership and encourage payment of dues
  as an investment in their employee
  
• Provide excellent networking opportunities at
  meetings prospective members attend
  
• At every meeting where prospective members may
  attend be sure to
  
• Assign a specific member at the meeting to stay
  with the guest, introduce her to other members,
  and then follow-up, specifically asking the guest
  to join ASWA
• Set up a greeting table where membership,
  program, and issue-focused information is
  available
  
• Have a sign-up sheet at the greeting table to
  take the name, address, telephone number, and
  email address of people who express an interest
  in ASWA or want more information
• Have members at the event available to talk to
  prospective new members emphasize the benefits
  of membership
  
• Have someone from your committee follow-up with
  all the guests, provide additional information,
  and invite people to the next regular meeting
  
• Remember why ASWA is here to be THE LEADING
  ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN IN ACCOUNTING AND RELATED
  FIELDS. Ensure that all recruiting discussions
  reflect that

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3. Determine your campaign content (contd.)

• Letter-writing, emailing, and phone-calling
  campaigns
  
• Write a polite and concise letter or email to
  recruit new members. Include background on ASWA,
  benefits of membership, current chapter and
  national membership profile. Provide name and
  contact information of person to contact about
  becoming a member or attending a meeting. Also
  spell out that you will follow up with the
  addressee in a certain period of time.
• Follow up on the initial communication with a
  phone call or email specifically asking the
  addressee if they would like to join ASWA or
  attend an upcoming meeting.
• For a phone calling campaign, you will want to
  write a script for each caller to use when they
  contact a prospective member. This should be a
  friendly, personal call spelling out how you
  obtained the persons name and that you would be
  honored to have them as a member of ASWA.
• Develop an annual calendar of all chapter
  meetings, list the topic of each meeting as well
  as date and location. Send the calendar to local
  chambers of commerce, mayor's office, local
  newspapers, radio and TV stations and to every
  guest who has attended a meeting in the past
  year.
• Include this calendar in your written
  communication.
  
• One drawback to the letter-writing campaign is
  that it requires a budget for postage and
  stationery. Depending on the size of your
  contact list, this may be a substantial amount.

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3. Determine your campaign content (contd.)

• Direct Contact Campaigning
• Call another organization and ask if you can give
  their membership a presentation about ASWA.
  Bring several board members if youre not
  comfortable speaking alone.
• Recruit people taking CPA review courses.
  Contact a local CPA review course representative
  and ask if you can make a presentation about
  ASWA let the rep know what ASWA is and what
  information you will be presenting and
  distributing confirm the time and date.
• Write letters to the editor about who ASWA is and
  how your chapter is active in the community.
  Spell out the benefits of having ASWA in the
  community and the benefits to individual members.
  Refer to this letter when contacting other
  groups about your campaign.
• Develop Partnerships. There are many
  organizations and groups out there that support
  similar goals and it is often helpful to develop
  partnerships with them.
• If there is an Office on Women in your community,
  contact the office and discuss ways you might
  support their issues. Ask if membership brochures
  can be left in their office.
• If a Congressman sponsors a conference or seminar
  that will attract women, ask if you can have a
  table to distribute membership and issue-focused
  information.
• If your local Chamber of Commerce sponsors a
  business fair, ask if your chapter can help set
  it up in return for having a table with
  membership information available to participants.
  
• If there is a community fair, offer to help with
  one of the booths and make membership information
  available.
  
• During an election year, contact the League of
  Women Voters and ask to cosponsor a debate among
  the candidates. Have membership information
  available.

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Step 4

• Identify and select your new member sources

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4. Identify and select your new member sources

• Obtaining the names of prospective members is the
  key to a successful membership drive and chapter
  membership growth. There is a whole universe of
  accountants to whom we can market.
• Sources for prospects include
• Current members Their offices, clients
  offices, vendors offices College classmates and
  professors Accountants they know socially and
  from other organizations
• Newspaper articles or announcements about job
  promotions and new hires
  
• Other accounting and professional organization
  membership lists and newsletters
  
• Lists of successful CPA and CMA candidates - the
  CPA list is available approximately 60 days after
  the exam date the CMA lists are published in
  March and in September
• Lists of graduates from local colleges and
  universities adult education programs
  
• Accounting and finance organizations of local
  employers, including CPA firms
  
• Accounting and Finance employment agencies
• The finance sector, including but not limited to
  banks, brokerage houses, companies employing
  financial analysts
  
• CPA Review course attendees
• Recruit at companies from which you also want
  money or financial support - locate names of CFOs
  and Controllers through the internet, your public
  library, or the Chamber of Commerce.
• A good way to obtain names is to call a companys
  Accounts Payable department. They know the
  financial contacts within the organization and
  they may want to attend ASWA meetings themselves.

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4. Identify and select your new member sources
(contd)

• Specific organizations you may want to contact
  include
  
• State CPA society
• Institute of Internal Auditors
• Institute of Management Accountants
• Association of Governmental Accountants
• EDP Auditors
• Hospitality Accountants
• Hispanic Accountants Organizations
• Association of Black Accountants
• Tax Accountants Institutes
• Financial Executives International
• Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Better Business
  Bureau
  
• etc.

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Step 5

• Design your campaign approach

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5. Design your campaign approach

• Logistics of Member-Focused Campaigning Give
  your members the tools to more easily recruit new
  members use the power of the entire network that
  is your ASWA chapter.
• Visit and talk with other organizations that are
  doing well and see what is working for them.
  
• Have joint meetings with other groups, such as
  the local bar association, local chapters of IMA,
  ABWA, AGA, FEI, etc. This helps members expand
  their professional networks and should bring in
  new members as well.
• Invite a regional director to visit and help with
  a membership drive get a sponsor to help with
  expenses.
  
• Place informational advertisements in local and
  regional newspapers.
  
• Send news releases to local news organizations to
  advise of ASWA accomplishments benefiting the
  local community, such as scholarships issued.
  
• Explain to existing members how to use these
  publications and events as starting points for
  recruiting discussions with co-workers, business
  associates, friends, neighbors and event guests.

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5. Design your campaign approach (contd)
Logistics of writing or calling campaigns
Some easy and inexpensive ways to get the word
out to potential new members are as follows

• Where to Write or Call
• Bulletin Boards Print announcements describing
  the meeting and ask your chapter members to post
  them where they work. Recruit student members to
  help get your announcements posted at local
  colleges.
• Internal Mail Colleges and large companies have
  internal mail systems. Inquire about getting
  permission to do a postage-free distribution to
  the faculty or professional staff.
• Newsletters Your chapter, as well as local
  colleges, companies and professional
  associations, have their own publications and
  newsletters. Give them your information early
  enough and they will be happy to give you free
  publicity. Try to supply meeting details to them
  about three months in advance of the meeting.
• Email and/or phone lists from organizations
  suggested in Step 4.
  
• What to Write or Talk About
• Use upcoming meetings with interesting speakers
  as draws for potential members to come and spend
  time with chapter members.
  
• List and or discuss the benefits of membership in
  ASWA.
  
• Be sure to specifically ask your addressee to
  become a member.

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5. Design your campaign approach (contd)

• Promote your chapter generally in addition to
  targeted letters or calls
  
• Let local and regional communities know about
  ASWA and your local chapter.
  
• Use the sample informational ad further on slide
  22 to get the word out.
  
• Develop your own advertisement just confirm
  with national headquarters that its OK to use.
  
• Publish in daily newspapers, regional magazines
  or technical journals.
  
• Use the sample format for informational flyers to
  hand out.
  
• Post at local schools and businesses.
• Have each member post on bulletin boards at work.
  
  
• Make sure all local Chambers of Commerce receive
  a copy.

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5. Design your campaign approach (contd)

• Sample ASWA Monthly Dinner Meeting Announcement
• Speaker topic and description speaker name,
  affiliation and credentials
  
• Join us for networking, dinner and 1 hour of CPE
• Location name and address day and date time
• Directions to location parking facilities
• Contact Samantha Superwoman for reservations
  phone number and/or email address
  
• Web site address

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5. Design your campaign approach (contd)
sample informational ad
Advocating, enhancing and celebrating the value
that women in accounting and related fields bring
to the profession and to society.
Join our professional, non-profit organization.
100 chapters and more than 4000 members across
the US. General, tax, and management accounting
, internal and external audit, and many other
fields. Public, private, industry, non-profit
and government arenas. Optimize your career and b
alance your life. We offer leadership and
networking opportunities, educational programs,
focus on work/life balance, and scholarships for
new and returning students. www.aswa.org 800-326
-2163
Interested? Contact your local chapter
Chapter contact name at 303-999-1234 or visit
our website www.aswadenver.org
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5. Design your campaign approach (contd)

• Use these materials to enhance your membership
  campaign
  
• ASWA Brochure (new and improved!)
• Be sure to order at least your chapters annual
  200 free brochures from headquarters
  
• Make them available at meetings to give to
  guests
  
• Include them in your membership packet
• Use them in membership campaign letters
• Make your own chapter brochure or an insert for
  the national brochure
  
• Edge Magazine
• Want to emphasize the professional and national
  image of our organization what better way than
  with our award-winning magazine?
  
• Call headquarters for free extra copies to
  distribute to prospective members
  
• Chapter Web page
• Explore free Web development services
• Link to the national Web site
• Refer to the Chapter Web Site Guide on the
  Members Only section of the national Web site if
  you need help setting up a chapter Web site

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Step 6

• Manage your campaign

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6. Manage your campaign

• Track names and addresses of guests attending
  each dinner meeting. Use the information to
  follow up with a phone call and prospect packet
  or both for the guest.
• Follow-up, Follow-up, Follow-up. Always
  follow-up.
  
• When people sign up for information, be sure to
  send it.
  
• Call them on the phone to answer questions and
  invite them to your next regular meeting.
  
• When guests attend a meeting, always call them
  and thank them for coming and invite them to the
  next meeting.
  
• It doesnt do any good to give out information
  and get people to meetings unless you or a
  committee member take the time to follow-up and
  invite them back. People need to be connected and
  they are not likely to come to a meeting unless
  they have talked with someone. And they are not
  likely to join an organization unless they are
  asked (specifically!).
• Taking time to follow-up with prospective members
  and guests is absolutely essential to your
  recruiting success.

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6. Manage your campaign (contd)

• Stick to deadlines track status support team
  members.
  
• Within your team, make sure each member is able
  to complete her assigned tasks and do the proper
  follow-up with campaigners and potential new
  members.
• Follow-up is essential and, of course,
  time-consuming. However, if you follow-up
  consistently, youll find it very rewarding as
  well.

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Step 7

• Report the results of your campaign

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7. Report results

• Interim results reporting keep track of your
  results and let your chapter and the national
  Membership Committee know how youre doing.
  People are attracted to success, so as you
  publicize yours, youll also attract new
  recruiters to your effort
• Final campaign results make sure to publicize
  final campaign results. When you hand out
  recruiting awards or recognize all the new
  members youve brought to the chapter, let
  everyone know that the chapter has grown as a
  result of your committees hard work, as well as
  that of your recruiters.
• This piece of follow-up makes everyone aware of
  your committees efforts, recognizes the
  importance of each individuals contribution, and
  can also be a forum for formally welcoming the
  new members to the chapter

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Appendix

• Additional resources for your campaign

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Appendix Getting Help
Still not getting your desired results? Ask for
help.

• The membership committee on the national board,
  as well as the entire ASWA leadership, is
  interested in doing whatever they can to assist
  you with your member recruitment efforts.
• If you have questions or concerns and need help,
  call on any of us. We can provide you with
  information about issues, samples of brochures,
  suggestions for programs and other useful
  information.
• We know that ASWAs survival and growth is
  dependent on the strength of the chapters and we
  want you to be successful.

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Appendix - Regional Directors are here for you
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Appendix Regional Directors
Across the nation, Regional Directors are
available to help you with your membership
campaign

• South Central-Region 4
• Mary Henn Burns, Tulsa
• Jacqueline Vassar, CPA, CIA, CISA, Jackson
• Wendi Taber, San Antonio
• Southwest-Region 5
• Gail Anikouchine, Santa Barbara
• Violetta Torres, El Paso
• Kathy Wigal, Phoenix
• Northwest-Region 6
• Mary Sheard, Tacoma
• Leslie Miller, Inland Northwest
• Eleanor Siverts-Akerman, Bellevue

• Northeast-Region 1
• Mary Duff, CPA, Philadelphia
• Susan Tripepi, Akron/Canton
• Southeast-Region 2
• Janet Wade, Ft. Walton Beach
• Tonia Matheny, Huntsville
• Diana Patton, CPA, CFP, Richmond
• North Central-Region 3
• Catherine Mulder, Ames
• Dawn Abdon, Marion

See the Web page for contact information on each
Regional Director www.aswa.org
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Appendix National Boardsupport for chapter
growth
Christi Olsen, CPA President Omaha, NE
Debbie Michael President Elect Billings, MT
Joy Barron Vice President Birmingham, AL
Shelly Selby Vice President Minneapolis, MN
Karen Gunther Treasurer
Barbara Covington Secretary Ft. Walton Beach,
FL

Bylaws Updates National Conference Chair
Chapter Partnering Program Regional Director Liai
son
Membership Development
Tracy Johnson, San Antonio Vivian Moller, Milwau
kee Barbara Sheetz, Philadelphia Sarah Wheatley,
Denver

Feel free to contact any Membership Development
Committee members to ask for advice or support in
planning and carrying out your membership
campaign.
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Appendix National Headquarters support for
chapter growth
Call or write. Wed love to hear from you.

• Laura Skoff, Executive Director
• Strategic Management, Board interaction,
  Financial Oversight
  
• lskoff_at_aswa.org
• Lee Lowery, Managing Director
• Board interaction, Program and services
  management
  
• llowery_at_aswa.org
• Erin Tanner, Administrative Assistant,
  Association Services
  
• Program and services administration
• etanner_at_aswa.org
• 8405 Greensboro Drive, Suite 800
• McLean, VA 22102
• 703-506-3265 phone
• 703-506-3266 fax
• 800-326-2163 toll free
• aswa_at_aswa.org
• www.aswa.org

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Appendix Sample chapter campaign incentives Use
something similar to the following to provide
incentives within the Chapter and encourage
member involvement

• Point Schedule of Chances Points Toward
  Grand Prize
  
• Be a Greeter at a Meeting 5 1
• Bring a Guest 15 2
• Sponsor a New Member 30 3
• Membership Incentive Awards Value Prize
• 1 Member of the Year (Highest Point
  Value) 50/28 Engraved plaque and 1 free
  dinner
  
• 2 Sponsoring the Most Members 25/25 Engraved
  plaque and choice of 1 award
  
• 3 Bringing the Most Guests 25/25 Engraved
  plaque and choice of 1 award
  
• 4 Attendance (Minimum of 10 meetings/events)
  10 Engraved ASWA pen, business card
  holder, etc.
  
• For items 2 and 3 above, winners may select one
  of the following three items 100 of local dues
  or Gift dinner coupon or Mall gift certificate.
  
• Grand Prize
• Drawing for Regional or National Conference
  Registration Fee 375
  
• Contact the San Antonio Chapter for more
  information on how the Point System can work
  successfully.

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Appendix Personal Benefits of Membership
Use this list to describe the advantages of
membership to potential members. Add other
benefits that are specific to your chapter. Its
a great marketing tool.

• ASWA is a member-driven organization dedicated
  to
  
• Increasing your technical knowledge, skills and
  abilities
  
• Keeping you current in your field of expertise
• Providing career management and transition
  guidance and assistance
  
• Our benefits include
• Business contacts locally and across the country
  
  
• Personal and professional support
• Relocation network
• Scholarships for new and returning students
• Job referral network
• Leadership opportunities
• Business management skills development
• National magazine
• Local chapter and quarterly national newsletters
  (The Communiqué)
  
• Low cost, high quality CPE at local, regional and
  national meetings and conferences
  
• Corporate discount programs credit cards and more

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Appendix Benefits of National Membership
The following list details additional benefits of
membership in ASWA.

• Prestigious status of professional affiliation
• National contacts for networking and professional
  information
  
• Job bank
• Web site information and links to related sites
• National membership directory
• Annual national conference at a discounted rate

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Appendix Event Planning Guide

• Follow the steps below for a successful
  membership recruiting event

• Establish a budget and set goals for attendance
  and new members attained set date for event
  back-time tasks to identify start date for
  preparations
• Identify sources for invitee list (see step 4)
• Select speaker and topic prominent community
  members, business executives, and CPA firm
  partners are good speaker sources ask the
  speaker for their desired topic be prepared to
  offer several options for topics on which youd
  like them to speak
• Select location youll want to ensure it has a
  professional image, is in a safe location with
  easy access to parking and is convenient for your
  guests to locate and get to

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Appendix Event Planning Guide (contd)

• Solicit sponsorships and/or door prizes from
  local businesses sponsorships can be in the
  form of a general contribution to the event or
  payment for meals or invitations or other major
  cost of the event
• Publicize the event see Step 4 of Membership
  Campaigning Made Easy
  
• Send out event invitations make sure they are
  professional looking and have all the necessary
  information at a minimum, include name of your
  chapter, event description with speaker name,
  location, time and date of event, cost of event,
  and RSVP name, telephone number and address
  (depending on how you want to receive your
  invitation responses)
• Select the food and refreshments to be served at
  the event Keep in mind the effect this has on
  the cost of the event request a taste test of
  your top 2 or 3 choices dont forget to offer
  alternatives for those with special dietary needs
  (vegetarian, vegan, etc.)

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Appendix Event Planning Guide (contd)

• Purchase a gift for your speaker an ASWA logo
  item or a gift certificate to a book store are
  possibilities
  
• Prepare Event Registration Table
• Prepare signage to identify the table
• Have guest information sheets or a guest sign-in
  book to capture contact information for later
  follow up
  
• Provide easy to read name tags you may want to
  identify guests and chapter officers or event
  committee members with special tags or ribbons
  
• Offer chapter and ASWA background information,
  membership packets, etc.
  
• Write Agenda and Confirm Event Host
• Place copies of the event agenda on each table
• Chapter President or Membership Committee chair
  hosts event according to agenda the host should
  make specific invitation to all guests to join
  
• Agenda may include introductions and welcome,
  ASWA national and chapter history and goals,
  speaker introduction and program, awards to
  door-prize winners, and adjournment

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Appendix Event Planning Guide (contd)

• And finally, follow up (what else!)
• Send thank you notes (yes, handwritten) to your
  speaker(s) and all sponsors as soon as possible
  after the event.
  
• Contact all guests personally to thank them for
  attending and to specifically ask them to join
  ASWA.
  
• Add all guests to bulletin mailing or email list
  and to telephone committee calling list for next
  4 to 6 bulletins/meetings.