Message to Branch Membership Vice Presidents

This message was sent by US Mail to branch membeship vps last month.

Dear Branch Membership Vice Presidents:

It is my hope that the contents of this packet will help you in your quest for recruitment and retention of AAUW’s most valuable resource—our members. I have enclosed information about some of the membership initiatives including “Member Get a Member”, “Shape the Future”, and “Give a Grad a Gift”. Information about all these are on the Association website in the Member Center, but if you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or the AAUW helpline. I’ve also included the list of college/university members in North Carolina so that branches may strengthen ties with the ones near them. If the college/university in your area is not a member, you may want to arrange a visit with a representative of the institution so that you may introduce AAUW and let them know what benefits they would receive from their affiliation with us (there is more information about those benefits in this packet). If you need some advice on how to approach them, please contact Sheila Bassoppo-Moyo, AAUW NC College/University Representative, at (919) 859-2807, (919) 854-6841 (W), (919) 854-2120 (F), sheila.bassoppo-moyo@phoenix.edu

The other important part of this packet is an exercise that I mentioned at the Fall Leadership Meeting in Statesville, and that is to ask branches to think about who AAUW is and what we want from our membership in this organization. Our Convention 2007 Leader-to-Leader will be Ann Gustafson, the Association Membership Vice President. In order to make full use of her expertise, I am asking branches to have their members think about why they joined AAUW as well as the positives and negatives they’ve encountered as members. Branches can decide whether they want to provide me a summary of the discussion or if every member of your branch wants to send me the individual responses. I have already told Ann that we are engaging in this exercise and she is anxious to hear what AAUW NC members have to say.

Please let me know if there is anything else you need to be prepared for your role as a branch membership vice president, especially for those of you who are new. The vast amount of information is sometimes overwhelming and all of us at one time or another have been lost, so you definitely are not alone. You can reach me at the contact information below.

Thank you again for your involvement with AAUW. Without you, we would not be able to continue with the valuable role we play in promoting education and equity.

Sincerely,

Barbara White
AAUW NC Membership Vice President

Enclosures:

Some of these links require login to the AAUW member center. User your member id to login. You’ll find your id on your Outlook label, or click here for a form to find your id.

Question to prepare for Ann Gustafson’s visit to Convention (see below)
List of Member Colleges/Universities in North Carolina
Names of college/university reps (where available)
AAUW MVP Report
Value of AAUW Membership for College Students, Colleges/Universities, and Branch Members
Give a Grad a Gift – Free memberships for new graduates
Shape the Future Campaign – Recruit new members by offering them half-price Association memberships
Member-Get-a-Member Campaign – Your strong recruiters can receive recognition and other incentives

Questions for branch members to ask about their involvement with AAUW:

Why did I join?

What do I get from my membership (at any level, from branch to state to Association)?

What are my favorite AAUW memories?

What are the roadblocks/difficulties I’ve encountered while being an AAUW member?

What would I change about AAUW?

What would I not change about AAUW?
Please return responses to Barbara White, barbara_white628@hotmail.com