Membership Committee

August 3,2016

3:30-5:00pm

Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT)2921 E. 17th St., Bldg. D, 2nd Floor Conference Room

Minutes

Attendees: Melinda Cantu (SafePlace), Tiffany Patterson (YMCA), Simone Talma Flowers (iACT)

Support: Caity Barillas (WNA), Lily Wein (WNA)

  1. Welcome –Simone Talma Flowers

Simone welcomed the group.

  1. Decrease Non-Renewals from 11% (in 2015) to 5%
  2. 2016 membership drive
  3. Review memberships received so far

Caity announced that there are 94 members to date and that 9% of 2015 members have not renewed their memberships this year. To decrease the number of non-renewals from 11% to 5% per the strategic plan targets, the Committee identified non-renewed members that they could call and ask to rejoin One Voice. Action Items:Tiffany will call Marathon Kids’ Executive Director and encourage her to rejoin One Voice; Simone will call American Gateways and Austin Free-Net. Caity will bring updated statistics on the Membership Committee’s progress meeting the strategic plan metrics to the next Membership Committee meeting.

  1. Discussion: Requests for reduced membership dues.

YWCA is unable to afford One Voice’s membership dues for their budget size, and hasrequested reduced membership dues.Action Items: Caity will ask YWCA what they can afford to pay for membership dues and pass the information along to Simone, Emily and Tiffany to determine whether to recommend that the Executive Committee offer reduced membership dues for them.

  1. Increase Attendance at Monthly Membership Meetings (from 30-40% to 50%) and Committees/Other Activities (from 20-30% to 50%) and Engage 100% of New Members Through their Attending at Least 3 Monthly Meetings or Other Activities in their First 12 Months of Membership
  2. Immigration/Refugee Services Issue Area Group Discussion on August 30 from 5-6pm
  3. Review sign-ups

Caity reviewed the sign-ups for the Issue Area Group Discussion with the group. Four individuals have signed up to attend the event.

  1. Discuss criteria for attendance

All four registrants for the event are not currently One Voice members, and only one is an Executive Director. Attendees decided to allow non-members who signed for the discussion to attend and to use the opportunity as a recruitment tool for membership.Action Items:Lily will bring membership forms and information on joining One Voice to the event to share with non-members who attend.

  1. Ideas for increasing member attendance

Action Items: Simone and Emily will send a personal email to members inviting them to the discussion.Simone will personally reach out to the following organizations to invite them to the discussion:

Non-members: American Gateways, Center for Survivors of Torture, and Refugee Services of Texas

Members: Asian Family Support Services of Austin, Capital IDEA, and Southwest Key Programs

Tiffany will invite the Executive Director of the North Austin YMCA to attend.

  1. Facilitation and key questions

Simone reported that Jo Kathryn Quinn has agreed to facilitate the discussion. Attendees decided to proceed with using the structure and goals for the Issue Area Group Discussions that the Membership Committee drafted at their April Committee meeting:

Structure:

  • Member introductions/ how they are connected to the issue area
  • Discussion on key challenges currently faced within that issue area

Goals:

  • Deepen understanding of current issues organizations are facing
  • Foster support for dealing with issues related to the issue area
  • Strengthen member support networks within that issue area

Action Item: Lily will send Simone, Emily and Jo Kathryn the discussion structure and goals in advance of the event.

  1. Review member attendance at meetings to-date
  2. Write cards to absent members

The committee wrote cards to new Executive Directors and members to welcome them to One Voice, and to members who had attended three or less meetings to encourage them to attend the nextOne Voice meeting. Action Item:Caity will mail the cards to members.

  1. Discussion: One Voice sponsorships/relationship with for-profit entities
  2. Draft “Circle of Friends” policy with criteria, levels, benefits, and rulesfor business supporters

The Membership Committee reviewed One Voice’s current corporate sponsorship policy and previously brainstormed giving levels and benefits for “Circle of Friends” business sponsors.

The following criteria for “friends” was suggested:

  • The business must not conflict with One Voice’s mission, vision, and values
  • All businesses must be vetted and ultimately approved at the discretion of the Executive Committee

The following benefits that can be offered to business “friends” were suggested:

  • Access to the One Voice newsletter and logo
  • Acknowledgement at special One Voice events
  • Invitation to attend special One Voice events, including the end of the year celebration
  • Acknowledgement at monthly membership meetings
  • Inclusion of logo on meeting materials
  • Recognition on the One Voice website
  • At the $1,000 level, One Voice will post discounts offered to members by the business sponsor on the One Voice website and include them in the list of membership benefits

The Membership Committee agreed with proceeding with the annual giving levels that they previously brainstormed: $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, and $5,000. Attendees proposed accepting both annual sponsorships and the sponsorship of individual or multiple One Voice events.

  1. Review request for partnership with the IT Guys

Lily announced that IT Guys has approached One Voice with a partnership proposal in which members could receive discounted services from the IT Guys, and One Voice would receive commission on new One Voice member customers. The committee decided that this could fall under the “Circle of Friends” policy, and could be a benefit of businesses giving at the $1,000+ level.

  1. Clarify Operations
  2. Next steps for setting up a Facebook group for members

Attendees briefly discussed options for an opt-in discussion forum platform that members could use to communicate with one another. An administrator to moderate the discussions will need to be identified; attendees proposed asking Emily Ball Cicchini or Carlos Rivera if they are willing to moderate it. The Committee decided to table further discussion and aim to launch a discussion forum next year.

  1. Options for those who cannot attend the membership meetings to participate

Attendees agreed that it is not feasible to offer a call-in option for members to the membership meetings; however, a conference call-in option could be provided for Committee meetings.

Next meeting: September 7, 2016 from 3:30-5:00pm at iACT