Public Relations and Membership Talking Points

Public Relations and Membership Talking Points

National Retired and Active Federal Employee (NARFE) Association
Virginia Federation of Chapters

Public relations and membership efforts help NARFE to be attractive, to reach new people, and to serve its current members.

1.  Whom Does NARFE Serve?

2.  What Attracts New People To NARFE?

3.  Who Are Our Target Audiences?

4.  What Ways Can We Choose To Communicate?

5.  What Simple Responses Are We Seeking?

Some of the following answers are obvious and others are surprising, especially to those who know and love NARFE the best.

Whom Does NARFE Serve?

NARFE serves and protects the pension-and-benefit entitlements of all active and retired federal workers. The organization's mission benefits all federal workers, as well as their families and beneficiaries. Its importance is not measured by the size of its visible membership, but by its mission to represent all who devote their lives to their country through civil service as patriots who should be honored.

What Attracts New People to NARFE?

NARFE attracts active and retired federal employees through simple user benefits:

·  National and state lobbying efforts, including registered PACs

·  The NARFE Magazine “RETIREMENT LIFE” for Active and Retired Federal Employees

·  Friendship, fellowship and support through local chapter meetings

·  Programs, newsletters and other sources of latest information

·  Worthwhile nationwide service projects like Altzheimer's Research

·  Existing and emerging opportunities for leadership and service

The interest by federal workers and retirees in NARFE peaks in the years just before and after their own individual retirement.

Who Are Our Target Audiences?

Public relations and membership efforts to date in the VFC have reached some target audiences more than others, mostly for identifiable practical reasons. Target audiences include, in general order of accessibility from most to least:

·  A core of leaders whose personal contact information has been shared

·  A core of chapter members who are often locally known in person.

·  A circle of members who pay dues but seldom or never attend chapters

·  Former members who have aged out, moved, or otherwise not renewed

·  National, state and local politicians friendly to federal workers

·  Prospective CSRS and FERS members whose anonymity is protected.

·  The American Public, as taxpayers, whose good will we need.

A different message, appeal and invitation to respond must be tailored to each target audience. The trick to reaching the next-to-Iast last audience, the most essential one, is designing attractive individualized offers, services, and user benefits, where in response they may identify themselves.

What Ways Can We Choose to Communicate?

"Not-for-profit" volunteer organizations like NARFE enjoy a range of communication possibilities in this Information Age

·  Face-to-face Meetings

·  Telephone Calls and Messages

·  Printed and Copied Materials

·  Internet Service, Websites, and Emerging Formats

·  Cable and Broadcast Television

The VFC has made remarkable progress in communicating inside the organization, but has yet to find ways to reach out to many prospective members. The purpose of this report is to focus public relations and membership upon issues of external communication that invites, involves and may lead to membership.

What Simple Responses Are We Seeking?

For effective public relations and membership work, a natural place to start is in terms of the institutional goal: Make NARFE so attractive that it will grow. Here we can rely upon the experience of many other volunteer organizations, who are more successful because they know membership is not always the first, but often the last, step in belonging. People may be served, may belong (feel welcome and part of), in smaller steps that lead to membership. If membership itself is the first step and ultimate goal, then that unintentionally may say to people "either join or go away."

NARFE must intentionally find ways to serve, protect and offer specific user benefits to all federal workers rather than just to its members. How may new people find NARFE attractive? To create new "doors" to membership, public relations and membership need to design offerings that lead to dues-and-membership or chapter-attendance, but immediately invite specific personal support for NARFE. There is a strong sense that all federal employees "belong" to NARFE as the only national organization representing their pension and benefit interests. Serve, reach out, and offer user benefits inviting "small steps."

In responding, federal workers identity themselves and begin to see NARFE as of immediate benefit to themselves, their families and survivors. Ideas:

·  Offer goods or services related to "peace of mind"-term and whole life insurance, health insurance supplements, umbrella liability, short-term disability income, or other beneficial options.

·  Encourage non-members to subscribe to the excellent NARFE Magazine at a reasonable annual subscription price.

·  Ask for charitable contributions not only to Alzheimer's Research, but also to existing Autism, Birth Defect, Breast Cancer, and other causes.

·  Find or organize local service opportunities directed to seniors or other persons with special needs. NARFE members should do local community service projects, volunteer at libraries, food banks, soup kitchens

·  A local volunteer or a chapter could offer daily telephone checks on elderly and disabled shut-ins, not just members but any other federal retirees

·  Health fairs and retirement seminars need "hand-outs" that focus more directly upon user benefits, or that make taxpayers in the general public aware that federal careers are a patriotic service to our country

·  Recruit workers for disaster relief efforts, who would be visible public relations ambassadors not just for NARFE but for all federal workers

·  Supplement existing and new websites with e-chapters and/or "blogs" to provide information and communication channels for all federal workers. They must be interactive and generally appealing

ü  Support Group For Surviving Spouses

ü  Chat Room For Those Retiring

ü  Credit Counseling

ü  Investment Club

ü  Fantasy Football

ü  Boating

ü  Fishing

Purchase the names and addresses of federal workers and retirees from data collection firms, mailing list companies, and bulk mailers. Offer a NARFE credit card that would charge low interest rates, relax unreasonable penalties, etc.

The opportunities for creating and enriching a sense of community for all federal workers and retirees each need an individual focus, one or more pilot projects, and a state or national forum sharing "Here's How We Did It."

More Than One Way to Belong

What emerges for public relations and membership are drawn from attractive user-benefits, appeals for service opportunities, and channels of communication. There has to be more than one way to belong to NARFE.

·  Dues-Paying Membership

·  Local chapter involvement

·  Magazine subscription

·  An internet relationship

·  Contributor to NARFE-PAC

·  Contributor to special causes

·  NARFE in service to the community

·  Non-member constituent.

·  Entire active and retired federal workforce

The number of "doors" into the life of NARFE will be multiplied as we all focus not only on the institutional goal of growth and retention, but also new ways of making NARFE attractive to those federal workers and retirees who are not yet members in the conventional sense.

Speaking of which (convention-aI), what one-or-two attractions would serve to boost the next 2009 VFC annual convention for active and retired federal workers? That may offer a huge opportunity!

Jim and Sue Righter
Co-Service Officers

Virginia Federation of Chapters

11244 Harbor Court
Reston, VA 20191
(703) 966-1122