10 Tips For A Successful Membership Campaign

1. Form a Membership Committee

  • Yes! It’s a real thing!
  • You can’t do it alone!
  • You shouldn’t try!
  • I’m serious!

2.  Choose a Campaign Theme

  • Having a theme generates interest and enthusiasm.
  • Display your theme in a high-traffic area of the school.
  • Show the results of your campaign.

3.  Set Goals

  • Together the membership committee sets goals.
  • Make sure the goals are reasonable and attainable, though challenging.
  • Remember to choose goals that will fit your individual strengths, comfort level, budget, time, and expertise.
  • Post membership goals and progress in a high traffic area of the school and in newsletters.

       Examples:
          “We will increase our membership by 25% over last year.”
          “We will get 100% of teachers to join PTA.”
          “We will increase our male membership by 50% over last year.”

4.  Target Potential Members

     Assign committee members specific responsibilities:

  • Retaining members
  • Recruiting new members
  • Increasing male involvement
  • Asking teachers and staff to join

5.  Have a Plan

     Examples:

          “We will set up a membership table at Back-to-School Night.”

          “We will have an incentive for the class with the highest percentage of members."

          “We will post on our social media sites.”

          "We will send a 'join PTA' email blast through Givebacks"

          "We will add a 'join button' and/or QR code to all school communication."

6.  Sell the Value of PTA Membership

  • Recruiting new members goes hand-in-hand with making sure they find value in PTA and renew their membership.
  • Emphasize to new members what they get for their membership dues.
  • Keep members motivated through on-going communication, opportunities to volunteer, and recognition.
  • The number one benefit that PTA members receive from PTA membership is the ability to help their own and other children.

7.  Incentivize

  • Awards/Prizes:
    “The Class with the highest percentage of memberships get…”
    “The class with 100% envelopes returned gets…” (empty envelopes are okay!)
  • Ask the Principal to do something wacky if you reach a certain goal.
  • Offer “punch cards” or coupons to members for joining.
  • Offer discounts to members on PTA spiritwear or at PTA events.
  • Free entrance into the school dance for joining PTSA.

8.  Campaign All Year Long

  • At every PTA event, have an easy opportunity for people to join who are not yet members. Have a QR code or link to your online store, or be prepared to accept a membership payment.
  • Continue to ask parents to join.
  • Continue to promote your PTA.
  • Ask for a PTA table at major school events.
  • Include PTA membership materials in new student packets in the school office.

9.  Use Your Resources and Follow Through

  • Plans are worthless unless they are put into practice.
  • Use available resources - don't reinvent the wheel.
  • Be sure to schedule your recruitment and retention activities throughout the year, particularly at Back-to-School Night in the fall and at the start of the new year in January.
  • Assign a specific person to be in charge of coordinating the different events, but involve all of your members.

10.  Evaluate and Adjust Accordingly

  • Continuously seek feedback from committee members on issues such as:
    - How many new members they are recruiting.
    - How they are helping these new members acclimate to PTA and get involved.
    - How many members are staying active.
  • Regardless of whether the evaluation is done through a formal survey or informal communication, it should be systematic, recorded, and used to adjust and improve the goals of the Membership Committee.
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