Re: AIS: Bulletins, Changes, Membership

On Feb 11, 2006, at 2:24 PM, Robt R Pries wrote:


 It is amazing to me that I can agree with most
everything Anner has said and yet arrive at what may
be the opposite conclusion.

The first point was that many members really did not
join on their own volition, gifts, discounts, etc. I
agree, that is why we agree that those are probably
not viable ways of gaining members that will stay.
Even years ago when the society was growing, these
same tactics were being used and most members did not
stay. But the small percentage that did stay was
larger than it is today.
I guess I'd have to see some numbers to support that. I think there are too many variables and the differences too small to draw too many conclusions.

And that subtle difference is
what causes the society to wax rather than wane.
Logically the difference is whether that small
percentage discovered the organization a good fit in
that trial year.

 Anner wrote ----First, I want to observe that in my
experience significant  numbers of

the
"new" members which are being "lost" each year were

probably really

not there
to begin with. They did not join of their own

volition, fueled by an

interest
in irises. They were given their  memberships,

either as gifts, or as

promotional incentives by Affiliates or

individuals, or they were

signed up at
someone's expense to increase the  membership rolls

of a local group,

or they were
signed up because someone  thought giving a

membership to a local

nursery
center or a newspaper columnist  was a good idea. We

hear ideas put

forth all the
time about giving away  memberships as a means to

exciting the public

or
getting the message  out, so we should not be

surprised that some or

most of  these
people do not renew. We may rightly say that we have

failed to  win

them over,
possibly that they were even driven away, but I

think it  is well to be

realistic about the situation and the odds in these

cases. Members

also drop at
the two year, the three year, the five year,  and

the tenth year

point, and I
would be more concerned about those  losses. It is

just as important

to keep the
excitement going for  the continuing--read

sustaining--members as it

is to
create  excitement for new ones.

 I doubt that it is a zero sum game that appealing to
new members would make the society less appealing to
older members. If anything it means that the society
might be more appealing and vibrant to everyone
Depends on how it is done. Zero sum gains are often an unintended consequence.



Second, I do not think having business material in



the Bulletin has



anything
to do with the losses. I suspect people turn away



from the magazine



not
because of what they find there, but what they do



not find: Items



which reflect
their own interests and what they want from the



society,  and everyone



wants
something. The problem is that they don't always



want  what the



Society can
provide, or what the Society itself needs them to



want, which is to



be active,
engaged participatory members,  informed members who



are actually



interested in
the business of the Society,  contributing members



who want to know



what is
being decided by and about the  organization, that



community of people



they have
joined.



 I agree that what members do not find is important,
and because the amount that is spent on the bulletin
production is finite,  reducing the costs of business
items allows for more space for articles that might be
interesting to those who are interested in Iris but do
not wish to be involved in the governance of the
society. To me developing the casual interest of a
gardener who just wants to grow iris is just as
important in their promotion as providing data for the
officers of the society.




We have to remember that there are a number of things that have to be
published.






Were I able to wave a magic wand to make one change



in AIS it  would



be this:
I would wish that every member would  fully



understand that when we



speak of
AIS we speak not of "they," as in  "they keep



printing stuff in the



Bulletin
which does not appeal to  me....they keep raising



the dues and not



giving me my
dollar's worth...they  are not getting the news of



the Dykes winner



out to
the media...I don't  know why they don't do more for



the young...they



keep
pushing bearded irises at the expense of



others...they don't meet my



needs." Nor
do we, as members, accurately speak of AIS as "you"



as in "you are



losing
members" or "you have a membership problem" or "you



are not meeting my



 needs and
expectations" There is no They among members; there



is no You.  The



word in
most of these instances must be  "We," although



often it is "I."



There is a Board, yes, and administrative agencies



at various levels,



but
AIS is not just these people, these members. AIS  is



the membership as



a whole,
each one of whom is ideally a supporter of  the



Society's mission and a



contributing member of the whole, according to



their abilities,



resources,
circumstances, and interests. That, I  believe, is



what joining AIS



means.



This WE verses THEY argument is right on, but I dont
understand how it relates to this discussion. Surely
if we are part of the organization it is important
that we discuss changes that could benefit all of us
including new members and WE then have to help carry
them out.




I think it relates to the problem because so many of the members think
of the Board (and thus the organization) as unresponsive and that
"they" are out of touch.








Unfortunately, many folks see opting for membership



in AIS as a



consumer
issue, like buying a warranted product, as opposed



to joining in  an



activity, or
entering a venue for self education. Declaring  that



AIS, or the



Bulletin, is
not delivering on the dollar is to  define



membership as a product,



and I
deplore it.



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John                | "There be dragons here"
                         |  Annotation used by ancient cartographers
                         |  to indicate the edge of the known world.

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