HomeMembership Committee

Membership

The Membership Team manages all the details regarding Membership including joining process, renewal process, support of members, and managing ongoing evaluation of the Membership process.

Member intake can be performed by a committee of volunteers, a staff member, or a combination of both. For the purpose of this writeup we use the term Membership Director for whoever is doing this role.

The Village learns about potential members from a variety of sources. People read newspaper articles about the Village, hear about it from outreach meetings or from friends and neighbors. Senior Center’s, doctor’s offices, even hairdressers, tell their clients about the Village. They visit our website and make calls to the office. It is also possible to sign up for membership online through the "become a member" menu item. This situation is slightly different than the ones mentioned above.

The first step is to get the minimum contact information into the database and tagged as a “potential member” in the non-members database.Enter phone and email This can be done by the outreach person who conducts a public meeting, an event administrator who has a sign up sheet at an event open to the public, a call manager who answers the phone, or by member intake itself.

Member intake needs to contact each person who expresses interest, preferably within a day or two. Get Phone Number of Potential Members This brief phone call serves to screen out those who are ineligible, (wrong age, not in the service area, misperception about what the Village does). Some Villages have two tiers of membership, one receiving services and one that is a social membership which is also sometimes called a supporting membership. In general, there is no need for an in-home interview for social or supporting memberships, so these people are admitted as soon as they fill out the paperwork and pay their dues.

For full memberships (those receiving services), a more in-depth interview is required. This is needed to ensure that the member understands the limitations of the services that the village performs, as well as to let them know the needed advanced notice and how to request services.

Members also need to learn about anticipated Village events, the how to join activities, and what group activities are currently open to new members. Some Villages run an “ambassadors program where existing members welcome and guide new members. Others hold a welcome party for new members.

If the new member has paid by check, the check needs to be forwarded to the treasurer for deposit. In general, memberships are annual, but provision can be made for monthly or quarterly payments.

When a potential member calls the office or puts their name on a sign-up sheet at a public event, we typically get only minimal information. We set their category to "Potential Member" so that we know they need a phone call.Enter phone and email

The Membership Director needs to call them to assess the seriousness of the interest and to schedule an intake interview for members who will receive services. After the phone call, find the member tin the non-member database non-member database and change the "mailing list category" from "potential member" to "interview pending" so that the we know who needs an interview.

After the interview is completed, and payment is received, the person is converted to a member by finding them in the non-member database and use "more options", "convert to a member" and made "active".

When a potential member signs up online, using the "become a member" option on the public menu, the process is slightly different. The membership wizard collects more information initially and places it directly into the Member Database. The entry is flagged as a "Prospective Member". The Membership Director is aware of the signup because they get an email from the system.

The Membership Director still needs to make an initial assessment call to welcome the member and determine if they are seeking services or want a social membership. A social or supporting membership probably does not require an interview and the member can complete the application and payment online. If the member needs services then, in the member database Member Manager they need to have the "Interview Pending" email category checked and an intake interview scheduled.