In Membership Month, SIGBI Membership Extension & Development Officer Dishi Attwood updates us on progress and why spreading the word is more important than ever to increase membership.
May is Membership Month. Membership has become an important issue for all volunteer and service organisations and Soroptimists are no exception. During this centenary year, Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland needs to concentrate its efforts on increasing membership.
- As we managed our lives in a pandemic, our thoughts turned naturally to the practical ways in which we could help others – this is the service part of who we are.
- As meetings moved to IT solutions, we learned at speed about online meetings.
- As the months went by, we became innovative in our fundraising opportunities.
However, service was easier for some but not all, especially if like me, you were in the ‘shielding’ category. Zoom meetings worked for some, though not all, but age was not an indicator of those that were not able to engage in this way. Remote fundraising worked for some, not all.
As we gain greater freedom, our priority is growing our membership. As we go out and about, meeting each other and hugging our loved ones, please talk even more about our organisation.
Our message is: Now, we need YOU!
We have partnered so many organisations, we have given of our time, our skills and our funds. Now we ask them to help us grow.
Tell them about the work we do, some of which has become even more pressing. The pandemic created family tensions, home schooling increased the societal divide, highlighting digital poverty and food poverty grew to unimaginable levels.
Our work is vital. As other like-minded women join us, our reach becomes bigger and we can do so much more.
Ask them to join us, to nominate somebody from their organisation to learn more about us, to invite us in to talk to them. We need their help to find members who want to do more for the women and girls – locally, nationally, internationally.
So, following Membership Director Chevonne’s advice, you know why you continue to be a Soroptimist, so offer the same to those you meet. Your passion will rub off onto them and they will want to be part of it!
As a Region, we are developing traditional, hybrid and virtual clubs. We recognise that we need to fit better into the lifestyles of women as they are now. All three options are being explored and developed by your regional Extension and Development Team.
We need you to spread the word! Why not take a look at the videos made by seven – very different – members of our Region and learn from what they have to say too?
A Message from Membership Director Chevonne Agana
It’s the start of Membership Month! This is the month in the Soroptimist Calendar where we usually turn our attention inward to focus on improving our current membership, and also outward to create opportunities for recruiting new members. While it’s important for us to do this
This membership month I want to urge us not only to focus on planning activities and creating opportunities, but I also want us to all engage in some deep reflection. Let’s each start with ourselves and ask “Why am I a Soroptimist?” every single month. Membership Month truly gives us a fantastic opportunity to get creative about membership which, we can all admit is a crucial area for us.
This may seem like an obvious question but some of us have been Soroptimists for so long that it’s easy to forget the true essence of why we are members.
Therefore, ask yourself why.
Truly think about the response and recommit yourself. We can only “sell” our organization if we first start with understanding why we are here ourselves.
