Membership Tip of The Month

December 2005 - PARTNER Is your Grange looking for ways to attract new members?  One way is to find another organization to partner with.  Joining the Chamber of Commerce or having a member represent the Grange at another organization's meetings are good ways to partner.  It is critical that the member, who will be your liaison, is positive in the way they speak about your Grange.  Look for ways that the Grange and its partners can all achieve success. The advantage of having a partnership with another organization is that they will learn about your Grange.  This opens up new avenues to make people aware of the Grange.  They may also have some misconceptions about you that you can correct. A second positive is that your Grange will learn about opportunities to serve the community that you may never have thought about.  When you meet different needs in the community, you will make yourself relevant to more people.  The more people who view your Grange as valuable to the community, the more potential members you have. Look for ways to have your Grange partner with other groups and you will find it is easier to gain new members. November 2005 - THINK BIG Put together the same people, doing the same thing, and you will get the same thing over and over.  If your Grange wants to attract new members, try thinking big.  Thinking big means you plan on doing something that will not be easy.  In other words, do something that will be difficult.  it can be community service, legislative action, or even improvements to your hall.  It just has to be difficult and yet attainable. When you do something that is big there are two big effects.  First, it will change your member's attitude and perception of their Grange.  It is difficult to work on something big and be negative.  When you achieve your big goal, it builds pride in the members who participated.  Even more important, by having a big task, your fellow members will grow as members and leaders. The second effect is that the public is far more likely to notice you.  When people see that you are doing something big, it changes their perception of you in a positive manner.  If you happened to choose the big thing that they are personally interested in, they may even come to you to join.  People want to be part of a winning team, and a big goal creates a winning atmosphere. Think big in your Grange and you will find it is easier to attract new members. October 2005 - FOCUS ON THE PERSON Successfully recruiting new members isn't about numbers. It is all about the person.  If you want to bring in members regularly throughtout the year, you must focus on the person you want to join.  Focusing on a person means that you will get to know them and look for ways to share how the Grange will benefit them. Focusing on the person means that you must lean about them.  You must ask questions that will tell you what they think is important in your community and their life.  Finding out what their interests are is critical because we should be sharing how the Grange can fill their needs. We are all looking for something different and that requires you focus on finding out what the prospective member is looking for. Focusing on the person also means that we must learn who the person is.  Are they the kind of person who primatily desires to be surrounded by friends?  Or, are they the kind that gets their personal satisfaction from accomplishing a task?  We must learn what they want as an individual and then share how the Grange will fill that need for them. Focus on the potential members in your community and you will find it is easier to attract new members in your Grange.  September 2005 - LOOK TO THE FUTURE Do you want to have the opportunity to recruit the most new members?  If so, your focus must be to look into the future.  History is great and it is positive to see what your Grange has done in the past and what impact it has had.  However, that isn't what gets most people to join today. When someone comments on the historical significance of your hall, share your vision for the future with them.  Let them know where your Grange is going.  Show them the living growing Grange that you have and that you want.  Don't let them keep an old or out-of-date view of your Grange.  Share why your traditions are important to the future of your members and the community. Create displays for your Grange hall and for use in fair booths and other public events.  These displays should feature what is happening and what your Granges plans for the future are.  Look for ways the Grange can invest time and resources into helping children.  People especially associate the future with their children. Look to the future in your Grange and you will find it is easier to attract new members.   August 2005 - INVEST IN PROMOTION Is your Grange stumped on how to get new members and has limited resources?  If so, then at your next meeting, talk about how you can invest in promoting your Grange.  Take a look at everything you do and how you can use it to put your Grange front center in the eyes of your community. Spend a few dollars on a custom membership brochure/application or on labels to go on a brochure from your State or the National Grange.  If you have public dinners, order or make Grange place mats for your tables.  If you have a newsletter, print extra copies to hand out.  Look at ordinary things and image a Grange emblem or your Grange's name on them. The advantage in having something to promote your Grange with is twofold.  First, it does make people aware of your Grange.  It may also change their perception of your Grange.  Second, when your members have something to hand out, they will feel pride in doing so. When your members are feeling pride, they will be much more successful in recruiting new members.  When you invest in promoting your Grange you will significantly increase the opportunity to gain new members for your grange.

July 2005 - FIND SOMETHING NEW Do you have to deal with a negative member who tells you that they've tried everything?  The best way to deal with this type of member is to start coming up with new things to try.  Look around the area at what churches and other organizations are doing.  Suggest that your Grange try something similar to one of their successes. Talk to other Granges in your state or even in other states and find out what they are doing.  Between legislative efforts, community service projects, fund-raising, and fun activities you will be able to find many things that your Grange has never tried. If this member remains negative, ask them to suggest an activity that they have seen succeed.  Use them as a resource to trouble shoot potential ideas to increase their potencial success.  As your Grange tries new things you and the member will find it easier to develop a positive attitude and that will make it easier to recruit new members.  No one has tried everything, and you cannot accept that as an answer in your Grange. Find something new for your Grange to do and watch your Grange grow!

June 2005 - PRETEND YOU'RE TALKING TO THE MEDIA Does talking to someone from a newspaper make you nervous?  Does having a microphone or camera in front of you make you think about what you're going to say?  If so, then when you talk to a nonmember about your Grange pretend that they are part of the media.  Most people realize that when they talk to a reporter, they are in front of everyone and what they say will influence the direction of the story. When you talk to the media, you avoid negative comments.  This is important when you are talking to a nonmember.  They want to hear of how the Grange is going to meet their needs, not its current problem.  They want to know if the Grange is fun or if friendship is part of the package. We know that the media can create a powerful public perception of your Grange by how a story is presented.  A nonmember will also create their own public perception of your Grange by their interaction with you.  It is even more powerful because they can share it with others for years.  Regardless of if that person joins your Grange, they have the power to influence how others view your Grange.

May 2005 - ACT LIKE A WINNER When was the last time you saw someone swimming toward a sinking ship?  The same lesson applies to getting new members in your Grange.  People want to be part of a winning Grange. Sit down with your fellow Grangers and talk about what is the best things about your Grange today.  Is it friendship and social, or service, or is it a bit of both?  It is important that your members talk about the best part of your Grange.  When we talk about the best things, we come across as a winning Grange. If your members can talk only about the best things to each other, then they will continue talking about those things to nonmembers.  That will aid them in recruiting new members.  An additional benefit is that when you focus on the positive things about your Grange, you will see ways to expand those positives and that will lead to growth. Act like a winner in your Grange and watch the incredible happen!

April 2005 - BUILD ON THE GOOD Do your fellow Grange members have a negative attitude?  If you want to get new members the crucial thing to work on is getting your current members to change to a positive attitude.  The first step is to take the time to evaluate what your members enjoy about the Grange.  Find the things that make them feel good.  Don't get distracted by talking about negatives, only look for those activities or actions that generate positive emotions.  Talk about what your Grange has done in the past that they have looked forward to.  Find all the things that your members enjoy or enjoyed in the Grange. Second is to build on those items.  Whatever activity or action created those positive feelings, you need to find ways to encourage your members to do more of them and to find other similar actions that allow them to feel great about their Grange.  When they are focusing on the good, they will start to build a positive attitude. Evaluate what is good about your Grange and then find ways to build on that good and growth will follow! March 2005 - FOCUS ON SOLUTIONS Are you and your fellow members looking at all the problems facing your Grange?  Does it seem that no one is willing to join you because of these problems?  The real problem is that you are looking at the wrong thing.  Any problem facing your Grange is also affecting other people and orgnizations in your community. Successful Granges acknowledge the challenges and problems that they face, but they focus on finding solutions.  When you are looking for ways to overcome problems, the problem almost allways becomes less difficult to deal with.  Your members will be more positive and that alone will make recruiting new members easier. People want to join a winning organization.  When your members are looking for solutions to the problems facing the community and Grange they are displaying a winning attitude and will attract people looking for that attitude in an organization. Focus on finding solutions to problems in your community and your Grange and make growth happens!

February 2005 - GIVE A NEWSLETTER When was the last time someone gave you something to read because they thought you would like it?  Does your Grange have a newsletter for your members?  If not, it's time to have a team of your members put one together.  Make sure that it is positive and tells what your Grange is planning as well as what you've done.  If your Grange doesn't have a newsletter, take a look at your state's publication. When you have a newsletter that is positive, find a non-member that you see on a regular basis and give it to them.  Let them know that you think they will enjoy reading it.  Don't pressure them, just give them the newsletter. Next time you see them, ask what they thought about the newsletter.  If something interested them, they'll ask questions.  Be sure to give them answers and then ask them to join.  If they don't ask questions, try again with your next newsletter. Start giving away your Grange newsletter and watch your Grange grow! January 2005 - REASONS FOR GRANGE PRIDE It is far easier to get new members when your current membership exhibits their pride in your Grange.  While virtually all members feel pride in their membership, many do not exhibit that pride. Take a few minutes at your next Grange meeting and do a little brainstorming.  Maybe you can even make it a game to start with.  Ask each member to quickly say what they are proud of in your Grange and have a member list those items. Then ask what they are proud of at the State Grange. Finish with the National level.  You can even include the Pomona Grange if you would like.  Go around several times so that everyone gets into the spirit of the activity. Take the list and put it into basic categories, such as service or personal development.  At the next meeting hand it out and ask if anyone has anything to add.  Discuss how each member could show their pride during the next week. Help your members find reasons to exhibit their pride in their Grange and make growth happen!