Chapter Development Tips

Submitted by admin on Sat, 2006-04-08 17:10.

Member Recruitment

  • Stress the importance of membership diversity: nurses, coordinators, pharmacists, and social workers.
  • Host a new member social event: pizza, dessert, or brunch party.
  • Hold a new member recruitment campaign with a prize to the member who recruits the most new members.
  • Have a designated board member who is responsible for recruitment activities.
  • Invite all non-members to your meetings. This may increase their interest in your chapter.
  • Contact the ITNS home office (Beth Kassalen at itns@msn.com) for recruitment brochures and membership applications.
  • Promote ITNS during nurse's week, local health fair days, orientations, conferences and workshops.
  • Challenge each member to recruit one new member per year.
  • Sponsor a chapter awareness day. Distribute ITNS brochures and wear your ITNS pin!
  • Encourage your board members to be membership ambassadors. Provide them with brochures and membership applications to distribute to non-members.
  • Contact local leaders, administrators, and physicians at area hospitals; transplant centers and universities to find out how to spread the word about ITNS.
  • Always include an announcement in your chapter newsletter calling for new members, inviting non-members to chapter events, and provide a membership application.
  • Make contact with potential members who initially decline membership and ask why.

Member Retention

  • Form a new member committee responsible for making new members feel welcome and comfortable.
  • Send a survey to members asking them for suggestions and ideas.
  • Announce and introduce new members at meetings.
  • Get new members involved immediately so that they feel part of the chapter.
  • Send new members a welcome letter within 1 month after joining.
  • Recognize member milestone anniversaries.
  • Notify a member's employer and publish member's name in chapter and international newsletter when he/she is recognized in the chapter via award, grant, or assumes a leadership role.
  • Rotate dates, times and location of meetings.
  • When retaining a member, try to find out what is important to him/her.
  • Include pictures of members in the chapter newsletter.
  • Ask all members for their e-mail address. This is an easy, cheap and quick form of communication.
  • Make personal phone calls. Try to find out why a member does not renew.
  • Conduct a letter writing or phone call campaign for inactive members.
  • Offer continuing education credits for educational programs. Contact ITNS CEU coordinator Victoria Shieck at vickys@umich.edu
  • Offer educational grants for your membership

Increasing Member Participation

  • Mail or E-mail reminders to members about upcoming meetings and other chapter events.
  • Try to alternate date, time and location of meetings between transplant centers.
  • Collaborate with other ITNS chapters or other nursing organizations. You will get a stronger turnout and have access to more resources.
  • Personally ask each member to participate in one chapter activity or serve on a chapter committee each year.
  • Provide a chapter newsletter for your membership.
  • Provide chapter goals to your members. Provide contact numbers for specific goals in case the member is interested in getting involved.

Recognizing Members

  • Honor members with chapter awards. Seek to honor those who devote a lot of time and energy to volunteer work.
  • Present certificates of recognition to members for chairing or directing projects or contributing in any significant way.
  • Remind each member of his/her importance and value to the organization.
  • Never under-estimate the power of a personal thank-you note.
  • Recognize members who always contribute to fund-raisers and events.
  • Send letters to all officers, committee chairs and committee members to thank them for serving as their term ends. If possible, include a few examples of how their efforts benefited the chapter.
  • Notify employers and publish member’s name in chapter and international newsletter when a member as done something of value for the chapter, received an award or grant, or assumed a leadership position.

Developing Leaders within the Chapter

  • Develop a past president's council and use it as a sounding board for chapter ideas and problems.
  • Nominate successful chapter leaders for international office.
  • Allow volunteers to work creatively to make their job a success.
  • Encourage current leaders to identify members who would make good successors when their term is up.
  • Work to transition experienced committee members into leadership positions.
  • Encourage officers to attend the Chapter Leader's Meeting at the Annual ITNS Symposium.

Officer Transition

  • Hold a mandatory officer transition meeting each year.
  • Keep organized detailed binders for each position to pass along to the next person who assumes that role.
  • Develop a policy and procedure manual that details specific officer roles and duties as well as other important chapter information.
  • Form a past president and/or former officer committee.
  • Notify the chapter development chairperson of ITNS with all election results and names of new officers with effective date of change.

Chapter Planning

  • Develop an annual program of work with goals and strategies derived from the chapter's strategic plan.
  • et realistic goals for the chapter, start small and work toward larger goals.
  • Continually review and revise the chapter’s goals and objectives.
  • Schedule important dates for board meetings well in advance so everyone can mark his/her calendars.
  • Develop a chapter action plan:
  • What idea do we want to implement?
  • What actions are required to accomplish it?
  • Who are the people who can help us?
  • Which chapter office or committee will be responsible?
  • When do we want to have this accomplished?

Program Planning

  • Invite a distinguished lecturer to speak at a chapter program.
  • Make sure chapter programs follow a wide variety of topics.
  • Keep programs on time and stick to the agenda.
  • Present current interest programs for members.
  • Ask your local Pharmaceutical or health care representative to sponsor your programs.
  • Participate in planning international meetings. Invite the ITNS Annual Symposium to your city.
  • Use chapter members as your speakers.
  • Ask local merchants to donate refreshments for your meetings.
  • List your chapter activities on the ITNS web site: www.itns.org.
  • Develop a chapter speaker's bureau.
  • Collaborate with local organizations or another ITNS chapter to pool resources.

Increasing Visibility and Communication

  • Develop a chapter web site.
  • Create a listserv to send out timely announcements and reminders
  • Develop a chapter newsletter.
  • Have an ITNS bulletin board in your nursing unit, transplant center, clinic, etc.
  • Participate in Nurse's week activities and career day events.
  • Sponsor community events such as blood pressure screenings.

Increasing Chapter Non-Dues Revenue

  • Hold at least one fund-raiser per year.
  • Thank all volunteers, contributors, vendors and participants.
  • Hold a raffle of donated items at the conclusion of each chapter meeting.
  • Create chapter sales items using your chapter logo and name. (I.e. T-shirts, mugs, sweatshirts, tote bags, post-it-notes, etc.)
  • Contact the ITNS home office to purchase ITNS logo items to be sold at your chapter meetings.
  • Always provide members with various ways they can contribute (i.e. donating auction or raffle items).
  • Identify a local celebrity who can be recruited to help with a function. Not only will you raise funds, but also you might receive media exposure.
  • Increase educational grant funds by targeting solicitation of funds from transplant care industries.
  • Form and utilize a fund raising committee.
  • Raffle off donated centerpieces after meetings and conferences.
  • Consider a transplant recipient fashion show, ornament auction, bake sale or wine tasting as possible fund raising events.

Already a member? Sign in.

Top