This year, 12 Leagues will meet with LWVUS staff to workshop a membership toolkit that can then be shared with all Leagues. This project is part of the ongoing Transformation initiative to grow League membership in number and diversity, strengthen our grassroots power, and bolster our ability to empower voters and defend democracy.
Leagues will be chosen so there is one representing each set of criteria:
- Large vs small (more than 60 members vs less than 60 members)
- Urban vs suburban vs rural
- Increasing membership over the last year vs decreasing membership
Participating Leagues will be split into two cohorts based on League size. After a kickoff call with all Leagues, cohorts will have biweekly calls with LWVUS staff to brainstorm together around recruitment, engagement, and retention strategies, with an emphasis on diversifying membership. LWVUS staff will share suggestions from external consultants, and Leagues will share their experiences in their communities.
Some questions that will be discussed on these calls:
- What recruitment strategies has your League found success with? What strategies have you tried that were less successful?
- What strategies would you like to try but feel that you don’t have the resources (time, money, people) for? What additional resources would make the most impact in enabling recruitment?
- What segments of your community are not currently well-represented among your members? Are there specific recruitment strategies that would help your League connect with these potential members?
- How often does your average member get involved and how? Are there opportunities for low-level asks to get existing members more engaged?
- What is your current method for encouraging members to renew? For members who choose not to renew, do you have a sense of why?
One to two leaders from each League should attend each call for their cohort. Additional participants will be invited, depending on the discussion topic. For instance, when discussing member recruitment, Leagues will be encouraged to invite a community member who is not currently a member of their League to help gain an understanding of how non-members can be reached and involved.
After approximately two months of biweekly calls, a draft toolkit will be developed. Leagues will then implement the strategies discussed and continue to attend monthly calls to check in on progress and share insights.
Participating Leagues will be identified in February with calls to begin in March. Leagues are encouraged to consider potential leadership changes when determining who would be best to attend calls. Ongoing check-ins are expected to continue until at least the fall, with the understanding that this process may need to pause or change as election season approaches.
Note: if your League does not have the capacity to participate in calls but does have resources to share, such as templates or documentation of successful strategies, that can be indicated on the last question of this form.