Acronym

Ann Oliveri left an intriguing comment a few weeks ago in response to a post of Scott’s. She asks, “What if membership in your association was more like joining the Marines than paying for a magazine subscription?”

This might be scary to a lot of us, especially associations with a nice solid group of dues-paying “mailboxer” members. But Ann’s question reminds me of a service organization I belonged to back in college, lo these many years ago. While anyone could join, to make the transition from pledge to full member you needed to fulfill a number of requirements, including interviews of members and pledges (a networking activity) and service hours (contributing to the core mission of the organization). By the time I was done, all of that work had solidified my personal connection and commitment to the group. I remained a very active member for the rest of my time in college.

If your association doesn’t already require additional service of members above and beyond payment of dues, what would happen if you did? If you made sure those requirements drew people into meaningful, engaging projects—not just warming a seat—I bet you’d find your members experiencing that same excitement and commitment that I felt back in college.

(And for your mailboxer members, you could consider a “corresponding member” category that would allow them access to informational materials without having to go through the additional work full membership would require.)