Membership Tip: Grounds for Sculpture Offers a New Members Only Event

We often hear that members are the lifeblood of nonprofit organizations. They support you with their revenue, but more than that, they support you with their presence. They are your biggest fans.

So how do you go about letting them know that you are theirs? A robust membership plan is essential; offering free admission, discounts on merchandise, guest passes, advance sales on special events, and members only events are great examples. Grounds for Sculpture gets a head start on their member benefits by offering a "welcome to membership" event - their New Members' Day. I recently spoke with Aylin Green, Membership Director, to get the scoop on this brand new event.



So, what is New Members' Day?

New Members' Day was created to introduce the new Members to the Grounds for Sculpture community and to encourage them to get to know each other. I want them to be aware of all their benefits, answer questions, and encourage them to get involved.

What does New Members' Day involve?

The planned activities are fairly loose and social. They include guided tours of the park with some of our docents, some light refreshments, introductions to staff, and time to mix and mingle. I also plan to distribute a short survey so I can learn more about them and their interests as they relate to GFS Membership.

Who is invited? How often will you host these events?

I was able to send a targeted email to our members who joined between Jan 1st and June 30th by creating a query in Altru – this was a big help! I plan to hold a another one in February for folks who joined from Aug 1 – Dec 31, so going forward, I would hold them twice per year.

How did it go?

It went well! It was good to have the opportunity to get to know some new members, as well as to spend time with some of our volunteers who we did not know! I started the event with a welcome and introduction. Then, I had the other staff and volunteers all introduce themselves. I asked for a show of hands for how many people had been coming to our museum and had just decided to join recently. This was the majority of the group. Then we split the group in 2 and they went out with the volunteer docents for a tour of the park. We made some nice connections, and I got some good feedback on a couple of new initiatives that I am working on.

 



 

 

 

 

Aylin Green is the Membership Director for Grounds for Sculpture. She began with GFS back in 2001 as their Education and Volunteer Services Manager, and later served as their Development Associate.