“Thanks to Manifest I have a home, a place to practice & teach yoga, and a place to dance. I appreciate being part of a community where we respect one another’s space and nurture one another to grow.”
— Levi Banner, 26, break dancer, yoga teacher, & green energy advocate

MEMBERSHIP & COMMUNITY TEAM 2010 MISSION
Increase the number of members by 50% and membership retention rate by 50% in the next fiscal year, by effectively:  1) Welcoming new Manifest members,2)  improving benefits & community for existing members; 3) encouraging current participants to become members, 4) facilitating communication to/from and between members.

MEMBERSHIP TEAM DRAFT GOALS
1. Assure Bookkeeping Interns Send Membership Cards to all members promptly.
2. Seek to have tea/coffee with each new member within 2 weeks of their joining; personally interview new members about: 2.1 Wellness Visions/Goals; 2.2 Wellness Challenges; 2.3 Wellness Activities they most enjoy; 2.4 Reasons they joined/expectations; 2.5 whether they want individualized referrals based on their goals/visions, challenges & favorite activities (if so, provide these referrals); 2.6 whether they would like to learn about or join any of our 7 core teams.  Complete this survey with all old members as well within 6 months.
3. Create member community-building events once a month (1st Tuesday Community Potlucks/Forums).
4. Recruit massage coupons, discounts on wellness services, & other benefits for members.
5. Publish Monthly Member (or Organizational) Newsletter celebrating: 5.1 Member Profile/Interview; 5.2 Program Facilitator Profile/Interview; 5.3 Special Feature about Select New/Upcoming Program; 5.4 Update from Selected Core Team & requests for volunteer involvement; 5.5 Updated Program Calendar; 5.6 Practical Tips & Links for Dealing with a Health Complaint related to that month/season (Allergies, Depression, Backpain, etc).
6. Assure all members who cancel membership are interviewed about what they liked about membership, what we could have done to exceed their expectations & more powerfully support their attainment of their wellness vision & goals.

MEMBERSHIP VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Team Leader:  recruit, inspire, train, & coordinate a team to implement the mission & goals of the Membership & Community Team, as well as create and implement a team timeline & budget.

Membership Recruiter:  visit each Manifest program at least monthly to acknowledge members and encourage non-members to join and to remind everyone of the benefits of membership and to reminder everyone about new & exciting programs they could try in the upcoming month.

Membership Clerk:  mail membership welcome letter, membership card, current events schedule, & (for Sponsor-level & above members) free massage coupon to new members, maintain current membership roster (including start date, expiration date, membership level, etc.

Welcoming New Members:  Have tea/coffee with each new member to learn about their life vision, wellness goals, challenges, favorite activities, and to suggest Manifest programs and core team they might explore to help them more powerfully pursue their visions/goals and overcome their challenges.

Community Events Producer:  Help membership team, board, & program facilitators to plan, promote, and host monthly fun events to build community, encourage participants to become members, and encourage members to volunteer.  Events could include things like:  1) a potluck dinner before Last Thursday and an art walk; 2) community wellness forums where a wellness professional or panel can present important information on a wellness topic and the community can ask questions and share experience and knowledge on that topic; 3) poetry in the park; 4) barbecues; 5) new games; 6) garden parties; 7) movie night; 8) board games night, etc.

Newsletter Editor:  Create a newsletter designed to encourage participants to become members and to encourage members to get more involved as volunteers, which could include the following regular sections (which would be presented as headline links in an email newsletter, which would link to sections of an online newsletter):  1) action photo & profile of a new Manifest program; 2) action photo & profile of a Manifest Program Facilitator; 3) action photo & profile of a Manifest member (their wellness goals, challenges, favorite activities, reason for starting the program, etc); 4) calendar of upcoming Manifest events; 5) Practical Wellness Tips & Resources from local wellness professionals for the ailment of the month; 6) Profile of a local men’s wellness resource or wellness professional (e.g., OHSU’s Dental School Clinic; Multnomah County HIV Clinic; PCC Dental Hygiene Clinic)

Membership Data Geek:  Produce monthly reports for the membership team, board of directors, program facilitators, & our website about how the organization is doing in its goal to increase membership revenue by 50% by the end of the next fiscal year, and how well we are doing in our goal of increasing membership retention (average length of membership) by 50% by the end of our next fiscal year.  This involves taking data out of QuickBooks and presenting it in Excel spreadsheets and graphs.

Membership Team Scribe:  Assure all team procedures are documented in google documents & updated as team procedures change; maintain minutes of all team meeting agendas, decisions & next steps; assure the board, program facilitators, & membership are kept up-to-date on membership team progress.

Exit Interviewer & Quality Assurance:  periodically (quarterly or at least annually) survey members about what they most value about their membership, what benefits they’d most like us to provide, ways they’d like us to improve their membership experience and then work with the teams to implement changes in our membership benefits & program offerings to increase member satisfaction & retention.  Also interview all members who cancel their membership to find out what they valued about their membership, why the quit, and what we or they might do to keep them as a member.

INTERIM TEAM LEADER:  Timm Brightside (503) 277-9509 (he responds best to text messages)