Improving the lives of women and girls
through programs leading to social
and economic empowerment.
SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL OF THE AMERICAS
Membership Moment Video Tip with Nicole Simmons,
SIA Membership Director
Today’s Hot Topic: Engaging current members
Reviewed April 2015, originally produced in December 2010
Engage. What does it mean? For some it might conjure up a ring on your left hand. For others, it may bring to
mind something that is said on Star Trek.
But what does it mean for Soroptimist when we talk about engaging our members?
First we need to understand engagement. Engagement means building a fun, rewarding, productive volunteer
experience where members are
 empowered to be actively involved in their club
 feel a strong connection with Soroptimist
 make a difference in its success.
Members who actively participate in club activities – who are engaged – are more likely to want to continue
their membership.
Here are some tips for successful engagement:
Get Members Involved
The key is to get members involved at their own level of satisfaction. Some members will be happy to take on
several projects while others may be able to manage only one or two tasks at a time. All levels of participation –
of engagement – are important and necessary to accomplish the goals of your club.
By encouraging members to become involved, they will form a vested interest in the club and reinforce their
commitment to the Soroptimist mission.
Play the Matchmaker
When asking a member to take on a specific duty, make sure the skills required match those possessed by the
member. For example, if a member is wary of public speaking, she is probably not the best choice to conduct an
orientation presentation. But if she is creative writer, she may want to lend a hand with creating the orientation.
1709 Spruce Street | Philadelphia, PA 19103 | 215-893-9000 | [email protected] | Soroptimist.org | LiveYourDream.org
© Soroptimist International of the Americas
Membership Moment Video Tip with Nicole Simmons, SIA Membership Director
When you know what members want to do and what their skills sets are, you are in a better position to match
talents with tasks.
Don’t forget: to increase the chances that a member will take on a task or project, remember to invite that
member to participate, not assign them to participate.
Communicate
Keeping in contact with members reinforces their connection to Soroptimist. Make sure all members are aware
of both headquarters and club news.
Take advantage of the timeliness and economy of email. Create a simple club newsletter (printed or electronic).
Build a club website. And of course social media. Social media is an easy, quick way to engage members.
Clubs can provide a public forum and an online platform, address questions and problems quickly, learn what
concerns members have and hear their ideas, and disseminate information quickly and easily.
Meetings
This is a crucial piece of the engagement pie. Meetings must be fun, convenient, and productive. Flexibility is a
must to meet the needs of a diverse membership. Make every attempt to accommodate busy schedules and to
run meetings efficiently so members do not feel their time is being wasted.
Remember that we do not have meeting attendance requirements. Being physically present at a meeting does
not necessarily signify that the member is contributing to the club. Participation by your members is a better
indicator of engagement and should be rewarded.
Feedback
Asking members for their feedback is a way of involving them in the management of the club. Effective ways to
get feedback include things like the club assessment, new member survey, and the resigning member survey –
which are all resources available on our website.
Of course it’s also important to act on this feedback. Track and share the results. If you don’t share, members
won’t care. And, there is no point to asking what members think and want if there are no plans to follow
through on the findings.
Fun!
Finally, we need to engage not only our members’ minds, but their hearts as well. Include some elements of fun,
play, and laughter into the club experience. Have short but energizing team building exercises, liven up a policy
review with grab bag prizes for correct answers. Making your members smile will keep them coming back for
more.
As an organization of women who may be juggling family, work and life in general; being a member involves an
investment of our time. And that is a precious commodity. And members will commit to donating that precious
resource and become engaged and invested – if we offer them something of value.
So I want to know – How do you engage your members? Share it with me at [email protected].
Thanks for joining me today. Remember, engage your members by asking them to be involved and give them
meaningful opportunities to do so!
© Soroptimist International of the Americas. Revised April 2015.
page 2 of 2