lisa - what i would look at is retainage from year to year.....that tells
you how successful the current memebership program is and can guide you in
future work.

what worked about the last drive?  what are the demographics of your current
members and how does that compare with that group in the community?  what do
your members say is the most valuable thing about their membership?

 the biggest change in number of new memberships being sold that i ever saw
was when we had a dedicated person (or could be volunteer) selling
memberships on the weekends (this was at a large institution)....she was
positioned near the front doors and had it down to explain to people what a
great deal it was and also that, should they decide not to at that moment,
they could come back after they had finished their visit and have that day's
admission applied toward a membership.

last:  i am working for a small art center, newly opened.  before we opened,
when we were trying to figure out a target for memberships, i called about 5
similar sized institutions in about a 200 mile radius and asked what their
membership base was and what percentage it contributed to the bottom line.
even with such a small sample, the answers ranged from less than 10 members
and no impact to several thousand members and significant impact.

would guess if you go to aam's website, in their information center, you may
find statistical info (or in their publications).

i can tell you not having a real program in place, we've sold only 6
memberships in 2 months.....so you guys must have been doing something
right!

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