Annual renewal systems _may_ be fine for small organizations with few
paid staff or volunteers to handle the day-to-day office tasks, but I
tend to doubt it.  Even if true, as the size of the organization
increases, there comes a point where such a system breaks down.  Imagine,
if you can, receiving approximately 10,000 renewal checks all at once!
It is impossible for a single membership secretary, or even two such
people, to handle such a load in a timely manner.  Checks go uncashed for
weeks, acknowledgement letters are backed up for months, etc.
 
Reasons for not adopting an annual renewal cycle include:
1.  The difficulty of explaining how you are going to prorate a
membership when people join at odd times in the year.
2.  The time spent explaining this prorated system over and over again to
each potential new member.  Perhaps this time could be spent doing
something more productive?
3.  People generally like things clean and simple.  Confuse them with
nitty gritty details of a complicated system and they have an "excuse"
not to join.  Twelve months of membership benefits for $xx regardless of
when I join is easy to understand.
4.  There can be PR problems when a member realizes that if he had just
waited an extra month (like his neighbor did) he could have gotten 18
months of membership benefits instead of only 12.
5.  When the bulk of an organization's annual revenue comes in all at
once, it _can_ (depending upon the group's unique circumstances) cause
severe cash flow problems.
 
If it is not already obvious, I firmly believe that a monthly anniversary
cycle is best.  With today's computers and inexpensive database programs,
there is no reason for any organization _not_ to adopt a monthly rather
than the annual cycle.  Much of the paperwork involved in the sending of
renewal notices, follow-up reminders, etc. can be automated.
 
On a personal note, the county historical society I used to direct
switched from the annual cycle to the monthly renewal cycle when our
membership reached about 800.  It was a good decision and we never looked
back.  The Indiana Historical Society did not switch to the monthly
renewal cycle until the membership was in the range of 10,000 ... i.e.
not until we had a major problem on our hands.
 
Jmh
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John M. Harris                      [log in to unmask]
Local History Services              (317) 232-4591   (work)
Indiana Historical Society          (317) 233-3109   (FAX)
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