I can only speak anecdotally, but here's the story: About three years  
ago a membership committee expanded our membership offerings to  
something like 12 categories. Then the fundraising committee decided  
that was too complicated and the board simplified it some. This last  
year they simplified it even more, so we're down to 3 basic  
memberships and 4 what we call Heritage Partnerships (sorry NPS,  
didn't know you had the same thing at the time!). Throughout it all,  
membership remained constant. What bumped up our membership was  
writing personal letters to a number of people in town who weren't  
members -- but should have been. :) Our lesson, I think, is membership  
catagories don't really matter. It's how you connect with your  
supporters.

Heather McClenahan, museum assistant/web master
Los Alamos Historical Society
http://www.losalamoshistory.org
[log in to unmask]
PO Box 43
1921 Juniper St.
Los Alamos, NM 875444
505-662-6272 (office)
505-470-2912 (cell)

Quoting HHSDIRECTOR <[log in to unmask]>:

> Hello List serve,
>
>
>
> There's debate among our membership directors about whether to expand or
> simplify our membership categories. As far as I can tell, current wisdom
> favors expanding categories: single, household, student, teacher, corporate,
> etc. But I confess I haven't seen any evidence that this helps grow
> membership. Is there a study or research that someone could direct me toward
> to help provide answers for my board on this topic?
>
>
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>
> Suzanne Buchanan, Director
>
> Hingham Historical Society
>
> P.O. Box 434
>
> Hingham, MA 02043
>
> Phone: 781-749-7721
>
> Fax: 781-749-0091
>
> http://www.hinghamhistorical.org/
>
>
>
>
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