You might check your bylaws - in ours it states that to be a member dues must be paid. The other issue is a philosophy of thought that correlates to giving and that is, if volunteers and staff believe in the organization, they should want to support it by becoming members. Why would anyone else want to be a member if the volunteers and staff aren't? Brenda Abney | Director (509) 888-6242 | [log in to unmask] | www.wvmcc.org COMING UP AT THE MUSEUM: Saturday, January 26, 6 - 9 p.m. Winter Wine Gala featuring wine tastings from fourteen Columbia Cascade wineries and tastes from four local restaurants. Advance tickets: $40. Call to reserve (509) 888-6240. CALENDAR ON-LINE, WVMCC.ORG <http://www.WVMCC.ORG> OR CALL 888-6240 ________________________________ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rusty Baker Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 7:29 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Volunteers and membership This certainly depends upon the size of the institution, but giving the regular volunteers actual membership or at the very least, the detailed benefits of membership, seems like not a bad idea at all. Of course, for volunteer board members, the standard is paid membership plus whatever seems appropriate in terms of individual giving. God bless their souls, many front line volunteers/docents will pay membership dues anyway because they love the place and they can afford it. And Nicola hit on something - you should thank these folks almost to the point of embarrassment. "Right on" to John, I am all for membership and its benefits for all employees since they often give more than they are compensated. To actually answer the question at hand, I have not seen nor heard of this perk increasing the number of volunteers, but it can boost membership numbers for whatever that's worth. Volunteer recruitment, training, and retention can become almost as important as the HR functions for paid staff. John E Simmons <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Right on. I think volunteers should get free membership and they should also have job descriptions. They do invest a lot in your institution, and these are simple ways of recognizing their input. I would go one step further and give your paid staff museum memberships as well. I once worked for an organization that included all staff (from director to housekeeping) as members. The next place I worked did not--staff had to pay to be members. The difference in how invested the staff felt in the institution as a whole was significant. What the memberships did was enlarge feelings of staff loyalty from the particular work unit to the whole institution. To ask someone who is already working for you (whether in a paid or volunteer position) to also pay to be a member is a bit of an insult. --John John E. Simmons Museologica 1528 ½ Puddintown Road State College, Pennsylvania 16801 [log in to unmask] 303-681-5708 On Jan 24, 2008 9:30 AM, Nicola Sarn <[log in to unmask] > wrote: We have been having the same conversation recently. I am an advocate for free museum membership for docents. They are not just volunteers as they truly invest their hearts and minds in the museum. Being a docent is much like being a staff member as they have to study, they are required to have certain skills and keep abreast of museum happenings. Anyone investing so much of their free time to help the museum should not have to pay to be a member when in spirit and commitment they already are. It is gratefulness that should ensue in thanking them profusely on a regular basis and giving them as many free benefits as possible. Nicola Warren Sarn School and Educator Services Coordinator Columbus Museum 1251 Wynnton Road Columbus , Georgia 31906 Phone: 706.748.2562, ext. 653 Fax: 706.748.2570 E-mail: [log in to unmask] ________________________________ From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Keni Sturgeon Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 7:26 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Volunteers and membership Hello all, I know these questions have gone around before (should volunteers be required to be members? should their membership be free or should they pay?) , but i have a different spin to ask about this topic: Has anyone included a free museum membership as a benefit of being a regular, committed volunteer and if so, have you noticed if adding such a membership helped to increase your volunteer recruitment? Thanks, Keni Keni Sturgeon Curator Mission Mill Museum 1313 Mill Avenue Salem, OR 97306 503-585-7012, ex. 232 [log in to unmask] ________________________________ Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give. Learn more. <http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Home/?source=text_hotmail_join> ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . 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