Agreed. A previous place of employment had 3 relatively inexpensive
"member" categories (student, individual, household) and above that
level were considered "donors", who got a membership thrown in when they
made a donation at a certain level (I think the minimum was $250). Most
donors started out as members and were cultivated for upgrading.
Julia Muney Moore
Public Art Administrator
Blackburn Architects, Indianapolis, IN
(317) 875-5500 x219
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Heather McClenahan
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2007 2:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] membership categories
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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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] . The body of the message should read
"Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
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] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
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