The English-Speaking Union Education. Scholarship. Understanding. STRAIGHT TALK ___________________________________________________ Guidelines and Tools For Achieving Best Practices in ESU Branches Compiled by Revitalization Task Force Committee Members: Alice Irby, Task Force Chair, Chair of Regional Chairs, Region IV Chair Richard Biernacki, Region III Chair Dulcie Bull, Pres. Princeton Branch Jim Fadely, former Nat’l Board, Member, Indianapolis Branch Barbara Kiffmeyer, Region VI Chair Richard H. Knight, Jr. Region II Chair Laura Phelps, Member Nat’l Board, Pres. San Francisco Branch Jeff Schnabel, Member Nat’l Board, Pres. Kansas City Branch JoAnn Wallace, Member, Syracuse Branch Barbara Willette, Region V Chair Jeremy Woan, Region VIII Chair Edition 1.1 October 21, 2013 THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING UNION OF THE UNITED STATES 144 East 39th Street, New York, NY 10016 Tel: 212-818-1200 Fax: 212-867-4177 email: [email protected] website: www.esuus.org Table of Contents Pages 1. Introduction 03 2. Membership 05 3. Programming 11 4. Educational Outreach Programs 20 5. Fundraising 26 6. Governance & Succession Planning 32 7. Communication 38 8. Publicity 50 9. Appendix & Sample Documents 55 2 1. Introduction In the fall of 2012, at a meeting of regional chairs, members discussed methods of developing contemporary, straightforward, easy-to-implement guidelines and tools to help branches succeed in key areas of their operations. Subsequently, the ESU Board appointed a Task Force to look into the matter of branch revitalization. It was clear that ESU needed to find ways to assist branches in sustaining themselves in rapidly changing times. To thrive, branches must attract new members to exciting and innovative programs and activities. For several years, branches had asked that examples of best practices and strategies be shared. The Task Force includes regional chairs, branch presidents and other branch leaders each of whom had some degree of success in the selected areas chosen for developing Best Practices Strategies. This compendium of those best practices and strategies, called Straight Talk is designed to help branches: a) Bring new life to branches with declining membership; b) Add a spark to creative programming that would excite existing members and help attract new members; e) Expand one of the core values of the ESU by developing new and creative Educational Outreach programs for teachers, students and members. d) Share successful fundraising strategies between Branches; e) Develop progressive governance guidelines for Branches that offer flexibility in organizational structure f) Find new ways of communication throughout the organization, including digital, both at the National and branch levels, that deliver our message to members and the public in a timely manner and in ways that can be adapted to various branch demographics; From the beginning of this project, the Task Force realized there is a wide diversity among branches—in size, demographics, organizational structure, varying philosophies in approaches to programming, and styles of management. It is not the purpose of this project to standardize all branches in all these areas. We celebrate this diversity and understand each branch must address all areas of its operation according to the needs of its members. Straight Talk guidelines are just that—guides and tools to give branches new ideas and approaches to the challenges of today. Some of these Best Practices can be quickly adopted, others have to be modified to suit a branch’s situation and some will not work at all in some branches. If branch leaders approach these suggestions as a tool to help address an area that has been a challenge in their branch, then the Task Force will have succeeded in its mission. If you find that some do not work in your branch, don’t get discouraged. Discuss your situation with other branches and your regional chairs. Sharing your experiences with others may be just the spark that makes a difference. This brings us to the concept of Straight Talk. There is one underlying principle that will make these goals a reality—straightforward communication among all levels of the organization by sharing ideas from the bottom up and the top down—that is Straight Talk. 3 Straight Talk is a work in progress. This is the First Edition. With contributions from branches and National Headquarters throughout the year, Straight Talk can be updated at least twice yearly, if not more often as the need arises. The work of this Task Force has been coordinated with and supported by the National Headquarters. It is important to note, however, that the Task Force assumes responsibility for the structure, content and suggestions in the document. All regional chairs have participated, along with selected branch leaders. Information about branch practices has been collected and shared. This First Edition of Straight Talk is an example of what can be accomplished with cooperation among branches, regional chairs and the National Headquarters. Branches are encouraged to add content to Straight Talk. It is important for branches to learn from each other about practices, events and processes that work. New information and updates should be sent to [email protected]. Headquarters will assemble the new submissions and send them to the Branch Services Committee for review and editing. A new committee, the Branch Services Committee, was established by Board action at the AGM in Seattle in September, 2013. Finally, as you are reading through Straight Talk, we would appreciate any feedback on these Best Practices Guidelines. Alice Irby, the Chair of the Task Force can be reached via e-mail at [email protected]. Task Force Team: Alice Irby, Task Force Chair, Chair of Regional Chairs, Region IV Chair Richard Biernacki, Region III Chair Dulcie Bull, Pres. Princeton Branch Jim Fadely, former Member Nat’l Board, Member, Indianapolis Branch Barbara Kiffmeyer, Region VI Chair Richard H. Knight, Jr. Region II Chair Laura Phelps, Member Nat’l Board, Pres. San Francisco Branch Jeff Schnabel, Member Nat’l Board, Pres. Kansas City Branch JoAnn Wallace, Member, Syracuse Branch Barbara Willette, Region V Chair Jeremy Woan, Region VIII Chair 4 2. Membership Pages Introduction: 5 Strategy #1: Focus on Two New Categories of Members 5 Strategy #2: New Member Candidates from Referrals 7 Strategy #3: Solicit New Members at ESU Events 7 Strategy #4: Promote ESU Events Using Press Releases and “Friends of ESU” 8 Strategy #5: ”Gift of Membership” Holiday New Member Promotion 8 Strategy #6: Fourth Quarter Bonus for New Members 9 Strategy #7: Recruit New Members at Co-Sponsored Events 10 Introduction Declining membership is plaguing all organizations nationwide, both for profit and non-profit, and this is the case with some ESU Branches today. The solutions to reverse that trend are not easy. Many ESU Branches had over 300+ members in the ‘60s and ‘70s and are now trying to rebuild from a small base of one-tenth of that original number. Some of the reasons for this decline in membership are obvious, some are not. Recognizing that there are so many more organizations (for profit and non-profit) competing for members now than there were back in those days and also facing so many other activities that occupy people’s lives, it’s difficult to differentiate the ESU organization and make its goals and programs stand out in the community. The effort to find new members will certainly vary from city to city depending on resources and other ESU programs that you can use to promote the ESU. Branches are constantly struggling with finding the right approach to attract new members that works. There are several strategies that can be used and the success of these membership drives will probably not be realized for several cycles of fiscal years’ activities. It’s a slow process but we have to keep working on new ideas all the time…some work and some don’t. Here are some strategies that may work in your branch. Try to keep an open mind when reviewing these strategies. They may, at first, seem impractical to implement in your branch but discuss a variation of a strategy with your membership chair and give them a try. Some of these strategies will be a big success and other may have mixed results. Perhaps you will only see positive results over the long term—maybe 2-3 years. Strategy #1: Focus on Two New Categories of Members A. A younger demographic—age 35 and under Many branches have an older median age of membership, and we recognize we must get some younger people in the mix of members. The reasons for this are fairly obvious: an existing membership base remained static over the years without any significant growth in new members and, in fact, many of those members left the branch. The member base has been reducing in size and growing older. So, the question is: how to add younger members? Some branches have had success by adding a “Junior-Single” and “Junior-Couple” to their membership categories. This new “Junior” category is simply defined as “35 and under.” The membership rate for this “Junior” category is only slightly reduced from the “Regular” Single and Couple rates. The difference in rates is not that significant but at least this creates a new category that recognizes younger people. 5 By highlighting that younger group, we are letting potential members know that we want to welcome and encourage young people to join. One idea that puts a focus on this “Junior” category is to go back to the first, second and third place winners of your Shakespeare Competition from several years ago…not recent competitions but those winners who are now in their mid-twenties to early thirties. Many branches have board members or regular members who are retired high school teachers who were heavily involved with the Shakespeare Competition in their schools and they know many former students who participated in the Competitions in their schools.