On this quarter’s membership focus call, Sue Ammeter led the discussion with the question, “What kinds of incentives do you recommend to other affiliates to get more members to attend their conventions?” Saving the cost of attendance seemed to be the primary focus. Of course, for the national convention, there is a special fund for 1st timers, the Durward McDaniel Fund, which allows 2 persons to attend the convention with airfare and room paid. For the national convention, members looking for roommates can contact either the national office or give a memo to their president to post on the ACB leadership list. Details such as whether you have a guide dog and want someone with a guide dog, whether you smoke or want to room with a smoker, and days you wish to attend are helpful. For state conventions, members can let their president know about the need for a roommate at the state convention as well. If there is a statewide email list, this need can be posted there.
Smaller states (states with less attendance at their conventions) may be able to house members and hold their meetings at local schools for the blind, churches, or college settings. They can possibly bus the members to a church for a free or inexpensive dinner. If a facility is only available in one city, a state convention coordinating committee might make most of the arrangements so one chapter doesn’t always have to be responsible for these tasks. Of course, most of these facilities will not allow alcoholic beverages to be on the premises so members will likely appreciate knowing about local restaurants if they choose to go elsewhere in the evening. The Kentucky Council uses the school for the blind and offers a hotel as an alternative for those that don’t feel comfortable staying there. Transportation is provided back and forth between the two facilities.
Camps are also an alternative place to have a convention. The staff could be asked to cook the meals for your conference. Boxed lunches could also be used for cheaper lunches. You might be able to find local businesses to sponsor a specific lunch. They would have relatively inexpensive advertising while supporting a good cause because you would acknowledge their donation in your program and convention announcements.
Smaller hotels without a restaurant might be another option, provided they have conference rooms. You could then get lunches brought in or have members bring in food. Local blind vendors might be willing to either donate supplies or sell them at cost to your group. Again, transportation could be provided to bring the group to a local church or restaurant for either a free or an inexpensive meal.
Some states have planned one day conventions where no housing is required unless members come from a greater distance. If you plan to do this, you might consider doing more than one a year in different areas of the state to allow more participation. Here again, if you can get a facility for free and bring in low cost lunches, you can encourage more local participation.
Bus transportation between cities is becoming harder to find, so you might consider having your affiliate charter buses to conventions. Charging a small fee for each rider or covering the cost for participants might be a way to encourage more attendance. Check out various bus rental companies to get the cheapest rates. They charge much less for drop-off and pick-up only instead of being available the whole weekend. For persons outside of the more populated areas, you could give members an option to be brought to a central point or pay them a stipend to get to convention.
Each chapter could also be encouraged to arrange a van or bus to bring their members to the convention. Whether you opt for a charter bus or rent a van, members will need to commit to attending a convention farther ahead of time. Lead time is required to rent or charter vehicles in advance. If you rent them, you will need to find your own drivers. Your chapters could hold fundraisers in their local communities for this purpose.
Your affiliate could consider a subsidy for some convention expenses. The Washington Council gives a major discount to members who preregister by a specific date. For example, the cost for all meals would be $40 instead of the $100 regular cost. The California Council has paid all hotel costs for rooms above $80 a night the last few conventions and has paid costs above $15 for luncheons and $30 for the banquet. The Mississippi Council charges $40 for four meal functions and registration.
You may want to only choose a hotel for a convention where you can bring food and snacks into a hospitality room for members to get free or inexpensive lunches and snacks. A catering company may be able to do a banquet cheaper if you have a hotel suite large enough. If you can’t do this, you might ask if smaller portions could be made for cheaper cost lunches or dinners. You might ask if the restaurant would be willing to offer a couple of specials for a discounted price including the tax. You could tell them that most members stay in the hotel and that this might alleviate congestion in the restaurant by speeding up the preparation time.
A 50/50 drawing (winner getting half of the pot and half for the organization) could be initiated at each convention with the fund going to room subsidy. The fund could be divided so each participant would get a cheaper rate. You could choose not to use the fund until it reached a specific amount. You could also do an annual auction and the funds could be targeted toward convention expense. You could hold an employment fair in conjunction with your convention, charging a fee to employers or asking them for a grant toward expenses. This fair might elicit more attendance and allow you to give cheaper rates. You could apply for grants from local or statewide organizations, which give grants to local programs. You could go to stores and ask for donations or gift certificates to buy food or drinks. You can acknowledge their donations on your programs and preconvention announcements.
Other membership ideas were expressed. Most dealt with different ways to do outreach. Numerous other meetings you attend can be a way to meet people to invite to one of your chapter meetings or conventions: book clubs, supper clubs, or support groups. If you don’t have one in your neighborhood, you could start one. Senior centers, doctor's offices, ophthalmologist’s offices, hospitals, libraries, churches, and other public facilities are good places to leave your brochures and information about local chapters. If you find bulletin boards at these facilities or your local market, you could hang a postcard or flyer about upcoming meetings or events.
Simple flyers work well as long as you give a list of benefits and include a way for readers to request more information from a local phone number, state organization, and website. Business cards can be printed out to hand to new people. Sending simple newsletters to everyone you meet or know might also help attendance. Send them on tape, email, or print to nonmembers. Radio stations or newspapers will allow you to put meetings on their calendar of events, particularly in smaller communities. If you have a local radio reading service, it might also publicize your meetings and other events. Have a "friend day” and encourage members to bring at least one friend.
We look forward to seeing many of you at our membership seminar at the upcoming ACB convention on Thursday afternoon. We would like to have at least one member from each affiliate attend the seminar. We would also like to invite you to attend our next membership focus call on August 21!