- - BPW International - Membership Development: Triple One Formula- -

I wish a very happy healthy and prosperous 2006 to all BPW International members. Much activity has been going on since Luzern and now in 2006 we will start to implement my plans on membership. In the last triennium from 2002 until June 2005 despite the hard efforts of our past vice president Ilse Spritzendorfer to increase our membership by 12% we actually have experienced another decrease in membership of 8%. Although the trend seems to be holding at single digits over the past years, it cannot continue and we must have some urgent focus to increase membership if we want to survive and be recognized as the international organization that we are.

Since our dues are still very minimal the only way to increase the level of services, provide more tools and increase the visibility of BPW International is to work on increasing our network. I have outlined an aggressive strategy to accomplish over the next 3 years and along with the membership team of all the regional coordinators and the focal point members, I urge all our members to participate in this and help us achieve the growth that we need.

The membership team is chaired by me and the members are Dr. Amany Asfour (Africa), Ambica Shrestha (Asia-Pacific), Gabriella Canonica (Europe), Maria Ines Bunning (Latin America), Monica McNeil (North America). We will also have 1-2 focal point members from each federations and associate clubs. Margareta Ling Vannerus is our first focal point from Sweden!

Firstly we must work on ensuring retention of our members, which is critical. Along with the dues invoice for federations and associate clubs which have been sent out, I have requested 3 questions on some numbers to be reported for us:

This information will help me to establish how we are doing retaining our members and also to identify the new member growth. It is very important for new members in the first 1-2 years in the organization to experience the value of membership in BPW and feel the pride and satisfaction of belonging to an International organization that is worthy. The new member booklet prepared by past president Dr Antoinette Rüegg is great and is a very valuable tool that will be improved on even further and distributed to all members. All federations and Associate Club presidents will be receiving this to distribute to each member directly and especially to all new members.

Secondly, we must strengthen what we currently have. The country federations and associate clubs that exist now must be motivated, maintained and helped with sustained growth. We are identifying the countries and clubs in the regions that are having problems and need care. The regional coordinators and I will work closely there to resolve issues and help to strengthen the leadership and the organization.

Thirdly, new member development is very critical. So I have devised the Triple One Formula which means that each 1 member should get at least one new member every 1 year, equaling: 1+1+1. This is where I am urging the participation of all members and not only the regional coordinators, presidents and their executive boards.

To make this more interesting and competitive, I have designed parts to accomplish this goal:

The goal of each member gets 1 new member each year, will be rewarded by a Triple Crown pin which will be awarded to the individual members in 2008 who got 3 new members in 3 years. They will also be highlighted on the website and in the newsletter.
A point system of 1 point for each new member will be given to each federation and club and will be reported each quarter. The winners (clubs/federations) with the highest growth (in points) at the end of the triennium will be awarded a Triple Crown medal / plaque at Congress. This will not be just any kind of award. I can assure all members that this will be very special and definitely worth enjoining the competition. The membership team is committed to working hard with everyone to achieve this. A good tracking system will be implemented and I will report the progress every quarter.

And so lastly: Membership is the responsibility of every single member. Retention and New Membership development are the key factors so let’s work together to make this an historic triennium of growth!