A call to membership
As those of you who attended the convention last week will recall, I talked about a plan to turn our membership numbers around. While adding 1,000 people to our roll seems daunting in these most difficult of times, it will not be if many of us make an effort to reach out to journalists in this coming year and convince them to join our organization. I referred to it as my 10 percent plan. If one in every 10 members did this, we'd be back to numbers of almost two years ago. Maybe we need to modify it to a 15 percent plan. However we promote it, the message is the same -- SPJ has to stop the membership slide now.
Just days ago a new report shows we fell below 8,000 members for the first time in many, many years. We are wanting our numbers to be closer to 9,000. Heck, I can remember two years ago thinking we could easily push it to 10,000. Not such an easy task as times change. But the need for our organization hasn't. More than ever, SPJ has to prove it has relevance to displaced journalists, working journalists and college journalists. As a member you know it does. That's why it's vital for you to make efforts to bolster our membership.
It's not just about image, it's also about survival. SPJ draws more than a third of its operating budget from dues and as we fall below 8,000 members we run risks of budget deficits and program cutbacks. I don't want to see that happen and neither do you. That's why I wrote the letter below that was sent out to all chapter leaders this week making my pitch to them to make membership a priority.
I think you will agree that there is no better time than the present to start this turnaround.
Sept. 4, 2009
Dear Chapter Leaders:
As many of you are aware by now, one of my primary missions for the next year is to elevate our membership numbers by more than 1,000 journalists. This is an ambitious undertaking in tough economic times for the news industry and its employees.
I know this sounds wildly ambitious, but it isn’t that difficult of a task. Think of the number of journalists you come in contact with each day, week, and month -- on the job or in social settings. These are prime opportunities to sell SPJ. You know and understand the value of your SPJ membership. Now you need to use your best skills of persuasion and make others feel that same way. Don’t let a moment pass you this year that you can’t extol the virtues of belonging to the largest, oldest and most prestigious journalism organization in our country.
This is why I believe we can make this happen. Using a very conservative approach to membership recruiting, I strongly believe it is attainable with a simple 10 percent plan. That is, if only 10 percent of the membership reached out to one journalist in the next year and brought them into the fold, we’d be well on our way to reaching the level this organization aspires.
We are now entering a very crucial time in our membership year. Students are arriving back on campus and membership numbers tend to dip for us at the end of the calendar year. As you return from convention energized with new-found knowledge you obtained from professional development and you have that SPJ spring in your step, don’t hesitate sharing it with others.
Student and professional chapter leaders can plan events that attract new faces. What we know is people join SPJ for our virtues but stay for local events. So, it’s vital that chapter leaders work diligently in this area to assure that SPJ has relevance for these journalists.
The staff at headquarters stands ready to assist you. Our new membership chair Holly Fisher and her committee members are ready to help you attract new members, retain old ones and devise new strategies that will keep SPJ vibrant and powerful in the years to come.
Don’t hesitate to ask for assistance or share your successes with others. Together, starting today, we will turn the corner and grow in numbers and strength.
Sincerely,
Kevin Z. Smith
President