Membership Drive - Response Required
As our organization grows in numbers, our influence and resources grow tremendously. Our alumni are powerful resources that grow in numbers every year. Without exaggeration, our VBMA alumni are changing the veterinary workplace that we will all soon be a part of and for them to know that we have the same fundamental interests and aptitude that they had while they were students it could seriously increase your value to them as an associate.
This all has to start with membership. Membership is the driving force of all professional organizations and the VBMA is no exception. I want to see what all of your chapters are doing to promote membership in your own way. What benefits do you tell them they'll receive as a member? How does your dues schedule work? Do your alumni come back at all?
NCSU
Our chapter has a strong presence during freshman orientation, starting early to inform new students of who we are and what we do. Additionally we have speakers at lunch meetings during the semester - food at this meeting is free for students. One of our bigger events is our Wolfpack Leadership Conference in the spring, an event packed with speakers and activities that pulls in attendees not only from the student body but also local practices.
Dues in our chapter are paid in the fall, and a new dues program has been initiated where students can pay a one-time dues fee to cover membership for all four years of attendance. This saves members money, and provides incentive to remain active members even after the first-year enthusiasm for joining as many clubs as possible has worn off.
Intro meeting about business for non-owners
We had a meeting targeted to freshmen where our speaker discussed why business know-how is important even for non-owners. The talk was mainly about communication, but also discussed why the people who employ you might want you to understand the business end as well.
Membership drive
We're advertising based on what's shown in this video
http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html
and taking great pains to explain to people WHY it's important to join with only the necessary amount of focus on what we do and how we do it. We try to help them understand what the VBMA is trying to accomplish and why and why this is so critically important to them, regardless of what they want to do when they graduate. We place huge emphasis on empowering students to take control of their financial future.
Benefits: admission to all our meetings (most of which have food), participation in rounds, free business etiquette dinner ($25 value), participation in VPI and SEF contests, free individual counseling sessions from a financial planning firm, networking events, sending out notes from all our meetings (you'd be surprised how many people joined because of this), and bringing in speakers that students want to see and ask for.
Schedule: meetings mostly happen at random times whenever the speaker is available, we're the only school club without a designated meeting day. We have at least 2 meetings a month, sometimes more (4 in October).
Typical meeting attendance is 80 people (1/4 of the school). I have yet to have any alumni come back though I'm probably going to go and ask them to now so they can explain why a working business knowledge was important as a new grad.
Membership
Promoting membership:
In order to introduce our club to the first years, we had an ice cream social during their orientation before classes started. Therefore, we were the first club they experienced in their vet school career.
Benefits:
VBMA meetings with food, free entrance to our annual business symposium, participation in VPI contest, etiquette dinner
Schedule:
Each SCAVMA club is assigned one lunch meeting day per month, and we plan our lunch/ speaker based on the date we are given.
Alumni:
I have not seen any alumni come back. Usually after vet school, people disburse to all around the country.