Meeting the Members and Expanding their Engagement
I was really pleased to have the opportunity last night to meet a dozen local ASLC members and their families at a "Meet the President" event that Susheela Roach organized.
Members are our core constituents - people who choose to support us and who are therefore more committed than most visitors to the work that we do. Members of most organizations such as ours have a natural affinity with our mission and so usually have an exceptional ability to explain to others what we are doing and why its important. Their networks and connections reach audiences who might not otherwise even know about our work.
I am grateful that we have a strong core of members here in Seward and across Alaska (as well as a few members in the lower 48). However, by comparison with many other Alaskan and national aquaria and conservation organizations we have a relatively small total membership. Equally significantly, we have not promoted membership and the benefits of membership to the same level as other aquaria.
I'll be working with Susheela and her team to expand our membership and make our membership programs even more attractive and enticing.
We'd really welcome your ideas on what more we could do to attract, maintain and engage members... please send your suggestion to Susheela directly or let us know if you'd like us to organize a small brainstorming meeting... oh, and have you checked if your families and friends are members?