THE MEMBERSHIP MILE

Strategy Collection
And
Worksheets
Workshop Option 1: Strategies to Transition TC and Engaged to Members
Our statistics show that the regions that have done the best job of building their TC and Engagement have also had
the most success growing AZA/BBG membership. TC and Engaged teens are already participate in BBYO, and
simply need to get that final push to membership. If your region and your chapters can master the skill of
transitioning teens into AZA/BBG members, it will provide you even more members for your movement. The
following list just scratches the surface of what you can do in this area.

Teen Connection
Build It Up
- Run TC program on school holidays (Columbus Day, Veterans Day, MLK Day, etc.)
- Chapter members are staff-in-training at TC events
- Offer parent opportunities (info sessions, socials) at same time as TC programs
- Identify younger siblings in middle school – share with your staff
- Help keep attendance at TC events so you know who to invite to AZA/BBG

Transition
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- Create a Transition Team of chapter members responsible for recruiting 8 graders
- Provide an Intro to High School event with info for teens and parents
- Start with a large, community-wide social event (January) and follow up with pre-planned chapter events
(January/February)
- Female members contact young men, and vice versa
- Create big/little pairs – encourage friendship outside of BBYO
- Use the right message:
o “You/your teen is highly recommended by so-and-so”
o “We’re looking for members with your/your teen’s interests and abilities”
o “It would mean a lot to me to have you/your teen participate in something that I care about so
deeply”

Engaged Teens
Build It Up
- Start chapter mini-groups that reach a wide range of interests (dance/a capella/band, service corps,
cooking group, film/video game club, outdoors club, sports teams, etc.)
- Bring Stand Up! to your school – plan one-time events or a whole series
- Persistent, personal invites to the right chapter event
- The bigger, the better. Get creative and include as much of the community as possible.

Transition:
- Create a competition among chapters to see who can recruit the most engaged teens to membership –
work with staff to distribute lists of engaged teens
- What is the value of membership in your chapter? Develop a set of privileges that members enjoy that
would appeal to potential members
- Offer an opportunity to engaged teens to lead a program/initiative that interests them

BBYO can appeal to teens AND parents:

- Lifelong friendships - Meet Jewish Girls/Guys
- Travel opportunities - Make a difference
- Leadership Development - Great prep for college
- 250,000 alumni connections - Professionally staffed

NOTES:
Workshop Option 2: Strategies to Effectively Retain Members
Retention is at the heart of membership growth. It’s much easier to grow your membership if you keep more of
your members from last year. Identify times during the year when you can focus on retention, and plan strategies
that can help you retain members throughout the year. Four-Year Membership is a new tool that can help make
retention easier – by only having to pay once, members can focus on enjoying the experience of AZA and BBG. The
following list just scratches the surface of what you can do in this area.

Strategies:
- Retention drives should be focused in both the fall and spring, to start and finish the school year.
Retention efforts should continue throughout the entire school year.
- Why should members stick-around? Privileges for older members? Special programs/trips for juniors and
seniors? Leadership opportunities outside of chapter board? What can they ‘own’?
- Every one-two months, hold a ‘signing day’ – set up computers at chapter meetings, parents can register
their teens after dropping them off or before picking them up.
- Create a parent recruitment team – you’ll be surprised how willing and eager they are help – have them
contact fellow parents to promote the value of membership in your chapter.
- Incentive for first two chapters to reach its retention target. Pizza party? Convention privilege?
- Create culture of accountability – all chapter members should know the list of who needs to re-register
- The best strategy is the hardest – make it personal and persistent – split up lists and own it.
- Have young ‘star members’ call older members – express how important it is to that member to have the
full range of ages in the chapter.
- Hold at least two programs per semester where the chapter board has only peripheral involvement.
- When you convince members and their parents to re-register, encourage four-year membership.
o You pay one time for $149
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o It saves money for current 8 graders, freshmen, sophomores and juniors (definitely share this
with parents).
o This makes it so that next year, you don’t have to get them to pay again – all they have to do is
come to programs.
o Hold a competition among chapters to see which chapter can have the highest percentage of
four-year members.

NOTES:
Workshop Option 3: Strategies to Market and Educate about the Membership Mile
In the past, International membership campaigns haven’t really been tangible or relevant to the order as a whole,
or at best, have caught on like wild-fire for a while, then just as quickly fizzled out. But the Membership Mile is
designed for you and designed to last. Our Order is in it for the long run, and you, the 2009-2010 executive body,
will use the Membership Mile to grow our organization and surpass the efforts and results of all the executive
bodies that came before us. The following list just scratches the surface of what you can do in this area.

Strategies:
- Tailor the campaign to your region. Create your personalized Mile ID.
- Run a Mile Program at your conventions to kick it off and provide updates. Work with the theme!
- Build excitement! Create videos, make a regional blog, develop new incentives and awards.
- Utilize the Membership Mile website, Twitter page, and other resources – COMING SOON!
- Create opportunities for members to lead the campaign on the regional and chapter levels – Membership
Mile Chairs, Recruitment/Retention Troubleshooters, Recruit Troops, etc.
- Stay accountable to the Movement poster – establish goals and hold yourself to them.

Roles and Responsibilities:

When you run a marathon, you need the support of those around you to be successful. You need coaches, trainers,
water boys, a cheering crowd. It’s easy to start a marathon, but difficult to finish – you need to provide yourself
reasons to run all the way to the end. The same goes for a growth campaign. You need recruiters, trainers/board
members, coaches/staff, and a supportive chapter and region that pushes you further than you thought you could
go. Work to assign these roles and responsibilities to different individuals and groups in your region and chapters.

NOTES:
Goal-Setting – Regional Breakouts

End of… AZA Goal BBG Goal Teen Engaged Retention

(new (new Connection Goal Percentage
members members Goal Goal
per chapter) per chapter)
September
October

November

December

January

February

March

April

May

End of Year

*** NOTE *** End of year goals for your region are available on following page.

Food For Thought:

- December is typically our ‘slowest’ month – how can you focus on making a bigger bang during the
month?
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- By November 1 your region should be close to its end-of-year retention target.
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- 8 graders are eligible for AZA/BBG membership on January 1 – plan ahead!
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- TC participants are any teen 6 -8 grade who attend at least one TC event this year.
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- Engaged teens are any teen 9 -12 grade who attend at least one BBYO-sponsored event.
- If your region runs an intake/rush – keep it. Just don’t let it be your only recruitment effort. Recruitment
should be a year-round effort shared among all teens and staff.
- As the school year ends, programming declines – how can you plan to make a final push to the end of the
year?
- Identify key opportunities throughout the school year (holidays, national service days, conventions,
community fairs, etc.) where you can make BBYO’s presence felt – reach more teens and add depth and
meaning to your programming!

NOTES: