Welcoming New Members: Local Group Approaches: Difference between revisions
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Share approaches that Local Groups have found effective when welcoming and connecting with new members. | Share approaches that Local Groups have found effective when welcoming and connecting with new members. | ||
Use these examples for inspiration, ideas, and practical techniques that may work well in your own group. | |||
== San Diego Mensa == | == San Diego Mensa == | ||
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* Newsletter introduction | * Newsletter introduction | ||
* New Member Orientation before the Monthly Gathering | * New Member Orientation before the Monthly Gathering | ||
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We send out a welcome letter tailored to the circumstances of being new to the group – new Mensa member, move-in, rejoined, member by preference. I’ve attached generic version of the email version for new Mensa members. Along with the letter is a New Member Profile that requests info that we then publish in a Welcome column in our newsletter. Check out the November 2025 ISSUE of our newsletter, the ''San Diego MENSAN'' online to see a typical column. The USPS version doesn’t have the ''Mensa Speak'' info. | |Approach | ||
|We send out a welcome letter tailored to the circumstances of being new to the group – new Mensa member, move-in, rejoined, member by preference. I’ve attached generic version of the email version for new Mensa members. Along with the letter is a New Member Profile that requests info that we then publish in a Welcome column in our newsletter. Check out the November 2025 ISSUE of our newsletter, the ''San Diego MENSAN'' online to see a typical column. The USPS version doesn’t have the ''Mensa Speak'' info. | |||
There is an invitation to the Monthly New Members Orientation, which is held 30 minutes before the Monthly Gathering. Someone from the MS team gives the orientation, which includes info about the local group – number of members, geographic area, board composition and other appointed positions, activities, publications, and online resources, among others. We also discuss the idea that they as new members, can start new events or SIGs that interest them, and possibly other members. | There is an invitation to the Monthly New Members Orientation, which is held 30 minutes before the Monthly Gathering. Someone from the MS team gives the orientation, which includes info about the local group – number of members, geographic area, board composition and other appointed positions, activities, publications, and online resources, among others. We also discuss the idea that they as new members, can start new events or SIGs that interest them, and possibly other members. | ||
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== Western New York Mensa == | == Western New York Mensa == | ||
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* Follow-up when appropriate | * Follow-up when appropriate | ||
* Encouragement after first event attendance | * Encouragement after first event attendance | ||
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|Approach | |||
|I'm the Membership Chair for Western New York Mensa. I'm the one who sends a welcome email to or calls new members. We're a relatively small group; as stated in the sample email below, the editor of our newsletter and Test Coordinator sends me names of new members as they come in, sometimes waiting until she has several names. The medium I use depends on what information the newbie has provided. If I have a phone number, I usually start with a call, to make it more personal, and leave a message if I get voicemail. If there's no email or phone number given, just a street address, I print this email out as a letter, personalized with their name, and mail it. Some new members respond by calling or emailing me; alas, many don't reply at all. I'm not adverse to calling back if I haven't heard from someone, but I don't push if they're clearly not interested in attending an event. If they have attended an event, I might tell them that we enjoyed meeting them and hope to see them at another event soon. | |||
Jan Sandberg | |||
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== Related == | == Related == | ||
* [[Welcoming New Members]] | * [[Welcoming New Members]] | ||
* [[Welcoming New Members: Local Group Outreach Examples]] | |||
* [[Member Contact Methods]] | * [[Member Contact Methods]] | ||
* [[Making It Personal]] | * [[Making It Personal]] | ||
Latest revision as of 21:27, 2 June 2026
Purpose
[edit | hide all | hide | edit source]Share approaches that Local Groups have found effective when welcoming and connecting with new members.
Use these examples for inspiration, ideas, and practical techniques that may work well in your own group.
San Diego Mensa
[edit | hide | edit source]| Aspect | San Diego Mensa Approach |
|---|---|
| Who contacts members? | Member Services Officer or assistant |
| Frequency | Monthly or whenever new members appear on the report |
| Method | Email when possible; USPS otherwise |
| Notable practices |
|
| Approach | We send out a welcome letter tailored to the circumstances of being new to the group – new Mensa member, move-in, rejoined, member by preference. I’ve attached generic version of the email version for new Mensa members. Along with the letter is a New Member Profile that requests info that we then publish in a Welcome column in our newsletter. Check out the November 2025 ISSUE of our newsletter, the San Diego MENSAN online to see a typical column. The USPS version doesn’t have the Mensa Speak info.
There is an invitation to the Monthly New Members Orientation, which is held 30 minutes before the Monthly Gathering. Someone from the MS team gives the orientation, which includes info about the local group – number of members, geographic area, board composition and other appointed positions, activities, publications, and online resources, among others. We also discuss the idea that they as new members, can start new events or SIGs that interest them, and possibly other members. |
Western New York Mensa
[edit | hide | edit source]| Aspect | Western New York Mensa Approach |
|---|---|
| Who contacts members? | Membership Chair |
| Frequency | As new members are identified |
| Method | Phone, email, or mail depending on available contact information |
| Notable practices |
|
| Approach | I'm the Membership Chair for Western New York Mensa. I'm the one who sends a welcome email to or calls new members. We're a relatively small group; as stated in the sample email below, the editor of our newsletter and Test Coordinator sends me names of new members as they come in, sometimes waiting until she has several names. The medium I use depends on what information the newbie has provided. If I have a phone number, I usually start with a call, to make it more personal, and leave a message if I get voicemail. If there's no email or phone number given, just a street address, I print this email out as a letter, personalized with their name, and mail it. Some new members respond by calling or emailing me; alas, many don't reply at all. I'm not adverse to calling back if I haven't heard from someone, but I don't push if they're clearly not interested in attending an event. If they have attended an event, I might tell them that we enjoyed meeting them and hope to see them at another event soon.
Jan Sandberg |