Membership Officer

• Should this page be a fixed header template that we can use for all Local Roles? First 30 days, Regular Tasks Best Practices, Templates and samples, Activities, Major Activities This is definitely going to evolve, but it'd be nice if our pilot set an outline that could be followed for future roles

LG Task Force: Add notes & ideas

Role Introduction

The Membership Officer plays a vital role in supporting engagement, onboarding, and retention at the local level. As the primary point of connection for new members, you are on the front line of welcoming, informing, and helping members find their place within the group.

• As a Local Membership Officer, you can have a major impact on your members in several important ways:
• By getting new members off to a great start with the Mensa experience
• By planning an organizing event for your membership, especially for new members
• Through your suggestions to the local board;
• By working with your local Testing Coordinator, media relations volunteer, and others to make local events fun, exciting and inviting to all members, especially the new ones who haven’t yet discovered the possibilities within Mensa!

You are not expected to do this alone. A range of resources and support is available to you, including your local Board, your Regional Vice Chair (RVC), and National Office staff. The National Membership Officer (NMO) can also provide guidance, ideas, and practical support to help you succeed in the role.

Keep in mind that many members may not ever be interested in attending any “live” events. Consider how you may present value to them outside of the usual meetings and events. Some members receive their value simply by being card-carrying members of Mensa and might even feel resentful at being pushed to attend events. Perhaps they just like reading the wit and wisdom in your local newsletter or the letters to the editor of the Mensa Bulletin. In any case, they are the majority of our members, so keep them in mind and realize you can be successful even without a majority of your members showing up for in-person events.

Getting started

First 30 days of being a Membership is Officer

Next 30 days of being a Membership Officer

Settling in to the Membership Officer role (monthly, annual activities) (these pages will almost certainly link to "what the MO does")

What the Membership Officer Does

Local Group Flexibility: Every Local Group organizes volunteer roles a little differently. These responsibilities may belong to the Local Group Membership Officer or be shared among multiple volunteers.

• Welcomes New Members: reaches out to new members when they join and welcomes them to the Local Group

Add some general text but the link is the key part. If we create a "New Members" section of the wiki, that would be part of welcoming new members--directing them to that wiki

• Keeps Members Engaged: Notifies members of activities in their area and the Local Group overall
  • Event Calendar Best Practices
• Organizes and hosts New Member activities
• Provide renewal reminders if Loc Sec does not LB

• Serves Remote Members

Add some general text but the link is the key part. Is this its own topic or does it fall under engaging new members? It might be part of Works with leadership to support membership goalsLB

• Works with Leadership to Support Member Goals

??  Does the membership officer reach out to candidates who have been accepted??/bw This might be part of this section. LB or it might be testing coordinator Lapsed Members Contact and Notice of Renewal might fit here also. 

• Reaches Out to Lapsed Members
• Provides membership content to Editor

• Assists Members with Membership Questions
  • FAQs: How to respond to general requests

How This Role Fits with Other Roles

Local Membership Officers focus on connections with members in their Local Group. The national roles of National membership Officer, National Office Membership Director support (actual role name?? Is it Local Group Services Coordinator LB} focus on strategy and systems.

Your role is vital: you are on the front line in meeting, greeting, and involving new members. A number of resources are available to you, and the National Membership Officer (NMO) can provide help, advice, and guidance. Your Board and Regional Vice Chair (RVC) are also good sources of ideas, problem resolution & support, and the National Office (NO) staff can help in many ways.

1. Working with your ExComm and RVC
2. Working with the National Office Membership Director: The Membership Director is a professional, paid staff member at the National Office. The Membership Director and staff are responsible for membershiprelated issues, including admissions, prior evidence processing, Proctor communications, member benefits & services, processing change-of address requests, and providing answers to questions from local groups or individual members on member-related issues.
3. Working with National Membership Officer: The NMO is an appointed officer who serves on a volunteer basis much the same way as do your local Board and the other appointed board members. The NMO is responsible for various member-related issues, fostering programs designed to increase member engagement within Mensa, and retention of our members.
4. Setting expectations with your local board: It would be a good idea to discuss with your local board what their expectations may be regarding what responsibilities or duties your job entails. These expectations differ based on the needs and history of each local group. If you have different ideas than have been included in the role in the past, feel free to suggest new things. Your job as Membership Officer is what you make of it!
5. Working with your Local Group Editor

Resources for Local Group Membership Officers

Need to figure out what resources are LGMO specific and which are general resources that shouldocal G be on a single page (perhaps the main page of "Local Group Roles") rather than on each Role's page

## Could this be a toolkit footer at the bottom of each page of the toolkit, or perhaps live on the main toolkit page? /bw