Friends of the Library

Budget Cuts - NO WAY!

2011-02-18T09:56:00.000-08:00

Advocacy! It's that Time of Year - Friends and Library Lovers, watch your local governments, county and state governments. It is Budget Time and it's time for cuts in many places.

Here's an example of what a grassroots level can do!! Way to Go! Thanks to everyone that made the call - Our Work has just begun.

Beth Nawalinski
Marketing & Communications Director
Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF)
American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/altaff

From: Kristin K. Murphy [mailto:kmurphy@alawash.org]
Sent: Thursday, February 17, 2011 3:45 PM
To: fllan@ala.org; nlld@ala.org; alacro-l@ala.org; alacro-l@ala.org; legnet@ala.org; aladnow@ala.org
Cc: Marci Merola
Subject: [aladnow] We did it!

Good work, everybody! Because of ALA’s unprecedented grassroots efforts this week on amendment #35 to H.R. 1 (the Continuing Resolution to the FY2011 budget) was defeated! This victory for libraries is undoubtedly due to the strong grassroots efforts of librarians and library supporters all across the country.

As you recall, late Monday evening U.S. Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ-5) introduced an amendment that would eliminate all funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) including funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the primary source of federal dollars to libraries.

Today, as the U.S. House of Representatives wraps up floor debate on HR 1, Rep. Garrett has made it clear to us that he is no longer “pushing” for a vote on his amendment. Once the House passes H.R. 1, - likely today or tomorrow - the budget will be sent over to the Senate where they will have the opportunity to make amendments and vote on this year’s budget bill.

Even though we overcame this amendment, our work is not done. H.R. 1 still has to be approved by the Senate and signed by the President. Please tell your friends, library users and advocates that their voices will be needed on library issues in the weeks and months to come.

Also, libraries face cuts in President Obama’s FY2012 budget request sent to Congress on February 14. In his request, President Obama cuts funding to LSTA by $20 million as well as consolidates Improving Literacy Through School Libraries with other literacy programs in the Department of Education. ALA needs you to continue your calls to Congress in our fight to protect library funding in FY’12.

This is only the beginning; libraries will continue to be threatened in the next Congress. Now, more than ever, we need your participation on May 9-10, 2011 at ALA’s National Library Legislative Day in Washington D.C. where you will have the opportunity to meet with your members of Congress and explain to them why cutting library funding would be short-sighted. To register for NLLD, please go to www.ala.org/nlld.

Kristin Murphy
Government Relations Specialist
American Library Association - Washington Office
1615 New Hampshire Ave. NW, First Floor
Washington, D.C., 20009-2520
Phone Number: 202.628.8410
kmurphy@alawash.org

Take action for libraries! Visit our Legislative Action Center at http://bit.ly/legaction

Mail Bag

2011-02-18T06:36:00.000-08:00

Hi Folks,
It's the end of a very busy week and I received this email today. This was a series of emails between Anne and myself about using the PayPal option on their website. They discussed the idea and passed it at one of their board meetings and now it is on their site.

Congratulations to Anne and the Friends at the Burlington Library. You can see, they will be continuing to improve their communictions with their members!

Send me your successes - let us celebrate with you!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Patty,

Thank you so much for using our new pay pal donation option. Your $10 donation will be put into the "greatest need" fund. This fund is used to help the Burlington Public Library fund more books, museum passes and landscaping costs among other programs.

I have recently received good news from our Treasurer who reports that we received about $2500 more in 2010 than 2009. May is our annual campaign when we will be sending out our annual newsletter. I will make sure that one is sent to you. I also am going to look into putting the newsletter into a "pdf" file to be viewed on our website.

With appreciation,
Anne Walluk
Burlington Library Association
"Friends of the Library"

FOCL Point

2011-02-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

The Winter 2011 issue of Friends of Connecticut Libraries' FOCL POINT has just arrived. You can reach them at their website. If you are a member, then you know what a great newsletter it is.

If you are not a member, consider joining your self or make sure your Friends group is a member.

This issue discuss the 2010 Annual Conference, reminder of the Call for the FOCL Awards 2011, Annual meeting is June 4th in South Windsor, CLA Conference is May 2nd and at 2:40 pm Friends will be on a panel, Connecticut Book Festival for May 21-22.

What's really happening - Saturday April 9th - FOCL will be presenting Mini Boot Camp for new Freinds Presidents, Book Sale Chairs, and anyone else that needs a spring shot in the arm. See the link above !

Strategy vs. Tactics

2011-02-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

I ran across this video - how is your Friends Group doing both of these tasks. The followng video speak to the difference, and why both are required by our Boards.

Go Bethel Friends !

2011-02-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the Friends of the Bethel Public Library in Bethel Connecticut. Their donation of another $25,000 to the library's capital campaign has practacially completed the $2.5 million goal.

The countdown continues for another month or so as that is when the deadline to raise the matching grants from the state.

Let's all give them a Congrats and send good wishes on the last dollars that they need.

Read more about it. Bethel Friends of Library push capitol campaign

Censorship in Connecticut

2011-01-22T05:30:00.000-08:00

Not a pretty subject and it should not be part of any Library discussion except for the fact that libraries are a place where no censorship exists. Libraries and the public have been plagued by this behavior over the centuries. Today is no different - sad to say that it exists right here in my own state.

Yet there are small minds among us. I appreciate that we all have opinions, yet I do not appreciate that my choice should be limited by them. So here's a town government fighting over airing a 2007 film. The airing was cancelled - Shame on them!

One note - see the article below - one resident complained? Hmmm ... I think we need to get some advocacy working here! When is the next election?

Eyewitness News3 http://www.wfsb.com/news/26559608/detail.html
Library Cancels Movie Under Pressure

Library Director: Mayor Threatened To Cut Funding

ENFIELD, Conn. -- The Enfield Public Library has canceled a screening of the Michael Moore documentary "Sicko" about the American health care system under pressure from the town council and mayor, prompting accusations of censorship.

The screening was canceled Wednesday, a day after a resident complained about the film at a council meeting.

Several councilors objected to the film, and Republican Mayor Scott Kaupin asked the town manager to talk to library Director Henry Dutcher. Dutcher said that he was told by the town manager to cancel the screening. Kaupin called the decision to show the movie "stupid" and threatened the library's funding.

Democratic City Councilor member Cynthia Mangini called it censorship.Peter Chase, chairman of the Connecticut Library Association's Intellectual Freedom Committee, called the decision "absolutely deplorable."

Mail Bag

2011-01-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

Hello to all and Happy New Year
Wishing you all a great year with your Friends group. I'd like to start the new year out with a special quote. It's one that speaks to the who and how our Friends groups come together and create the greatness for each of our libraries.

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm."

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

To start the new year off, I'm going to the Mail Bag to let everyone know about Burlington's accomplishment. We all need to embrace using the Web for all it offers. Mind you not you can not exclude the personal touch when it comes to membership. Remember those hand written notes go a long way to say Thank You to our members.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Patty,
I attended the FOCL conference where you spoke this past fall and was enthusiastic about your ideas for gaining membership. After discussing some ideas our "friends" Board voted to set up a pay pal account to allow people to donate on our website: http://www.friendsburlib.org/. Now we will work on getting the news out. Thanks for the encouragement.

Anne Walluk, President, Burlington Library Association, "Friends of the Library"

Bulk Mailing - It's not that difficult

2010-12-09T05:30:00.000-08:00

Today I went to the Bulk Mailing Office at the Hartford (CT) Post Office. As usual, it was a breeze and my two mailings, both membership requests, one ffor 840 and one of 1016 went really well.

Welcome to direct mail marketing. For non-profits, Bulk Mail is a pretty easy process. While the postal regulations change on a regular basis, it's not difficult to get the answers you need. Be careful about taking advice from another individual that "does bulk". They may have a different permit and then send you off on a wild goose chase. You need to ask the right questions. So here's a primer of questions and answers for you. I'll say one thing, the staff at the Bulk Mail office are so helpful!

How do I get started in bulk mail?

You need to get a Permit for non-profits. There is an application process, Form ps3624, and your 501(c)3 letter, articles of incorporation and some of your typical paperwork like newsletter, brochures, meeting minutes to name a few. There is annnual fee to keep the account. Depending on the size and frequency of mailings, you can save a bundle. Generally, you need 200 pieces in one mailing to use Bulk and get the discount on the rate.

How do we get the stamps to mail our letters in bulk?

Once you get your permit, you'll have a indicia - it looks like a stamp and lists your permit number. Have you printer print it on your mailing envelopes. Actually print it on all your envelopes. If you use an envelope for regular first class mailing, then a regular postage stamp fits right over the indicia. Plan Ahead - at budget time, check with membership, book sale, fund raising committees, etc and estimate how many envelopes you all will need. Printing bigger batches of envelopes cost less. Our printer will keep the extra boxes of envelopes at their shop as a convenience for us.

How much money should be in our postage account?
Next you need to deposit money to your postage account.  You send a check with your postal permit number and instructions to deposit the money into your account.

I strongly recommend that your Board establish a balance to keep in your postage account. We established that it should be $500.  This was based on two membership mailings and a newsletter mailing that could happen all in about two weeks time.  Once money is expended from the account for a mailing, the Treasurer should send a check to your postal account to bring it back up to the prescribed amount as soon as possible.
Warning! If you don't have enough money for a mailing, and need it to go today, then you will need to get currency (not a check or charge card) and deposit into your account before they will handle your mailing. Plan Ahead - check with your Treasurer and let him/her know when you'll be doing the mailings during the year.

Are there any limitations?
Yes, there are limitations and regulations regarding types of mail pieces. Size, thickness, sealing, staples, etc - it all matters. While this article is about mailing letter size envelopes, you should be able to ask great questions about your mail piece. The envelopes need to be sealed, yes that means licked sealed shut! No tape, no stickers - as those items will get caught in the mail machines.

Each mail piece must be identical. There can not be any indication of personalization on the pieces. It's okay if it is personalized via a mail merge, such a member ID number, or membership level. It's not okay if you write a personal note on the one going to your neighbor or to those big donors. I used a scan of my signature so each letter looks like it is signed.

Plan Ahead - if you wish to write a personal note to those big donors, put them in a separate mailing. While it does cost more postage, it's the "not bulk" impression and the personal note that lets those donors know how much you really appreciate their committment to your organization.

How do you sort them?
I would suggest that you pay a visit to the Bulk Mailing office of your post office. That way you can learn directly from the staff how to sort them. First of all, you generally sort the mail in the first three digits of the zip code. Example, our zip is "06111", yes we are a one zip town.  Therefore a mail piece beginning with ""061" would be sorted together. Actually we sort "060" and "061" and "062" together. That's because the Hartford office handles those zipcodes. Any other zipcodes are sorted together and are referred to as Mixed.

The mailing trays come from the post office. The 2 foot tray can hold from about 150 to 300 envelopes depending on the thickness. The 1 foot tray is about half that amount. You'll need tickets to put in front on the the trays. Watch the direction of the tray as it is important that the envelopes face the front of the tray.

What form do we use?
You use PS Form 3602-NZ revision March 2010. Fill out page one, make sure you have your USPS Nonprofit Auth No. Page two is to compute the actual postage according to the type/location of the mail. If you are similar to us, we just have two types - D2 for Mixed and D5 for the "060+061+062". Whatever you do - check first!!! The bulk cost, for both mailings, was $217.35 vs. regular 1st class at $816.64! The savings alone paid for the annual fee for the postal permit.

Getting to the Post Office - what else to bring?
Now all your trays are sorted and the paper work is ready, its time to get to the post office. Be aware, there are hours that you can bring in bulk mail. Hartford doesn't accept bulk before 10am and the best time to deliver you mail is around 11:30am. Besides your trays and Form 3602-NZ, bring a sample of what you are mailing including the envelope. Sometimes they ask for a sample, sometimes they don't. Note, the staff will open a "live" piece of mail and reseal it with a stamp saying it was opened for postal inspection.
Plan Ahead - Remember to get empty trays and covers to replenish your supply. I recommend that you have trays for at least two mailings plus on hand.

Bulk mailing is a great way to stretch your fund raising dollars. I hope that the above information will help you get started or improve your process of getting the mail out!

Connecticut Book Festival is Coming

2010-12-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

Mark you calendars if you are in Connecticut for the weekend of May 21-22, 2011 for the Connecticut Book Festival. Sponsored by everyone that is library connected at the West Hartford campus of the University of Connecticut

They will be hosting a great line up of authors like Wally Lamb, who is the honorary festival chair, is an amazing author that has traveled both the fiction and nonfiction sides of the cover with awards to boot; Michael C. White who has six award winning novels and the founder of the MFA Creative Writing Program; and remember our favorite TV anchor, Diane Smith who's "Connecticut" stories have comforted us all. See the link above to see all those authors that have committed to this great two-day event.

Of course there will be readings and signings by the authors, some storytelling!, and food. I love that, we need to let folks know that yes there will be food (said with a little tongue and cheek).

If you know of other festivals or events, please let me know!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T15:30:00.000-08:00

For all the Friends of Libraries - it's a season of Thanksgiving,

Thank You for your dedication to your group,

Thank You for your support of your public library,

Thank You for the countless hours you spend sorting books for the sales,

Thank You for raising awareness to the community around you that your library is an amazing resource for all,

Thank You for all the fund raising events that keep your calendar full of great things to do, and

Thank You for reaching out and involving so many people in the mission of the Friends.

May you enjoy the holiday season, pass along the thanks to everyone you see. May you enjoy Health, Joy and Peace.

Photo Courtsey of mckenzieo @flicker

Mail Bag

2010-11-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

Hi all, I've been settling back into the way of life since the FOCL Conference. I am so impressed by the great job that was done and by the number of people that attended representing so many Friends groups.

In the last week or so, I've received some email questions and will be sharing them with you as I receive them.

From Penny:
We currently only send thank you's to new life members, and those making donations over and above the membership amount. Based on all I heard Saturday, I would like to send thank you's to all the rest of the members - new and renewal - wonder if you think a hand written postcard would be ok (short, save postage) or it really needs to be a proper note card ? thank you!

To Penny:
Actually postcard idea sounds great. It's isn't the actual "form" in as much as it is the actual "thank you" you send to your members. As we heard from the conference, Thank You is so important. You need to look at your budget for membership and plan accordingly for either postcards, note cards and the postage.

Couple of ideas for your postcard: Have some information preprinted, such as; your logo, address and phone number of how to get in touch with you, and your website address. You won't need the postal service "Address Service Requested" as you are writting to current members.

Depending on your budget, you might make the postcards available to all your committee chairs so they can send quick notes to those members that volunteer.

Great Job Penny

Getting those Volunteers! Stop it

2010-11-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

I read this great article that said we need to Stop trying to get volunteers and instead begin to interview our members. We should find out what they are interested in, their passions, and then our organization may gain new insights and then new volunteers.

Click here Three Questions That Mobilize Members to Volunteer to read more about it.

There is also a great tip card link that summarizes the essence of the article.

Snafu's

2010-11-17T07:36:00.000-08:00

Just last night, I found out that there was difficulty using the downloads from my links to Google Docs. Much thanks to Mary and Carl at FOCL for pointing this out!

My apologies to everyone. One of the difficult taks in writting a blog, is determining what is 'best'. We all know that 'best' is different for everyone. My first choice didn't work! Opps and a great lesson learned!

Late last night and early this morning, I've changed all the links on my Great Download page to make it easier for you, my readers, to view and save the presentation.

Again, Thank you, Keep up your work with your Friends Groups, You all do a Great Job.

Books for FOCL Membership seminar

2010-11-17T07:02:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Books for FOCL Membership seminar

View more documents from pjfcpa.

Advocacy at www.ilovelibraries.org

2010-11-16T13:10:00.000-08:00

Election Day is over once again. Here in Connecticut we had some real battles, not enough ballots to vote on, and it was ruled we could wear WWW clothing to the polls.

While all of that is over, I urge you not to sit back. Our battle to keep our libraries funded is not only on the local level. Some of the sorely needed money is funded at the Federal level. The site http://www.ilovelibraries.org/, part of American Library Association has some great information about advocacy for libraries and what we need to remind our legislators about in Washington.

At the Federal level, there is a grant called LSTA - or Library Services and Technology Act which was signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton. It wasn't really "new" as it's predesessors were the Library Services Act and the Library Services and Construction Act. This Act, LSTA, needs your support. This grant helps funds all that is technology, and we all know that is important. By clicking on the link above, you will be taken to the site and you can then hunt around.

On of the links for this page allows you to send a prepared email to your Federal congress person. It's great - except in my humble opinion - email stinks. If you really want the elected offical to pay attention, take the note and send it to the local office. That means they have to handle it in person and it is delivered in the "pouch" to your representative. Even better, and this gets lots of attention - pick up the phone and call the local office or call Washington. Don't be surprised that you'll speak with a staff member. Staff members are the best.

Several years ago, I was in Washington and 'stomping' on the Hill. It was a lot of fun and we got a great chance to walk around. What we found amazing, is how much staff wanted to talk with us, "the voters from home". When we had the chance to speak with our representatives directly, they said that unfortunately they can not answer all emails, but getting a phone call means the most and they can get additional information right away. On that last stomping visit - we were asking for our congress persons to sign on to a 'friend of letter'. Staff was unaware of the "letter" and before the day was out, (we got an email two hours later) the congress person had signed on. It works!!

If you have the chance - pick up the phone - call Washington and let them know that your library depends on the LSTA grants.

Here's the "message" from the ALA site, consider sending or calling your Legislators today.

I am writing to urge you to support $300 million for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) in the FY 2011 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill. Across the country, countless libraries are facing state and local budget cuts while experiencing sharp increase in patron traffic. America's libraries need your support now more than ever.

Your constituents depend on their local libraries every day,perhaps in ways you may not realize. Sixty-seven percent of our nation's libraries report that they provide the only free access to computers and the Internet in their communities, but libraries provide more than access. Within the last two years, libraries have experienced significant increases to the areas of support to the public they offer the greatest increases of services have been in helping patrons complete online job applications, create resumes, and access job databases and searches. Unfortunately, during this time of increased demand for public libraries, library budgets all across the country are being drastically cut. This culture of rising demand and lowering budgets has created a 'perfect storm' for America's libraries.

Thank you, and I hope that you will support libraries in FY 2011.

Social Media - It's here to stay

2010-11-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

And what are you doing about it? At the FOCL conference this past Saturday we discuss the future with social media. It's big and getting bigger as we 'speak'. Found this video... watch it... we need to go forward and use it.

FOCL CONFERENCE

2010-11-09T07:14:00.000-08:00

What a Success! Thanks to our Friends at FOCL and Elihu Burritt Library at CCSU, the conference was a success.

More than 40 Friends groups were represented. I enjoy presenting to FOCL and subjects about the Friends. Friends of Libraries are near and dear to my heart. They are the individuals that add additional deminsions to our libraries.

We learned tremendous information and were able to share stories of what worked and what didn't work. The statistics at the end of the event gave us some great information about what is happening now among our groups.

I did notice that the "fear" that if a group gives the library too much then the Town will cut the budget. It's not real a real fear. Most town/cities want their libraries to flourish. I would hope that if the town cuts the budget because the Friends made a contribution, then I would hope that the Friends show up loud and clear and let them know that "fear" doesn't work. Advocacy - topic for another day.

Thanks to Chip Marsh, Sharon Clapp and our Carl Nawrocki for being my co-presenters on this most important topic. To read more about it, visit FOCL's website . You can pick up the handouts on my Great Download & Links.

Thanks to everyone that has stopped by to visit. I will be publishing more of the topics in a bit more depth. Do you have a comment? Email me at friends at pattyjfoley dot com.

FOCL CONFERENCE

2010-11-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

The FOCL Fall Conference will be held Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT - tomorrow.

I'm just about ready - the last of the handouts are printing. I'm re-rehersing the slides so all goes well. Tomorrow will be a great day for Friends of Libraries.

This year's topic is Membership - a subject so near and dear to my heart. We, as Friends Groups, need to create sustainable funding for their groups and their library.

In the next couple of days I'll be preparing a review of the other speakers and will have my slide presentation available for you.

Hope to see you at CCSU!

Email Etiquette

2010-11-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Email can be a quick and efficent tool for communication today. We can jot off a quick note, forward jokes, and send replies.

Yet, when we use email for communicating with our Friends group, we should take care and use etiquette. This email represents not only who you are, it represents your organization! So put your best 'send' forward.

Every email sent, should have a saluation to the addressee, the message and a closing. Seems easy enough and of course it really depends on who you are writting/responding to.

Addressee - be sure that their name is spelled correctly. Not a great way to get started if you spell their name incorrectly.

If this email is going to a multiple of individuals, like the board where everyone knows each other, then putting their names/emails in the "TO" or "CC" box may be fine. Ask everyone on your Board their preference. This will be especially true when the group is collaborating on a project or an event.

If this email is going to a multiple of people, then use your "BCC" box or a 'list' that will not disclose the individual's email address.

One tip I read about is not to fill in the Addressee until the end. That way if you inadvertently hit the 'send' button too quickly, you'll save yourself a possible embarrassing moment.

Salutation - While you may be best buddies, and Hey you, may be appropriate, remember that your email may get forwarded to someone else that may be interested in your group. If it is the first time you will be writting to a person, it may be approprate to address them as Mr., Ms. etc.

Subject Line - this is an interesting area and a bit of contention with me. I'm a believer of not putting more than one subject in an email. That way, on forwards and replies the email thread stays relevant.

Message - keep the message brief. Keep the tone polite and friendly. If spelling or grammer isn't one of your strongest skills, be sure to spell and grammer check. If your email editor doesn't contain those two tools, you may consider typing your email in a word processing software and when you are sure that it is ready to go, then copy and paste it to your email for sending.

Since we are communicating about our Friends group, we need to keep the communication at a business level.

Post Script or P.S. - another great tip I just read about was to put your PS before your closing. Depending on the length of your closing, your reader may never see the PS!

Closing/Signature - here is where we may need to be careful. The 'sincerely' may be too formal, and 'see ya' may be too informal. You could try 'best regards/wishes', 'kind regards/wishes', 'many thanks' are just a few to choose from. Next, and in my opinion, do not leave this out. You need to put your name, full name, title, name of your Friends Group, contact phone, email, website, and possibly a tag line. The tag line is a great way for you to get some important information out to the reader. Depending of the software used, you can have several different 'signatures' for email. I keep a different one for each type of engagment I may be working on. Just lately, I've been receiving email with the senders picture in it. It's a nice touch. Something to consider.

How is your email doing? Keeping the etiquette up will continue to reflect you and your group's professionalism.

PS. Here is an example of my signature for my Friends group.

Best to you,

Patty
Patricia J. Foley, CPA

Membership Chair
Friends of the Lucy Robbins Welles Library
http://www.friendslrwlibrary.org/
Email info@friendslrwlibrary.org
Phone 860-667-0000

~~ Supporting our Library since 1961 ~~

My Blog - http://friendslibrarys.blogspot.com/

Membership Database Tips 2

2010-10-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

Your list/database is beginning to grow. Planning today about the type of information you wish to keep will allow much more flexibility to grow your Friends Group.

In my last post, I spoke about names and addresses and how it can get a bit complicated. Additional communication data to collect:

Phone number - many of us have more than one phone number. There is the home number, work number, fax number, cell number. Think about how you will contact your member and plan which phone numbers to obtain.

Email address - it seems hard to find someone without an email address yet there are a few folks that haven't made the technology jump. The same comment above about phone numbers goes for email addresses. If you are not using email to communicate at this time, still collect the address. You may wish to email a new member to verify that their email address is valid.

I will take a moment about collecting information from your members and privacy. While privacy laws generally are associated with identifying numbers, such as a social security number, your Friends Board should consider their own privacy policy. Will you sell or lend your membership list or will you keep it private? If you decide that you may wish to open the list to anyone outside of your organization, you will need to give the member to opt out. Whatever your policy, make sure your members can get a copy of your policy.

Moving on to membership related fields. A list of names and addresses is a great start yet we need to maintain information that will assist us in knowing our members. When we do membership, keeping records and some statistics will be important. Many of those statistics may be related to the following types of information.

ID Number - once your list begins to grow, having some type of ID number is great. I prefer using a number vs. an alpha combination. I suggest that you begin your numbering system at 1000. Start numbering your list from the top. Remember, it is more of an identifier and a sorting tool.

Membership Level - All of our Friends Groups have varying levels of membership. We have some type of basic level and then increasing levels after that. Knowing what level the member is giving at allows the membership committee to understand the member a little more. This field should be limited to your levels, again it is to keep the information consistent.

Date Joined - This is great piece of information. As time goes on, you can reward the member for their loyalty. If you don't have that information, then start with a date, example the first day of the membership year for anyone that is a member. This could make a separation in your list, those what were members currently and those that had not renewed in the last year. While some members have been with your organization longer, you can later explain that it is from when the new record system took place.

As you can see, you can begin to get an understanding of how valuable the information can be in knowing your members. I'm planning on a third Tips post in a few days. Keep an eye out. What are you doing with your list?

Membership Database Tips

2010-10-19T05:30:00.000-07:00

Your membership list/database is a valuable asset of your organization. Care should be taken to keep it up to date and contain revelent information.

When we talk about our list, it can be on paper like a card file, in a spreadsheet program, database program or a membership program. What ever your choice, it is important to collect and store the correct data.

How the information is recorded / stored is important so that you can use the information in the future. If the information isn't broken down, you can severely limit the ability on how to use the information. Example: if the entire name is in one field, and you wish to write a informal letter (mail merged) then it would take a herculean effort to extract the first name. Take a look at your junk mail you receive and see how many different combinations of your name is out there.

Here's some tips to keep in mind:

Member's Name - what's in a name - everything! A member is an individual that believes in your cause and donates money to the organization. We wouldn't want their name to be misspelled or to be incorrectly saved.

How do you set it up? Below is a simple list of field names (database) or column names (spreadsheet) just for a member's name. If your membership represents a couple, you may consider separating the "name" into the two individuals resprensented by the #1 and #2 in the list. This is a simple list. Take a look at it and see the possibilities. Title is for an entry such as Mr. or Dr. etc, the Suffix is for entry such as II, Sr., MD, PhD etc. I would suggest in either format that these two fields have a pull down choice menu that way there isn't too much in the way of creativity.

Title 1
First Name 1
Middle Initial 1
Last Name 1
Suffix 1
Nickname 1

Title 2
First Name 2
Middle Initial 2
Last Name 2
Suffix 2
Nickname 2

Member's Address - depending on the system you choose to use, having at least one physical mailing address is required. If you have two addresses, example: member is away during the winter; you will need to have a "code" placed into the database to indicate which is the current address to use.

This is a little less complicated. Having room for two line address can come in very handy. In the case of State, you may restrict the entry to a choice list once again, again, it's the abbreviations that can cause havoc. Example: Connecticut, CT, Conn., Ct, cT, I think you get the idea. Zip Code is also a tricky one - remember it is a text field if you are using a spreadsheet. The zero upfront on the zip code 06611 will not be in the field if it is numeric. As to the four digit extension - two schools of thought. First - have the main zip code in a separate field from the four digit extension. This method allows for simpler sorting on the main zip code. Second - have both codes in the same field separated by a 'dash', example 06611-4444. Sorting on the main zip code will take some extra work as you need to extract the first five digits from the field. Here's the basic layout:

Address Line 1
Apt/Unit #
Address Line 2
City/Town
State
Zip

As you can see, there is some thought necessary in developing the name and address field. Check back again, I'll have additional thoughts and database tips on the information that you may collect to manage your member database.

Member (Donor Centered) Recognition

2010-10-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

Where does an organization start with member recognition? It's easy - it is from the top of the organization down. Everyone must be part of the recognition process. "Giving thanks and recognition for a generous gift keeps us humble, civil and gracious" said Cecile W. Garrett of the assistant director at PBS's national office. I couldn't have said it better.

A first step would have your Board examine themselves from the outside looking back in. What do they look like in the eyes of current members and potential members? How are are the activities of the Board allowing relationships with donors to grow? This exercise will begin the process of understanding how the group is perceived by others.

Next, look at everyone on the Board/staff.  See if their actions are projecting concerns for members. As decisions are made, what consideration is given to the members?  Look at your current communication process - from membership letters, thank you letters, website pages, does it reflect a professional and positive image of your organization?

With these two steps completed, your Group can then begin to make a member recognition program.   The program doesn't need to be enormous or lavish.  It does need to be consistent and managable for your organizaiton.

Here's a few suggestions:
Have a "freind of the year" recognition program - nominate a member that gave above and beyond in volunteerism and present them with a plaque and also have a plaque with their name on it along with prior year's awardees on it in a public place.

A lapel pin for those individual that give in excess of a certain dollar amount over so many years. We all have annual membership levels. Why not create a level that recognizes those members that have given over a longer period of time. Remember that these members have joined on - treat them well.

Vounteer breakfast, nothing elaborate, more like a continental breakfast. Hold it on a weekend so as many volunteers can attend. Hand out fun prizes that recongize their contributions.

New member package that is sent out upon someone becoming a new member.  Have several board members call the new member over the next couple of months to check in and make sure they are aware of what is going on in the organization.  This is a great time to thank them again for becoming a member.

Committee member name tags. Sounds simple, yet it is very effective. Have pre-printed name tags for the regular attendees. It makes it easier to remember their names especially if the group meets infrequently. The members feel like they belong, and it's nice to refer to you by your name.

Once you have completed your process, discovered those aspects that the organization wishes to begin, eveyone needs to be involved in the program.   Your efforts will be rewarded 100 times over as you will be on the way to a thoughtful member recognition program.

Member (Donor) Centered Organization

2010-09-28T05:30:00.000-07:00

I attended a online seminar with hosted by Simone Joyaux on the Basic Principles of Fund Development a couple of weeks ago.

It was pretty good and chocked full of advice. One of the topics was talking about a donor-centered organization. It is how the organization with the right attitude is focused on the donor or prospective donor; When you have that focus - you are not trying to sell someone on your passion and mission. How we communitcate with our members is to tell them what their contribution/membership accomplished.

Sit back and think about the last time when you felt appreciated. How did you feel? Now look at your communications with your members. How many times was the word "you" used vs. "I or we"? Did the group thank them and how many times? Simone pointed out that turning the statement around to "... because of you.... we yada yada..." and "... your gift did this and that...". These statements have been said by most fund raisers. I welcomed again. It is good to be reminded about what it takes to keep your members

Each of our Friends groups need to look at our members and the way we communicate how their donation has made a difference. We need to remember that giving is an emotional act.

Over the next week or so, I'll be putting up additional thoughts from the seminar. If you would like more information, visit Simone's site under the resources tab. It is full of great information, articles, a download library, links, and quotes.

FOCL CONFERENCE

2010-09-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

The FOCL Conference is set. Saturday, November 6th at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT!

Join us now - to read more about it click here . You'll find the registration form on that page!

Don't Miss Out - Deadline to register is October 22, 2010!

FOCL Membership

2010-09-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

Many of you have received your membership renewal packet already. Please get them back into FOCL as soon as possible.

Included in your packet is a survey. You can fill it out on-line or do it on paper. Most important - get it back in the mail as soon as possible! The survey is about Membership. This is the topic for the FOCL Conference to be held Saturday, November 6th at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT. On that day you'll get the results on the survey. You will have the opportunity to hear three great speakers on this very topic.

Mail yours by October 15, 2010 for inclusion in the 2011 Directory, to: FOCL, Middletown Library Service Center, 786 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457