How to grow a chapter?

[SteveRV7a]

I thought I'd throw out a question to see what kind of ideas you all might have on this topic. The question is - how do you - or did you - grow and diversify your chapter membership?

The membership in our chapter, like many others, is steadily aging. It is not diverse, lacking members who are women, minorities or non-pilots. We jokingly refer to our monthly chapter breakfasts as the "Old Men's Breakfast Club".

It is a well known problem that the numbers of pilots is shrinking. Reasons and discussions why could justify the existence of a whole new message board! Despite this, I believe there is still a great deal of interest in aviation, even if everyone with an interest can not (immediately) realize their dream to be a pilot.

It seems to me that we need to increase community awareness of our airports and chapters, let these community members know that chapter membership only requires an interest in aviation and not a pilot's license, and that members of all ages - including families, women and minorities - are welcome.

So - how does one accomplish this? What do you do, or what have you done, to grow and diversify your chapter membership? How do you get the community involved? What has worked, or not worked for you?

Thanks. Steve Houghton

[Mike Switzer]

I don't think the problem is limited to EAA. We were having a very similar discussion in our church council meeting this morning.

[Downs]

Everyone is tightening up their purse strings. Memberships cost money. Most of them cost around 40 dollars a year. For instance the club I'm a part of is 40 dollars a year plus the 40 to EAA which they require you to be a part of. That's 80 dollars a year.

I totaled up the memberships I had a few years ago for various things. Flying, shooting, motorcycles, ect, ect. It think I was up to around 3 hundred dollars a year just in membership fees before I even started doing anything involving those activities.

Then people start looking at what they get out of their memberships. I signed up for EAA a month ago. I still haven't even seen a welcome aboard package or membership card or magazine. Nothing. The only reason I have my EAA number is because I got it in an e-mail.

It's a complicated problem only made more complicated by the lack of expendable money folks have...........and the things they choose to spend their money on.

Flying in general has very limited utility. Yeah it's fun to get in the air but say you want to take a trip. You could be grounded for days due to weather away from your home field. Are there enough airstrips in your fuel range on your trip? Can you land at the local grocery store and buy a weeks worth of groceries?

[mbond]

We have the same problem in our model RC aviation club. Aging membership, harder and harder to get people to come to meetings and activities.

Our local EAA chapter is 'active' but the most active members (i went to 2 meeting, but never joined) aren't building or involved in any projects other than young eagles and the occasional pancake breakfast. The meetings were held at local restaurants. They were friendly people, and welcomed me, but it felt like trying to break into a well established group of friends.

Things that I think would improve the situation.

1) Don't meet at a restaurant or around a meal. This is a very friendly and social gathering, which seems like a good idea. But to someone new to the club its like meeting your girlfriends family for the first time, at thanksgiving. Everyone is talking and comfortable with everyone else, except for you.

2) There needs to be a project. New members aren't going to want to drop the membership fees if there is no visible benefit to those fees. If membership is $40 (.75 on the hobbs ;-) ), and the club doesn't have a building to maintain, or other static fees that it needs to worry about, or regular activities other than meeting at a restaurant for dinner, its a bit of a put-off.


Just my 2 cents.

[FunInAviation]

Here's blog I wrote about building chapter membership:

http://www.funplacestofly.com/blog.asp?ID=971

[Mike Berg]

Interesting subject. I've been a EAA member since the early 1980's but never joined the local chapter although I have made a few presentations to them over the years. For a long while it was a lack of time. I was working, teaching, driving school bus on athletic trips and involved in church activities and I need some time at home. Now that I'm retired and +70 I find I want to go out less during the evening especially when it's cold. We do have a flying club at our little grass strip airport and meet most Saturdays for coffee , rolls and telling flying lies. I think maybe as the pilot population ages it's harder to 'get off the ground' (for a lack of better term).

[mexpilot]

Why would you want minorities?

[I_FLY_LOW]

[cub builder]

Why would you want minorities?

Huh? As pilots, we're all a minority. Skin color, political affiliation, religion isn't important when we're talking aviation. But we might give you grief if you fly a kerosene burner.


-CubBuilder

[Pearson]

Building membership is a three step process. First you have to get them in the door. Second, you have to make them feel welcome. Third you have to get them to enjoy coming to the second, and subsequent meetings.

The first step is actually the easiest. Pilots enjoy meeting and talking with other pilots. Task each of your current members to actually invite people they meet to come to a meeting. My chapter (1111 Kelso, WA) had a trifold flyer printed up. We did it on the cheap, printing it off of a computer printer. Post an announcement at the local FBO.

How many times have you had a guest show up for a meeting or two, and then disappear? The second step, making them feel welcome, is where we often fail. The most important thing you can do is to assign someone to pair up with a guest to introduce them to the other members. Don't just introduce them. Tell them something about each member and let a conversation develop. My chapter had name tags made up for each member. That way a guest doesn't have to be embarrassed for not remembering names. We also have a bio for each member posted on the wall with pictures of their airplane or project. This helps promote conversation and helps the guest get to know the members. Each member also stands up at the beginning of each meeting and states their name.

Lastly the third step is to get them to want to return. Task each member with making guests feel welcome. Let them know what will be happening at the next meeting. If the guest is interested in building a project, invite them to your hangar or home to see yours. Have something interesting planned for the next meeting. EAA has video designed just for chapter meetings. Or have someone do a talk about their project, or a fly-out. Have lots of pictures or videos. Unless it is an extremely interesting subject, having someone just stand up and talk about something is not nearly as interesting as a presentation with visual aids.

Have someone call the guest the day before the next meeting. Possibly the same person that introduced them to everyone at the first meeting.