New Look Flower Club
We must all be passionate about increasing membership.
We do our best to promote the organisation but sometimes we forget about the future.
Here is an opportunity to create a
new-look flower Club that reflects the age of the people we need to attract.
Reasons for Action:
1. NAFAS is currently losing members rapidly.
2. Overall growth of membership will only come from forming new Clubs.
3. Many existing Clubs have a high average age, which, by circumstances beyond their control such as generation gaps, financial positions and loss of energy levels, is causing the vitality of NAFAS to decline.
4. Current leadership of NAFAS at Club level is not, in many cases, coming from the age group we are wishing to attract.
5. The mixing of young with elderly (where the elderly dominate) is not a formula for growth due to a wide variation of interests, needs and physical capabilities.
6. The gap between the needs of young people and the present older generation is ever increasing, due to the rapidly changing world in which we live. Three of these areas are in technology, living costs and equality rights. We need to use these changes to create a ‘New Look’ Flower Club which reflects the age in which we live.
7. Many of our Clubs do not recruit enough new members each year to replace those leaving, nor do they make membership numbers one of their priorities or even seem to be aware of membership decline.
8. We care about the future of our organisation and must strive towards a new goal of younger vibrant Clubs.
How should we tackle this Goal?
1. Stop doing what is not working - our membership is not increasing.
2. Try new practices. By changing our thinking and ways of working, we have a chance to reverse the ebbing tide of the decline in membership.
3. Announce, Nationally, an all-out intent to activate fully a well thought out and agreed plan that will stand a good chance of success.
4. We need positive activity that moves towards agreed goals.
5. Area Chairmen need to discuss with their Executive the formation of at least one new Club in their Area. More can follow, success breeds success. The new Club will not be a New Wave Club, it is not intended to steal members from other Clubs in the Area but it is a new Club formed especially to attract younger members into our organisation.
To make this happen
1. Select a central location and a young keen person to take responsibility in each Area. A prime mover! Remember that the prime mover should convey the ‘image’ of the target audience. Abandon old theories and look forward.
2. Hold a dynamic, enthusiastic open day or evening without the old image. Design a poster to attract people to a meeting. Emphasis at the open day to be placed on how NAFAS can enhance your life, teach you new skills, encourage good thoughts in your mind and a great social life. In fact anything that gets away from an old fashioned look.
3. Decide on an appropriate venue to set up your introductory meeting, one that will attract new young members. Put posters in Leisure Clubs, Library, shop windows, florist shops etc.
4. Form a project team of keen activists to distribute flyers, put up posters and encourage prospective members to attend the introductory meeting.
5. An existing Club may wish to ‘foster’ a new Club.
6. At this first meeting, welcome each visitor and take names, addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses. Give a welcome glass of wine. Make a short presentation about the formation of a new Club, talk a little about our Association and why the new Club will be affiliated to NAFAS. Find out from the prospective members where they would like to meet, how long their ideal meeting would last and what would be their preferred starting time. They could also be asked whether they wish to have demonstrations, try hands on work or a mixture of both and if anyone there had other ideas to keep them captivated. Make it a classy affair. Give all attendees a pack on NAFAS and if possible a copy of The Flower Arranger. Announce the date and time agreed for the next meeting and ask everyone to bring a friend along.
7. Continue with the recruitment drive until the next meeting.
8. At the next meeting appoint a lively, up to date demonstrator to give a short presentation. A committee can be formed at a later stage when the Club has become established. Decide on the format of the new Club, including venue and timings and start collecting subscriptions. Suggest a minimum of £30 per new member but in addition to Club running costs you need to include funds for Area and National affiliation fees.
9. Make ‘Education’ and ‘Lifestyle’ prime words in the new Club publicity. The lack of flower arranging classes in your local area is a golden opportunity for NAFAS to ‘fill the gap’ and bring in new, enthusiastic members but we will not attract new members if we continue to look old and unexciting to younger people.
10. Once the Club is stable and has at least 20 members it can affiliate to NAFAS and encourage members to attend other flower Clubs in the Area to watch demonstrations and take an interest in Area events.
11. Allow the Club to form in its own way with new ideas. Look outside the box.
12. Money will be needed to fund printing, refreshments and possibly room hire.
13. Each Area should allocate a small budget to cover this expenditure. Posters must look professional but could perhaps be created ‘in house’.
14. A poster should include a photograph of a ‘younger person’ creating a floral design - something you could take from an Area workshop or Club class. Increasing membership should be of paramount importance to all existing members of NAFAS in all Areas and Nationally. A small budget allocated to this project will reap dividends in the future.
15. If you have success - share your stories with other Areas of NAFAS and send your comments to the NAFAS Board of Directors.
