Recruiting and Engaging Members

Chapter Type

As leaders thinking through member recruitment and engagement, keep in mind who your core audience is: 

• Student Chapters
  • Undergraduate
  • Graduate
  • Hybrid (includes both undergraduate and graduate students)
• Professional Chapters
  • Corporate
  • Professional

There are many ways to recruit and engage Members. Below are some suggestions and resources.

Host an Information Session

Information sessions are designed to inspire as many people as possible to join your Chapter. These are opportunities to engage with and recruit from diverse streams within your community. They can also help you understand what potential members want to get out of their membership.

Below are some suggested techniques for promoting interest in your Chapter:

• Host an info session to share your chapter's core mission and goals. Showcase including potential projects and events that members can participate in. Are there opportunities for members to develop their leadership skills or contribute to their areas of interest? Make sure to highlight those at this info session. 
• Consider using multiple outreach methods to effectively advertise your Chapter and attract people to your first information session
• Have at least one or two planning meetings in advance with the leadership team to outline the content you want to cover
• Try to follow up with all event attendees by collecting contact information and other relevant information like their interest areas
• Consider reaching out to organizations and offices to partner with and recruit from: 
  • For Students: 
    • Affinity groups
    • Student Activities Center 
    • DEI Office
    • Sustainability Center
    • Office of Civic Engagement
  • For Professionals: 
    • Local businesses
    • Local non-profits
    • Local affinity groups
    • Co-workers
• Students: try to learn about the campus schedule for student club fairs and new student orientation(s) so that your Chapter can reserve a booth or speaking slot at those events!

Keep Your Members Engaged with these Strategies & Tactics: 

• Utilize different degrees of involvement: build an engagement ladder with varying levels of involvement, allowing members to move upward until they reach Chapter leadership. 
  • Questions to consider when building out this ladder: 
    • Is there involvement across different experience levels?
    • Are there members from different disciplines/backgrounds?
• Go beyond events: provide opportunities for long-term, meaningful involvement through ongoing Net Impact Central Programs (i.e. Future of Energy, Food Solutions, etc.)
• Listen and respond: survey your members to get a sense of their interests and unmet needs. Check-in with members to get feedback and help maintain the passion and relationships critical to achieving your chapter’s goals.
• Start committees and subcommittees:  about a particular social or environmental issue or passion area that they want the chapter to pursue
• Celebrate success: recognize your members publicly in meetings and highlight their projects in newsletters, on your website, or through social media. Fostering a culture of appreciation can help motivate committed members.
• Develop an alumni network: keep a directory where you track alumni career paths, send alumni newsletters, and invite them to support your chapter through donations, speaking events, job shadowing, and networking opportunities.
• Professional chapter member communications: professional chapters should set up their own process for chapter membership communication opt-ins. It’s helpful to send a welcome email once Members have signed up with your chapter including information on membership communications.
• Keep track of your membership: each chapter’s leadership team is responsible for managing and updating their individual chapter membership list

Resources

Marketing materials
Sample student recruitment email
Sample advisor recruitment email