Social Media - It's here to stay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.