Messages from Membership
The value and function of community, and the nationwide network that the JACL family benefits from, was put to the test this past month. Many of you received the news either from my office or through other sources that our little friend, Natalie Nakatani, who had been diagnosed with leukemia, was in dire need of a bone marrow transplant. I was originally contacted several weeks ago by a friend of her family, and asked if I could spread the word to our chapters about the need for a donor. Literally within minutes of the email being sent out, I received responses from four different chapters that said they would notify their membership immediately. There were many more emails of support and commitment to action that came in afterwards. The urgency and immediacy of the response was extremely heartwarming.
Whether due in part to our efforts or not, little Natalie has found a matching donor. This cycle of crisis response demonstrates to me the importance of maintaining nationwide community networks such as the JACL. When the need arose, we were ready to respond. As in any other event that requires the help of as many people as possible, the axiom, the more the merrier, rings true. Friends, we owe it to ourselves and to our community to continue to expand the reach of our local networks so that we can be effective in responding to, and preventing, crises in the future. Again, as I have done many times in previous messages, what are we doing to improve the lives of those around us through our JACL chapters?
JACL Active Choice Campaign
The JACL introduces its new low cost Blue Shield PPO health plan for California residents. Details can be found at the JACL Health Benefits website. Rates start as low as $108/month. This plan is ideal for recent, students, college graduates, or young professionals who are in between work or pursuing contract or part-time jobs. This is an exclusive offer to members of the JACL in California!
2010 JACL Membership
Year to Date
New Members: 145
Renewed Members: 1799
The year is over. It has been busy, and gratefully, productive. We have all witnessed change in one way or another. And, with everything that goes on in our busy lives it is a miracle that we find time to give back to the community. So, in lieu of face-to-face recognition, I first want to thank all of you via this online interface for all of the work that you do in behalf of our growing community. Second, I want to make a case for community involvement that is a bit abstract, and easily discarded on the assumption that we are not powerful enough, or influential enough, to make any kind of difference. Or, it is discarded because we assume that due to the blindness of time, and the separation of geography, change has not occurred in the simple lives of those that we try to help.
At any rate, here is my argument countering the former thoughts with as much sincerity as I can muster: Every little thing we do makes a difference. Although this argument is rather trite, it is nonetheless true. Without going into too much detail I will simply say that much of what I consider to be my life's success has materialized because of the simple acts of service rendered to me by those whom I consider it a privilege and blessing to know.
There are myriad ways to serve, and we have discussed many of them throughout the year. A neighborhood cleanup, food drives, oral history projects, coalition activities, simple after-school tutoring programs, and fundraisers for specific causes, to name a few. Our capacities are limited and our resources are scarce, but our hearts and motivations can often make up for these deficiencies. I think we often fret over what we do and how we do it, forgetting that it sometimes matters more that we simply do something. I don't mean to downplay the role that planning and chapter protocol have, but I have sat in on enough JACL meetings to know that we sometimes let rules and precedent unnecessarily hamper our activity.
Some have told me that we are not a community-service organization, that we are a civil rights organization. Although I do not disagree with this argument, I will point out the obvious semantic flaw that assumes that the two ideas are mutually exclusive. Rather than view them in a segregated light, I would, after assessing what our fundamental rights are, and how they have been secured, intuitively see these two ideas as symbiotically linked. The more a community is served by its constituents, and thus becomes self-nurtured, the more the needs of that community are brought into the public limelight on a foundation of strong networks that can influence the legalities that give access and protection to it. So, if you will excuse me, I will ardently assert that we are, at least in practice, a community-service organization, because without service our rights become diluted in a pool of disregard and apathy.
We can all make a difference.
Thank you for all that you do!
Tim
2009 Membership Progress Report
2009 Membership Goals
893 New Members
11,810 Total Dues Paying Members
Year to Date
666 New Members
9119 Renewed Members
9,785 Total Dues Paying Members
We are heading into the home stretch of 2009. I don't know where the time has gone. It has been a good year. We are ahead of the new member count from this time last year, but we are behind in renewing members.
At National, we have been vigilant in sending lapsed member mailings, including a high-response Blue Shield lapsed member mailing that will drop later this week. Results for general lapsed member mailings have maintained an average 10% response rate. We need your help. Please take the time to invite those you know to renew their lapsed memberships. A personal contact is always more effective than a piece of paper.
To date, we continue to develop and introduce new programming, and work on new promotional items and member benefits. Recently, our UPS affiliate program was activated, which will provide significant savings in shipping for JACL members. Click here for more information. More can be done.
It has been brought to my attention, numerous times, that some of our chapter board members are not active JACL members. If this is the case, please take the time to renew your membership, or have those on your board renew their membership. Online registration and renewal is easy. Click here to renew.
Recently, I sent a survey to chapter board members assessing our chapters' capacity and construct. I have included the details below.
Thank you for all of your hard work!
Sincerely,
Tim Koide
Japanese American Citizens League
We need more youth!
Chapter Board Assessment Survey
The recent survey sent to many of you had a wonderful response rate. Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions! Your responses provided some insight into our daily operations on the local level, confirmed some preconceived ideas, and also presented some new and interesting data.
Here are the results:
Female 46.2%
Male 53.8%
Student 2.2%
Young Professional 6.5%
Established Professional 58.7%
Retired 32.6%
How often does your chapter meet outside of board meetings every month?
0 to 1 times 83.0%
1 to 3 times 11.4%
3 to 5 times 5.7 %
How often does your chapter meet outside of board meetings yearly?
Never 8.0%
1 to 3 times 68.2%
Monthly 19.3%
Several times monthly 4.5%
(Qualifying this data, the most common social event was "Cultural Events" with 74.4% of respondents indicating this, and the most common service event was, "Providing staff at cultural events" with 72.3% of respondents selecting this option.)
Do you feel that your chapter has the capacity to plan and carry out social and/or service activities?
Yes 80.5%
No 19.5%
How consistent is your chapter's involvement in grassroots advocacy?
Ongoing 21.7%
Infrequent 56.6%
Never involved 21.7%
(Responses to this question varied greatly with the most common answers relating to Internment Camp preservation, Immigration reform, and Health Care reform.)
Do you feel that your chapter has the capacity to engage in grassroots advocacy? Yes 57.8%
No 42.2%
What do you feel is lacking within your chapter that would enable you to carry out activities and programs, and the mission of the JACL more effectively?
I found three general categories that responses to this question most commonly fell into. They are as follows:
More Active Participation from Chapter Members 47.0%
Increased Younger Membership 41.2%
Interest/Motivation 11.8%
I begin this month's newsletter by quoting two anecdotal accounts of membership successes in another membership-based service organization, Rotary International.
The first account is of a Rotary club in Gwangju, Korea.
When Sang Kwun Kim took office as the 2007-2008 president of the Rotary Club of Gwangju-Ibseog...the club had 69 members. His membership goal for the year was to reach the 100-member mark...Members almost doubled the size of the club, finishing out the year with 132 members.
This growth was the result of a unified effort...Kim emphasized the importance of recruiting new members at each weekly club meeting.
With an average age of 48, club members wanted to recruit more young professionals. So they organized golf and hiking social activities, with the club supporting these outings financially to help encourage participation... The club also began holding informal social events...over 80 percent of club members attended regularly.
Another story comes from a Rotary Club in the commercial hub of northeastern India, Dimapur.
Membership growth was a focus for the club during the year...First club members examined their classification list to determine which professions were underrepresented in the clubs, such as banking and education. Club members from those professions were encouraged to invite colleagues to meetings to learn about Rotary. In addition, all members were asked to invite at least 10 colleagues to a club meeting or event during the year.
"We were of the opinion that if members bring along even 10 friends or colleagues in one year, at least one (of those 10) will be interested."
New members and their families were...invited to participate in the club's projects, which include adopting a local school, an initiative to bring insurance to low-income children, and financial support for Gift of Life, which provides surgeries for children born with congenital heart defects.
I want to point out several key ideas from these two anecdotes that I believe to be critical in our efforts to grow the JACL.
1. Membership recruitment is a grass-roots activity reaching out to local pools of interest.
2. Goals must be set.
3. Specific skill sets were sought after in new members, giving membership recruitment direction.
4. Social activities were planned regularly recognizing that they are an essential component of supporting the organizational mission.
5. Potential members are invited to participate in activities of the club and not just to join.
6. The local organization allocates budget money to carry out a robust and frequent schedule of activities.
Those are just a few points that I gleaned from this reading. You may have picked up on other effective practices. I really feel that despite the economic pressures of the day, a concerted effort in each chapter to articulate the mission of the JACL as the chapter sees fit, incorporating the aforementioned points, can lead to positive membership growth and retention.
Let's keep up the good work!
Tim
2009 Membership Progress Report
2009 Membership Goals
893 New Members
11, 810 Total Dues-paying members
Year to Date
470 New Members
6,404
Renewed Members
10,665 Total Dues-paying members
Remaining to Achieve Goals
423 New Members
4,936 Renewed Members
That means that we need to average 85 new members and 988 renewing members per month.
By: Tim Koide, Membership Coordinator
We have a responsibility as a civic organization to serve not only the needs of our membership, but also the needs of our community. Ours is a generation faced with unique challenges that cannot be overcome with mere political will, public and private funds, or lofty rhetoric. The challenges facing us today, due to deteriorating public and private institutions, cannot be overcome without the selfless actions of millions of private citizens.
I was recently privileged to attend a luncheon at the National Conference on Service and Volunteering here in San Francisco. The tenor of the event was largely laudatory, praising the recently passed Kennedy Serve America Act--an impressively bi-partisan bill that has inspired the likes of President Obama and Michelle Obama to call upon all Americans to serve under the slogan, "United We Serve." The speakers at the luncheon spoke of the hope that one-day people will greet each other with the question, "Where do you serve?"
I realize that I preach to the choir with much of what I am saying. Most of us have found ways to serve our community through our church congregations, school affiliations, and other professional and community organizations. Yet, for those of us who are concerned with the future of the JACL, I will make the very strong suggestion (as I have several times in the past) that we seek more opportunities to institutionally engage in community service.
Most of our chapters engage in service-based activities. How frequent are these activities? The opportunities are too vast, and the capacities and proclivities of our chapters are too different, thus dictating a best-fit line would be inappropriate, but we all can do our part. There is always a need. After school programs, food banks, blood drives, senior services, neighborhood beautification programs, parks and recreation services, are all examples of programs that have been negatively affected by our economic downturn. Certainly we can find a niche for our chapter.
It should be noted that both Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and 9/11, days that give us pause to ponder our civil liberties, have been declared National Days of Service. Why?
How does service fit into a discussion about membership? We all know that most members of the organization are patrons of something that they believe in or support, and are not necessarily active participants. However, in order to recruit and retain patrons, we need to be doing something regularly, and substantively, on the local level. Our legacy will only go so far in convincing others of our vitality and purpose. (Remember, we are asking folks for their money, and not just their blessing.)
Local service brings out the best in communities. It can bring out the best in the JACL. It can invigorate our chapters by bringing our youth into activity, and engaging our willing members in a meaningful and lasting contribution to their communities.
2009 Membership Progress Report
2009 Membership Goals
893 New Members
11, 810 Total Dues-paying members
Year to Date
414 New Members
5,781 Renewed Members
10,665 Total Dues-paying members
Remaining to Achieve Goals
479 New Members
5,136 Renewed Members
That means that we need to average 80 new members and 856 renewing members a month in order to reach our goals.
1. Chicago 28
2. Washington DC 21
3. Portland 19
4. San Francisco 17
5. San Mateo 16
6. Sacramento 15
7. Fresno 14
8. New York 14
9. Arizona 12
10. SF Valley 12
I want to play some number games this month. We are heading into the second half of 2009, and also historically the slowest season in JACL membership.
The 2009 membership goal for total dues paying members is 11,810. This goal is broken down into 893 new members, and thus 10,917 renewing members.
Thus far, we have secured a total of 4,734 renewed members of the 10,917 renewed member goal. That leaves 6,183 renewing members for the remaining 7 months of the year. Or, approximately 883 renewing members per month.
Of the new member goal, we have thus far raised 345 of the 893 new members needed to fulfill the overall goal. That leaves 548 new members, or approximately 78 new members per month over the next 7 months.
This month, we sent out 819 renewals in our monthly renewal mailing. Last month we sent out about 700, and the month before we sent out close to 800.
So, what do all of these numbers mean? Considering that the only consistently quantified ask mechanism in JACL membership is the renewal mailings, we can right away see that we run a deficit in solicitations every month. If we need to average 883 renewing members plus 78 new members per month to achieve our goal, then even if 100% of those solicited for renewal responded, we would still be short.
On average, we are yielding about an 86% response rate on our renewal mailings this year. Not bad. That means that we will retrieve about 704 renewals this month. This leaves us short about 179 renewing members, which means that we need to make 208 extra solicitations to lapsed members (according to the 86% response rate). Additionally, we need to somehow raise 78 new members for the month.
For the sake of details, semantics, and other potential misunderstandings and mathematical errors, let's make this simple.
Every month we need:
883 (renewing members) + 78 (new members) = 961 total members
That means that this month every chapter needs to make 299 additional solicitations to the 819 renewal forms that were sent. Or, 43 per district, or, about10 per chapter. These numbers are very, very rough. My point is simply that we need to stay vigilant in asking others to join.
This is my challenge for the month. We can do it. 10 extra solicitations per chapter is easy. They can be lapsed members, new members, or family members. We just need to make the ask. It could be at a community event, a scholarship luncheon, an upcoming bi-district, a family get-together, or a church function. We can do it.
Japanese American Citizens League
What a wonderful first quarter we've had!
Right now we are on target to achieve 2009 membership goals, but the summer months ahead have historically provided a challenge for recruitment and retention efforts. Let's stay diligently committed to the health and welfare of our chapters! With Asian American heritage month approaching, there is certainly reason for all of us to find opportunity to celebrate and share with our communities.
2009 Membership Goals
Year to date we have recruited 244 new members; and renewed 3,334 members.
At the end of the first quarter the JACL has 11,0004 active annual dues paying members, and 14,842 total active members.
JACL and Service: How our chapters can affect good in their communities.
"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love."
--Martin Luther King, Jr.
Many of us wonder how we can involve the young members of our community into the JACL. There seems to be one activity, broad in its potential focus, and effective in broadcasting the values that JACL members espouse, that I feel very strongly about. Service. As we continue to confront the negative results of an economy turned upside down, the need for civil society, us, to pick up the slack continues to increase. Here are a few suggestions for service activities in areas of need in all of our communities.
1. Neighborhood, and city/state park cleanups.
2. Service at elderly care facilities.
3. After school tutoring programs (run by youth for youth).
4. Professional development workshops (resume building, interview skills, etc.).
Our capacity and resources are limited, but that is a universal in our current environment. We can help others to help themselves, keep our surroundings beautiful, and provide compassionate assistance to those in need. Isn't that the essence of community? Isn't that the genesis of our civil liberties? Let's look for those already extant synergies with other JACL chapters and likeminded organizations to increase our reach within our communities. Let's serve!
Tim
Every month, our chapter membership chairs receive a roster including all members active and lapsed within each chapter. This document provides valuable information about each member of your chapter. Sometimes Excel can be tricky to understand and sometimes the roster’s nomenclature can also be difficult to understand. So, I thought that I would try to explain away some of the frequently asked questions posed by some of you.
1. Every time I print the roster multiple blank pages also print. How can I avoid this?
A very easy way to print only the portion of the spreadsheet with text is to highlight the desired area, then, when commanding to print, marking the “Selection” option in the “Print what” prompt. Your printer will then only print the selected area.
2. I get confused with the column headings, what does the “Standing”, and “Status” column indicate, and when does the membership expire?
The “Standing” column indicates what type of transaction occurred last in the member’s membership. “Renewal” means that the last time the member paid dues they were renewing their membership. “Joined” means that the member joined the organization for the first time the last time that they paid their membership dues. “Status” indicates the member’s current status as either a lapsed or an active member. If a membership is active the “Expire” column indicates when the membership will expire. For example:
| STATUS | EXPIRE |
|---|---|
| Active | 3/31/209 |
This particular membership is currently active, but will expire on 3/31/2009.
| STATUS | EXPIRE |
|---|---|
| Lapsed | 1/31/2007 |
This particular membership is currently lapsed, having expired on 1/31/2007.
3. Who are my new members, and how can I find this out?
I will be supplying new member information on a regular basis to each chapter. However, there is a way to figure this out using the membership rosters. Memberships are active for a year from the date that the dues transaction is processed. Thus, the members with an “Active” status whose “Expire” date is a year from the month of the roster and a “Joined” standing are those who have recently joined the organization.
4. Can I sort my roster to organize column categories?
Yes. Under the “Data” link on the Excel toolbar at the top of the screen is an option to “Sort.” This link will bring up a prompt that indicates up to three different categories available for sorting.
- If you were to sort by “Status” the list would divide the “Active” members from the “Lapsed” members.
- If you were to sort by “Status” then “Expire”, the list would first be divided by “Active” and “Lapsed” members, then by the dates of expiration in either ascending or descending order according to your preference within the “Active” and “Lapsed” members.
I hope that this document was useful. There is a lot of useful analysis that can be done on a chapter level. I recommend that information received be disseminated to as many as need it on our chapter boards. I have found that our chapters could benefit greatly from a wider distribution and increased transparency of our rosters.
Dear Friends,
Last month I sent every chapter a packet of information encouraging all of us to set membership goals for the year 2009. I have received two responses.
The point of this exercise is to set a quantifiable course on the map of our ongoing membership efforts. Another point of this exercise was to help us see a connection between the activities of our chapters and districts, and the development of our membership. Certainly, it is the activities; i.e., the substance of the organization, that attracts and keeps individuals involved, and not the rhetorical message.
The latter point is the impetus behind producing and distributing the New Member Tracking documents broken down for each district. This spreadsheet documents the rises in new membership on a month‐to‐month basis for each chapter. As we analyze this document, we can probably tell why some months brought in considerable amounts of new members as opposed to other months that may have had sparser results.
Most districts experienced high new member yields in March and April—months leading up to scholarship deadlines. Others did not. If we suppose that scholarship applications in these districts were the cause for the rise in new membership, what happened in other districts that did not experience the same kind of rise? Were the scholarship opportunities not effectively communicated? If these were the only months in our chapter or district to see rises in new membership, what are we not doing to attract more participation? These are the kind of questions we need to ask ourselves as we try to chart a path of sustainable growth. This exercise will help us set membership goals in a program‐by‐program, activity- by‐ activity way. Loosely committing to recruit members without having avenues of service or activity to plug those members into is problematic. The new member can lose interest quickly and we can lose faith in the organization’s ability to resonate with the community.
This brings me to my next point. How can we ensure frequent activities within our chapter? Resources are limited. Events cost money, they require time, and unfortunately, many of us have little of either. Let me suggest something that costs little money, requires minimal planning, and provides optimum utility to our communities and to us. This activity is SERVICE. Service fulfills a constant need in every community—from neighborhood cleanups, working in elderly care facilities, food banks, participating in blood drives, community restoration projects, to providing needed services such as high school mentoring and tutoring. Unbeknownst to many of us, the JACL is a coalition partner in the ServiceNation initiative that has been endorsed by President and Michelle Obama. The details of this initiative can be found at their website here. Simply, the idea behind this drive is to reinvigorate the nation’s ethic of service. The website provides information about service opportunities all around the country in a database broken down by interest area and zip code. There is a growing need for community service and volunteerism in our nation. The JACL needs to find a way to play a role in this niche of need. I challenge all of us to find opportunities to serve as a chapter on a regular basis (a ‘regular basis’ is to the discretion of each individual chapter and/or district). A good place to start is by checking the Service Nation website here.
HAPPY SERVING!
Dear Friends,
It’s the end of the year already. What does that mean for our chapters? Goals!!! As we approach the dawn of 2009, we need to be armed with goals to help direct our efforts. Once the end of year numbers are finished, I will be issuing a worksheet to project your membership goals for 2009 based on the approved 2009-2010 budget. There are so many reasons to reflect on our membership in 2009. JACL as we all know celebrated the 20th anniversary of redress in 2008, and next year we will be celebrating the eightieth anniversary of the organization. Although a bit late, we will be awarding copies of the 75th anniversary book to members who register for the first time this year while supplies last.
As always, please keep national informed of any address changes, updates, etc. We have been quite successful updating our records, but still have a lot of cleaning up to do. In addition to mailing addresses, we often lack email addresses of members and would like to keep all members on our National press release and news alert mailing list. Please help us compile this information.
Tim
Three Pillars
Lapsed Members: study your monthly rosters. Look for people you know who have apsed. Has their address changed? Give them a call.
Activitiy: Keep members and non-members alike abreast of all chapter activities. Create ample opportunity to pitch a “soft-sell” of the organization.
Peer-Contact: Ask a friend or family member to join the organization.
Dear Friends,
I had a wonderful weekend visiting with members in the Central Valley of California as well as the Eden Township Chapter in the East Bay area. Our members are great people, and for the most part actively concerned with the organization’s future. The overwhelming sentiment voiced by those I visited with regarding the perpetuity of the organization, and those of you who I talk to on a regular basis, is that of the importance of getting more young people involved. This seems to go without saying.
As I met with the members of the Eden Township chapter, I was heartened to see a robust and enthusiastic Youth Group. The group, active since 1956, meets at least once a month for planning meetings, service activities, weekend trips, and other activities. The Eden Township Youth Group, as they call themselves, finds ample opportunities to fundraise and seem to have little difficulty finding the means to carry out their programs. They have wonderful parental support and guidance, and are the shining star of the chapter. Last month I received their renewal roster with nine new members listed. They are an example to all of us.
This young generation wants to serve. They want venues to create lasting friendships based on common ideals and identities. Our communities, no matter where we live, provide plenty of opportunities for service. Food banks, neighborhood cleanups, care facilities, blood drives—these needs never go away. We as an organization stress leadership development. We stress civic engagement. We stress civil liberties. Service provides us with the construct to develop leadership, the venue to engage civil society, and the opportunity to exercise our civil liberties and help others maintain theirs.
Timothy Koide