This newsletter is intended for 2022 leaders of Women's Council. This important information should be read thoroughly and shared with your local members as needed.
Edition 05 - 2022 | February 10, 2022
Elevate Growth Conference - A Success!
660 attendees. 25 sessions. A first-ever PMN pop-up course on achieving balanced well-being. Our 11,000th member. Thank you to speakers, social media influencers and attendees for a successful online event. With ½ of all sessions providing education for network leaders, we hope you all received “take-home” tools. Registered attendees will receive a link on the new Women’s Council Stream video channel to access all session recordings, so stay tuned and thank you for attending.
Interested in being a speaker for future national meetings? Click here.
Reminders on Key 2022 Tools for Networks to Use
New Member Onboarding Toolkit - This is designed to provide you with templated information developed by other networks to onboard and systematize new members. Feel free to use and customize for your own network.
Member ROI Infographic - Why join or renew? We’ll give you 7 ways that calculate dues ROI, from 2.5% to 25% to 100% with many being intangible! This is designed to provide you with templated information developed by other networks to onboard and systematize new members. Feel free to use and customize for your own network.
Workerbee.TV is the Women’s Council preferred video provider for your post-pandemic activities. With preferred pricing and remote options, this firm is poised to work with network leaders in a seamless fashion at competitive prices and with outstanding service. Contact wcr@workerbee.tv.
Dues Changes in 2023? Here is the Process
Dues are set for the 2022 calendar year. Do you have dues changes for 2023? National must be notified by September 30th, 2022 and the 2023 form must be filled out along with approval notification, such as meeting minutes. No changes are accepted outside of that timeframe or with informal notices that do not use the correct form.
Tech & Membership Tips
Renewing or recruiting new members? Note that our technical systems are working well, but we are seeing common issues as follows. Some important tips for membership directors and local leadership teams to know:
-
New members: Don’t create memberships for others using your own computer, as it may override your own membership. The new member should create their membership on their own device. Remember that membership applications in PDF formats are pre-populated on the documents section of each microsite, customized to your network, so members are not obliged to become new members online. Due to excessive leadership complaints to National regarding spam filters, National no longer automatically notifies leaders via email when new members join, but by viewing the roster on a regular basis and viewing join dates, you can effectively onboard members using your systems. Note, National welcomes new members once a week via an automated email and informs them that local networks will be in touch.
-
National Affiliate approval process: In order to streamline systems, new National Affiliate members no longer need to be approved by local membership directors and can automatically become members. As a reminder, the network model requires that no more than 20% of your members are national affiliates, and this benchmark is confirmed by National during the certification process.
-
Opening tickets on wcr@wcr.org: When troubleshooting membership issues, we prefer to work out typical situations directly with a member, especially for common issues like password resets. Leadership team members should not open tickets on behalf of members unless the member has been unable to solve an issue with National.
- 2nd-year members' invoices are now live — Some helpful renewal reminders are as follows:
- New members who joined from February 1, 2021, thru August 31, 2021 — dues are prorated and due by their one-year anniversary date. They can pay now by logging onto their member profile. Why not help the member and your network renew now so you don’t have to chase them down later in the summer when out of “renewal mode.” While National will invoice them, local networks should be proactively using their rosters to manage both new and expiring members. This is a year-round activity and not just limited to renewal season.
- New members who joined September 1, 2021, thru December 31, 2021 — received fall of 2021 complimentary and paid for all of 2022. They will be invoiced in November 2022 for the 2023 membership year.
- Come Back Campaign members (lapsed members who rejoined in June and July 2021) — owe a full year dues amount and were due on December 31, 2021. Comeback Campaign members paid a partial 2021 rate to rejoin. They will be dropped by March 31st if payment is not received to national before then.
- Members in year 3+ OR joined in January 2021 — owe a full year dues amount. This bucket includes most of your members and national dues were due on December 31, 2021. Any members with outstanding dues by March 31st will be dropped if payment is not received to national.
- Members dropped after the grace period ends. If a member didn't renew by the deadline and their membership has been dropped, they may need to contact National to reinstate membership, as the system will recognize the user name (email) as having expired. Contact wcr@wcr.org. While at this time there are no reinstatement fees, this policy will be revisited in 2023.
- Questions? When in doubt, pull up the member roster and we recommend you retain copies on a monthly basis. While membership cycles are confusing, the roster is the key to understanding member analytics. Email wcr@wcr.org for assistance with specific questions.
SAVE THE DATES: Four Network Training Opportunities for You!
APPy Hour: Rosters & Renewals Training
When: Feb. 11, 2022, at 3:00 p.m. Central
How do we renew our network's members? And why do new (2021) members have different membership due dates than the other members on the calendar plan? What are successful tactics to have a great renewal rate?
Allison Wax, 2021 Membership Director of Women's Council Las Vegas will unravel this all for you in a one-hour APPy hour and will answer all of your questions and more.
Staff will be on hand to show you how to read rosters and not-yet-renewed reports.
Running for National Office: What you need to know from A to Z
When: Feb 17, 2022, at Noon Central Time
Thinking of running for national office? As a result of recent bylaws changes, the process has changed and this zoom call will walk you through everything you need to know from A to Z. Past National President, Heather Ozur, and Network Engagement Director, Jamie Saltman will moderate this and answer any questions you might have. All are welcome and whether you were curious about the process, or if there is any interest in running, this will give you everything you need to know.
State Teams - National Progress Report & Check-In
When: March 1, 2022 at 12:00 PM Central Time
We Are Stronger Together! Join your National Leadership Team for a Quarter 1 check-in to help keep your State’s 2022 Leadership Path calibrated for success. Nearly ¼ of your leadership journey at the state level is complete, and this is a great time for teams to check-in.
- What’s working and what’s not?
- How are local networks doing?
- Are we adhering to the model guidelines as set forth by national?
- What can we do to help you be successful?
Join the national leadership team for a national update as well as a Q&A session. Note, this is for state leadership teams only and the designated officers as well as other key leadership team members (such as District Vice Presidents, who you will want to include in this session). We invite you to attend together for this interactive “check-in” session!
Leadership Identification & Development Informational Session
When: April 5, 2022 at 10:00 am Central Time
Women's Council is a leadership organization, and as part of our mission, we are structured to provide you, the member, with leadership opportunities that enrich both our organization and you as a leader.
Whether a task force, governing board or assisting in running an election, opportunities abound for your involvement.