Is your Club Size Diminishing and your Membership Ageing?

[davidmorr]

so perhaps Club membership is not as attractive as it once was owing to cost ,regulations and even litigation ?

Cost - doubt it. Club membership of $25-30 per year is peanuts. You would spend that amount on the main course at many restaurants.

Regulations and litigation - would a prospective member even be aware that these were issues?

[davidmorr]

Not a bushwalking club, but my local flyfishing club has a similar demographic. At 40 I am one of the three or four youngest.

We make a good effort, every month, to have a meeting that meets the needs and wants of members, and from a club of around 70-80 most years, gets 25-35 members turn up each month. How do we do this ?
a) seperate out the business from the pleasure. Business is dealt with at a mangement meeting (held the night befor a general club meeting). If need be it is brought up and summarised at the general club meeting. Any member is welcome to an executive meeting to either see what is going on or to raise an issue they would like to see addressed (purchases, rules amendments, whatever).
b) we hold a raffle each month. low cost, small but regular prizes (to about $25 value), often as donations from retail outlets or our host venue (a local leagues club).
c) we talk fishing not politics, nor the politics of fishing. Who's been fishing, what have they caught, where'd hey go, who fell in, what were the great sledges. This info is relayed in only the most general terms in the newlsetter, so if you want the good oil, ya goota turn up.
d) spread the executive and other roles very thin. We have a meet and greet person, one who hands out name tags (note that both of these help members and guests feel at home and comfortable), a library holder, one who does the raffle, a newsletter editor, fly comp runner etc, etc. About 15 or so positions all up. all could easily have an equivalent in a walking club.
e) take the senior roles (Pres, finance, secretary, trips coordinator) seriously, and with good governenance.
f) have regular well organised guest speakers. We sometimes pay some costs to make a big name happen as well. We probably have around 60% of meetings with a guest speaker - a guide, a fly tier, an author (sometimes tied in with a book signing), a raconteur, a photographer, a fisheries rep, a beaureau of met rep, a local gun angler, a retailer or importer to spruik gear. Dedicated nighs to chewing the fat work well too. Swap meets get people talking and interacting, and you can even pick up a bargain. Members sometimes present on gear, and bring in four or seven versions of the same thing to compare and discuss. If you try and think hard and vary it a bit, there are many possibilities above and beyond a standard slide night.
g) buy stuff members can use and don't make the use rules too onerous. We have two PLB's and thought about a whole lot of restricitve rules but in the end they are a tool and if members are too scared to take them for fear of breaking a rule or being 'fined', they are no good. Can't save a life with a PLB if it's in the cupboard.

Nothing too didactic there I hope but some ideas that may work. Good luck with it !

Spot on, climberman. Same things as my walking club. We have 200 members and get 50-60 to meetings twice a month. It's a social occasion, a chance to catch up with people you haven't seen for a while.

A couple of other things I could add:

1. Some of our members live an hour or more away from the meeting venue. For one meeting each month, we have dinner at a local club before the meeting. This allows those people to make a night of it, instead of rushing dinner to drive for an hour to the meeting, stay two hours then drive home again.

2. Once a year we have an auction where people bring in old bushwalking gear which is sold and proceeds go to the club. It is a fun night with the auctioneers playing all sorts of tricks to boost the price, and in recent years, wearing a variety of funny hats while doing the job.

3. We have an annual photo comp which has been running for 38 years. Everyone can enter, camera enthusiasts and point and clickers.We get a professional judge from a camera club to judge the entries. The most popular meeting of the year is the one where the judge goes through the entries and announces the winners, and they are often the total amateurs.

One thing you will notice about climberman's fishing club and my walking club is that meetings are regarded as an important part of the club's activities, and a lot of effort is put into making sure they are useful and enjoyable.

[davidmorr]

If the overnighter was just a hurdle to make entry more difficult and hence selectivethen doing away with it is no problem, but if it was there for a purpose then it seems a pity to compromise "just" to gain new members. Does it give new members a good introduction to what HWC is about and if so, isn't that a good thing?

I'm puzzled about the need to do an overnighter to join a club. If that was a prerequisite, my club would lose 75% of its members.

Some people just want to do day walks, and insisting on overnighters smacks of elitism.

Our approach is that anyone can join, and the leader makes the decision on who can attend a walk. For new people, he/she will talk to them to find out their level of experience to help decide. This can happen at a meeting or on the phone. Occasionally we get it wrong, but mostly it works well.

[davidmorr]

Eg for the training/first aid. Could waking clubs get together and develop an online course?

Administering first aid has legal implications. You need to be qualified to administer it to a casualty without being sued if you stuff it up. And many things in first aid require actual demonstration of the technique, something you cannot learn online. Think CPR, something that looks easy until you have to do it.

[Bush Walker]

My club has been asking new members for a couple of years how they found out about the club.
The web site is obviously doing a good job, but clearly our main source of new members is word of mouth. We make a big effort to be friendly and welcoming, and this is obviously benefiting us.

Yes, we shouldn't ignore word-of-mouth and personal invitations to attend introductory meetings as being most effective. These will never be replaced but effectiveness depends on Club members being willing to actively promote their Club. Some are too embarrassed to do so.

It is of course possible to imitate word-of-mouth on a website by incorporating website feedback such as "comments" and "likes". Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are most effective at rapidly changing public opinion as many companies have found to their detriment when adverse comments have been published.

Clubs should be monitoring what is being said about them, other clubs and bushwalking in general in the the social media and respond where possible as this not only raises their profile but also their credibility.

Having a Facebook page today is as important an initiative as a PR tool as it was having a web site 10-15 years ago. You will have noticed that most commercial organisations and even many government departments have a FB page .

[davidmorr]

You have nailed it ..."meet the needs of the upcoming generation"

Are you saying that the existing club members have to go to a lot of trouble and work to attract a bunch of people who will likely make them uncomfortable?

There is no need to attend a club meeting to do all this!

Only if you regard a meeting as a nuisance - see climberman's post on making a meeting an attractive part of the club's activities. We have a significant number of members who *only come* to the meetings, ie, no walks.

[Bush Walker]

Administering first aid has legal implications. You need to be qualified to administer it to a casualty without being sued if you stuff it up.

I have been told at my first aid courses that any bystander can administer first aid without any repercussions if they stuff up, providing they do so with the intent of helping the victim, which is obviously the case.

[Bush Walker]

You have nailed it ..."meet the needs of the upcoming generation"

Are you saying that the existing club members have to go to a lot of trouble and work to attract a bunch of people who will likely make them uncomfortable?

Yes, if the club is to survive in the long term, with the same vigour it had when you probably joined.

Anyway, why should having a bunch of younger people in your club make you feel uncomfortable? I always find the conversations invigorating!!!

Only if you regard a meeting as a nuisance - see climberman's post on making a meeting an attractive part of the club's activities. We have a significant number of members who *only come* to the meetings, ie, no walks.

Lots of younger people and even older can't make meetings due to work, family and distance. Are you going to exclude them from your Club's bushwalking activities?

[Bush Walker]

And many things in first aid require actual demonstration of the technique, something you cannot learn online. Think CPR, something that looks easy until you have to do it.

There are several excellent first aid courses online such as the St John which is prerequisite reading for the Senior First Aid refresher in SA. I found it an excellent refresher.

There are also great CPR smartphone apps once again from St John.

[flyfisher]

The Club has a policy of requiring anyone wanting to join to first attend at least one meeting and one trip. This gives the prospective member a chance to experience the activities carried out by the Club

This is from a different type of club (4wd) but is a policy which my wife and I didn't find too onerous particularly as they were the most welcoming bunch I have come across.(apart from the Strollers)
It does give both sides the chance to assess the other without total comittment at that stage.

I must say that this is one of the most interesting discussions on the forum for a while.

[davidmorr]

Yes, we shouldn't ignore word-of-mouth and personal invitations to attend introductory meetings as being most effective. These will never be replaced but effectiveness depends on Club members being willing to actively promote their Club. Some are too embarrassed to do so.

Embarrassed? That's sad!

Our members just talk to their friends about what they have been doing and the great time they had.

It is of course possible to imitate word-of-mouth on a website by incorporating website feedback such as "comments" and "likes". Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are most effective at rapidly changing public opinion as many companies have found to their detriment when adverse comments have been published.

Only if you regard word of mouth as a mechanical thing. What gets people in is the "people" aspect. Seeing the excitement in someone's face as they relate what they did carries a lot more weight than seeing that something has 65 "likes".

Clubs should be monitoring what is being said about them, other clubs and bushwalking in general in the the social media and respond where possible as this not only raises their profile but also their credibility.

The biggest problem bushwalking has is that the people would rather be out walking. Bushwalkers and clubs of all kinds really need to devote the time and effort to raising their profile as you say. This can be through social media, but it can also be through conventional mechanisms, like newspapers, TV, radio, community service, assisting at public events, etc.

[davidmorr]

However, they tend to be 1:1 and don't encourage discussions, like this forum, as it is difficult to see earlier emails in the thread and there is usually a larger time gap between responses, which makes following an argument more cumbersome.

That depends on how you set it up. I use Yahoo Groups for handling mailing lists, and this can be set up for all replies to automatically go back to everyone on the list. You can get very active discussions that way. There are lots of other systems that offer the same functionality.

I will make one comment about e-mail based on 30 years in the industry, most of that dealing with e-mail - most people do not use it to its full capability. Most people leave all their incoming mail in the Inbox, meaning they end up with thousands of messages and cannot find anything.

Every e-mail client and webmail system (I think) allows people to create rules/filters to move certain e-mails to particular folders. So I have rules to automatically move all mail from my walking club to a folder. All mail from a computer club to another, messages to and from particular organisations or friends into their own folders. I can immediately track down a message by going to the folder and/or searching.

I have noticed with Facebook that it is not so easy to find past messages. Sometimes it will not let me see beyond the last day or so. I have not been able to find a way to search my wall or someone elses. I cannot flag something that I want to come back to.

For me, Facebook is not really a replacement for e-mail.

[climberman]

davidmorr - I like some of your club meeting ideas and may try a few (love the phot comp) with Illawarra Flyfishers' club over teh coming year or two. We also make our club meeting at a club with a bistro, so members can get a beer/coffee/meal before the meeting. As you noted, it really adds to the social capacity of a meeting. Living in a regional city (Wollongong) means that it's really feasible for many members to get home from work, get changed, maybe have dinner, and get to a 7:30pm meeting, or get in early for a bite. We have quite a few members who travel a way as well though (from Southern or SW Sydney). The social aspect makes it worthwhile for them.

[davidmorr]

Administering first aid has legal implications. You need to be qualified to administer it to a casualty without being sued if you stuff it up.

I have been told at my first aid courses that any bystander can administer first aid without any repercussions if they stuff up, providing they do so with the intent of helping the victim, which is obviously the case.

That's true provided they can justify that what they did was appropriate. Without formal qualification, it is hard to do that.

Provided people stick to conservative treatment, they should be fine. But there is no substitute for hands-on training such as BWRS offers in their Remote Area First Aid course. It is not the actual first aid that is learned so much as the skills in dealing with an emergency situation, diagnosing the injury/illness, initiating rescue actions, etc.

http://bwrs.org.au/?q=first-aid-training

My club ran an exercise once after we had all done a senior first aid course years ago. Out of our sight, a situation was set up and we walked around a corner into it. Scary! The theory is no match for the reality of what to do when you come across people lying on the ground dying. Several of us were "electrocuted" though not taking appropriate care initially, heart attacks were missed, rescue services were not called.

This is why we now all do RAFA, and we are told that we have more RAFA qualified people than any other organisation in Australia (48). (We encourage this by subsidising the course for anyone who wants to do it.)

[davidmorr]

Anyway, why should having a bunch of younger people in your club make you feel uncomfortable? I always find the conversations invigorating!!!

I'm thinking of the extra work you are suggesting for what are volunteers after all, who probably do not have the skills to do what you are suggesting.

Lots of younger people and even older can't make meetings due to work, family and distance. Are you going to exclude them from your Club's bushwalking activities?

No-one has to come to meetings if they don't want to. They can just ring up or e-mail the leader. Cannot imagine why people would need to attend a meeting in order to go on a walk. We try to minimise the bureaucracy.

And just as a further note, we did a survey 5 years ago about our meetings, asking about suitable nights and times, topics people wanted, why people did not come to meetings, etc. It was very, very useful. What we found was that the vast majority of people who did not come to meetings had a good reason, eg, working, too far away, no-one to look after the kids, etc. We would be mad to insist that they did.

As I said in an earlier post, there is no substitute for real information on what members want.

And I'll give another tip: don't do it on a piece of paper - do it electronically. You get a much better response rate. We had over 50% which is very good for that sort of survey.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/

[davidmorr]

davidmorr - I like some of your club meeting ideas and may try a few (love the phot comp) with Illawarra Flyfishers' club over teh coming year or two. We also make our club meeting at a club with a bistro, so members can get a beer/coffee/meal before the meeting. As you noted, it really adds to the social capacity of a meeting. Living in a regional city (Wollongong) means that it's really feasible for many members to get home from work, get changed, maybe have dinner, and get to a 7:30pm meeting, or get in early for a bite. We have quite a few members who travel a way as well though (from Southern or SW Sydney). The social aspect makes it worthwhile for them.

Haha, the great clubs are in the regional cities - mine is in a city north of Sydney. (Won't give its name due to an incident last year involving a newspaper and a posting here. Hence my signature.)

[Bush Walker]

Thanks davidmorr

And just as a further note, we did a survey 5 years ago about our meetings, asking about suitable nights and times, topics people wanted, why people did not come to meetings, etc. It was very, very useful. What we found was that the vast majority of people who did not come to meetings had a good reason, eg, working, too far away, no-one to look after the kids, etc. We would be mad to insist that they did. As I said in an earlier post, there is no substitute for real information on what members want.

And I'll give another tip: don't do it on a piece of paper - do it electronically. You get a much better response rate. We had over 50% which is very good for that sort of survey.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Yes Surveymonkey is a good way to get the views of members. Your response rate is fantastic.

[Bush Walker]

Administering first aid has legal implications. You need to be qualified to administer it to a casualty without being sued if you stuff it up.

There is a detailed discussion about the legal implications of giving first aid in Australia here http://www.parasolemt.com.au/legal-issues-in-first-aid/

But there is no substitute for hands-on training such as BWRS offers in their Remote Area First Aid course. It is not the actual first aid that is learned so much as the skills in dealing with an emergency situation, diagnosing the injury/illness, initiating rescue actions, etc. http://bwrs.org.au/?q=first-aid-training

I would agree with you about the need for hands-on training. I do however do an online first aid refresher every few months ( see below), which is equivalent to reading the first aid manual again

The relevant links are

Senior First Aid online refresher course

There are also St John iPhone apps

Mediprofiles
Resuscitate
First Aid

[davidmorr]

I would agree with you about the need for hands-on training. I do however do an online first aid refresher every few months ( see below), which is equivalent to reading the first aid manual again

Senior First Aid online refresher course

Not bad for a refresher. Thanks for the link.

[Bush Walker]

Thank you for contributing to what has been a very constructive thread discussing problems associated with club membership.

Some personal observations

1. Many clubs are attracting a smaller percentage of younger members than they once did.
2. Many clubs find that retention of new members is low with many only remaining for a few walks or meetings.
3. Many clubs are struggling to fill Committee positions with "new blood" and are recycling jobs.
4. Many Clubs complain that the workload is too great for their office bearers and that it needs to be shared.
5. Many Clubs are finding that the "baby boomers", now in their 50s-60's, make up the majority of new members.
6. Many Clubs are relying upon the same traditional methods of communication that they have used for 50 years.
7. Few Clubs have a plan to tackle these problems

I am passionate about the potential role of social media in providing solutions to some of these problems. (1,2,4,5,6). Social Media tools can promote greater collaboration between members (wikis), improve levels of participation (forums, blogs, Twitter and Facebook), create a sense of community ( VoIP, Skype, IM) and fit the way younger members interact with those around them, which is quite different to that of earlier generations.

Some examples of community organisations that have successfully adopted social networking include the Country Womens Association (CWA) and Sydney Bushwalkers (SBW) and no doubt others.

Post if your Club, (need not be a bushwalking club), has successfully used social media and networking to attract and retain new members, and involve them in Club activities.

[Bush Walker]

Merry Christmas everyone.

Hope you have a great day and that you receive some of the bushwalking gear that you asked Father Christmas to deliver.

Bushwalker.

[davidmorr]

Just as a note to clubs who feel they could do with some more members. There are people out there who would love to join a club. They just don't know you exist.

This is an e-mail that came in this morning to our club e-mail address:

Good evening

I was undertaking some planning to undertake some sections of the GNW and came across your Website, I have been wondering if Newcastle had a Club like this and am pleased to see one, I am writing to confirm if the next meeting is scheduled for the 16 Jan.

Looking forward to becoming a new member

Michael

We get several e-mails like this a week. So make sure people know you exist.

Some avenues you could use are:

* Web site with lots of good SEO words. SEO is Search Engine Optimisation, ie, putting in lots of the words people will use when searching for bushwalks. So the word "bushwalk" and its many variations (bushwalking, bushwalker, bush walk) should appear often. The names of your region and iconic places you visit should also appear, such as Barrington Tops, Wollemi, Goulburn River, Bouddi, Tops to Myall Track, etc. Also include words for gear (pack, backpack, tent, stove) so that people looking for gear will find you.

The idea is that people looking for other things, such as the e-mail above, will get your club in the results and find out you exist.

* Posters/programs in libraries, tourist info centres, camping stores, etc. We find the program is most useful as people can immediately see the range of activities. This is also good as you can have a chat with the staff in each place, so they know who you are and can refer people who ask. They may even want to join themselves!

* Use local media. Newspapers often have club directories and noticeboards where you can list information about your club and what you are doing. The free ones are especially useful. Fairfax has a special clubs site for each of its local newspapers where you can show info about your club. (This is especially good for people searching for a club, as search engines rank a site in the results according to the authoritativeness of the sites referring to it. Newspapers are considered very authoritative.)

Local radio stations also often have a community noticeboard to list events, and often a web site as well.

* Get involved in community service. Several clubs in this area have projects to beautify areas of the city. This is bush regeneration work which would not get done otherwise. If it is a high profile site, even better. This attracts media attention. (And even if it does not, you can approach the papers and suggest it as a story.) In our case, we have a few dedicated members who meet for 2-3 hours once a month to clear bitou bush from a very prominent site, and plant natives to replace it. This has involved negotiations with councils, state government departments, politicians and grant organisations - all important for raising the profile. And we have had a nice story in the paper with pictures of what we are doing.

* Put on a stall at a local market, perhaps in conjunction with other organisations. Hand out programs, newsletters, flyers.

* Use social media as Bush_Walker has suggested.

* And finally, make sure your members have a great time on trips and at meetings so they tell everyone what they have been doing.

So in short, people want to join clubs - you just have to let them know you exist and make them want to join. A lot of what I have suggested is a once-only effort. Some parts are ongoing (eg, community noticeboard) but if you share the work around, it doesn't take long.

[ben.h]

Apologies if this has already been covered in the last 200 posts..

Years ago I contemplated joining the Hobart Walking Club (HWC) but the conditions of joining (initiation) was too much for me. I am a very experienced bushwalker and prefer to do day walks (anything up to 12 or 13 hours or so). The thought of having to do multiple overnight and multi-day walks to even have the privilege of qualifying to join the club, when my intention is to only do day walks was not congruent to me. I have read before that HWC was considered "elitist" due to these entry conditions, and, unfortunately, I have to agree. To me, it is like trying to join a casual bike touring group and being told I have to qualify as a Division 1 road racer to get in.

Bushwalking is a casual and fun activity that all should be able to enjoy, no matter their preference for half day, single day or multi-day walks.

My suggestion would be for HWC (if they want to grow membership and attract younger walkers) is to grade all of their walks and to accept members interested in any of them (from 2 hour walks, upwards). Then, if you must ensure "appropriate" skill levels for multi-day walks rated "hard" then individualise the plan based on the walkers experience and fitness level and perhaps build into this plan a build up from half day to full day to multi-day.

[Bush Walker]

Thanks ben.h

My suggestion would be for HWC (if they want to grow membership and attract younger walkers) is to grade all of their walks and to accept members interested in any of them (from 2 hour walks, upwards). Then, if you must ensure "appropriate" skill levels for multi-day walks rated "hard" then individualise the plan based on the walkers experience and fitness level and perhaps build into this plan a build up from half day to full day to multi-day.

Setting realistic entry hurdles is a key to getting new members, as you described. I like the idea of tailoring the prerequisites to suit the difficulty of the walk rather than making everyone jump through the same hoop.

[Bush Walker]

So in short, people want to join clubs - you just have to let them know you exist and make them want to join. A lot of what I have suggested is a once-only effort. Some parts are ongoing (eg, community noticeboard) but if you share the work around, it doesn't take long.

Thanks davidmorr.

Some great ideas to raise the profile of your Club (website, posters, media interviews, stall, word-of-mouth, community service ) many of which have proven to be very effective in the past in recruiting new members, but a reminder is very timely.

The community service suggestion is one that Clubs could take up as many have an environmental sub-group ("Club within a club" ) and with so many community markets and school fetes around, joining with another "outdoors" group to share a stall is a great idea. Does your club have a roll up banner for this purpose?

[Aushiker]

* Web site with lots of good SEO words. SEO is Search Engine Optimisation, ie, putting in lots of the words people will use when searching for bushwalks. So the word "bushwalk" and its many variations (bushwalking, bushwalker, bush walk) should appear often.

Very good point and I would add "hiking" and "backpacking" to that list. We are becoming more Americanised now days

Andrew

[davidmorr]

[The community service suggestion is one that Clubs could take up as many have an environmental sub-group ("Club within a club" ) and with so many community markets and school fetes around, joining with another "outdoors" group to share a stall is a great idea. Does your club have a roll up banner for this purpose?

We do have a banner, but I have to say that my club has not been to a fair like that. We have a continually growing membership and have not felt the need yet.

The local NPA has, however, done this for about 20 years. They have a banner, have boards with lots of photos of their trips and national parks, information about parks and walks, and lots of people to enthuse passers-by with what they do.

[mikethepike]

This topic must just about break the record for the number of responses in its first week - 'leeches' might be an exception!
Thinking on this topic, I can't help but contrast my current bushwalking club with my University club circa 40 years ago and it's as different as chalk and cheese. Youth, enthusiasm (especially that) and occasional recklessness versus procedures, protocols and stogginess and generally less memorable walks. (OK, so I've lost my youth but at least I still have enthousiasm and enjoy the odd bit of recklessness!)
My present club would require Jon Muir to prove himself on three overnight walks before he could become a full member and Andrew Lock (google the name if not familiar) would need to lead two mentored overnight walks at a required standard before he could even get his walk proposals listed on the club program, let alone actually lead them. Why would young people, even the sometimes denigrated Gen Y, want to be in such an environment?

[Bush Walker]

Thanks mikethepike for your contribution to the thread

My present club would require Jon Muir to prove himself on three overnight walks before he could become a full member and Andrew Lock (google the name if not familiar) would need to lead two mentored overnight walks at a required standard before he could even get his walk proposals listed on the club program, let alone actually lead them. Why would young people, even the sometimes denigrated Gen Y, want to be in such an environment?

This is a common theme that has come through in many of the posts below. In the past, Club's could afford to be "elitist" as there were large numbers of provisional members waiting to join. Fortunately bushwalking Clubs have not been hit as hard as some others by the decline in participation through club membership, but this has usually been due to an influx of "baby boomers" reaching retirement and looking for a leisure activity to fill their spare time. To a large extent the influx of large numbers of 50-60 year olds has masked the comparable drop in membership of younger bushwalkers, which has resulted in some complacency. While membership numbers may not be dropping ( please add your club's perspective to the poll above), I suspect there have been fundamental changes in the age profiles of most clubs and this in turn becomes a self-perpetuating cycle resulting in less younger members wanting to join because of the perceived ageing of the Club.

I believe that greater use of the social media by clubs ( see below for definition) will attract more younger members, who not only have strong ties with family and friends, but also large numbers of weaker ties with "web" friends and look for this in any organisation they might join.

Comments please.

[davidmorr]

Fortunately bushwalking Clubs have not been hit as hard as some others by the decline in participation through club membership, but this has usually been due to an influx of "baby boomers" reaching retirement and looking for a leisure activity to fill their spare time.

From my experience, this is not quite correct. We do see a few people retiring and taking up bushwalking, but the majority of our new members are empty nesters, and singles and childless couples from late thirties to early 50s.

What retirement does bring is the ability to do more trips at the weekend, as tasks that used to be done of a weekend can now be done during the week. Trips can also be done in the middle of the week.

And I might add that with people working such odd hours nowadays, we find that even people still working but with a day off in the middle of the week will often come along.