Jeff Thom, CCB President

The life blood of a nonprofit membership organization such as the California Council of the Blind can be summed up in one little phrase, "money and members."
Since the phrase has two essential elements, I will examine them one at a time. Next month I'll discuss the often frustrating issue of fundraising, and
specifically what part we as the membership of this organization can and must play in raising revenue for CCB.

That leaves this column to look at the recruitment and retention of members. Anyone who has either read this magazine in recent years or has attended CCB
conventions is aware of the concerns expressed by many of us relating to membership. People, including those of us who are blind or have low vision, aren't
joining organizations the way they used to. Unions, chambers of commerce, fraternal organizations, environmental groups, (the list goes on), are all struggling
to retain their members and recruit new ones. Many of our chapters and affiliates, albeit definitely not all, have slowly been the victim of that trend.
However I don't intend to go into any detail on this trend. Suffice it to say that we need to find ways of becoming one of those entities that slaps that
trend aside by doing everything we can to recruit and retain members for CCB. Because the alternative is to passively accept a slow decline in the real
backbone of our organization: its members.

At the outset let me acknowledge that this article doesn't represent visionary and original thinking on my part. Much of what I have to say comes from
talking to people within and outside of CCB, with two of the most knowledgeable being past ACB and CCB president Mitch Pomerantz and current ACB and CCB
membership chair Ardis Bazyn. It is always important to have visionary and out-of-the-box thinking, but it is at least as important to have elbow grease,
and if this article is to have any worth, the hard work of all of us needs to happen.

First, what can we do as individuals? We can use our every-day contacts with folks who are blind or have low vision to recruit members. When you talk to
a friend or even a stranger on a bus or paratransit ride, do you mention your involvement with CCB and how important the organization is and that it has
a place for everyone? When you are communicating via email or telephone, does CCB come into the conversation when you are messaging or talking with nonmembers?
If the answer to these questions is no, then you need to think about how important CCB is to you. Because if it does have a meaningful place in your life,
then why shouldn't you advertise that fact to other people who are blind or have low vision? After all, if you are proud to be a member of this CCB family,
then why not try to give as many Californians with visual impairments the chance to share what we have.

Secondly, what can your chapter do? In this instance I am referring to not only recruitment of new members, but also retention of existing ones, and even
regaining those who have dropped out. One important element over which the chapter as a whole has control is making the chapter environment a welcoming
one for everyone. Harkening back to my previous column, this is where the dynamic of social gatherings and events can be extremely helpful.

Another important factor in membership retention is finding a niche for every member. A good leader is someone who recognizes that everyone not only has
strengths but also tasks that they enjoy doing. It isn't easy to accomplish, but the chapter leadership needs to work very hard at finding the tasks within
the chapter's structure that your members will enjoy doing and perform well. Remember that leaders should be willing to put in the hard work of mentoring
other members and that they shouldn't expect miraculous results when someone is first given a new responsibility. Allowing people to fail and learn from
that failure is the mark of a good leader.

It goes without saying that when chapter activities (both during meetings and in the community) are those that members either enjoy or find important,
the potential for retaining members increases. My own chapter, for example, is beginning the process of its second chapter survey. This can be an excellent
tool for finding out whether the chapter is going in a direction that people like, or whether changes may need to be made.

Let me finish with some comments about what can be done at the state level to help in the effort to recruit and retain members. Without question, CCB's
limited financial resources preclude many potential initiatives that could be of great help. I'll site just two examples. When resources were more plentiful
during the early years of my first time as president, I was able to make visits to chapters throughout the state. I really felt that these visits gave
a boost to the chapters, and I think that the lack of such visits during my latter years as president and during the term of President Pomerantz was extremely
regrettable. Secondly, if we had sufficient resources we could at least explore the potential for giving added benefits to our members. However there is
no need to dwell on what can't be done right now; rather let's talk about what we can do.

One area that CCB has consistently tried to do all that it can for members and nonmembers alike is in assisting with advocacy concerns. All of you can
help in this regard by referring people to us, by letting us know if there are ways in which you feel you can help in specific areas of advocacy and by
letting us know ways in which we can improve. The Blind Californian and our annual conference and convention also both serve as mechanisms to promote membership
retention and recruitment. If you feel that either the BC or our conference and convention can serve this goal in an even better way, let us know. If you
have other ideas on how we can supplement your local membership efforts, please give us your input.

However as I stated at the beginning, ideas without elbow grease aren't worth very much. Let's accept the challenge and make CCB a showcase for how to
grow a membership organization. If we have the will, then we shall succeed.