In the last edition of The Federationist, I shared my thoughts on being a first-timer at the National Convention and promised to share more of what I learned at the convention and the meetings I attended. One of the most interesting meetings I attended at the 2013 Convention of the National Federation of the Blind was the meeting of the Membership Committee. What I gathered from that meeting was valuable information that can assist the Connecticut members grow and strengthen the state's chapters, as well as the affiliate.
Members and money are two important factors in NFB's growth and success. Strong affiliate presidents are the key to guiding the organization in increasing both members and money. Why should you be part of the National Federation of the Blind? You may first notice that it takes time and money-something is always being sold! You may get the opportunity to sell some of the "stuff," but you will also get many other opportunities. To name a few, you will be able to: contribute; work your head off; do things; use up your life; dream up new programs; work like a dog; change the nature of the world in which we live; give people a chance to join; and, put your life and fortune on the line. After doing all of that, you will have a new, changed life for having joined NFB.
Nothing we do is important if we don't build the National Federation of the Blind. Every blind person needs to be approached as if he or she needs NFB and we, as members, can do that. We need to reach out and share ideas in many different ways.
The national office has a wide selection of literature that should be used locally to promote our organization. While growing our organization, we need to be broad-based to cover the wide generational and cultural differences that exist. We can use videos and Skype to share ideas, as well as less technical methods such as Newsline and literature. Newsline is free, easy to use and can be used as a tool to promote chapters. We should always make sure to stay in touch with members and potential members. When youths from our state participate in Youth Slam or other national programs, keep in contact with them-don't let the connection die after the event.
Meet the Blind Month is the time to showcase NFB. Be visible in the community and change the image the public has of the blind. There is so much information on the NFB website to assist with our events such as Meet the Blind month, and it's all there to be used by chapters and affiliates.
When you get people to meetings, how do you retain them and get them to join? Events and activities need to be fun and energetic. Meetings need to be informative, as well as energetic and exciting, or people are not going to attend.
If you're not growing, you're dying, and Connecticut has the great opportunity to grow by inviting the Hispanic blind community to join us. Connecticut has a large and growing Hispanic population, especially in the large cities, and NFB could be growing the Hispanic membership with more outreach. Parents of blind children in the Hispanic community are especially important to reach. Finding one contact who will learn NFB philosophy and be an ambassador will help us reach many blind children and parents, as well as blind adults, in the Hispanic community.
We need to offer a welcoming atmosphere and find a good way to communicate with Spanish-speaking members. There are different ways to reach out to Spanish-speaking members and to conduct bilingual meetings. The Puerto Rico affiliate has much literature in Spanish and is happy to assist and share information with us.
There was so much information shared at the Membership Committee meeting. I've only touched on a few practical ideas we can use in Connecticut, but I believe if we promote NFB in all we do and stay visible in the community, we will grow and strengthen our chapters and affiliate.
Joe Ruffalo, of New Jersey, hands out M&Ms at his chapter meetings. The candies represent Members and Money. Without members and money, the organization on any level cannot succeed. Let's work on finding and retaining members so Connecticut will be an M&M affiliate.