Attracting New Members to Epping Forest Outdoor Group in 2009.

We are an active group with a core of regular members, plus a number of non-local members who attend and put on events from time to time.  It was felt, however, that we needed to bring in more local people to keep our numbers up and to benefit from their ideas and interaction.

Part of the problem was that our principal publicity drive was in September, when the group was also gearing up for Rodings Rally (in November) and New Member initiatives got entwined with Rally work, and no one in particular was assigned to looking after the interests of potential recruits at this time.

We decided to experiment and hold a New Members' evening on 14th May and had a BBQ going outside in the hall grounds, with our photo display stands on view.  We distributed literature at the gate and welcomed in several people.

As a follow-up, a New Members' Walk took place the following Saturday, following the River Roding as far as Buckhurst Hill. We had quite a few new faces amongst the 24 people who came.  We returned by train to Snaresbrook. However, hardly anyone came along to join EFOG afterwards, which was disappointing.

Undeterred, it was decided that we should update our public image, beginning with the website. One of our computer-literate members revamped the site, now with its own domain address, and more photographs and brief event descriptions, together with an 'eblog' page were added to the existing items, which included past yearly programmes and Rodings Rally information.

It was decided that our group publicity literature needed updating, and this was done with scenic backgrounds to the wording, and an upbeat approach to our activities.

In the summer the Committee decided that the recruitment of new members should be the responsibility of a dedicated sub-committee, and 6 people agreed to serve, 2 of them being on the main Committee.  It met several times and redesigned publicity leaflets were devised for distribution at 2 local public events - the Epping Forest Festival on 6th September and the Wanstead Fair on 13th September.

The following Thursday was our New Members' Evening at our HQ. Several of us took turns to give out leaflets to passing commuters and around 6 members of the public came in to enjoy cheese, wine and biscuits and peruse our photo albums and admire our large photo display. Each received a New Members' Pack.


The New Members' Pack.

• A member of the sub-committee had already devised her own version of a pack, which was impressive. The Welcome Pack envelope carried outdoor icons, and inside were photos, names and a brief description of the current officers and Committee.
• An A5 sheet gave a brief history of the group - founded in 1956 - and a summary of its varied activities.
• We needed to know what interests a new member might have, so there was a brief questionnaire on this, and also how they had heard about us.
• There were also details on how to contact the group, and finally a copy of the current programme, bearing our website address.
• The pack was updated in the autumn of 2009.

As a result of the year's efforts we now have 6  people on our books, most of whom attend meetings and events regularly.

We hope we may repeat this success in 2010.

Jill D.    25th January 2010