Has the USMS ever consider starting a foundation? Many nonprofit organizations have one so that their members and other intersted parties can give large donations and the organization can use the foundation to help with extensive costs.
Generally, they are very easy to run once they have been started.
Or does the USMS have a donation mechanism connected to the membership? Has anyone ever discussed a true membership drive? I've never seem any type of membership pamphlett or brochure. If the new magazaine is going to be the property of USMS, this seems to me to be a great way to entice more people into membership and making donations. I live in a small town of about 33,000 in west central Illinois. There are two members to CMSA, however, there are other poeple who have swam in college and still swim. When I've mentioned USMS to them, they do not see a reason to become a member -two used to get Fitness Swimmer and didn't know about Swim Magazine.
I generally swim in postal races because trips to Chicago to swim for the day can be very expensive. The organization does offer many benfits to swimmers outside of simply being a link to compettition. Oddly, I don't even know towhom to address this question.
USMS has so many benefits that many people could use. The organization seems ot be very passive though.
Parents
Former Member
To all:
This response has been great. Oddly, I read Swim form cover to cover and have never noticed anything about a foundation. What about a mass mailing to members or articles about the structure of the organization included in the new magazine? Professionally, this is of interest to me. Membership-building is so interesting because it truly makes an organization look at what members want. Has USMS ever done a survey of members?
This week, I'm in Urbana, IL. I've been swimming with the UI master team. All of the people (5) in the lane with me were students. Only two were CMSA members. One guy said he saw no reason to be a member because as a student he wasn't able to travel to meets. I pointed out that if he were at a school that had a men's team, he would travel more to mets. One of the females was a member because her parents are also & they pay for her membership.
Where I usually swim there are about five or six swimmers who do intense workouts. Two of us are members, the rest had never heard about USMS until I mention it. There are several older women who have been doing laps together for about 30 to 40 years. This is getting rahter off the subject but through a foundation, memberships can be more easily retained. If peole identify with the foundation, they feel they have a vested inteest for the membership. Membership rolls and foundaiton giving go hand in hand. Many national fraternal organizations have very high donation and retention levels because of this.
As for promoting membership, has USMS ever done any active membership suppoprt activities. I also participate in the President's Challenge. It is what we used to do in grade school but each individual records his/her exercising/work out. It works very simularily to the Fitness Challenge but goes throughout the year. A simular mechanism that would allow fitness swimmers a true connection to the other aspects of the orgganization would possibly promote retension. In the President's Challenge certain exercises get certain pooints. In time once enough pooints are accumalted(sp), the participant can purchase award goods. some have called the program simple, but it is working. The site is one of the most hit adult exercise sites on the internet.
Also, as I have mentioned, most nonporfit organizations funnel money from their magazine into their foundation because foundation money is generally less restricted.
To all:
This response has been great. Oddly, I read Swim form cover to cover and have never noticed anything about a foundation. What about a mass mailing to members or articles about the structure of the organization included in the new magazine? Professionally, this is of interest to me. Membership-building is so interesting because it truly makes an organization look at what members want. Has USMS ever done a survey of members?
This week, I'm in Urbana, IL. I've been swimming with the UI master team. All of the people (5) in the lane with me were students. Only two were CMSA members. One guy said he saw no reason to be a member because as a student he wasn't able to travel to meets. I pointed out that if he were at a school that had a men's team, he would travel more to mets. One of the females was a member because her parents are also & they pay for her membership.
Where I usually swim there are about five or six swimmers who do intense workouts. Two of us are members, the rest had never heard about USMS until I mention it. There are several older women who have been doing laps together for about 30 to 40 years. This is getting rahter off the subject but through a foundation, memberships can be more easily retained. If peole identify with the foundation, they feel they have a vested inteest for the membership. Membership rolls and foundaiton giving go hand in hand. Many national fraternal organizations have very high donation and retention levels because of this.
As for promoting membership, has USMS ever done any active membership suppoprt activities. I also participate in the President's Challenge. It is what we used to do in grade school but each individual records his/her exercising/work out. It works very simularily to the Fitness Challenge but goes throughout the year. A simular mechanism that would allow fitness swimmers a true connection to the other aspects of the orgganization would possibly promote retension. In the President's Challenge certain exercises get certain pooints. In time once enough pooints are accumalted(sp), the participant can purchase award goods. some have called the program simple, but it is working. The site is one of the most hit adult exercise sites on the internet.
Also, as I have mentioned, most nonporfit organizations funnel money from their magazine into their foundation because foundation money is generally less restricted.
