[Ohio-Talk] A message from Jeannie Massay, Chapter-Presidents] New Member Onboarding Toolkit

[Richard Payne]

Dear Affiliate and Chapter Presidents:

 

We hope that 2020 is off to a great start for you! Since the NFB National
Convention in July, we have continued to receive several process-related
questions about onboarding new members. To answer those questions, this
document details the end-to-end process laid out as a reference for you and
your chapters as the onboarding of new members takes place. The onboarding
process has been developed to be uniform across the Federation. As always,
please contact membership at nfb.org <mailto:membership at nfb.org>  with any
questions or concerns.

 

Each chapter president should appoint, if they have not already done so, a
membership coordinator at the chapter level. This person is responsible for
tracking new members as they join our family. This leader need not be the
one responsible for submitting the new member form but should work closely
with the chapter leader who is taking on that task. 


The Onboarding Process


1.	When a prospective new member attends a chapter meeting or event,
someone from the chapter needs to have a conversation with the prospective
member about who we are and what we do. The Prospective New Member Template
(attached to this email) has been produced to help facilitate that
conversation. Additionally, the prospective new member should be given an
NFB Pledge card. This card has our pledge and our one minute message in both
print and Braille. (These cards may be purchased through the Independence
Market, fifty cards for $20.00) 
2.	When the prospective new member chooses to become a member, the
chapter membership chair presents the prospective new member to the chapter,
and the chapter then votes the new member in to the chapter. Together, the
chapter and the new member recite the National Federation of the Blind
Pledge and the one minute message. The new member can then be given an
opportunity to speak, if they so choose. 
3.	The new member pays their dues to join the chapter. 
4.	The new member form must be filled out by someone at the chapter
level, not by the new member themselves. 
5.	Submission of the new member form triggers the welcome packet to be
sent to the new member along with the new member emails from leaders in the
Federation. 


Prospective New Member Template


The attached Prospective New Member Template is a tool for chapters to
customize with their contact information, as well as the affiliate
information. This handout is a guiding document for membership chairs or
informal mentors to have an initial conversation with a prospective member
about who we are and what we do. In order to access the form fields, simply
use the arrow keys to read the text, and then use the tab key to move
through the form fields. Please use and share this template throughout
recruitment.  


 


New Member Form


This quick and easy web-based form is for membership coordinators, or said
individuals appointed by the membership coordinators, to use when tracking
official new members. This form should only be used for new members, not
those thinking of joining. As we all know, voting a member into our family
is a monumental moment for our current and incoming members. Once they are
welcomed at a chapter meeting via a vote, the membership coordinator or
appointed individual should gather the new member's information and submit
the form by visiting https://newstage.nfb.org/civicrm/newmember/form.

 


New Member Packet


Once information for a new member is received through the New Member Form, a
packet of materials is sent to the specified mailing address. New member
packets contain:

1.	Membership coin
2.	New member certificate (print/Braille depending on form response)
3.	Welcome letter from President Riccobono (print or Braille depending
on form response)
4.	NFB brochure (print or Braille depending on form response)
5.	NFB-NEWSLINER brochure (print or Braille depending on form response)
6.	Most recent banquet speech (print or Braille depending on form
response)

 

You will also find attached the member onboarding process outlined in a
separate document, as well as a summary of the orientation process each new
member follows as they are welcomed into our family.

 

Again, we are here to address any questions you have. We encourage you to
ask clarification questions as they come up so that we are all on the same
page. Thank you so much for all you do for the Federation.

 

Yours in the Federation,

 

Jeannie Massay, Membership Committee, Chair

National Federation of the Blind

 

Kathryn Webster, Membership Committee, Co-chair

National Federation of the Blind

 

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Membership Onboarding Proofed Final.docx
Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
Size: 38148 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200207/38a7aebf/attachment.docx>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Prospective New Member Template.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 513760 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200207/38a7aebf/attachment.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: New Member Orientation Outline Proofed Final.docx
Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
Size: 22954 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200207/38a7aebf/attachment-0001.docx>
-------------- next part --------------
An embedded and charset-unspecified text was scrubbed...
Name: Untitled attachment 00367.txt
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/ohio-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20200207/38a7aebf/attachment.txt>