2010 Membership, Development, PR & Marketing PAG Spring Workshop. Cultivating Membership Among Young Professionals - Presentation by Kirsten Alexander, Senior Membership Manager, Historic New England, MA

1. Young Friends of
Historic New England
__________________________________________________

2. About Us
Founded in 1910, Historic New England is the oldest,
largest, and most comprehensive regional preservation
organization in the country. We own 36 historic
properties in 5 states, ranging from farms to estates to
seventeenth-century homes. They include the Lyman
Estate, Gropius House, Beauport, Roseland Cottage,
and our HQ, the Otis House Museum.

5. Early Process
• Started in 2005
• Early focus on recruiting adult children of high-level
donors, board, etc.
• These folks have stayed loyal, but not always involved
• Growth was stagnant
• Total: 62 Young Friends memberships combined total
in 5 years. 25 in 2009 after significant staff turnover.

6. Young Friends Membership Details – the Past
• Managed by development not membership
• Age bracket “20s – 40s”
• Invitations to a varying number of Young Friends
events per year, including receptions, behind-the-
scenes tours, and family-friendly programs.
• Events to introduce members to the Appleton Circle.
• Small Steering Committee with two co-chairs in their
late 40s
• Group was perceived by some non-development staff
as a bit snobby

7. Growth over time
• 12 long-term members upgraded early on
• 22 new joins in first year 2005
• 5 joined in second year 2006
• 16 joined in third year 2007
• 1 joined in fourth year 2008
• 5 joined in fifth year 2009
• 1 upgraded into YF in sixth year 2010
• Most came in by word of mouth.
• Take away: Staff energy and continuity are key.

8. Retention
• 12 from first cohort of 34 are still members, including
two co-chairs (35%)
• 1 from second year (20%)
• 6 from third year (37%)
• Some variations with staff turnover
• General membership retention is 75-85%

9. Our need?
• Grow the group in order to justify the
staff time and expense.
• Bring in younger steering committee
members to offset aging out members

10. Environmental Scan Winter 2010
• Reviewed all major young friends-like programs in
Boston, DC, and NYC (intern project)
• Most have age range of 21-39, Facebook pages, are
fundraising oriented
• Some overlap between our YF members and MFA,
Boston Athenaeum
• Came up with new proposal and worked through it
with Steering Committee

11. Figuring out what they want
• Lots and lots of events • Instant pictures, responses,
specific to them online everything
• High-level access to • To be heard
president, board, famous • A new name
speakers, patrons • To be an insider
• Day trips and walking tours • “Value” for their dues
to discover new places
• Preferred walking tour to
• Insider behind-the-scenes holiday party!
access to sites, collections,
and curatorial staff • Never aging out!

12. What do they want to support?
• High-profile donor and member events –
entire Steering Committee came to gala
• Education programs
• Volunteering at other (non-YF) events as
greeters and helpers
• Their own events (as an individual sponsor)
Not membership dues

13. What do we want?
• Fresh blood and diversity of all kinds
• Help us get away from the “Society” perception
• Vibrant volunteers
• Lifelong, multigenerational connection to at least one property
and organization
• “Connectors” who will raise awareness and recruit members
• Opportunity to get to know potential major donors
• Committee as training ground for future Appleton Circle,
Council, and Board members
• Easy and relatively low-cost to manage

14. Membership Details – What we Changed
• Young Friends of Historic New England – had to keep the name
• Integrated into regular membership category
• Dramatically lower entry pricepoint of $100
• Explicit age range of 21-50
• 3 tiers: Contributing, Supporting, Patron
• Lowered entry to Appleton Circle by $500 for individuals.
• Capped events to 6. Quarterly steering meetings.
• Many more “bring a friend” options.
• “Dual” membership for singles – bring a date

15. Young Friends Pricing
New Pricing for FY11 Old Pricing (’05-’10)
• Contributing $100 individual • $250 Associate Individual
/ $150 “dual” • $500 Supporting
• Supporting $250 individual (Family/Couple)
/$400 dual • $1500 Patron/Appleton
• Patron $1,000 individual Circle
/$1,500 dual

16. Successful Event Philosophy
• Offer memorable experiences that only you can make happen
– Events at fabulous houses (Beauport, Gropius evening events)
– Collections access (tour of Haverhill collections)
– Winter Antiques Show special access
– Behind the scenes at Fenway Park
– Family events with all the special touches
– Thoughtful inexpensive touches that are part of your brand (candy
made in NE)
– Feeback/input by the committee
• Keep costs low to nothing – most partners have been willing to
help out of goodwill and exposure
• Food budget for one big fun social event

17. What We’re Doing to Grow –
Finding New Members in Our Midst
• Analyzed database – virtually no ages listed, except
for trustees and current Young Friends.
• Purchased “Age Append” service from Raiser’s
Edge/Blackbaud (about $1K for 50,000 names)
• Added age line on new membership forms
• Recruiting from base of younger staff – new price is
appealing
• Word of mouth

18. What We’re Doing to Grow – Prospecting
• First-time budget for targeted online advertising
• Will be posting events on our public Facebook page, not just
Young Friends page. Easier to share.
• Capitalizing on our Centennial year
• Supporting and Patron level Young Friends can bring guests to
YF events
• Mailing packets to prospects. Personal invitations.
• Inclusion on ALL membership forms for the first time.
• Guide training

19. Who has been especially interested in Historic New
England
• History and architecture self-described “content
geeks”
• Families with young children
• Single gay men
• Young people in the
museum/history/architecture/preservation fields
• Geographically dispersed in and around Boston
• Programming developed to appeal to each group

20. Goals for the Year
• 100% growth to 50 memberships in the next year
• Standardized benefits
• Growing the steering committee

21. Questions?
• Kirsten Alexander
• Senior Membership Manager
• Historic New England
• 617-994-5935
• kalexander@historicnewengland.org