IS YOURS A PROGRAMME TO LOOK FORWARD TO?
WITH many WIs wishing to recruit new members, having an annual printed or online programme is a perfect way to keep your current members aware of exciting meetings to come and to advertise your WI to prospective new members.
The design of the programme should be fun and engaging to look at, there are some templates on MYWI or you can design your own. It is a perfectly reasonable to either have them professionally printed or pay someone to print them for you at home.
Give the programme to members and hand them out to non-members so that they know they are welcome to come along and find out about your WI.
The programme should include:
Meeting details (venue, time)
How to contact you;
l Important dates: group meetings, shows, Surrey and National Federation annual meetings etc.
Your programme should cater for a variety of interests and include workshops as well as speakers.
Make time in January to discuss the resolution shortlist, the resolution vote in May, nominations for committee in October and of course the November annual meeting.
These months may have less time for a speaker so are ideal opportunities for a spot of dancing, craftwork, food tasting, ‘show and tell’ from members, a quiz, beetle drive, bingo etc to add a lighter touch.
It is important to ask members for ideas of what they want in their programme and our status as an educational charity for women gives us such a lovely wide range of things we can do.
The Over to You pages in Surrey WI News are filled with wonderful meeting ideas, so remind your members to tell you if they spot something from these pages that might be just the thing for your WI.
Spend your available funds on good quality speakers for some of your meetings each year, this is members’ money and it should be spent on them. The Yearbook has contacts for a huge range of speakers and workshop leaders who have been through the Federation’s audition process. This means they are recommended by WI members. Encourage members to attend our auditions where they can vote to select future speakers.
And lastly, when you have speakers that your members enjoyed, please tell everyone via Surrey WI News and social media.
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