CLUBS - what are members required to do?

[cobb]

Our local club is promoted as a conservation club and does projects when they become available. We also have a shotgun and rifle/pistol range, and that is the reason we get most of our members, about 400+ with a membership charge of $25, and another $25 if they want a key. So with that said, what is required of you, as members at your club, required to do to help the club? We have no paid staff, and the same handfull of members do the general maintenance such as mowing, minor repair and such.

So what I need ideas for is how to administer the work out to the members and track that it gets done. There are all sorts of suggestions made at meetings, but it always seems to hinge on one person or small group that would have to administer it, but we are all volunteer and can't have someone at the property 7 days a week to monitor it.

Yes we can charge an extra fee to the members that don't contribute, but we don't want that, we want the man hours from the members.

 

[Rembrandt]

...what a can of worms....I hardly know where to start. Served as president of our club for about 7 years. Started with 350 members and was 800+ when I burned out....bottom line is 95% of the work is done by 5% of the people.

We sent a questionaire to all our members asking what they were most interested in...rifle, pistol, sporting clays, archery, trap skeet, air gun, camping, fishing, conservation, education, grounds & equipment, etc....took all the responses and logged the members phone number with the corresponding activity. When we needed volunteers for an event we pulled up the names and began calling their phone numbers. Worked very well. Matched up member interests with the activity they were most likely to help with. Old Chinese saying..."you catch more flies with honey, than with force".....members have to "want" to help with the chores...not be forced to help.

Any way you slice it, running a successful volunteer organization is work...work...work! The benefits of an active club can't always be measured. People join for different reasons...some to shoot and pay their money, others want to give something back. We were able to move our club from an unknown weedpatch to one of the hot spots in the state for shooting sports. Recipient of the NRA's Presidents Award, featured on national TV, radio, numerous publications, celebrity shooting events, and host to a number of high profile personalities....didn't come easy, work...work....work....did I mention that already?

Who says "crime doesn't pay".....we used law breakers that needed to perform community service requirements for mowing and grounds maintenance. No felon's, just those with minor law infractions driving violations. Check with your local courts for "volunteers". They mowed and trimmed about 35 acres of our 80 acre facility.