8 is enough
It is no secret that veterans service organization membership has been consistently declining for many years. That may be changing. The American Legion is on track to reverse that trend in 2022. A recent review of the 2022 membership forecast shows the Legion is on pace to exceed last year’s totals, which would be the first time the organization has enjoyed membership growth since 2010.
How close is the Legion to changing the narrative from declining membership to growth? The organization simply needs to renew or recruit an average of eight members per post per month between April 1 and June 30. To make sure this milestone moment is met, the national membership and marketing teams are now launching an all-out push to promote 2022 renewals, new joins and rejoins to the nation’s largest veterans service organization. Post officers and membership teams play a vital role as they sign up new members and process renewals over the next three months. Lists of expired members can be located by visiting MyLegion.org.
“American Legion membership is starting to trend in the right direction,” American Legion Marketing Division Director Kimberly Meesters said. “We are extremely close to having a positive story about growth, but we need everyone’s help over the next three months to make sure we continue to have strong monthly numbers.
“With today’s technology, it is easier than ever to renew or join. Safe and secure online options are available. It is a quick process and saves paper and postage.”
National Headquarters is planning to use all available media to urge new membership, renewals and re-joins in the last quarter of the 2021-22 membership cycle. Included are plans for enhanced social media promotion, advertising and frequent use of national media assets, like The American Legion Magazine, legion.org, e-newsletters and the fast-growing and award-winning Tango Alpha Lima podcast.
During the campaign, an emphasis will also be placed on two specific areas of membership management that can ease the renewal process: automatic renewal and online renewal. QR codes will be placed on most promotions so potential members can simply snap a photo with a smartphone and land in the renewal area of the national website.
“This is a really phenomenal opportunity to energize our membership and build momentum for the future,” Meesters said. “An average of eight renewals or new members per post for three months is extremely achievable. We hope everyone will join this effort. Then we can all celebrate a year of growth for a change.”
FIND EXPIRED MEMBERS AND NON-RENEWALS
American Legion post adjutants and commanders must be signed in to www.MyLegion.org to access My Groups where the following information is located.
Find expired post members
1. Enter My Groups to access Group Profile.
2. Go to “Reports/Labels” from the lefthand My Views menu.
3. Select “Post/Squadron Current Roster.”
4. Set parameters for expired members. Enter group first.
5. Enter last paid year (2021, 2022) and mailing status.
6. Click “View Report.”
Renew members
1. Click “Process Membership” in the lefthand menu.
2. Click “Add/Modify Transmittal” to open the post transmittal window. Results in this search only provide members eligible for renewal.
3. Search member by ID or name to add to batch and click “Save.”
4. Click “Finalize” to view members in batch.
5. Click “Finalize” again to advance to payment window.
6. Select “Pay Now” (add, update or select stored payment information).