Changing How JLC Finds New Members, While Making a Difference

Changing How JLC Finds New Members, While Making a Difference

BY KIMBERLY PERROS, CONTENT WRITER

Our recruitment events are often the first taste of what being in the Junior League is all about From playing games at the Columbia Center to volunteering with Our Daily Bread, these get-togethers provide opportunities to help prospective members learn about our organization.

Katie Arendt, Membership Recruitment Chair, shared about the current year’s events JLC has hosted to recruit new members Katie mentioned how the Recruitment Committee worked to showcase both the service and social aspects of the Junior League “We’ve hosted coffee chats, socials at different restaurants, game nights, and service events so prospective members can get a holistic feel for what membership is like in the JLC Since we started hosting events earlier in the year and having a wide array of activities, we’re noticing that prospective members are attending multiple recruitment events throughout the season, and often bringing friends along with them.”

The year’s events included many unique opportunities for Prospective Members In January 2024, JLC partnered with Our Daily Bread to make “happy birthday” bags that included writing utensils, socks, ponytail holders, hygiene products, and homemade cards by our members and Prospective Members In February, a Galentine’s Day event was co-hosted with the Membership Engagement Committee and the Community & Outreach (CandO) Committee, where they wrote encouraging messages for Survivor Cards and created Valentine’s Day cards for the Bethany House staff to show our appreciation The committee has also supported local businesses through socials held at Factory 52, Fulton Yards, Newport on the Levee, and Dutch’s Other meet and greet events were held in April and May In the month of April, the Columbia Center was open for game night with board games to give Prospective Members a chance to interact with current members In May, Recruitment held a roundtable event for Prospective Members to interact with JLC members across all membership statuses, including Active members, Sustainers, and this year’s New Members “We are seeing many applicants who are newer to Cincinnati this year, and women of all ages and locations are applying which is great! By hosting events in areas like Norwood and Northern Kentucky we hoped to reach women in neighborhoods that may not typically hear about the Junior League,” Katie shared “I feel like we are on track to have another great new member class Our applicants are really involved in the community and eager to get started in the JLC.”

The Recruitment Committee developed a new referral program this year that allowed current members to submit the names of women they think would be good candidates for membership Once a referred prospective member completes an application, the member that referred them is entered into a raffle for different prizes such as gift cards to local businesses, tickets to sporting events, and Junior League apparel These raffle winners will be chosen once applications close in June.

Katie shared how they collaborated with the Marketing and Online Committees to make sure that recruitment events were shared on social media through posts on Instagram and Facebook Current members are able to share the posts that are on the Junior League accounts which allow even more prospective members to see upcoming events. The Recruitment Committee’s dedication to provide events that give prospective members a glimpse into the different facets of membership has made a significant difference in future generations of JLC empowering women in its mission.