2016: The Junior League of San Angelo

 The "Be Flexible, Be Visible" Initiative

The winner of this year's Membership Recruitment and Engagement Award is The Junior League of San Angelo's "Be Flexible, Be Visible" initiative.

Due to a progression of stagnation over several years of recruitment numbers, culminating in a class numbering in the low 20s and a drop in provisional retention to 67% in 2012, the Junior League of San Angelo was shrinking to a membership size that could not sustain current projects and fundraisers. With a renewed focus on long-term growth, JLSA created a multifaceted program to reshape League's visibility, requirements, and training to better match the needs of their current and future Provisional membership.

The "Be Flexible, Be Visible" initiative sought to improve their provisional recruitment and retention by changing their requirements to fit a wider demographic, expanding the provisional curriculum to include committee experience and mentorship for broader exposure, and leveraging social media to showcase the League's community work and outstanding membership.

After full deployment of this initiative, provisional membership retention increased by 108% in one year. That following spring, JLSA recruited their largest provisional class on record at 47 women for the 2015-2016 league year, a 124% increase from two years before. This current class is also the most diverse in age, ranging from 23 to 46 years old. Interest in membership has only continued to grow since the start of this league year, and currently they have 110 women on their recruitment list for the 2016-2017 provisional class.