Outreach, Retention, Programming Committee Notes
J.R. Logan
Committee Meeting Notes
Attendees: Charlie, Emma, Christa S, Brenda, Ashley, Kate, JR
Recruitment and Social Media Marketing
Emma has been hired as a contractor to enhance our recruitment through social media.
Christian asked: "What is the thesis of the marketing campaign?" The messaging should focus on addressing this question.
Discussion points:
- Awareness vs. barriers/objections, such as the fear of not knowing how to use tools.
- Emma will work on videos featuring FAQs to help break down these barriers.
Emma is regularly posting on Instagram and will be tabling at the Night Market for outreach.
Ashley requested better data on the impact of the Guided Exploration Program (GEMS) on membership retention.
Brenda reported she is posting events on six different sites:
- Meetup (only for free or low-cost events)
- InfoNewHaven calendar
- Arts Council newsletter calendar
- Chatham Square Neighborhood
- New Haven Independent
Brenda suggested we gather data on how much recruitment comes from each platform.
Action Item: JR will check Google Analytics to assess the impact of these platforms.
Brenda also shared information about radio networks for promotion.
Data Review:
- The group discussed the previously shared charts (see attached).
- Total signups show an upward trend, though the past year has seen more fluctuations and a slightly lower trend. The cause is unclear.
- Rising costs might be causing MakeHaven to be perceived as a luxury, potentially impacting recruitment.
- The group discussed positioning our message to highlight savings through repair and community engagement rather than luxury tool access.
Seasonal Trends:
- It's clear that summers tend to be slower in terms of signups.
- It's clear that summers tend to be slower in terms of signups.
Member Retention
JR reported on the work with Christina Q(contractor) to call members whose memberships were canceled due to failed payments. They are also reaching out to new members who haven’t fully engaged yet.
JR and Christina are refining their approach to maximize the effectiveness of outreach.
- The working list can be found here.
Ashley suggested enhancing the website to highlight member projects and instructional resources to help members get the most out of MakeHaven.
Charlie proposed the idea of offering scholarships for target groups, such as high school students interested in maker-related fields like robotics, in addition to the sliding scale fees.
Christina suggested exploring Shake Shack’s Donation Days Program for potential support.
Action Item: JR will look into Shake Shack’s donation program.
The group discussed creating a list of groups/meetups that new members can join to get more involved. This could be incorporated into the sign-up process or as a follow-up.
How can we encourage more meetups? The group agreed we need to make it clearer how members can organize them.
Education
- There was discussion about whether education should be separated from outreach and given its own committee. Meetups would stay with this committee but workshops, courses/programs and badging resources would be scope of education committee.
Executive Director
We can help you become a paid or volunteer instructor at MakeHaven. Let us know you are interested at: https://www.makehaven.org/instructor
Nancy Nearing
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to outreach-commit...@makehaven.org.
