Whitpain Greens Swim Club
- Board Leadership
- Marketing strategy
- Organizational Rebranding
- Member Communications, etc.
Sometimes you volunteer and sometimes you’re volunteered.
During a yearly member meeting I offered to lend a hand developing member communications for the upcoming season. The following year I found myself board president. Left to oversee a club in bad need of infrastructure repairs, a slim bank account, a dire need to change the day-to-day management, and declining membership numbers.
When you can’t fix everything at once you need to be able to prioritize.
Make Improvements Where You Can
With the help of the board, an existing contract was renegotiated to bring in new day-to-day management. Major repair projects begun by the previous board where executed.
No Budget, No Problem
Typically, when times get tough the first thing to go is the Mar/Com effort. Luckily this was a volunteer situation, and I was the primary stakeholder. As luck would have it, we also had a board member who could provide any printing services necessary.
A Work in Progress
Paramount to any large-scale project or organizational change is the ability to manage stakeholder expectations. Clear and concise communication goes a long way to easing the transition.
Using my skills as a writer and designer I clearly laid out what the club had to offer and how we were moving forward to address the remaining issues. With the help of a refurbished brand and some additional collateral materials, members got a sense that things had turned for the better. The collateral materials were also helpful in recruiting new members.
Result
Reversed declining membership numbers, increased revenue by 36%, and most importantly as board president I was able to enjoy pool time with my family and avoid being cornered by complaining members.
