When it comes to improving membership, the Columbus chapter is a strategic powerhouse. With a dedicated focus on supporting women at all levels, the chapter has established key committees and strategies to engage women and grow.
As one of NAWBO’s Fall Membership Drive winners, the Columbus chapter currently has 253 members and counting. It’s an impressive amount of members, which can be attributed to the chapter’s willingness to take on aggressive goals. Case in point: The 2018-2019 goal is to acquire at least 10 new members per month, for a total of 120 for the year.
But as Columbus Chapter President Catherine Lange-Cline points out, this is in line with women business owner growth in Columbus. “We know from the 2016 American Express OPEN study that there are approximately 69,000 women business owners in Columbus, Ohio,” she says. “In the summer of 2018, a graduate-level intern from Ohio State University’s Fisher School of Business will help us conduct market research about who these women business owners are and what services and resources can best help them grow their businesses. We'll develop engagement strategies for engaging them in our chapter.”
To help find and retain new members, the chapter’s Membership Committee and Programming Committee work together to plan and host events that benefit and inspire local women business owners, from the bi-annual membership recruitment event, Women, Wisdom and Wine, to the monthly luncheons with speakers sharing personal stories of business success and failure. The chapter also hosts an annual Visionary Awards event to recognize visionary women and help NAWBO gain attention within larger companies in the Columbus community.
A member of NAWBO for 14 years, Catherine is passionate about recruiting new members to the Columbus chapter because she sees the enormous power of NAWBO right now in history. “It’s the perfect time to join NAWBO because involvement for women is at an all-time high. It has taken years of work, but right now women are making their voices heard and people are listening. Right now people want to make things right and more equal for women and women in business. Right now is the time to band together as voices are heard in larger numbers,” she says. “It is important to be active and get involved with NAWBO right now because this is your tribe. No one understands running a business better or will fight more for your success than the women of NAWBO.”
At-A-Glance: Key Ways Columbus Boosts Membership
- Check-in with new members within first three months to provide membership support
- Reach out to members who haven’t attended events in last 90 days
- Host new member luncheon and Q&A about membership benefits and resources
- Remind members about upcoming membership renewals
- NAWBO Navigator one-on-one membership support system