Go For The Red Campaign

Recruit is all about bringing in new members and their new ideas. National FCCLA has published a Membership Handbook that you can access under the RESOURCES tab on the national affiliation website.

1. Focus on “what’s in it for me?” With all of the career and leadership opportunities available for students to select, most students want to know how they will benefit from joining FCCLA. FCCLA has so many opportunities there’s sure to be something to appeal to just about any student in Family and Consumer Sciences. Focus on these options to showcase the benefits of FCCLA:

• FCCLA develops leadership skills.
• FCCLA helps you get ready for college or career.
• FCCLA lets you be a STAR with competitive events.
• FCCLA has scholarship opportunities.
• FCCLA officers resources to members.
• FCCLA has travel opportunities.
• FCCLA is FUN!

2. Develop a plan for a sustained promotional campaign. Map out a variety of events and messages over a two-week period coinciding with your membership drive. Have different members be responsible for crafting parts of the message on different days, and be creative! Try some of the following promotional ideas:

• Have all chapter members wear their FCCLA swag on a designated day. Give members talking points to use when their peers ask why everyone is wearing their red. • Create “Ask me about FCCLA” buttons and have chapter members wear them every day during your membership campaign.
• Create a school mascot-related paper token— for example, paw prints for a panther mascot—to hang all around school, on lockers, under tables and chairs, in the cafeteria, office, media center. On the back of the token put a benefit of FCCLA membership. In the announcements, direct students to take the token with its benefit to an FCCLA member or adviser to find out how they can participate in attaining that benefit. Give all who ask a special treat from your chapter. This will spread awareness of your chapter even if people don’t join.
• Check previous class lists for students who have taken a Family and Consumer Sciences course and are eligible to belong to FCCLA. Invite them to an after-school meeting to let them know your plans for the year and remind them of all the benefits of being involved in FCCLA. Serve food and make it fun!
• Schedule a social event or service project that can showcase what FCCLA is all about and invite all prospective members to it with an invitation hung on their locker. Make sure you follow up on all new member leads.
• Create a bulletin board or display case in the school with photos from chapter events, state and national competitions, and information about how to join FCCLA.
• Have successful seniors talk to underclassmen in Family and Consumer Sciences classes about why they are members and how they have benefited from participating in FCCLA.
• Invite a state officer to come visit and present to each Family and Consumer Sciences class.

3. Consider new ways to get your message out. In addition to using tried-and-true methods of communicating like posters and announcements, there are lots of fresh ways to build a buzz about your chapter. Recruit potential members with some of the following ideas:

• Set up accounts for your chapter and post photos and stories on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social media about chapter events. Ask members to share them on their own accounts to spread the word.
• Create and distribute images members can use as profile pictures or cover photos on social media sites to promote your chapter and its upcoming events.
• Host a contest where members who post photos of themselves doing FCCLA-related activities with the hashtag #(Insert Chapter Name)FCCLAfun will be entered in a drawing for a prize.
• Take photos of smiling chapter members rockin’ the FCCLA red together. Post one often to your social media with the note to “Go for the RED!” and tag potential members so they will see it in their newsfeed.
• Create a video or audio commercial with the top ten reasons to be an FCCLA member; play it on the school’s announcements.
• Use free invitation services like Evite and Anyvite to create attractive invitations for an upcoming membership event and send them by text or email to all the students you are targeting for membership.
• Look for ways to get your audiences to like, share, and retweet by engaging information or by asking questions. The more people interact around your messages the more the information will spread.

4. Offer incentives. Sometimes people just need a little extra push to get them to respond to your recruit efforts. Consider some of the following incentives to motivate people to take action:

• Offer an FCCLA t-shirt, a gift card to a coffee shop, or a free ticket to a movie if students join by a given date.
• Members who have joined by a designated date get to go on a special field trip or attend a “members only” social event such as an ice cream party, barbeque, or a pizza party.
• Display member names on bulletin board as dues are paid. Use an FCCLA theme such as red jackets or the arrow and write each member’s name on a different item.
• Award the Family and Consumer Sciences class that either reaches 100% participation/paid dues first or the class with the most students to join and pay by the deadline with a special treat.
• Develop a “Five for Five” reward in which members who bring in five new members get $5 taken off their chapter dues.
• Have a monthly drawing for an FCCLA prize. Every time a member brings a potential member to a meeting, his or her name is put into the drawing. At the last meeting of the month draw a name and award the prize. If the potential member has joined by the time of the drawing, he or she gets a prize, too!
• Offer a free FCCLA jacket to the officer who can recruit the most new members.
• Offer a free chapter t-shirt to each current member who brings in three new members.
• Divide your chapter members into two teams and have a one-month membership contest. The team that recruits the most members is served a special breakfast, provided by members of the other team.

5. Make membership recruitment a part of everything. Every chapter meeting, project, and activity influences who joins and stays involved in your chapter. Build membership into your chapter activities with these tips:

• Make an effort to make your chapter and your members more visible. Posters and announcements publicizing one of your activities should clearly state that it is sponsored by FCCLA. At the event, be sure to introduce your chapter president and mention the FCCLA sponsorship. As students realize how active your chapter is and the types of activities it sponsors, more students will want to belong.
• Ensure that at all of your events you have information regarding your chapter, its purpose, meeting times, and upcoming events so that potential members have all of the facts in front of them and understand how to join your chapter.
• Have a sign-in sheet at each open event your chapter sponsors so you can follow up with non-members and ask if they would like to join the chapter.
• Hold a presentation once per quarter on a timely topic featuring a well-known speaker. Encourage chapter members to invite guests to the meeting and publicize it to the student body at large as an opportunity to engage in an idea exchange and Q&A with the speaker. Present information about your chapter and have a sign-up list for people who might be interested in joining.
• Keep a high profile in the community with media releases, social media postings, newsletters, and elements parts of your public relations program. People want to join organizations with positive public images.

Create a long-term membership outlook by looking for ways current chapter members can leave a legacy of strong membership. Build a positive image among younger students, administrators, teachers, parents, and the community so future students will be clamoring to Go For the Red and be a part of the ultimate leadership experience!

Recruiting Resources

• Membership Video
• Step One Webquest
• Step One Certificate
• Why FCCLA?

Retain is about keeping current members and continue to grow in expertise. Once students become members, it is important they have opportunities to get involved and become a contributing member or the chapter.

1. Create a chapter “by the members, for the members, and of the members.” FCCLA is not just something you join, it’s something you do. Make sure members help choose and create chapter projects and activities. The whole chapter determines and pursues these activities together. Discover and use all members’ talents and capabilities. Support members’ individual projects, and encourage each member to participate in FCCLA: The Ultimate Leadership Experience.

 2. Give members information and help them get involved. Chapter leaders, including officers and the adviser, are responsible for knowing what opportunities are available through FCCLA and offering them to members. National FCCLA provides information through Teen Times, Fast Facts, the E-Adviser, membership blogs, chapter mailings, and the National FCCLA website; along with a rich variety of resources available through the FCCLA Online Store. Use posters and bulletin boards to highlight FCCLA national programs and events.

 3. Create and carry out a program of work. A program of work is a complete plan for chapter action throughout the year. It spells out the chapter’s goals and steps members will take to reach them. By writing out a program of work, chapter leaders can analyze the year’s plans and make sure there is a balance of team building, fundraising, fun, and recognition activities. A written program of work also shows all members what opportunities are available and how they might become involved. (See the national website for activities you might want to include in your chapter’s program of work.)

4. Know and care about members as individuals. No one stays involved when they stay a “stranger.” Part of the joy of FCCLA is making connections with other people, especially ones you might not get to know otherwise. Set up a system to have experienced members “mentor” new members and help them become active in the chapter.

 5. Plan exciting meetings. Chapter meetings serve to unify the chapter, accomplish chapter business, and inform members about Family and Consumer Sciences topics that relate to current chapter projects. Strengthen your chapter’s meetings by:

• having a purpose and agenda for the meeting­
• making sure student leaders plan, prepare for, and lead the meeting
• ­involving members in making decisions, sharing ideas, asking questions, etc.
• ­including fun team-building activities
• ­using parliamentary procedure to accomplish chapter business as efficiently as possible
• observing district/region, state, and national events for tips on how to perk up meetings

Recognize is about acknowledging contributions and accomplishments of members and the chapter.Recognition methods and events ensure all members know how important they are and build be built into every chapter project and activity. Recognition can be as simple as a heartfelt, face-to-face “thank you” pr as elaborate as a formal banquet.Recognition has an important role in your membership campaign. Many students are motivated by the opportunity to earn recognition, and FCCLA offers plenty of ways for both individuals and chapters to be recognized. When recruiting new members, be sure to highlight the
following opportunities:

Individual Recognition

• Locally, members can earn recognition in both formal and informal ways, depending on local traditions.
• FCCLA’s Power of One program is an opportunity for members to be recognized for their completion of all five modules of this national program.
• Skill Demonstration Events at National Cluster Meetings provide opportunities for members to demonstrate college and career-ready skills in Family and Consumer Sciences and related occupations.
• STAR Events (Students Taking Action with Recognition) are competitive events in which members are recognized for proficiency and achievement in chapter and individual projects, leadership skills,
  and career preparation.

Chapter Recognition

• Chapters are recognized for their outstanding work through National Program Awards including Career Connection, Families First, Financial Fitness, Leadership Service in Action, Student Body, STOP the Violence,
and FACTS.

• Chapters also can earn recognition by participating in the Family and Consumer Sciences Knowledge Bowl, a three-level, team competition that challenges students’ knowledge of all aspects of Family and Consumer
Sciences. Questions come from a variety of sources. Preparation resources may include Family and Consumer Sciences textbooks, reference guides, content area websites, the FCCLA website, and other local or online resources.

• The FCCLA Branding and Promotion Guide is an online resource designed to assist chapters with guidelines to using the name, acronym, logo, and tagline of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) as well as tips on using various media outlets to gain recognition. It features tips for using social media, writing media advisories and public service announcements, engaging with public officials, and more.

Recognition Resources

• State Recognition Guide