Submitted by: Girl Scouts of Connecticut
Status: Submitted to councils
Proposal: To amend provisions in the Credentials/Certificate of Membership/Membership Requirements/Lifetime Membership section of The Blue Book of Basic Documents by inserting as follows:
Lifetime members pay $400 lifetime membership dues at the time they become lifetime members; discounted lifetime membership dues of $200 shall be offered to anyone who was a registered Girl Scout members before the age of 18 and is under the age of 30 at the time of becoming a lifetime member; discounted lifetime membership dues of $200 shall be offered to anyone who is a registered member and has served as a volunteer for a period of 10 or more years at the time of becoming a lifetime member.
Rationale: Instituting a second category of membership eligible for the discounted rate of $200 would recognize the continued support and commitment to the Girl Scout Movement that such long-term volunteers have shown, and it would encourage volunteer retention at a time when many volunteers are beginning to phase out of traditional troop leadership roles.
Implementing a long-term volunteer discount will further advance strategic alumnae goals by making lifetime membership more accessible and attractive to volunteers who may otherwise begin to leave the organization, by allowing them to solidify their commitment and promoting a broader base of support in local communities and councils. A larger pool of Lifetime Members will provide Councils with more links to communicate with adults committed to our organization while providing a platform through which Councils can encourage continued volunteer participation at the Service Unit and Council levels.
As volunteers reach higher levels with their troops, and are perhaps past the under-30 “Young Alumnae” category, they may want to take advantage of lifetime membership to show their support for the Movement. They are more likely to purchase lifetime memberships for themselves and/or their daughters with this more affordable option in place. Councils have a better chance at retaining those volunteers with 7-8 years of membership who are close to the 10-year benchmark; likewise, they may retain those volunteers with 12-13 years of service who may otherwise end their involvement with Girl Scouts when their troop graduates.
Financial impact: There would be no initial cost to the national organization or Councils to implement this change; however, there is potential for some potential lost revenue to GS-USA.
Analysis of Lifetime Membership data during the special April 2019 promotion indicates a positive impact on the number of eligible volunteers who would take advantage of a discounted category. During April 2019 alone, more than 10,000 long term volunteers nationally took advantage of the $200 discounted Lifetime Membership rate. Over the past 15 years there’s been an average of 3,744 Adult Lifetime Membership sign ups per membership year nationally.
Based on current membership records in Looker, it appears that more than 88,000 volunteers have 10+ years of service, do not have an existing Lifetime Membership, and would be eligible for this discounted category. If even 10% of those eligible members opted to purchase at the discounted rate, the initial membership fees would equal $1.76 million! GS-USA would see initial lost revenue from each new class of discounted Lifetime members’ annual membership fees after year 9; however there is no guarantee of retention year-to-year. In addition, if that upfront discounted Lifetime membership fee is invested partially in some sort of endowment fund, there might be an opportunity to recapture the future lost revenue that would begin in year 9. Over time, a long-time volunteer discount would be expected to broaden the base of Lifetime members, adding to overall revenue.
Another ancillary benefit that is hard to quantify at this time is the retention of girls. We know that many troops often disband because a leader no longer remains in his or her role. For those leaders in their roles for 6-7 years, the anticipation of a discounted Lifetime membership at year 10, might give them the incentive to keep going!
We believe there would be a net positive financial impact to GS-USA and the Councils as a more affordable category would lead to a greater number of volunteers purchasing Lifetime Memberships. The change would also create a more accessible option for Legacy Giving from Service Units or Girl Scout families who may gift a Lifetime Membership to long-time volunteers.
We believe this would result in a net positive effect to the Girl Scout Movement overall due to the increased retention of long-term volunteers, and maybe even extend troop longevity, by creating stronger bases within local communities that support Girl Scouts and generating goodwill for the brand overall.
As this pricing level was already put in place during the April special promotion, we do not believe there would be any associated operational costs to make this a permanent membership option.
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I would support this amendment with one change, there are many adults like me that were never Girl Scouts as girls, but continue to volunteer. I am a lifetime member but would not be eligible for this offer the way it is written.
I believe it could read an active member for x number of years. I know several long time volunteers who were never Girl Scouts as girls but would in many cases now pay to become lifetime members. Some may have missed the opportunity in April because they on,y had nine years of service. An amendment like this would encourage them to continue and achieve lifetime membership.
Lyn Gill GSCB