NAMI North Carolina Affiliate Tool Kit | From Support to Education to Advocacy

NAMI’s growth and vitality depend primarily on each affiliate’s ability to attract and keep members. As an affiliate leader, you are responsible for—

• Understanding how individuals’ needs for support and education and their interest in advocacy develop over time
• Making sure your affiliate addresses those changing needs and interests at every stage of development

Those whose primary need is for information often have their first contact with your affiliate through an education course. Others find us when they need support. Often, their call to your contact number comes after months—even years—of trying to cope with a family member’s mental illness on their own. Some callers are in crisis and need your help immediately.

As a general rule, an affiliate member’s interest in advocacy develops only after the more pressing needs for support and education have been filled. You can encourage newcomers to advocacy to become involved by planning ongoing advocacy projects involving issues of direct, personal interest to newer members. As their interest and confidence grow, recommend further leadership training to improve advocacy skills.

This evolution from support to education to advocacy can take a few months or a few years, depending on the member and the circumstances. The healthiest affiliates have members at all three stages at all times.

Key Affiliate Programs

Because of the critical role support and education services play in our organization’s health and well-being, NAMI encourages each of its affiliates to offer both family support groups and education courses.

With well developed family support and education programs in place, your affiliate can offer the best possible service to your community. Since new members are vital to your affiliate, you will benefit from the steady stream of prospective members these programs provide. As new members of your affiliate, course graduates are well prepared to assume leadership roles. Contact the state office for information on training for support group facilitators and course instructors.

Strategies for Getting & Keeping Members

No matter how comprehensive your education programs, most graduates want to learn even more about such issues as housing, available services and benefits and current drugs and treatments. With their interest and motivation at its peak, course graduates represent your affiliate’s best new member prospects.

Visitors to family support group meetings represent a second important source of new members. Your affiliate’s ability to manage relationships with course graduates and family support group visitors determines your affiliate’s quality and growth potential. To interest prospective members in joining and remaining active in your affiliate—

• Make sure all your members are aware of the critical importance of new member recruiting to your affiliate. Help them understand the potential of the family educational and support programs to membership growth.
• Encourage affiliate members to drop in on education program sessions.
• Have membership forms available at all meetings.
• Plan an educational meeting related to course content soon after a course ends and invite all graduates to attend.
• Invite all course graduates to join your affiliate’s family support group.
• Invite all support group visitors to enroll in upcoming courses.
• Plan social events such as pot luck dinners, picnics, luncheons and awards dinners throughout the year and invite prospective members to attend.
• Add visitors’ and course graduates’ names to the newsletter mailing list.
• Follow up invitations with telephone calls to remind the prospective member of the event.
• Arrange for designated affiliate members to greet visitors and make sure they feel welcome.
• Pair established members as partners with new members to be sure they get the most benefit from their involvement in your affiliate and your affiliate gets the most benefit from their interests and skills.
• Involve new members early by personally asking them to complete a specific task.
• Continue to provide meaningful opportunities for participation and involvement for members at all levels.
• Avoid making general calls for project and program volunteers. Instead, get to know your members and ask one-on-one for their help with specific tasks suited to their interests and skills.
• Survey all affiliate members annually about their needs and interests and set priorities accordingly.

Member recruiting and retention require a concerted effort by all members of your affiliate. In particular, board members, support group facilitators and course instructors need to work cooperatively to create and maintain an ongoing recruiting and retention program for your affiliate.