2016 Writers’ Workshop (Photo: Bill Lindeke)

On Saturday, January 14, the streets.mn board of directors met and the main topic on the agenda was how to grow a better membership program. For the board, the first goal of a membership program is to develop a stronger relationship with readers, writers, and other users of streets.mn. The second goal is the fiscal strength of the organization and having a consistent source of income. To inform that discussion, I undertook three tasks: first, reviewed the membership programs of similar organizations; talked to people at streets.mn events and others I know who are involved with streets.mn in some way; and finally, conducted a survey of site users. This post is my findings and a summary of what was shared with the board on Saturday. We are meeting February 25 and will review a list of recommendations regarding a membership program. Please let us know how we can build a better streets.mn, with membership as one avenue for involvement.

Making a clear statement of need

While only 41 people responded to the survey, the results had a few clear messages that were aligned with the comments from people I spoke to. Nearly everyone responding to the survey knew that streets.mn is a non-profit, only half knew we have memberships (Figure 1). Clearly, we are not making membership visible on the site and in our communications. When asked why respondents had not financially contributed to streets.mn, 43 percent said they were unclear of the financial need or how funds would be used. About a third had other priorities for their charitable donations and about a quarter did not have the means to do so (Figure 2). Seven of the 41 had donated time (other than writing). Others commented concerns about streets.mn being an “echo chamber,” not representing diverse viewpoints in Minnesota, and concern that the comment sections were not welcoming or friendly.

Member benefits and costs

The survey also asked about how much people would be willing to pay for a membership. Forty-two percent of respondents said between $25 and $50, with 24 percent saying less than $25 and 20 percent saying $51 to $100 (Figure 3). Currently membership starts at $25 per year, so it seems that is the right amount.

I used the review of similar organizations’ membership programs to generate ideas about membership benefits. Half of respondents liked premiums such as a streets.mn branded hat, t-shirt, spoke card, or mugs. About a third of respondents liked discounts at events of partnering organizations and another third liked member-only events (Figure 4). The comments provided fodder for a great discussion on the role of streets.mn, how the organization is perceived, and how to maintain great content. We see ourselves as a place to provide a discussion of land use, planning, and transportation that is (hopefully) balanced and does not take a stand. Users, however, viewed streets.mn as having definite values. Some saw this as positive and felt personally connected to that perceived mission. Others saw it as unwelcoming. The challenge for us as an organization is to connect with people while maintaining our mission and balance.

We also discussed the important role of writers and how to recognize them. There would be no streets.mn without the writers. How can we best support them, such as through last spring’s writers’ workshop and editorial support? How can we bring in new writers and, in particular, voices not heard as much on streets.mn like people outside of the Twin Cities, people of color, and people not employed in the planning field?

Survey respondents also told us that membership needs to be simple. No pay walls. No headaches clearing up credit card problems. Fees need to be transparent and no surprises.

Events

The survey asked an open-ended question about the types of events people were interested in. The most common response was education-related events. Respondents wanted advocacy workshops and opportunities to talk with policy makers, both elected officials and the people making decisions behind the scenes. They wanted to know how to best advocate ways to build a better community and access to people making decisions. They also wanted forums, panels, and education events on topics other than advocacy. One commenter said it would be great to have these events available for viewing online for those that cannot attend.

Respondents also were interested in tours, both history tours and reviews of new projects, particularly with designers or people involved present to answer questions. Finally, a few people wanted happy hour events to connect in person.

Just so you know, we have two great events coming up.  The first is Sunday, January 22 and is a how-to on creating your own backyard skating rink with a discussion of building community in winter months. The second, in partnership with Nexus Community Partners, is titled “Bus or Rail: How are you going to get there?” and is a panel discussion the benefits and challenges of options along the Bottineau Blue Line and Gateway BRT Corridor. It is on Thursday, February 9 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the East Side Enterprise Center in Saint Paul. Register here.

Our Development committee, which also does event planning, is meeting soon to plan for the coming year, and will include this feedback in its planning.

Our take-aways and next steps

This information led to a discussion about how to better connect with users, how to support writers, and the need for transparency. In the coming year the board is looking at:

• How to make a much clearer statement of need. Supporters need to understand where their money and time is going, how this relates to our long-term goals as an organization, and how they will benefit.
• Building a membership program that recognizes the support streets.mn receives not just financially, but through volunteering and writing. streets.mn relies on volunteers to help plan events, moderate discussions and forums, provide editorial support, and many other important tasks. This work needs to be recognized.
• How to create intentional ways to get input and engage users. Having an annual meeting before the summer picnic was popular with the board. Posting board meetings on our events calendar and making them accessible online, as well as posting board agendas. All board meetings are open to anyone, although only board members can vote. We discussed how to use events and the site to make the conversation two-way.
• Creating a forum comment policy and guidelines document, as well as be more inclusive and welcoming in our comments sections and forum.

At our meeting on February 25, 2017, the board will review a list of recommendations for the membership program. Please let us know what you think!