Young Friends of Historic New England

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About Us

Founded in 1910, Historic New England is the oldest, largest, and most comprehensive regional preservation organization in the country. We own 36 historic properties in 5 states, ranging from farms to estates to seventeenth-century homes. They include the Lyman Estate, Gropius House, Beauport, Roseland Cottage, and our HQ, the Otis House Museum.

Early Process

• Started in 2005 • Early focus on recruiting adult children of high-level

donors, board, etc. • These folks have stayed loyal, but not always involved• Growth was stagnant• Total: 62 Young Friends memberships combined total

in 5 years. 25 in 2009 after significant staff turnover.

Young Friends Membership Details – the Past

• Managed by development not membership• Age bracket “20s – 40s”• Invitations to a varying number of Young Friends

events per year, including receptions, behind-the- scenes tours, and family-friendly programs.

• Events to introduce members to the Appleton Circle.• Small Steering Committee with two co-chairs in their

late 40s• Group was perceived by some non-development staff

as a bit snobby

Growth over time

• 12 long-term members upgraded early on• 22 new joins in first year 2005• 5 joined in second year 2006• 16 joined in third year 2007• 1 joined in fourth year 2008• 5 joined in fifth year 2009• 1 upgraded into YF in sixth year 2010• Most came in by word of mouth.• Take away: Staff energy and continuity are key.

Retention

• 12 from first cohort of 34 are still members, including two co-chairs (35%)

• 1 from second year (20%)• 6 from third year (37%)• Some variations with staff turnover• General membership retention is 75-85%

Our need?

• Grow the group in order to justify the staff time and expense.

• Bring in younger steering committee members to offset aging out members

Environmental Scan Winter 2010

• Reviewed all major young friends-like programs in Boston, DC, and NYC (intern project)

• Most have age range of 21-39, Facebook pages, are fundraising oriented

• Some overlap between our YF members and MFA, Boston Athenaeum

• Came up with new proposal and worked through it with Steering Committee

Figuring out what they want

• Lots and lots of events specific to them

• High-level access to president, board, famous speakers, patrons

• Day trips and walking tours to discover new places

• Insider behind-the-scenes access to sites, collections, and curatorial staff

• Instant pictures, responses, online everything

• To be heard• A new name• To be an insider• “Value” for their dues• Preferred walking tour to

holiday party!• Never aging out!

What do they want to support?

• High-profile donor and member events – entire Steering Committee came to gala

• Education programs• Volunteering at other (non-YF) events as

greeters and helpers• Their own events (as an individual sponsor)

Not membership dues

What do we want?

• Fresh blood and diversity of all kinds• Help us get away from the “Society” perception• Vibrant volunteers• Lifelong, multigenerational connection to at least one property

and organization• “Connectors” who will raise awareness and recruit members• Opportunity to get to know potential major donors• Committee as training ground for future Appleton Circle,

Council, and Board members• Easy and relatively low-cost to manage

Membership Details – What we Changed

• Young Friends of Historic New England – had to keep the name• Integrated into regular membership category• Dramatically lower entry pricepoint of $100• Explicit age range of 21-50• 3 tiers: Contributing, Supporting, Patron• Lowered entry to Appleton Circle by $500 for individuals.• Capped events to 6. Quarterly steering meetings.• Many more “bring a friend” options.• “Dual” membership for singles – bring a date

Young Friends Pricing

New Pricing for FY11• Contributing $100 individual

/ $150 “dual”• Supporting $250 individual

/$400 dual• Patron $1,000 individual

/$1,500 dual

Old Pricing (’05-’10)• $250 Associate Individual • $500 Supporting

(Family/Couple) • $1500 Patron/Appleton

Circle

Successful Event Philosophy

• Offer memorable experiences that only you can make happen– Events at fabulous houses (Beauport, Gropius evening events)– Collections access (tour of Haverhill collections)– Winter Antiques Show special access– Behind the scenes at Fenway Park– Family events with all the special touches– Thoughtful inexpensive touches that are part of your brand (candy

made in NE)– Feeback/input by the committee

• Keep costs low to nothing – most partners have been willing to help out of goodwill and exposure

• Food budget for one big fun social event

What We’re Doing to Grow – Finding New Members in Our Midst

• Analyzed database – virtually no ages listed, except for trustees and current Young Friends.

• Purchased “Age Append” service from Raiser’s Edge/Blackbaud (about $1K for 50,000 names)

• Added age line on new membership forms• Recruiting from base of younger staff – new price is

appealing• Word of mouth

What We’re Doing to Grow – Prospecting

• First-time budget for targeted online advertising• Will be posting events on our public Facebook page, not just

Young Friends page. Easier to share.• Capitalizing on our Centennial year• Supporting and Patron level Young Friends can bring guests to

YF events• Mailing packets to prospects. Personal invitations.• Inclusion on ALL membership forms for the first time.• Guide training

Who has been especially interested in Historic New England

• History and architecture self-described “content geeks”

• Families with young children• Single gay men• Young people in the

museum/history/architecture/preservation fields• Geographically dispersed in and around Boston

• Programming developed to appeal to each group

Goals for the Year

• 100% growth to 50 memberships in the next year• Standardized benefits• Growing the steering committee

Questions?

• Kirsten Alexander• Senior Membership Manager• Historic New England• 617-994-5935• kalexander@historicnewengland.org