Alumni & Professional Membership Information
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Increasing Your Professional Membership
Professionals in our school, community and state sometimes may not be as tech savvy as those of us in high school. When seeking out to possible professional members, you should tell them ways that they can benefit from becoming a professional member. Having events specifically for your professional members is a great to make them feel special and be more than excited to join the next year!
Many professional members can consist of business owners, meaning they need to know how to market to those who use the most powerful marketing weapon—social media. Hosting “Social Media Training” for these professional members can make them excited that you can teach them something you’re a professional at. Teaching them about ads on social media platforms, custom filters on snapchat, when the perfect time to post on social media and websites such as Hootsuite.
Inviting professional members to your District CDC helps them understand what DECA is about and experience the passion many students have for this organization. Professional members could judge at your District CDC or just help with checking people into their event. If they decide to help in any way, make sure to give them a thank you note or a nice little gift.
If your chapter does partnerships or sponsorships with different businesses in your area you can sign them up as professional members as part of that benefit so that they get DECA Direct articles and find out more about the organization.
REMEMBER: Professional members can be anyone; moms, dads, teachers or any adult that would like to be a part of DECA. It is important that we keep professional membership in mind to reach 15 by the 15th for 15K!
BY: DAISY PORTILLO
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How to Recruit Professional and Alumni Members
Recruiting members can be difficult, but it seems to be more difficult when it is adults. Professional members and alumni members are a phenomenal resource when it comes to creating a successful chapter. They count towards your chapter’s overall membership and they provide monetary support. When beginning your search for these members, start simple. Ask your parents and other family members, friends of your family, your boss, etc. By beginning with people you know, you will get more comfortable doing it.
The best way to convince someone to do something for you is to tell them what it will do for them. First of all, paying the membership dues are considered a donation and can be used for tax write-offs. Second, if it is a business, they can advertise to customers that they invest in the youth by supporting the local DECA chapter. And third, they will receive a really cool DECA sticker.
Another idea is to put together packages for different levels of donations. Potential sponsorship packages ideas are on the the Texas DECA website under chapter management resources. Additionally, there are editable letters to send to those who you are trying to recruit to be a professional or alumni member. (Side note, if you ever need assistance with something, check the website because there are so many helpful articles and resources!)
The most important thing in this is for the student members to be doing the work not the advisors. It looks a lot better to businesses when they see that the people they are investing in care enough about DECA to be seeking more support.
Also, let the new members know they can be as little or as much involved as they wish to be, keep them updated on what is happening in your chapter, and be sure to thank them (a nice letter or some yummy cookies will definitely let them know they are appreciated)! Happy recruiting!
BY: MIRI DEAHL
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How to Increase Membership
1. Reach out to students in marketing or business classes! Invite these potential members by having your officers speak about the benefits of being a member, or deliver a letter to each of the eligible students with reasons why they’d love to join. The time spent to do these show those students that they are valued. Generally, students enrolled in business or marketing classes will have a greater inclination to join DECA because their curriculum and projects may work well together.
2. Promote on social media! Share on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and any other social media platform the perks of joining DECA. It’s even better to have your officers post on their personal pages, because it may be likely that the people following your chapter’s DECA page are already members. (Bonus Tip! Take advantage of DECA’s Geofilter Library, use them at your school.)
3. Did someone say freshmen? At many schools, there are “club nights” or “freshman orientation” where every student organization is encouraged to set up a booth and share information on what they do. It’s important that you make a great, lasting impression by being the loudest, proudest, and most exciting booth. Think about handing out flyers, making a poster, and giving out candy!
4. Share your DECA story. If people hear how great of an impact your DECA experience has had on you, they’ll be compelled to join and be involved. It’s as simple as sharing how you learned about DECA or insight on the competitive events or anything else you find meaningful.
5. Advertise and market yourself! Create flyers, banners, giveaways – really anything – that will increase your chapter’s exposure around school. The more people read, hear, and know about DECA, the more likely they will consider joining. However, it’s good to keep in mind that your promotion materials should brand DECA appropriately and professionally.
6. Set specific goals! Your Chapter Officer Team should get together to set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Agreed Upon, Realistic, and Time-based) and determine the best way to achieve those goals. Discuss the number of members you hope to achieve, how you will get their attention, and what will captivate your target audiences.
7. Find ways to engage and challenge members! One idea is to create a competition for who can recruit the most members, and have members submit ideas for parties and reward the best one. Creating more opportunities for members to practice leadership will attract members who are looking for a club to invest in. For instance, social groups can be a great way for members to help officers with group activities and get involved.
8. Recruit professionals and alumni! These types of members are underrepresented on a statewide standpoint. Try hosting a parent night which can serve to inform parents about DECA and give you the opportunity to network with community leaders. Or maybe host a presentation for the school board about what DECA is and what it can do for students. It will give faculty and counselors insight as to why it would be a beneficial program for students looking to get involved. Another tip is to try getting your own chapter officers to interact with old members to make sure they’re coming back. Even if they were ghost members, encourage them to participate! It means more when an officer is trying to recruit you compared to an advisor. We ❤ our elders (and advisors)!
BY: EMILY NGUYEN, JESSICA GALLARDO, KAITLYN SMITH
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Benefits of Increasing Your Chapter's Membership
For many of us, school has just begun and the craze to increase chapter membership has likewise kicked into high gear. DECA membership ranges from competitive, noncompetitive, and alumni though all are beneficial to a DECA chapter in their respective rights. However, it's important to remember why exactly we strive to achieve higher membership numbers in the first place. Remember that while it's still great to increase membership, we must still create interpersonal connections with all members and ensure they are all included in the DECA chapter's activities instead of merely getting lost in the busyness of school life and DECA craziness.
One of the greatest benefits of increasing chapter membership is gaining a unique perspectives on issues and increasing the pool size for potential ideas. By increasing the number of people, each with their own individual viewpoints and thoughts, we can gain an insight into how we can approach situations differently and/or gain new, original ideas of what we can do that would have otherwise been lacking.
Another advantage to increased membership is having more people to network with each other throughout the year. With the addition of new members to a DECA chapter, we can network with and meet more people than we would have been able to otherwise in a smaller chapters. As we are preparing students for life after high school with interpersonal and speaking skills, the opportunity to meet even more new people would be a great asset to those in your DECA chapter.
Finally, increased membership can greatly benefit your DECA chapter by increasing your capabilities for chapter campaigns over the year. A larger number of people in your chapter would allow you to have more members of all types utilizable for when your chapter needs as many helpers as possible. Therefore, the potential of your DECA chapter can increase greatly because of the new scope to utilize the increased number of members and their respective skills.
BY: MICHAEL NGUYEN
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TEXAS DECA MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN
TEXAS DECA MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN
MORE MEMBERS = MORE OPPORTUNITIES
Texas DECA continues to promote and encourage membership growth on the basis that increased membership leads to increased opportunities. Not only are our new members getting to experience the world of DECA, but returning members now earn additional opportunities as well.
We have created three campaigns for this year, inviting your chapter to #BeTheOne and earn more rewards for your chapters!
To see your membership campaign goals, click on the link to the right.
STUDENT MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN - DUE OCTOBER 15
GROW +10 STUDENT MEMBERS (from 23-24 membership)
Recognition ribbons at the Texas DECA State Career Development ConferenceGROW +30 STUDENT MEMBERS (from 23-24 membership)
Recognition ribbons at the Texas DECA State Career Development Conference + a DECA BlazerGROW +50 STUDENT MEMBERS (from 23-24 membership)
Recognition ribbons at the Texas DECA State Career Development Conference + a DECA Blazer + $150 Shop DECA Gift Card
ALUMNI & PROFESSIONAL CAMPAIGN - DUE DECEMBER 1
20 Alumni Members OR 20 Professional Members
Earn recognition ribbons at the Texas DECA State Career Development Conference20 Alumni Members AND 20 Professional Members
Earn recognition ribbons at the Texas DECA State Career Development Conference + a DECA Blazer + you’ll meet the national membership requirements to receive two(2) Thrive Academy spots at ICDC
NEW CHAPTER MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGNS - DUE OCTOBER 15
20 Total Members
Recognition ribbons at the Texas DECA State Career Development Conference35 Total Members
Recognition ribbons at the Texas DECA State Career Development Conference + a DECA Blazer