Charging for memberships to a nonprofit involves some big decisions. What will members get for their dues? Will members gain some control over the organization? Will people revolt if they suddenly have to pay up?
Those are just some of the issues that immigrant-rights group CASA grappled with as its leaders weighed the pros and cons of levying membership fees. It wasn’t a quick decision. The organization started talking about the idea in 2005 and worked to get its supporters on board before launching the program five years later, says Gustavo Torres, CASA’s executive director.
“We wanted to make sure we were not going to make a mistake,” he says.
On top of additional dollars to CASA, leaders wanted funds to launch an affiliated nonprofit, CASA in Action, a 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization that is allowed to engage in political activities, like lobbying and endorsing candidates.
CASA, which previously went by CASA de Maryland, serves immigrant populations in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In 2010, when it started CASA in Action, the organization also began charging a $25 annual membership fee, with revenue shared between the parent and the 501(c)(4).
Last year, with the fee bumped to $35, memberships brought in close to $450,000 to CASA and $223,000 to CASA in Action.
Though it represents a small slice of CASA’s revenue — about 5 percent — the membership money carries outsize importance for the organization. Most of its budget is tied to foundation and government grants, which are earmarked for specific programs. Membership dues can be used for any purpose, including overhead costs, and other expenses the charity “cannot write into a government contract a year in advance,” says Jennifer Freedman, who heads a six-member team that leads CASA’s fundraising and membership efforts.
Member Benefits
In return for their dues, members can take advantage of CASA’s job-placement program, which connects immigrants with employers. They can also take English courses and get vocational training at reduced prices and are eligible for free legal help in some immigration cases. For an additional fee, they can get help with applications to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a federal program that grants legal status to undocumented people brought to the United States as children.
Non-members can access some of these services, but they are not eligible for discounts. Still, Ms. Freedman says people who cannot afford membership can request a fee waiver to become members.
Some members pay an extra $5 to receive an identification card that they can use at job sites or with local agencies, which is important for recent immigrants who have no ID.
CASA also rallies its members and other supporters when major issues affecting undocumented immigrants are being debated. Ms. Freedman says many members pay the fee because they believe in the organization’s mission and political agenda rather than to take advantage of services. “It’s about building power,” she says.
Starting a Membership Program
Mr. Torres and Ms. Freeman explained in an interview with The Chronicle what it took to get CASA’s membership program off the ground and how the group promotes memberships. They outlined some key steps nonprofits should take in introducing and building a membership model.
Research other programs. CASA’s trustees and executives started talking about memberships as early as 2005, Mr. Torres says. Other priorities pushed back efforts to get the program going, he said, but by 2008 the charity was taking tangible steps. That year, it hired a consultant to research fees charged and benefits offered by other groups with membership programs, such Latino-advocacy charity Make the Road New York and the Service Employees International Union.
CASA began to learn through its own experience, too, running a pilot membership program in Baltimore in 2008 and 2009. The group signed up about 2,500 members and allowed them to elect a trustee to CASA’s board. Mr. Torres says positive reactions to the pilot indicated the model could work for the entire organization.
Determine whether members will get greater power. CASA has several member committees of 50 to 60 people each. The committees elect four of the parent charity’s 17 trustees and 14 of the 17 board members for CASA in Action. Members also can join a human-rights panel that advises the organization on policy advocacy and new projects and services.
Mr. Torres says the various committees will all provide input on CASA’s newest five-year plan, which it will start drafting next year.
Because members have some sway over the organization, he says, CASA gives them as much information as possible about its history and finances so they can make informed decisions. If members are elected as trustees, they receive training about their responsibilities.
Get legal advice. CASA consulted a lawyer to get guidance on numerous aspects of its program, particularly how money was to be divided between CASA and CASA in Action. The lawyer advised that CASA should receive more dues revenue because it provided more direct services to members.
The lawyer also helps make sure the nonprofit’s bylaws are up-to-date and include a description of the benefits members receive in exchange for their dues.
Develop a communication strategy and keep it going. CASA promoted its memberships — and reminded people when fees were due — by placing ads in Spanish media like Univision, Telemundo, and local newspapers. Staff members also held meetings with the day laborers and domestic workers it serves.
The promotion is ongoing. CASA’s community organizers and staff frequently talk about membership benefits with people at its vocational centers, classes, and demonstrations. “Whenever there is an opportunity where a lot of potential members are coming together, we are always promoting memberships,” Ms. Freedman says.
Staff working in the community carry membership forms or tablets so they can sign people up on the spot. Payments can be made in cash or by credit card.
CASA also hired a call center this year to contact lapsed members. By early May, it had made more than 12,800 calls, getting 472 former members to renew and bringing in about $17,800.
Mr. Torres says he has not heard many complaints from the community CASA serves about membership fees, and it’s “very rare” that someone cannot pay the dues.
He says CASA’s membership model could work at almost any organization, but he acknowledges that it takes a lot of work, and a big culture shift in which nonprofits need to be ready to give up some control: “You need to have the commitment to give power to the community very consciously.”
