Hello, my fellow members of Numismatists of Wisconsin! Summer has ended, and Fall is in the air. Time now to attend those final coin shows of this year!

In my Summer message, I discussed really becoming involved in your local clubs. I hope that I provided some food for thought on really helping out with club activities. Now is the time to begin to act upon those thoughts. Please, step forward and lend a hand. Both you and your club will be better off for it.

This quarter, I also want to discuss building club membership. When I see you at coin shows or club meetings, the conversation about clubs usually revolves around one, some, or all of the following points: 1) Not enough members; 2) Existing membership is aging and fear of the club folding; 3) Few or no junior members; 4) Meeting locations.

Let’s explore each of these a bit closer. We’ll start with 1) Not enough members. It usually begins with the question “how do we get younger people to join?” That is a question that all clubs, not just coin clubs, face. The answer that I have given for years has always been the same: make your club attractive to join. Look at it this way. If you were going to join a community coin club, would you actually join the club that you are presently in? Does your club offer you a reason to be there?

Moving on to 2) Existing membership is aging and fear of club folding. Look closely at some of the following factors: what does your club offer its members? Are there activities at meetings other than just the business meeting? If so, are these activities planned, and does the membership know what they are? Do those activities actually include learning about coins and coin collecting? Does the club sponsor a local coin show? Most do, and if so, how is membership involved in the show? Is the show fun for the club, or a burden needed to be faced to generate funds for the club? Does the club have any social activities like a picnic, Christmas party, etc? Is someone in the club responsible for recruiting? Are materials available to prospective new members that explain what’s offered?

If you’re still with me on this, we’ll move on to 3) Few or no junior members. First, reread the above two paragraphs. What does your club offer to junior members? Are there incentives for kids and teens to join? Do they feel welcome at your meetings? Are they allowed to discuss and help plan meeting activities? Are their parents invited to bring the kids and attend the meetings and activities with them? Is it fun for them to attend meetings? Does the club REALLY want any junior members and the extra attention that is needed to recruit and retain them?

Finally, 4) Meeting locations. I’m pretty sure that most, if not all, coin clubs have had to find a new place to meet over the years. Does the place that you meet present a positive or negative reflection of your club? Does the club meet there simply because it’s very low in cost or free? Is the meeting place open and inviting, or does the location itself designate exclusivity, such as a church or bar? Are there some better locations available for the health and benefit of your club?

You may have noticed that I have presented more questions than given answers. That’s because each club is unique in and of itself. I plan to go further into actual solutions in future N.O.W. News articles; please watch for them. In the meantime, I would love to do an actual visit to your clubs and meet on your own turf. I have short numismatic presentations that may be of interest, and I’d enjoy meeting your members. Call at 715-574-2777 or send an email!

That’s all for now. Happy collecting!

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