September 19, 2012

Today, we are proud to describe AAUW as a nationwide community of more than 150,000 members and supporters. The new language reflects the exciting success of several new marketing initiatives. AAUW’s activism is galvanizing support for our work on issues such as fair pay, access to contraception, sexual harassment at work and school, student debt, and the lack of women in STEM fields and in public office. People who care about these issues too are seeking online ways to get involved, and AAUW is there with our social media channels and online outreach tools such as Care2, Change.org, and our Two-Minute Activist, which allow supporters to take immediate action. AAUW’s vision gives voice to their concerns; their voices increase AAUW’s power to effect change.

These new supporters are not one-time contacts. They are individuals who have a track record of continuing engagement with us and our issues and who seek to effect positive change for women through their activism. They know that by lending their support consistently to our advocacy, our combined voices become all the more powerful. Almost all nonprofit membership organizations include their active supporters in their numbers. Thus, including them in our count is a truer representation of the strength of support for AAUW positions and a more effective presentation of our case.

These new activists are spurring growth and renewed interest in our organization. Some of them have already become members, but others have not yet done so, and it would be a disservice to their enthusiasm and passion not to count them as friends of our organization.

This growing list of supporters is a great way to recruit new national and branch members, and AAUW is capitalizing. We encourage you to take part in this effort, too. Urge prospective members to sign up for Action Network. Let them try us on for size online, and use that as a tool to turn their interest into active membership.

This is briefing #28 in our AAUW Current Topics Briefing Series issued by Linda Hallman, CAE, Executive Director.