Sustaining Member Criteria

Forum of Executive Women
Sustaining Member Class
Criteria and Process

At its June 2009 Annual Meeting, The Forum of Executive Women passed a resolution  authorizing the creation of a new membership class, Sustaining Membership.  The Forum membership and its Board recognized the work performed by The Forum's Engagement Committee and approved the Committee's recommendation to create a new sustaining membership in an effort to:

• Recognize the contributions of long time Forum members;
• Build the long-term intellectual capital of the organization through the wisdom, knowledge and years of experience in multiple sectors that these women bring to the organization;
• Empower and engage multi-generational connectivity within The Forum;
• Provide a vehicle for long term members to stay connected to the organization that was influential in helping them early on in their careers.

The Forum's Board charged The Forum of Executive of Women's Membership Committee to "operationalize" and manage the sustaining membership's application, acceptance and monitoring process.  The Board also asked the Membership Committee to regularly evaluate the number of "admittees" and ensure that the creation of this new class will help not only to maintain member involvement but also help to sustain the continued financial health of The Forum as well.

Criteria for Sustaining Membership Consideration
As recommended by the Engagement Committee in collaboration with the Membership Committee and after lengthy discussions and a review of how similar organizations have characterized this type of membership class, the following general Class Membership criteria was approved:

1. 10 years of uninterrupted membership in The Forum
2. Age 55+
3. On-going active involvement in Forum committee work
4. Consistent attendance at FOEW programs and events

Reduced Dues for Class

The reduced dues will be equal to 70 percent of the annual membership dues.

Further Clarification of Criteria

• 10 years of uninterrupted membership in The Forum :  Only members who have been members in good standing and have paid their dues for a minimum of 10 years will be considered for this class.  If a member drops out of The Forum for any period of time and re-enters The Forum, the 10-year look back period will recommence.  Also members who are accepted into the Sustaining Member Class will remain eligible for continued Sustaining Class Members if they continue as such members in good standing and continue paying their Sustaining Class Membership dues without interruption.

• Age 55+:  Only members who have already reached or will reach the minimum age of 55 by the end of the calendar year.

• On-going active involvement in Forum committee work:  Only members who have not only participated on at least two Forum committees in the past 4 years but also have attended those committee meetings and worked with dedication to fulfill the committee's mission will be considered for the class.

• Consistent attendance at FOEW programs and events:  Only members who have attended at least two programs or events each year for the past three years will be considered for the class.

Class Members Offers/Outreach:  To implement the phasing in of the initial sustaining membership class, the Membership Committee will identify women who meet the class criteria by September 1, 2009 from a list of former members of The Forum who let their membership lapse during the past two years.  Moving forward, the Membership Committee will work with The Forum Office to identify members who have announced their plans to allow their next year's membership to lapse or have opted to let their membership lapse at the most recent date of renewal.

The Membership will call each of the women identified in accordance with the above and discuss/offer the Sustaining Membership Class option to them.

Responses to Unsolicited Requests for Class Membership Consideration:
The new sustaining membership class should be offered to any member who meets the above criteria for membership.  A letter wil be sent to the Membership announcing the class and criteria.  Members will be instructed to apply for class consideration. The Membership Committee will review requests and determine final class approvals.  Each year, when membership renewals are sent, similar application instructions will be included.

Application Due Dates and Timeframes:
Once the process is in place, the same guidelines for dues payment should be followed.  Members are sent an initial notice and given a deadline for payment.  Dues paid pas this deadline are assessed $25.00.  Reminder emails and a hard copy of an invoice are sent for those members who have not paid their dues.  In addition, personal calls may be made as a final reminder prior to people being officially dropped from our roster.

Continuing Membership in Class:  Sustaining members must continue to adhere to the criteria above to continue their Forum membership in this class.

Class Membership Limits and Financial Considerations in Accordance with Forum Budget: 
One of the intents of the sustaining Membership Class is to provide additional incremental membership dues to The Forum from people who may have opted to drop out without this option.  If that is the case, then there will be a positive impact on The Forum's overall revenue.  If, however, too high of a portion of the total Forum membership falls into the Sustaining Class category, this may negatively impact The Forum's budget.  As a result, we may need to consider limiting the number of "admittees" by changing or redefining the membership criteria in the future.  As a result, the Membership Comittee will review the total number of new "admittees" to the Class each year as well as the number of renewals to the Class and discuss the review results with The Forum's Treasurer.  The Membership Committee and Treasurer will then make recommendations about Class size limitations, redefinitions, etc. based on the information obtained each year and prior to the next fiscal year's budgeting process.