Welcome to December, chapter leaders! Here are a few membership-related resources that may come in handy.
Member Directory: Thanks to our amazing community, the MySMPS Membership Directory is more powerful than ever. The directory has evolved and now you can search for members using several additional filters, including Fellow and CPSM designations. Please share the news with your chapter’s members!
The updated member directory was made possible in response to our request on October 17, when more than 1,300 members logged into smps.org and verified contact and/or firm demographics. Those who reviewed their information were entered for a chance to win a complimentary membership renewal or a complimentary on-demand webinar.
Congratulations to the following two members who were randomly chosen:
- Eric Keens, SMPS Atlanta, who joined in 2008
- Veronica Ritona, SMPS San Francisco, who joined in 2012
Membership and re:Members Office Hours: Most Thursdays, 3:30-4 p.m., ET. This is optional and available should you have any questions.
Membership Prospects: As a reminder, your non-member data should be sent to memberprospects@smps.org. Initially we’re focusing on the following data points. For example, does your chapter have a career center? Please share the non-members who use it, and SMPS HQ will take it from there.
1. Career Center
2. Education
3. Networking
4. Award submission
5. Bookstore
6. Website analytics
7. Sponsors
8. Foundation/donors
9. Student events
SMPS HQ Comp Membership: Each year, chapters are provided one free membership ($449 value) to bestow to a new or renewing member. For the new member, with no previous history (or record), they would need to begin at smps.org, click “Login” in the upper right-hand corner, and “create an account.” Once that’s done, the chapter should inform HQ via membership@smps.org and we will apply the chapter comp membership accordingly.
SMPS Student Membership: Our students are our future! For $25 per year, students can gain access to a wealth of SMPS resources and network. The Society’s commitment to students is further evident in our partnership with the ACE Mentor Program. Active students/prospects may join online at smps.org. They will be required to confirm academic status, degree major, degree type, graduation year and upload a dated transcript or schedule.
Membership Referrals: Being connected within the AEC community has great benefits. In case you haven’t heard, we have Share SMPS: Refer a Friend program. Please let your chapter members know that if they refer a colleague who joins the Society as a new member, they’ll earn three additional months of membership. This appreciation will be recognized within 30 days of the new member joining. Please encourage the new member/referred to provide the referrer’s details within their smps.org Account > Personal Info section.
Group Membership Discount: Does a local firm want to get on board with SMPS? Wonderful! If the firm has five new SMPS members, all joining at the same time, the firm will receive a 10% overall discount. If they have more than five joining, that 10% still applies, assuming criteria are met. Once a firm (or chapter) identifies the prospects, please email the list of names/contacts to membership@smps.org. HQ will instruct them on next steps.
Why doesn’t one renew their membership? The top reason, at 24% is, “I do not have the time to take advantage of membership.”
See you next time for the Membership Corner! Any questions? Reach out to Bryan Lipps at HQ at bryan@smps.org.
