Dear fellow American Whitewater affiliate club member,
I am an AW member and a member of the Pikes Peak Whitewater Club, an AW affiliate club. I’m writing to tell you about some work we did this summer to increase AW membership within PPWC, and to ask for your help to take similar actions in your affiliate club. ( If you are not the most appropriate club member for this information, please forward this to the correct person in your club).
First let’s consider why this is so important and why by working together there is such a strong opportunity for the affiliate clubs to have an impact. You may know that AW was formed in 1954 and set up to enable local and regional affiliates. Today, they maintain that focus by developing resources, such as the online Access toolkit and soon to be released River Stewardship Toolkit, to allow regional groups to recognize and manage issues at a grassroots level. AW’s strategy leverages the effectiveness of their small staff’s expertise with a strong focus on networking and enabling grassroots interests such as Club Affiliates, to protect what is important to us, the rivers we paddle.
As more issues arise with hydro relicensing, access across private land, and water quality, American Whitewater has a full plate. While the issues they are taking on are increasing, AW membership has been stagnant. Needless to say utility companies and private land developers have a great amount of profit at stake and they are willing to spend money to protect their interests. AW needs paddler’s support to protect our interests.
Over the past 5 years, AW exceeded their operating budget 3 times, causing them to utilize shrinking cash reserves and make drastic cost reduction efforts. Their 2004 annual report is available at www.americanwhitewater.org under the Join/Donate link. Memberships and contributions account for 50% of that budget. It is clear, that increasing membership is a critical issue for AW. As a local paddling club representative, we have both motive and opportunity to help.
The Outdoor Industry Foundation, in a 2004 study on outdoor recreation participation, estimates there are 220,000 active kayak enthusiasts nationally. The American Canoe Association reports 48,000 members. American Whitewater has about 6,400 members. We felt the low number of paddlers currently supporting AW’s River Stewardship work represent an opportunity, and with modest local effort, we can increase the % of active paddlers who maintain AW memberships each year.
Beginning in early July this year we took 3 steps to see what impact we could have locally in the PPWC to increase club member participation in AW.
1.We use a Yahoo Group to communicate items of interest to club members. We put a message together about AW asking members to join and support.
2.We created an AW section on the club website and posted the same message. It can be viewed at, http://www.pikespeakwhitewaterclub.com/amerww.html
3.We talked to individual club members during paddling trips about the work AW does, how they have been impacted locally, and the critical need for more support. In short we asked for people to join AW now.
We started with 7 AW members out of a club of 86 individual and family memberships. As of mid August, we have 11 new members increasing club AW membership % from 8% to 21%, for an increase of 157%, and counting. AW can work with club representatives to keep a tally on the success of your efforts and to let you know who is participating!
These results illustrate the impact a local campaign can have. The effort is modest, and if we can get similar results from each of the affiliate clubs, together we can make a difference that matters. Please join us by using our message, or a similar one and create an AW section on your club’s website. If you don’t have a website, please use whatever means you have to communicate with your members. I found personal conversations with paddling friends to have a big impact as well. Please take the opportunity now to put this model to work in your location and help us make a critical difference for an organization that does such good work for all of us.
Also remember that AW Affiliate Club members can offer their individual members a $10 savings on their AW membership. Each current club has a code (the club officers should have this or can contact craig@amwhitewater.org) that needs to be referenced when receiving this savings. Now through September 31, any club affiliate that brings at least 20 new or renewing members to AW earns a free year’s membership. That is a $75 savings AW is offering to your club!
Again, AW was originally formed to enable clubs to effectively run a grassroots campaign on local issues. To do this, they need your club’s support and contact information. Please contact Craig with your updated information and any interest your club would have in developing an AW Liaison position. One of AW’s challenges is staying current with who is doing what within the clubs.
Sincerely,
Mike Brown
(pictured above with son Garrett)