Some survey respondents needed to be reminded about membership renewal

Further to the results of the survey, What are the main reasons you decided not to renew your genealogy society membership?, the number one reason respondents wrote in the Other box was: “I forgot to renew” or “No one reminded me.” Several respondents also complained they were not able to renew online.

The 302 people who took part in the survey were offered a number of multiple-choice answers about why they chose not to renew their local and/or long-distance genealogy society membership. They also had the opportunity to select Other and fill in their own answer. With the exception of forgetfulness and needing a reminder, the Other answers covered a wide range.

Did I forget to renew?

Comments about local society membership

1. Bunch of snobs.
2. Too much childish fighting going on between some members.
3. Society was run by a small, controlling and secretive clique.
4. Meetings held during the day when I worked.
5. Same people do the same thing over and over and have complete resistance to any new ideas.
6. Lack of vision and entrepreneurial spirit.
7. Absolutely no research techniques being taught.
8. The older members didn’t seem to progress beyond basic knowledge.
9. Lectures were more about history than genealogy.
10. All geared toward newbies.
11. Concentration on certain ancestor groups to the exclusion of others.
12. They discontinued their publication.
13. Meetings became way too formal/business-like.
14. Lack of transparency. Directors avoided requested information in regards to the operation of the society.
15. No bylaws were presented. When I finally got a copy and questioned some of the practices, even though I was elected to hold office, the president threw me out of the office which violated the bylaws.
16. Everything that is offered is free to the public — databases and meetings. I didn’t get anything in member benefits.
17. Forgot to renew. No reminder sent.
18. No way to pay dues online or for more than one year at a time.
19. The society ceased existing.

Comments about long-distance society membership

1. Online access to subscription databases changed.
2. Society dropped databases it had been offering.
3. Society stopped offering at-home access to key items.
4. They took away a resource I joined for.
5. Only received board meeting minutes that had nothing of value. No website. No communication about resources.
6. No easy way to pay for membership.
7. No way to pay online.
8. One year I just forgot to renew.
9. Society moved byond its original localized focus towards a nationwide one.
10. Newsletter many months delayed, and it was the only member benefit.
11. The officers have been in office for at least 10 years.
12. Same membership price even though I had no access to their library as do the local members.
13. The membership fee was extra for remote members, but they were not able to benefit from most of the society’s activities. The newsletters were not available electronically, and the executive seemed to resent non-local members.
14. No website.
15. No follow-up from the society, no communication.
16. Disappointed that members did not receive a discount on research done by society researchers.
17. Only benefit was the quarterly bulletin, which wasn’t very helpful.
18. Discontinued publications.
19. Forgot to renew and society never sent a reminder.

To see the results of the multiple-choice part of the survey, read the blog post, Survey results indicate people leave societies because little value offered.