On December 11, 2015, AIA Virginia and the 5 AIA Chapters in Virginia signed a memorandum of understanding which culminates a year’s worth of work on aligning our membership goals and strategies.
Virginia components took a careful assessment of the way we work together in service and support of our members. We were awarded a membership alignment grant and met regularly this year to discuss opportunities for ongoing collaboration and cooperation. This process allowed us to understand each other, re-establish trust, eliminate redundancy, and strengthen our components. To continue this dialogue, Virginia components agree to continue to communicate electronically on a monthly basis and to meet on a quarterly basis to discuss opportunities for further cooperation and collaboration in service and support of our members.
Such opportunities for collaboration may include, but are not limited to:
- Coordinated submission for awards programs;
- Statewide communication for Architecture week;
- Supportive engagement in The Branch Museum of Architecture and Design; and outreach programs in area schools.
The areas in which the components discussed and agreed upon shared responsibilities include:
- Governance
- Opportunities to share Component Update and Component Relations tools such as board manuals and volunteer protocols.
- Membership
- Although our current retention efforts and membership numbers are great, we would like to strengthen our efforts on member recruitment and retention. These efforts will allow us to increase membership value by keeping members informed, recognizing their achievements across the state, and eliminating redundancy.
- Continuing Education and Events
- Continuing education is an essential benefit of our members. After the membership alignment discussions, we decided to refocus our continuing education efforts, eliminate redundancy, and capitalize on the strengths of our respective chapters. The strength of the local chapter/s is providing personal connection through chapter focused social events, and one-day continuing education programs like lunch and learns. The strength of the state chapter is providing multi-day continuing education opportunities like ArchEx, the Virginia Design Forum, and the upcoming Practice Summit.
If you have any questions about the ongoing membership alignment process, please contact Shanelle Calvin, Membership Manager, scalvin@aiava.org or your chapter leadership.