Extension Lakes

Organizational capacity

Membership

​Membership capacity reflects the value of an organization to the population of its possible supporters. People and households tend to join organizations if they believe doing so will reflect well on them, if they understand and believe in what the organization seeks to accomplish, and perhaps if they may receive something beneficial in return for their support. Lake associations attract members who believe that by joining forces with neighbors, they can have a collective impact on the health of their lake. Lake districts, in contrast, typically have boundaries drawn to include all those landowners who would benefit from the lake district; once the district is formed, the landowners become compulsory “members” of the district.

Wisconsin’s surface water grant program has long recognized the importance of membership capacity for ensuring that grant funds are allocated wisely. Lake districts and other local governments are automatically eligible for grants; lake associations must meet the DNR’s standards for a qualified lake association​. Several of the standards focus on membership aspects of the lake group, specifically:​

• The lake association must have at least 25 members;
• Membership fees must be no less than $5 or more than $50;
• Any individual who owns real estate or resides (seasonally or year-round) within one mile of the lake must be allowed to become a member; and
• Members cannot be denied the right to vote in lake association affairs

The overall thrust of these requirements is that a qualified lake association should be relatively open and non-discriminatory when determining who is eligible to become members. Many lake associations choose to be even more open, allowing anyone who wishes to support lake preservation or conservation efforts to become a member. Attracting members is only one step in an ongoing process of membership management and development. Experienced lake organizations know that membership turns over: new people move to the lake as long-timers move away, and members need to be continuously cultivated if they are to be more than “just a member” and become volunteers, board members, donors and ambassadors.

Drawing on the research of Mae Davenport and Erin Seekamp, the Extension Lakes program identified five facets of membership capacity that lake organizations would ideally be prioritizing in order to build a solid foundation for their efforts:​

1. Raise Awareness: The ability to develop and maintain a high level of knowledge within members about lake conditions and management options.
2. Access Technical Skills: Intentional recruitment to bring in volunteer or paid staff to provide critical expertise, such as project management, water quality management, accounting, communication, fundraising, etc.
3. Identify Issues: Collect information (meetings, interviews, etc.) from both members of your organization and the community to document their priorities for lake management or improvement.
4. Create a Process for Involvement: An open, transparent approach to engaging citizens has been developed to recruit new members and increase discussion within the larger community about issues important to your organization.
5. Conduct Outreach: Members of your organization (including those who don’t currently hold a leadership role) are capable and active promoters of your mission to their connections, which has led to new members and donations to support your efforts.

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For more information about organizational capacity for lake groups in Wisconsin contact:

Sara Windjue, Leadership and Capacity Development Specialist
(715) 346-3212 or sara.windjue@uwsp.edu​

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