Don’t Ask … Don’t Get

Membership-upgrade requests should, according to Hines:

*Offer benefits and involvement opportunities beyond the basic membership — an additional two to four free admissions to the zoo, for example, or invitations to smaller, more personal events with key people in the organization.

*Be timed so they don’t “step on the toes of the regular renewal process” — for example, sending upgrade mailings in the spring to members who are due to renew in the fall and vice versa.