The American Legion’s new member welcome toolkit features best practices and resources to actively connect with and engage new members.
Veterans joining The American Legion want to feel welcomed. They want to belong to a post that’s inviting and where members greet them the moment they walk through the post doors. And as much as members want to feel welcomed, posts want ideas on how to welcome new members that will create a lasting first impression. To support this need, The American Legion asked posts for best practices on welcoming new members and you answered.
The result is a new member welcome toolkit. View the toolkit here. The toolkit also is available for download and print at legion.org/publications under Membership.
There are direct links to online resources that only work when viewing the welcome toolkit digitally.
American Legion posts welcome new members in a variety of ways that other posts, no matter how big or small, can adopt. This toolkit is filled with best practices on how posts are welcoming new members, and resources to educate new members on who The American Legion is, and the impact the organization has from the post to national level.
The toolkit highlights:
- Dos and don’ts to welcoming a new member. Don’t assume by their gender that they are not a veteran. Do greet new members immediately when they walk through the post doors, with a positive attitude.
- How to create a good first impression. Set up a welcome table at the post entrance. On the table display one-sheeters and pamphlets about the post’s Legion Family, the programs your post supports, and the community activities that you’re involved in year-round.
- Best practices to welcome new members. Provide new members with a welcome kit that includes a welcome letter, post calendar, officer directory, post bylaws, post/district/department newsletter, a new member swag like a flag pin purchased through Emblem Sales, and a current copy of The American Legion Magazine.
- Resources to engage new members. The new customizable Post Impact Report template allows posts to drop in information from its Consolidated Post Report to show members and potential members how the post makes a difference in the lives of veterans, their families, children and the local community.
These are only a few of the many best practices and tools featured throughout the new member welcome toolkit. Download it now and share!
We will continue to update the new member toolkit with best practices. Do you have a best practice to welcoming new members that should be added in the toolkit? We want to hear it. Please email dispatch@legion.org.
- Dispatch