Pathways to Membership 

A common problem in volunteer groups is that newcomers
may feel like "outsiders" among inaccessible "insiders". 
Experience gained in Black Rose and BESS suggests that
this problem may be more acute when the organization is
large or when the newcomer is young (18-30).  Keys to
optimizing the membership pathway include a
well-informed staff, open and accessible leadership, and
a "The Next Generation" subgroup, working in
cooperation with a newcomers-only subgroup.

The ideal attendee is a leader within a volunteer
organization who is in a position to affect
newcomer-orientation procedures or a leader of a new
volunteer group.  This attendee should have an interest
in fostering both new and diverse membership and open
and accessible leadership.