September 13, 2021

Happy third week of Membership Month, everyone! This week we’re breaking down the ins and outs of Membership Registration and getting members through the door! We’ve had a tough year, but we’ve seen a lot of interest and excitement at chapters in the last few weeks which is AMAZING! Now we want to give you the tools to register your members and answer any questions you may have!

*** We also know there have been issues with our registration portal as we make the transition to a new platform. If you are experiencing issues, please email mailbox@aias.org. If you are a chapter leader that has members sharing issues, please write down their name and the email associated with their aias account, and send it to your Quad Director, as we have a running list at the office. We are working as fast as possible to resolve any issues, and we thank you for your continued patience.***

REGISTERING MEMBERS

Of course, all members can renew and join on their own through our membership portal on the link in the top right corner of the website. But… did you know that having your members go online and register themselves is NOT your only option? Get creative and talk to your school!

DISCOUNT CODES

If your chapter wants to sponsor part of your members’ individual dues to encourage early registration, (or your school does), we can create a unique discount code for a certain dollar amount off for your members! Your chapter pays for the discount code up front, and sets the number of times it can be used. Your chapter can pay via PayPal, credit car, or check. You can decide how long you want the code active!

BULK REGISTRATION

Many chapters achieve LARGE numbers by using our option of bulk registration with an invoice. Your chapter or school sends us a list of members, with necessary info (which we can provide a list of when you reach out), and a bulk payment. The National Office then registers your members on the back end. This can help encourage early registration, partial discounts, and participation. (Many schools actually pay for 11 executive members!)

BATCH REGISTRATION

Have 3 rounds of registration rates, where early is 50% off, midway is 25% off, and last chance is $5 off. Your chapter must fundraise or secure school support to ensure you can still pay the full amount to the National Office following the bulk registration process above.

PARITY PROGRAMS

Parity programs can be used in conjunction with the previous two options. There are many ways to do this, and it’s a great way to work with your school. One option is to split the membership dues in three. Students pay part, (or none for the first few!), to the chapter, and then the chapter and the school split the rest.

MEMBERSHIP COMPETITION ALERT!!!

LEVEL UP: MEMBERSHIP GROWTH COMPETITION

National rewarding you for your hard work growing your numbers?? YES PLEASE!! This Membership Growth Competition will be based on how much you can grow your membership numbers from last year by the end of October. On that date, the National Office will compare the percentage growth between your membership numbers on October 31st, 2020, to October 31st 2021!

– One Chapter per Quad/Region will win and receive $100!

– Note: The Chapter must have at least 11 members, with their President registered by October 31st, 2021.

INTERNATIONAL DUES

INTERNATIONAL MEMBERSHIP

To adjust for the exchange rates and USD value in our member’s countries outside the United States, the Finance Committee proposed an adjusted set of dues, which the Board of Directors and Council of Presidents passed. These will be reviewed each year by the Finance Committee and Board.

Lebanon = $7.00 USD

Brazil = $8.00 USD

Canada = $38.00 USD

China = $26.00 USD

India = $20.00 USD

South Korea = $40.00 USD

UAE = $45.00 USD

Mexico = $17.00 USD

Egypt = $12.00 USD

Jordan = $41.00 USD

Kuwait = $40.00 USD

Qatar = $37.00 USD

Honduras = $35.00 USD

THE MEMBERSHIP GRANT CAMPAIGN

Are any of your peers struggling financially but want to be in AIAS? This is your chapter’s tool for a donation campaign. Send it to local firms, your AIA component, your professors, and ask your school’s alumni association to spread it as well.

WHAT IS IT?

AIAS membership dues should not be a barrier to accessing the benefits that the AIAS has to offer. Many of these benefits provide members with access to information about the profession, networking opportunities, and leadership skills. These experiences are more important now than ever before. There are a few ways people can help! We believe in the power of small donations and are offering four different ways to donate. We also want to say thank you to those who are able to donate, so if you sponsor a member you can expect a letter in the mail with an AIAS sticker. If you sponsor four or more members, we’ll be sending an AIAS mug!

4 WAYS TO DONATE:

– A little goes a long way! Help out with a $4.00 donation!

– Sponsor a single member for $47.00

– Sponsor four members for $188.00

– Pitch in and sponsor even more members!

MEMBERS MUST APPLY!

The AIAS Membership Grant will be awarded on a rolling basis as funds are available to students who have indicated sufficient need. If you are interested in receiving a sponsored membership please fill out the application linked below. If your members don’t apply, we cannot give away the memberships!

AIAS ALUMNI SUPPORT

As an option, you can also specify a chapter to help support. Support your past chapter that helped you on your path.

LINK

https://www.aias.org/membership/membership-grant/

PRO TIPS

  1. You can refer fellow schools to become AIAS chapters! Have a chapter near you, (whether in the U.S. or not), that you’d like to partner with or think could benefit from AIAS? Email their school’s name and a contact to vicepresident@aias.org!
  2. Host a big event during the semester! And be sure to work with other student organizations on campus like NOMAS, USGBC, and IIDA. Be sure to invite the entire student body, faculty and staff, and professionals from the area. Here are a few campus event ideas:
    1. Used Book Sale: Collect architecture professors and students’ used books and sell them to your student body. Get them to linger by providing free coffee and baked goods!
    2. Host a Comedian: Stress sucks. You know what doesn’t? Laughing. Help everyone unwind, in a way that you can 100% socially distance, by hosting a local comedian. Provide counseling resources on their way out, and maybe a workshop with your school’s counseling center the week after.
    3. Silent Disco: Everyone can wear a mask because you’re probably not singing aloud on the dance floor, and you are more than OK to isolate if you want to while still being part of the group.
    4. Cook Out: Host a cookout to start the year off right! Make sure to get everyone there by working with your faculty advisor and administration to get a food permit. Don’t forget to bring lawn games, a soccer ball, or frisbee. And ask your professors to raffle off some of their work or napkin sketches.
  3. No matter the event you host DON’T LET THEM LEAVE WITHOUT REGISTERING! Set up computers or tablets with the membership portal open for on site registration by the door. Alternatively, you can collect a list of names and emails, and have members venmo or pay in cash to your treasurer. Your chapter can then send the national office a check/paypal payment and a spreadsheet of names and emails to register! After an initial inclusive event, registered members can be given priority, and ideally you’ve shown them the value of your chapter – that you can create change together.

Questions?

Any Questions? Ideas? Email vicepresident@aias.org and Vice President Shannon DeFranza can help you! This year’s theme is EVOLVE. During #AIASmem21, the national office will be focusing on how we can evolve to be better versions of ourselves. Do you have ideas on how to better serve our members? Share at the Town Hall October 6th, 8 pm ET!

Watch out for Visible Value Wednesday this week as VP DeFranza breaks it all down! Next week will focus on Local Chapter Love and the resources available to you!. 

Reminders

Use the Membership Manual as your guide to increasing your membership this year! And as always be sure to share photos from your chapter on social media and tag @aiasorg and your Quad or Region account. The membership month hashtags are:

#AIASmem21

#AIASEvolve

#AIASLevelUP

#AIASHowitStartedvsHowitsGoing

#AIASleadership

#AIASdesign

#AIASservice