North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["William C. Garthright" <billg@inebraska.com>]

> I've heard this argument about two other organizations I'm active in 
> also. Make the publication available on line or die. Tell me, how do 
> we do it profitably.


That's always the question, isn't it? And when it comes to the future, 
who knows? Really, with new technology, it's always a struggle to see 
what works and what doesn't.

But in this case, sending "Pomona" out in pdf form would be a lot 
cheaper. You'd save money on printing and postage costs. And you'd get 
the money to cover expenses the same way you do now. Membership would 
still be required to get the publication.

Right now, I wouldn't necessarily change anything, except that I'd offer 
overseas members the option to get "Pomona" electronically (if that's 
practical, currently) or else a membership without the publication. In 
either case, it would be a cheaper membership (since I suspect that the 
biggest expense for them is the cost of international shipping). I 
really doubt if the membership as a whole wants to go entirely 
electronic, though that does seem to be the direction of things,... 
eventually.


> So Bill, are you now a member? Have you send a donation to help with 
> expenses?


Yes, though it took a few months to finally get around to it. If it 
would have been easier (online credit card or PayPal form), I would have 
done it sooner. Or if I'd been reminded of it regularly (it's easy to 
put these things off, especially since I almost never mail paper checks 
anymore).

On the other hand, I would never have joined at all without this free 
email list. I'd think that this is one of the greatest recruitment tools 
you've got, so you need to take advantage of it. Not the *only* way to 
recruit new members, of course. Far from it. But very valuable, 
nonetheless. And NAFEX needs to try multiple ways of recruiting.

After all, if the membership is only HALF what it used to be, something 
is wrong. The old methods must not be working. I can't really predict 
what *will* work, for certain, but this is how I joined the group. And 
don't forget that you're competing with all sorts of other 
organizations, all of which want money and attention. I'm sure they're 
all worthwhile groups, but not all will survive. If NAFEX is declining 
this badly, I'd guess that changes must be made. What changes? It's 
probably worth discussing here, don't you think?

Bill
Lincoln, NE

--
Our Founders' faith in the viability of representative democracy rested 
on their trust in the wisdom of a well-informed citizenry, their 
ingenious design for checks and balances, and their belief that the rule 
of reason is the natural sovereign of a free people. - "The Assault on 
Reason" by Al Gore