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AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS PROVIDES $3,600 TO SUPPORT MEMBERSHIP GROWTH
Nine AGO Chapters Received Grants and Awards at AGO National Convention in Chicago |
Aug. 8, 2006
NEW YORK CITY — The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is pleased to announce the results of its 2005–2006 Membership Grants and Awards Program. Established in 2004, the program was created to assist AGO chapters with membership recruitment and retention programs, and to reward chapters for significant increases in voting membership. Grant recipients are chosen by review of submitted grant applications and awards are determined at AGO National Headquarters by a review of the end-of-the year membership totals. The names of the chapters receiving grants and awards were announced at the AGO Annual Meeting on Monday, July 3, in Chicago, Ill.
Three chapters that had designed an outstanding and fully conceived membership development campaign for 2006–2007 were awarded grants in the amount of $500 each:
Nashville (Tenn.) Chapter
Southern Indiana Chapter
York (Pa.) Chapter
Two chapters were awarded grants in the amount of $250 each:
Cape Cod and the Islands (Mass.) Chapter
Denver (Colo.) Chapter
One grant was awarded in the amount of $100:
Orange County (Calif.) Chapter
Three chapters that demonstrated an increase in membership of at least ten percent in 2005–2006 received awards in the amount of $500 each.
Salisbury (Md.) Chapter—88% increase
Singapore Chapter—47.5% increase
Tidewater (Fla.) Chapter—27% increase
Grants and awards were made by the AGO Committee on Membership Development and Chapter Support. "The committee believed that the creation of a grants and awards program would be both motivational and rewarding for chapters," noted Jennifer Madden, AGO Manager of Membership and Administration and staff liaison to the Committee on Membership Development and Chapter Support. "The number of applicants for the grant program was quite impressive. Chapters receiving awards were both honored and inspired to recruit more members for their chapters in the future. The development of new membership recruitment and retention ideas outside of the committee is an added bonus of these programs." The members of the 2005–2006 Committee on Membership Development and Chapter Support are Shirley King, DMA, director; Herbert R. Buffington, MM; Marcia Van Oyen, DMA, AAGO; and Herbert K. Williams, BA. Chapters receiving grants and awards and the details of their recruitment efforts will be featured in the September 2006 issue of The American Organist Magazine.
The AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS is the national professional association serving the organ and choral music fields. Founded in 1896 as both an educational and service organization, it sets and maintains high musical standards and promotes the understanding and appreciation of all aspects of organ and choral music. The mission of the AGO is to enrich lives through organ and choral music. The Guild currently serves approximately 19,000 members in more than 300 local chapters throughout the United States and abroad. The American Organist Magazine, the official journal of the AGO and the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, reaches an audience of more than 20,000 readers each month.
This information is submitted by F. Anthony Thurman, Director of Development and Communications at the National Headquarters of the American Guild of Organists and The American Organist Magazine. For further information, please contact Dr. Thurman by TEL (212) 870-2310, FAX (212) 870-2163 or E-MAIL fathurman@agohq.org.
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