Resuming Meeting Guidance
After the new Rule of Six was announced, you will be aware that the NFWI withdrew their previously-released Resuming Meeting Guidance and advised WIs that members should not meet in groups larger than six. There were some queries about whether this extended to WIs meeting in Covid-secure halls, as the Government guidance was ambiguous, but after receiving further clarification from the Government (on Monday 14 September), which specifically mentioned WI meetings, the memo on My WI was updated to say that WI meetings of more than six people cannot take place even in a COVID-19 secure community facility.
NFWI is still in the process of updating the new Resuming Meetings Guidance to reflect the Rule of Six law, which will explore ways that WIs can work with these new rules to maintain their WI experience, however if you have any questions or concerns in the meantime, please do get in touch at membership@nfwi.org.uk.
Try the WI Taster Membership
‘Try the WI’ highlights the opportunity available to new members to have a WI membership from 1st October 2020 – 31st March 2021 for only £10.75.
This is using the unique opportunity given by the three-month subscription extension. The pro rata rate for new members from Oct – Dec is £10.75, and the subscription extension means that renewals will be pushed back to 1st April 2021, which means that Oct – March is available for new members at £10.75.
The aim of ‘Try the WI’ is to support and encourage WIs to grow and attract new members.
You may already have seen the promotion insert in October’s WI Life, which is also available on My WI.
We are hoping that you will receive increased interest from potential new members during this time and that your WIs are encouraged to embrace them and grow their WIs. We know from many of you that this is already the case, though ongoing COVID-19 restrictions are meaning you are needing to be more creative to welcome new members in.
This recruitment initiative was planned before the new Rule of Six came into place, at a time when many WIs were starting to meet again. Of course, the new Rule of Six, and subsequent restrictions on WI meetings, makes recruitment much more difficult, however there is an opportunity for WIs to grow, particularly for WIs who have been able to create a virtual WI experience for their members. For many women, the WI may be just the lifeline they are looking for, now more than ever, so please do welcome new members.
An NFWI blog post on My WI has been created to give you more ideas about how you and your WIs can encourage women to try the WI and welcome new members at this time.