Membership
4. HOW CAN MEMBERS HELP?
As policy, EWNHS envisages that the following major benefits can be accrued from members:
- Members are used as tools to sustain most activities of the society, although not in terms of financial sustainability as yet.
- Members are income generators (contribute to the core funding of the organization).
- Core-funding comes from annual subscriptions but additional financial support can be gained from members through appeals for specific work and paying a certain percentage to EWNHS and being involved in fund-raising campaigns organized by the Society.
- Membership fees are usually considered as very valuable source of income as they are not earmarked for specific activities and can be thus used flexibly whenever the organization wishes to cover core costs such as salaries and office running costs.
- Members can be mobilized to play active roles in advocacy, lobbying and awarenessraising.
- Members provide expertise in the form of voluntary services (unpaid time).
- Members assist in networking and promoting their mother Society.
- Members can play decisive roles in building the image of the organization of which they are a part.
- Members can be a source of influence in winning the support of the public, politicians and policy/decision-makers for the Society to meet its objectives.
- Number of members also matters in terms of giving weight and credibility to statements made through the organization (e.g. when lobbying and advocating at national level).
- Members can help the Society to stay focused on its original mission.
- Members can provide useful advice on the future direction of the Society.
- Membership is both a support to EWNHS (in terms of finance, advocacy, influence, lobbying) and involvement (in the Society’s activities as volunteers).
- The objectives of EWNHS can be better achieved through education, networking, awareness raising and dissemination of information, advocacy, monitoring and fundraising. The Society’s members play decisive roles as springboards in promoting the objectives of the organization. Therefore, membership is the organization’s constituency to help promote organizational objectives.
- Threatened animals cannot speak for themselves, but you can speak out for them via the support you provide to the EWNHS.
- Write protest letters and sign petitions in support of our campaigns as deemed necessary.
- Inform friends and all your contacts of the threats to biodiversity, natural resources and the environment as a whole.
- Assist in fund-raising and establishing contact with relevant conservation collaborators.
- A little help from you can help save species, sites and habitats and improve livelihoods of site adjacent impoverished people
