MRW Initiatives

Please take a few minutes to complete this survey of your impressions of several of the initiatives we’ve undertaken in the past year. Your input will help us to make even better use of our time and energy in the year ahead. Thank you for contributing in this way to the success of our Club. –Deb Kaczmarek, MRW president

Initiative #1—Jeannette Money (aka “Spare Change Brings Big Change”)
Rationale: Members’ interest in supporting our projects is sometimes thwarted by a lack of time or by simple forgetting. We can provide an easy, fun opportunity to assist financially—even in a small way—and at the same time honor iconic member Jeannette Weir.
Cost of the initiative: less than $30

Initiative #2—Pizza, Beer & Politics Events
Rationale: Members who cannot regularly attend Saturday breakfast meetings may attend evening events in a less formal setting.
Cost of the initiative: approximately a break-even situation, thanks to donations by members and their families

Initiative #3—Credit card payment option for meetings and events
Rationale: Being responsive to members’ payment preferences might encourage participation.
Cost of this initiative: 2.5% credit card fee per transaction

Initiative #1—Revamp and update MRW website
Rationale: It is important for the Club to have an appealing web presence and to use the internet to publicize the club and its activities and to maintain contact with all members, including those who spend part of the year in other parts of the country and those who have discontinued their membership.
Cost of this initiative: web design was donated by a generous, talented member; hosting fees run about $7.00 per month.

Initiative #2—Founders’ Day Social
Rationale: An informal social event to honor MRW’s founding members with the hope of building relationships among current members and their spouses/significant others and former members for whom we have contact information
Cost of this initiative: still to be determined

Initiative #1—Dedicate a portion of four Saturday meetings to caucus preparation and an entire meeting to caucus training
Rationale: Members cannot be effective in the political process unless they participate in the “first rung” of that process; educating members about the caucus system will make members more willing to take part in that entry level of the political process and assure a greater representation of members at BPOU, CD and State conventions.
Cost of this initiative: none

Initiative #2—Undertake a pilot project in which MRW members of a single BPOU (SD 57—Rosemount/Apple Valley) collaborate with SD executive committee to host a social event for newly-elected precinct officers of that BPOU
Rationale: Hosting gatherings of Republican activists within BPOUs would enhance the visibility of our organization and connect our members with the party structure at the grass roots level, with the potential benefit of strengthening that party structure by encouraging social ties among newly-elected precinct leaders.
Cost of this initiative: none (SD 57 MRW members donated food and beverage items.)

Initiative #1—Encourage members’ regular use of and contribution to the MRW Facebook page by promoting the site on programs, bookmarks, brochures, business cards and by featuring photos of club activities on the site.
Rationale: The Club needs a media presence. Photos of our members engaged in club activities and projects will combat negative stereotypes of Republican women.
Cost of this initiative: none; a member volunteer oversees the Club’s presence on Facebook

Initiative #2—Design and distribute MRW logo-enhanced items (fliers, bookmarks, business cards, brochures, shopping bags, bags of jelly beans, etc.) to members and friends.
Rationale: Seeing attractive, pleasant, involved members of the community wearing/carrying/using MRW items will lead others to discount negative stereotypes of Republican women and will further increase the “visibility” of the Club.
Cost of this initiative: none; fliers and shopping bags were designed by a volunteer members and paid for by member donations, as were jelly beans distributed to delegates and alternates at CD2 and State conventions. (Profits earned from jelly bean sales were donated to the State Federation.) Printing of bookmarks and business cards has again been done without charge.

Initiative #3—Collecting toiletries and personal care items for the women of a local domestic violence shelter
Rationale—Simple charitable efforts in the local community can increase the visibility of our Club and counteract negative stereotypes of Republican women.
Cost of this initiative: none

Initiative #1—Organizing a Mega-Prize Drawing for Twins tickets for four, limousine service and gift card
Rationale—to expand on members’ obvious enjoyment of the door prize drawings that are part of every meeting by putting together a blockbuster prize to be awarded at the final meeting of the year—and perhaps end up with some profit that can be used for Club expenses
Cost of this project: As to the prize itself, the Club paid only for the gift card portion of this prize ($100-$150 range); all other items were donated by generous members or by family of our members.

Thank you for participating in this survey. Please feel free to use the box below to make specific suggestions about what we can do to make MRW an organization that serves you and the Republican cause more effectively.