Some bailliages have found that 80% of their new members have come as guests. Many bailliages require a potential member to attend one or more events before offering membership. This gives the candidate a chance to evaluate his or her interest in the group and provides an opportunity for those who make the membership decisions to better consider the qualifications of the candidate.

Some chapters like to schedule special receptions for prospective new members at which the officers serve as hosts.

Some bailliages state that, to keep their local membership active, each member must attend a reasonable number of events, reasonable being defined in different ways; by some, attending a certain percentage of the bailliage’s scheduled events over a 2-year period.

If the bailliage has a waiting list, the Membership Committee should develop policies to be approved by the bailliage’s Board of Directors that deal with managing their waiting lists. Preference is often given to those wishing to transfer from other chapters.

A spreadsheet is an efficient way to keep track of members and prospective members.