Access your member database. Do a search on someone who has not attended an event in a while. If you have a touch-log system, find someone who has not been in touch with you or interacted with your organization over the past six months. Take a look at his/her social networking profile(s). Check for a blog. Reach out to them by commenting on something that they have done recently or tweet a blog post of theirs that you’ve enjoyed. Or if you’re feeling really zany – call the member. Think back to when this person was an active member of your organization. What did he/she do? What groups did he or she belong to? Tell him or her that the work he/she did is missed and ask why you haven’t seen him/her recently. Be direct and listen. Do not use guilt. Use compassion. Remind the member (through your attention) of why he/she originally joined the group.
Repeat this action whenever you can.