"Shaping Our Future" Membership Questionnaire

In November 2001, at the previous Ebytown annual general meeting, the membership gave me approval to create and distribute a membership survey for Ebytown. I created the survey by working together with a group of committed Ebytown members who contributed many suggestions for questions. The survey was distributed in March 2002.

The purpose of the membership survey was two-fold:

1. To determine the ways in which membership and member participation could be increased at Ebytown.
2. To determine a picture of what members would like Ebytown to look like and how they would like Ebytown to function in the future.

The following recommendations are suggestions that stem from the frequency of responses to certain survey questions (e.g., 86.7% of members replied "yes" when asked if they would purchase local, organic produce from Ebytown) as well as the common themes that emerged from the responses member gave to open-ended questions (e.g., Describe your ideal vision for the future of Ebytown). I presented a summary report of the findings in July 2002 to the membership at an Ebytown community potluck.

Copies of both reports are available to all members at the Ebytown Food Co-operative by the front cash at the door.

With the goals of the membership survey in mind, I have prepared some general recommendations for the co-op to consider while generating plans for the future.

Recommendations

1. Increase the number of member events or opportunities to be involved with other members at Ebytown. This can be accomplished through:
   • Holding more work days, potlucks and field trips (the top 3 items Ebytown members were most interested in based on the survey findings)
   • Having consistent store hours with 2 people always working a shift
   • Continuing to have the Community Feast events sponsored by Ebytown
   • Participating in more community based events to provide members an opportunity to be involved - such as information stands at other events (e.g. Dandelion Festival, etc.)
2. Increase and improve communication at Ebytown between members and between the Board and the membership. This can be accomplished through:
   • Increased frequency of email updates to members.
   • Increased frequency of paper & pen updates to members (perhaps through a weekly handout that lists upcoming events, etc.) This does not need to be large; a half size sheet of 8.5 x 11 paper would suffice.
   • Increased frequency of the Telesco-op newsletter.
3. Increase our community profile. This can be accomplished through:
   • Hosting more / continuing to host community based events (such as the Community Feast) for members to be involved and to attract new members.
   • Continuing and strengthening our work with other likeminded organisations in the community such as the Working Centre, the BarterWorks network, WPIRG, and FoodLink.
   • Advertising through pamphlets or flyers at organisations in the community where potential members may frequent such as the Princess Theatre, Muses Café, the Organic Juice Bar Café, the Jane Bond, the People's Car Co-op, the Waterloo Region Co-op Council office and in their mailouts, the Credit Unions, the Waterloo Region Community Health Department outreach activities, WPIRG, etc…
4. Plan and implement steps to facilitate the relocation of Ebytown to a more visible, accessible, and central location. This can be accomplished through:
   • The creation of an active working committee with at least 5 members to complete and submit a grant proposal for funding to accommodate the move. The committee should also have the ability to identify tasks that need to be accomplished by groups of members as determined by the proposal guidelines (such as writing a business plan, etc.).
   • The solicitation of the advice and support of a co-op 'consultant' from the Waterloo Region Co-operative Council or the People's Car Co-op with respect to the grant proposal and our future plans.
   • The commitment of the membership to actively support this decision (to apply for a grant and hire co-op developers to facilitate moving the store) through their increased spending at Ebytown and the completion of any tasks deemed necessary by the working committee.
   • The commitment of the membership to collectively work together to ensure that Ebytown survives into the future by acknowledging both our collective ownership and responsibility to Ebytown. We should not expect two or three people to carry the responsibility of ensuring that Ebytown remains a viable organisation in the future.