Like;many;associations,;the Appraisal;Institute;—;a Chicago-based;association of;real;estate;appraisers;— had;seen;a;steady;aging;of its;members;over;the;past decade.;Its;membership wasn’t;just;getting;older,
however.;It;also;was;becoming;relatively
stagnant,;as;new;growth;was;being;off-set;by;consistent;attrition.;In;an;effort
to;reverse;this;trend,;the;organization
embarked;in;2008;on;an;aggressive,
three-year;membership;recruitment;and
retention;campaign.
Associations;routinely;create;new
membership;campaigns.;AI’s,;how-ever,;was;different;—;and;successful
—;because;it;focused;on;diversity.;By
looking;beyond;its;history;and;its;typi-cal;member;demographics,;the;Institute
hoped;to;not;only;reach;a;new;crop;of
real;estate;appraisers,;but;also;develop
new,;long-lasting;programs;that;would
fuel;their;interest;in;the;profession.
Because;its;membership;numbers
had;plateaued,;AI;saw;both;an;oppor-tunity;and;a;warning;sign.;“If;we;are
not;successful;in;recruiting,;retain-ing,;advancing;and;promoting;younger
appraisers,;women;and;minorities;along
the;membership;designation;path;and
into;leadership;positions;within;the
organization,;we;will;not;survive,”;says
Thomas;A.;Dorsey,;MAI,;SRA,;former
chair;of;AI’s;Diversity;Committee.
Unfortunately,;neither;the;real;estate
industry;nor;the;appraisal;profession;is
as;diverse;as;the;general;population.;In
fact,;when;it;comes;to;minorities;in;real
estate,;“the;numbers;are;so;small,;no
one;even;bothers;to;keep;them,”;says
Michael;Bush,;former;executive;director
of;the;Real;Estate;Association;Program,
a;New;York-based;program;that;finds
and;trains;career-changing;minorities
for;positions;in;commercial;real;estate.
As;AI;embarked;on;its;three-year
recruitment;campaign,;one;thing;was
clear:;Diversity;needed;to;be;a;major
goal.;Achieving;it;—;and;achieving
membership;growth;at;the;same;time
—
;required;new;programs,;new;technol-ogy;and;even;new;staff,;all;of;which
would;result;in;a;brand-new;Appraisal
Institute.
The Approach
Repetition;of;consistent;messages
moves;people;from;awareness;to;action.
To;achieve;more;diversity;and;more
membership;growth,;AI;therefore;crafted
a;plan;to;“touch”;prospects;at;least;five
times;over;the;course;of;three;years.
To;make;each;of;its;five;touch
points;as;sticky;as;possible,;the;Insti-tute;developed;a;new;approach;to;its
membership;marketing;that;would;prove
especially;persuasive;for;young;people,
women;and;minorities:;All;marketing
materials;were;designed;to;communi-cate;how;AI;membership;translates;into
a;distinct;competitive;advantage;in;the
marketplace.;Leveraging;the;inherent
appeal;of;personal;and;peer-to-peer
communications,;tactics;and;tools;were
developed;using;photos;and;testimoni-als;showcasing;current;members;from
local;chapters;to;stimulate;recruitment
activity;at;the;local;level.
New Blood
Given;its;aging;membership,;AI’s;most
important;demographic;was;young
people.;Colleges;and;universities;were
therefore;ground;zero;for;membership
growth;and;diversity.
In;fact,;research;and;survey;data
reveal;that;most;individuals;decide
to;enter;the;appraisal;profession;as;a
second;career;choice.;A;major;goal;for
AI,;then,;is;making;it;a;first;choice.
Although;colleges;and;universities
in;the;past;did;not;offer;real;estate
appraisal;or;valuation;as;undergraduate
options,;many;now;do,;and;the;students
in;these;programs;are;prime;candidates
for;AI;membership.;AI’s;challenge;was
to;reach;these;aspiring;appraisers,;as
well;as;undergraduate;students;enrolled
in;other;real;estate-;and;finance-related
programs.
Unfortunately,;AI;had;limited;aca-demic;presence;at;colleges;and;uni-versities;compared;to;other;real;estate
associations.;This;prompted;the;Insti-tute;to;create;its;University;Outreach
Pilot;Program,;designed;to;expand;its
university-relations;efforts;—;both;at
the;graduate;and;undergraduate;level
—;and;enhance;the;visibility;of;the
appraisal;profession;among;real;estate
and;finance;students.
Of;course,;the;profession;had;plenty
of;visibility;before;the;real;estate
bubble;burst.;As;the;real;estate;mar-ket;expanded;and;grew;in;the;early;to
mid-2000s,;AI;experienced;parallel
membership;growth;—;thanks;in;large
part;to;students.;From;the;end;of;2006
through;early;2008,;nearly;22,000
appraiser;students;took;qualifying,
advanced;and;continuing;education;pro-grams;from;AI;and;its;local;chapters.;By
participating;in;AI;education;programs,
these;students;took;a;first;step;toward
increasing;their;expertise;in;the;real
estate;valuation;profession.
The;goal;of;the;University;Outreach
Pilot;Program;is;convincing;this;cohort
that;the;next;step;to;professional;devel-opment;is;Associate;membership;in;AI.
Increasing Access
Along;with;student;outreach,;AI;decided
that;another;way;to;grow;and;diversify
its;membership;was;to;remove;barriers
to;membership.;It;therefore;has;cre-ated;scholarships;that;make;it;easier
for;young;people,;women;and;minori-ties;to;enter;the;real;estate;appraisal
profession,;join;the;organization;and,
ultimately,;pursue;professional;designa-tions.
For;example,;student;members;typi-
cally;must;pay;a;$50;annual;member-
ship;fee;to;belong;to;AI;;those;who
qualify;for;financial;assistance,;how-ever,;can;receive;membership;scholar-ships.
Similarly,;each;year;AI’s;education
trust;allocates;$20,000;for;two;more
scholarship;programs.;The;first;program
encourages;minority;and;female;college
students;who;are;pursuing;academic
degrees;in;real;estate;appraisal;or
related;fields;to;apply;for;college;schol-arships.;The;scholarships;are;available
to;full-;and;part-time;students;who;are
enrolled;in;real;estate;courses;at;a;two-or;four-year;college;or;university.
The;second;program;encourages
minority;and/or;female;Associate;mem-bers;of;AI;to;apply;for;scholarships
for;the;education;required;to;achieve
designation.;Applicants;for;this;program
must;be;Associate;members;of;AI;in
good;standing,;active;in;appraising;and
in;need;of;financial;assistance;to;take
