For years, the Junior League of Salt Lake City has welcomed new members through a 6-class Provisional Course. In June of 2022, we changed our model to a Rolling Membership admissions process. Over the last year of having this program in place, we have welcomed over 20 dedicated women into our League. As we work to improve and continue this program, I am inspired by the potential growth our League will see.

The reason for the change comes from the needs of our potential new members. For the last few years, more women have been reaching out throughout the typical “semester” of Provisional Courses and have been told to wait until the next session begins. We were losing contact with these women and wanted to make a change. Plus, the 6-class structure is not the most accommodating for the new hybrid lifestyle we have become accustomed to over the last few years.

After adapting the Provisional Courses into a virtual format over the pandemic, the materials were already there for us to make the easy transition to the Rolling Membership model. Many leagues across the nation also use this model and have found great success.

All of the important information is still shared with each new member, they still have a new member advocate to guide them through the first bit of their Junior League Journey, and they still have new member expectations to fulfill. But now, we immediately place each member onto one of our Project Committees such as CARE Fair and Women Helping Women.

Women joining during the year are asked to attend quarterly orientations. As we experimented throughout the year, a more casual and laid-back format worked best for us as well as the new members.

Allowing women joining the Junior League to get hands-on experience almost immediately has proven to be an effective model. The women who have joined over the last year have been more engaged, feel more empowered and live our mission every day — from the start.

Change can be hard, but as we’ve seen throughout this past year, this change has been smooth sailing. The New Member Director and New Member Advocates worked hard to create and implement a new way of welcoming our members. Their success is the League’s success, and they have contributed greatly to our membership and mission.