In her most recent STET post, President Laura Stigler noted IWOC has launched Plan B of its strategy to return to long-term viability as an association dedicated to the lives and businesses of its members – the independent writers of Chicago. After exploring opportunities to merge with other associations, IWOC recently adopted an experimental plan to determine if we are able to rebuild membership to pre-pandemic levels. 

Before going into the details of the membership plan, consider the reasons for re-investment in the future of IWOC and its revitalization. 

A ringing endorsement.

Longtime member, Jim Kepler, submitted a testimonial about the assignments he received through IWOC. Rather than the specific assignments, think of all the Chicagoans’ lives his work touched or benefited: the Union League Club, consumers of corporate products, firefighters, crisis management professionals, college students, and writers in general. He gained skills to work effectively in teams, found new friends, and activated others in the defense of free speech (Rushdie). He is a model of the IWOC ethos.

I suspect many of us have similar testimonials about the clients we won, the businesses or organizations who thrived with our support, and the persons who benefited from our writing or content creation for Chicago, Illinois, and national audiences.

Driven to increase membership.

In a recent meeting, the Board adopted a plan to fund a onetime membership drive over three months. In July, we posted on Facebook the benefits of IWOC as outlined on our "Join IWOC" page. We will continue to repost these benefits over the next two months. We also promoted our recent meeting to nonmembers and the monthly STET blog with the recent testimonial. In August, we intend to extend our outreach to include LinkedIn posts and to feature our upcoming promotional activity at the Printers Row Lit Fest. In September, we anticipate a capstone push to attract nonmembers to our annual Roundtable meeting to reinforce the messaging we will be sharing during the three-month membership drive. Our goal is modest: we want 12 new members by mid-October.

What can you do as current members and STET subscribers? 

We need to broadcast our membership benefits far and wide. Login to your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts to like or repost our IWOC messaging. If we do not reach our goal of 12 new members, the association will likely become impracticable in the long term. We will have to move on to Plan C or D: winding down IWOC after 45 years of value-added services to Chicago’s private and public sectors.

I for one am hopeful that IWOC will persist. 

I am hopeful we may find a way to honor our past while also building a new future in a world with a constantly changing media landscape. I believe there are writers and content creators in Chicago who will help us carry on the traditions and rebuild the community we have enjoyed over the years. We need your support and your advocacy to make it so. Help us to share the IWOC membership benefits on Facebook, LinkedIn, or whatever social media platforms you favor.

--- Joe Wycoff, IWOC member since 2019

In her most recent STET post, President Laura Stigler noted IWOC has launched Plan B of its strategy to return to long-term viability as an association dedicated to the lives and businesses of its members – the independent writers of Chicago. After exploring opportunities to merge with other associations, IWOC recently adopted an experimental plan to determine if we are able to rebuild membership to pre-pandemic levels.