Making sure that people who are CAHNET members renew year after year is only part of keeping the network healthy. Another part is recruiting new members, because each year a few current members don't renew for one reason or another. In order to sustain the level of CAHNET membership, new members need to replace them.

New faces who can both benefit from the experience of long-time CAHNET members, as well as provide a new perspective and bring new ideas to the initiative. What strategies can an existing member use to attract a potential member to CAHNET? First, probably the best source for excellent, practical information is to go straight to those who have figured out the recruitment puzzle already.

What is in it for current members? Every calendar year, CAHNET has a Sponsorship Contest, with recognition and rewards, for those who sign up the most new members. Every year at renewal time (most memberships expire on August 30), CAHNET offers an incentive to sponsor new members. Send in a new member application with your renewal and save money on your membership fee.

The more new members you recruit, the more you can take off your dues. So those new members can save you cash, but the real value comes from adding to CAHNET membership and what each member can bring to benefit the nework - expertise, experience and comraderie.

There are a variety of ways to sign up a new member. You can download a membership application (member application form), fill it and send it to any of country offices (you can also drop it off at our regional office in Nairobi) or use our online registration form. Whichever way you choose, make sure your name is down as the new member sponsor.