When you volunteer to run a club or activity group, you want to get connected with others who share your passion. Sometimes, though, all you get is a headache. To help smooth out the potentially harried business of event scheduling, dues management and communication, clubs across the country, from the Acadiana Woodturners of Louisiana to the Yarn Divas of Robson Resort’s own Robson Ranch Texas, are turning to the free club-management platform, GroupWorks.
“It’s a perfect solution for us,” says Ajit Mathew George, chairman of the American Wine Society’s First State Wine Guild. “I’m able to reach out to a whole group in a very personalized way. It really creates its own community and enables us to really be successful.”
Founded in 2012, and formerly known as MyGrove, GroupWorks is aimed at and geared for active adults.
“We have such an enthusiastic member base,” says Spencer Morgan, GroupWorks founder and chief community officer.
GroupWorks’ easy-to-use platform helps stoke that enthusiasm. The all-in-one app allows group leaders to communicate with members via group emails, club posts and comments. It manages club events and handles RSVPs. It collects payments and dues. The app also boasts a secure environment, allowing club members to control how their personal information is shared and displayed.
“The technology is your friend,” says Morgan. “GroupWorks is a place to manage everything and be your hub of communication.”
Morgan launched GroupWorks after an assignment took the then-journalist to the National Senior Games.
“Everywhere I went, from the badminton court to the pool, I talked with amazing, passionate people. But something troubled me,” Morgan says. “While age had not dimmed these active adults’ fire, social-media platforms hadn’t stoked them. In fact, as I began to do research at active-adult communities, I saw that the existing platforms weren’t serving these adults at all.”
Today, GroupWorks has become indispensable to club organizers such as Herb Clark of Sun City West’s 700-member-plus Automotive/Restoration Club.
“A lot of our members are ‘snowbirds’ and are only around three to six months each year,” Clark says. “GroupWorks is the only tool of its kind that allows us to fully communicate with our members.”
To Morgan, GroupWorks isn’t just the solution to a problem, but a way forward for active, engaged adults.
“My hope is that GroupWorks will be a great resource for adults to pursue their passions,” he says.
To find out more information or contact GroupWorks, please visit www.groupworks.com.