Naval Institute members now have the opportunity to bring the benefits of Institute membership directly to the next generation of naval officers and help them advance as leaders of their profession. The Institute is looking for donors to underwrite student memberships for midshipmen and cadets who are enrolled in NROTC units across the country or at one of the service academies. This is a particularly effective way to honor one’s alma mater by boosting those who will soon be fellow alumni—while also strengthening the Sea Services and supporting the Institute.
“Reading Proceedings as a midshipman helped ignite my passion for the Navy,” says digital-media entrepreneur Chris Michel of San Francisco, who has donated gift memberships for NROTC mids at his alma mater, the University of Illinois. “I think every mid would benefit from being an active member of the Naval Institute from Day One. In a very real sense, all sailors are members of a professional community, and Naval Institute membership is the best way to engage with our profession.”
In six sponsored NROTC units and three Naval Academy companies, midshipmen already are embracing the program, in large part because the gift of membership cements for them the nexus of alma mater, military service, and the Naval Institute. Midshipmen understand that their gifts come from a specific person—a successful fellow alum, wherever possible—who has stood in their shoes.
Once mids accept the gift of membership, the Naval Institute goes to work to deliver for them an experience they will value—a resource they will be inclined to renew for themselves once commissioned. Providing them with tools that help them advance within their profession plus a much improved online experience are key elements of the Institute’s strategy.
Over the past two years, the Institute has greatly increased its online offerings, improved its website and award-winning blog, expanded its eBook offerings, and completed new initiatives such as the Naval Wiki and the new U.S. Naval Institute mobile apps. Specifically for our NROTC and service academy midshipmen, we have redesigned our welcome-aboard membership information, helping them grasp all the different ways they can engage with us, use the Naval Institute as a resource, and grow professionally as a result. The Institute is also starting a new electronic newsletter especially for the recipients of these gift memberships. Its content will be fresh and geared more toward a new generation, even as it gives recipients a full sense of the Naval Institute’s 139 years of intellectual treasure.
The Naval Institute has performed due diligence with the Department of the Navy to ensure that these gratis memberships fall within the gift guidelines of what military personnel may accept. Student memberships are now priced at $20 across the board. For interested supporters, an annual tax-deductible contribution to the Institute of $1,500 to $4,000 will fund one-year gift memberships for all officer candidates in the average-size NROTC unit or service-academy company. Donors can sponsor a particular school, or make a general contribution to this project that will allow the Institute to extend memberships to under-represented units.
For more information about the Naval Institute’s midshipmen membership initiative, please contact Heather Lancaster at (410) 295-1048 or at [email protected].
Sponsorships received to date:
• Holy Cross College: VADM Peter H. Daly, USN (Ret.)
• Marquette University: David Chomeau
• U.S. Naval Academy:
- 6th Company: VADM James R. Sagerholm, USN (Ret.)
- 17th Company: Mary Ripley and the Ripley Family
- 30th Company: RADM Dan Bowler, USN (Ret.)
• University of Illinois: Chris Michel
• University of South Carolina: Tom Deas
• University of Wisconsin: RADM Dave Janes, USNR (Ret.)
• Virginia Military Institute: RADM Terry McKnight, USN (Ret.)