About the Membership Management Forum

The Membership Management Forum is the UK-wide body for people employed to develop Friends and membership groups in British museums, galleries, heritage attractions and performing arts venues.

Anyone who has a paid membership role in such an organisation is invited to become part of MMF, as are academics researching in this area. Membership of the Forum is free, just click on the Join tab to find out how

Our origins

The MMF evolved out of a working group of paid membership managers whose member organisations were part of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA). The group proved an extremely valuable networking and learning mechanism for participants who felt that it would be beneficial if it opened up to other paid membership managers who were not part of ALVA.

Chaired by Alix Slater, MMF was launched in September 2004 at an inaugural meeting at the Natural History Museum with paid membership managers from more than 20 organisations. The aim was to develop a professional networking group that would expand over time. Today, MMF represents over 100 organisations from across the UK and is run by a small committee of volunteers: Caan Wells (British Library) and Lauren Perthen (Yorkshire Wildlife Trust), Georgie Eyre (Forestry England) and Mirella Jenei (The Royal Institution).

What does MMF do?

Networking events - featuring regular talks from expert speakers on the latest trends in the sector. Our events are virtual right now, but it's a great way to stay in touch and support each other, as we all navigate new challenges, trends and ways of working.
E-Newsletters - featuring event details, job opportunities in the sector and requests for information or insight from members.
Conferences - from time to time, we arrange conferences bringing together peers and a range of guest speakers.

We believe that sharing findings with each other helps us all to learn in a non-judgemental way amongst like-minded proefessionals. Working with industry experts helps to develop expertise and raise standards in membership across the cultural and heritage sectors.