Dear collector friends, we have decided to implement the introducing member field on the WPC Club membership form. This is a free text space where new members can enter the name of the existing member who introduced them to the association.
The goal is twofold. First, it simplifies the acceptance process for new collectors who, being introduced by an active member, demonstrate a connection to the trusted network of the WPC Club community. Second, it opens the door to the Bring a Friend to WPC Club contest, an initiative that actively involves existing members in expanding the pool of collectors dedicated to promoting phonecard collecting and the PIM fair.
Article Contents
What Is the Introducing Member Field?
The introducing member field is a simple text input added to the WPC Club membership form. When a new collector fills in the form to join the Worldwide Phonecards Collectors Club, they can enter the name of the existing WPC Club member who introduced them to the association.
The field is optional: new collectors who discover the WPC Club independently are warmly welcome and can join without any reference. However, for those who were brought to the club by a fellow collector, recording the name of their introducing member formalises a relationship that is valuable for both the new member and the association.
For the introducing member, it is a recognition of their role as an ambassador of the hobby. For the new member, it is a starting point: a named point of contact within the club who can answer questions, share experience and help them find their feet in the international phonecard collecting community.
The WPC Club membership form, including the introducing member field, is available on the official website.
The Bring a Friend Contest: A New Way to Grow the Community
The introducing member field is directly connected to the Bring a Friend to WPC Club contest, a new initiative that rewards active members for inviting fellow collectors to join the association. When a new member mentions the name of an existing WPC Club member in the introducing member field, that member receives recognition for their contribution to the growth of the community.
The contest runs from January 2026 and is designed to make the act of introducing new members concrete, measurable and rewarding. Full details, including how participation is counted and what prizes are available, are in the dedicated contest article.
The introducing member field and the Bring a Friend contest are complementary tools: together, they make the organic growth of the WPC Club community a shared responsibility and a shared reward.
Why the Introducing Member Matters: 6 Essential Benefits
For a voluntary association such as the Worldwide Phonecards Collectors Club, the onboarding of new members is not simply an administrative process. It is a cultural and relational moment that shapes how new members experience the club and whether they remain engaged over time. The introducing member plays a central role in this process.
1. It Facilitates Integration and Reduces Barriers to Entry
A new member often enters an unfamiliar environment: unknown people, a specific internal language, established dynamics and relational networks that take time to understand. The introducing member acts as a relational bridge, a known and trusted point of contact who can guide the newcomer in their first interactions, answer practical questions and offer a sense of direction within the community. This initial support significantly reduces the uncertainty that any new member faces and accelerates the development of a genuine sense of belonging to the WPC Club.
2. It Conveys Values, Mission, and Association Culture
Nonprofit associations are not governed solely by formal rules: they are shaped above all by shared values, a collective mission and a culture that develops over time. A document or institutional communication can describe these elements, but it cannot transmit them with the same authenticity and credibility as a fellow collector who has lived them firsthand. The introducing member, speaking from personal experience, communicates the spirit of the WPC Club – its commitment to phonecard collecting, its international character, its relationship with the PIM fair – in a direct and human way that no text can fully replicate.
3. It Improves the Quality of the New Member Experience
The quality of a new member’s initial experience in an association has a direct impact on their long-term engagement. A structured, personalised and supportive welcome increases initial satisfaction and makes it more likely that the new member will remain active, participate in the association’s activities and contribute to its life over time. The presence of an introducing member transforms the first steps in the WPC Club from an anonymous process into a guided, human experience that sets a positive tone for everything that follows.
4. It Strengthens Responsibility and Internal Participation
The introducing member role does not only benefit new members: it actively involves existing members in a meaningful way. Accepting the role of introducing member means recognising one’s own status as an ambassador of the WPC Club and the hobby it represents. This strengthens the sense of responsibility within the community, recognises the value of experienced members and encourages a culture of widespread, distributed leadership that is essential for a healthy and growing association.
5. It Ensures Consistency in the Onboarding Process
When the introduction of new members is entrusted to active, recognised community members, the result is more consistent messaging, greater clarity of mutual expectations and a more coherent way of presenting the association externally. This consistency is valuable not only for the new member’s experience but also for how the WPC Club projects itself to the broader phonecard collecting community. A structured introduction process communicates professionalism and genuine care for new members.
6. It Fosters Lasting Relationships and Active Collaboration
The initial bond formed through an introducing member often evolves into something more lasting. Many of the most productive relationships within associations and collecting communities begin precisely in this way: with an introduction, a shared table at a fair, a conversation about a collection. This connection fosters the development of informal networks within the club, stimulates collaboration between members and increases the propensity of new members to contribute actively to the WPC Club’s activities over time.
The Introducing Member and the Phonecard Collecting Community
The tradition of personal introduction is deeply rooted in the world of collecting. Phonecard collectors have always built their networks through fairs, exchanges, correspondence and word of mouth. Meeting a new collector through a trusted friend or colleague is not an exception in this community: it is one of the most natural and effective ways that the hobby grows and spreads.
The WPC Club has formalised this organic process through the introducing member field. What has always happened informally at the margins of the PIM – one collector introducing another to a third, a member recommending the association to a fellow enthusiast – now has a concrete, recorded counterpart within the membership structure. This formalisation does not replace the spontaneity of personal connections: it recognises and values them.
The Worldwide Phonecards Collectors Club was founded to bring together collectors from around the world under a single community of shared passion and purpose. The introducing member field is one of the tools through which that mission becomes real at the individual level, one new member at a time.
How to Add an Introducing Member to Your WPC Club Form
Adding an introducing member to your WPC Club membership application is simple. When filling in the membership form on the official website, you will find the Introducing Member field among the final steps of the form.
If you were introduced to the WPC Club by an existing member, simply enter their name in this field. The entry is free text: write the name as you know it. If you are joining independently, leave the field blank – it is not required.
For existing WPC Club members who have introduced a friend or fellow collector to the association: ask the person you introduced to enter your name in the Introducing Member field when they fill in the form. This ensures your contribution to the growth of the community is correctly attributed, including for the purposes of the Bring a Friend contest.
Join WPC Club and Introduce a Fellow Collector
The WPC Club membership is open to phonecard collectors from any country. Joining means becoming part of an international community of passionate collectors, receiving your official numbered Membership Card and gaining access to all the exclusive benefits that membership provides.
If you know a collector who shares your passion for phonecards and who has not yet joined the WPC Club, now is the perfect moment to introduce them. Ask them to enter your name in the Introducing Member field when they join, and both of you will benefit: they gain a starting point within the community, and you gain recognition for your role in making the club grow.
