I joined my first guild in January. It is in another town, but it was a brand new guild and so I wanted to get in on the start of it instead of going to an established guild with "cliques." I was very pleased, even though I was too shy to talk to others (being the youngest quilter in attendance that first meeting.) I did volunteer to do the guild's website and volunteered to bring goodies in March and this has really made me feel committed to attending (which often is hard to work around my schedule with my kids and job).
I drove through the WORST snowstorm I had ever been in to go the the meeting in march and we had to stop about an hour early so everyone could make it home. It took me over an hour to go the normally 20 minute drive. I was praying the whole drive home and my dh was ready to come dig me out if my minivan got stuck in a snowdrift. That is how much I like my guild!
Anyway, our dues are $25.00 a year (from January to January) and $5.00 for each meeting if we don't join. We plan on using the money for classes/guest speakers. After only five months, we have around 50 members. That is pretty good. Right now, there is a core group that established this guild that "runs" the meetings. However, anyone can attend the board meeting and they encourage input. I believe that if any of these ladies wanted to step down, there would be others who would fill their roles, but I believe we are all very happy with how they conduct business.
Here is my guild's website. I would love feedback if anyone can think of something more I could add. I would also like to see other guilds' websites so that I could get more ideas.
http://www.parkerpiecekeepers.com