I joined a guild when I first began quilting. It had all of the things you mentioned, seemed organized, worked on charity events, etc. But ... and this was a big but for me (no pun intended!) ... there were cliques that made it not very pleasant for me. I tried to join in whenever I could, but I never felt welcomed, past my first visiting night. I kept going for a while, tried to put myself out there, but finally just stopped going. I was obviously never missed. It would have been nice, but I am happy doing my own thing, so I guess it all worked out as it should. Just my two cents worth about guilds.