Why Become an Associate Member in COST?

Associate Membership in the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) is geared to firms that are doing business with Connecticut municipalities (or want to), specifically the more than 139 localities whose interests COST represents. Together, these towns represent a large public sector market and make purchases totaling more than $100 million annually.

What type of company seeks COST Associate Membership?

The answer is all kinds, representing numerous sectors and industries including: law, banking, accounting, engineering and consulting, financial services, insurance, energy, utility, construction, and more. COST Associate Membership is also important to corporations that have facilities in Connecticut’s smaller communities, or whose employees live in Connecticut’s towns.

Associate Membership in COST provides member firms with many direct benefits, including opportunities to network with municipal leaders and numerous avenues for increasing a company’s visibility with small town leaders statewide:

• Sponsorship (listing and link) of COST’s new web site
• Special acknowledgment and listing as a COST Associate Member
• Regular electronic bulletins: The Town Crier; COST Capital Watch (during legislative sessions), other notices and updates
• Timely updates regarding municipal programs available to towns
• Membership benefits through COST from the National Association of Towns and Townships and the National Center for Small Communities
• Special discounts on registration fees for COST’s Annual Conference – “Connecticut’s Town Meeting” – and other membership forums and events
• Telephone inquiry service to help answer municipal marketing questions
• Opportunities for advertising (discounted for members) in COST’s publications
• Event sponsorship and project partnerships opportunities
• Information distribution service opportunities for your firm
• Networking opportunities with selectmen, mayors and managers from smaller communities

Perhaps most important, when a company becomes an Associate Member in COST, it is supporting efforts to strengthen grassroots local government and the quality of life in suburban and rural towns throughout Connecticut.

Categories of COST Associate Membership

COST offers companies two avenues for becoming an Associate Member. In order to help underwrite continuous improvements in the design, expansion and management of its web site, COST invites firms to become Associate Members as Named Sponsors of its “Internet Town Hall”. Named sponsorship provides companies with new and expanded opportunities for visibility and connections with key decision-makers in COST-member towns, and provide town leaders with a direct link to the web site and contact information of Named Sponsors.

While COST certainly encourages all firms to consider becoming Associate members though the COST Named Sponsorship initiative, companies are also invited to join COST as Regular Associate Members.

COST Members are Encouraged to “Shop” With Associate Members

COST encourages its member towns to look to its Associate Members first, when they are in need municipal services.

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