Category: membership

Membership 101: Effective Renewal Cycles

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE | 1 Comment on Membership 101: Effective Renewal Cycles
Marketing General membership lifecycle graphic

At some point, after generating leads and nurturing relationships and persuading people to join and helping them find their own individual engagement paths, it’s time to ask your members to renew, to stick with you another year.

Membership retention is your goal – renewal is the process by which you achieve your goal. Renewal is all about how many of what types of notices are sent to whom on what schedule. In other words, it’s a campaign that reminds members why they want to stick with you and asks them to invest in another year.

Notice I didn’t say “convince” members. If you’ve been doing a good job with relationship building along the way, as so much of this series has focused on, renewal should be basically a formality. You are already a vital partner in your members’ success. Paying up for another year is just the final step. And frankly, if you’re not a vital partner in your members’ success, it’s going to be very difficult to convince them otherwise in a series of communications, no matter how persistent and persuasive your messaging or attractive your graphics.

As you’re constructing your renewal campaign, just as in earlier campaigns, you should answer the following series of questions:

  • What are our goals?
  • Who are our audiences? What do we know about them?
  • What’s the offer?
  • What are our key messages? What messages are persuasive to our various audience segments?
  • What tactics are we going to use? What platforms are available to us for getting our message out?
  • What resources can we enlist?
  • What’s the schedule? Who’s responsible to do what?
  • How will we know whether or not we met our goals?

Goals

For a renewal campaign, generally speaking, your goal is going to be to achieve a certain retention percentage. What’s a good retention percentage? The annual Marketing General Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report for 2017 lists an average renewal rate of 77% in professional societies and 88% in trade associations. (Marketing General will be releasing the 2018 data later this month, and you can register for the FREE release webinar here.)

What does that mean for your association? Maybe not that much. If, as a trade association, your retention rate has historically been 93%, “achieving” the industry standard would be cause for concern – why did your retention rate drop off 5%? Likewise, if, as a professional society, your retention rate has historically been 68%, setting a goal of 77% for the next year is likely unattainable.

You probably want your goal to be a little bit of a stretch, but not unrealistic.

Audiences

Well, for a renewal campaign, your audience is obviously your members. But I’d urge you to dig deeper and think about your segments. Who are the people who ALWAYS renew? Is there a segment of Texans that joined a year ago to get the member rate for your conference that was going to be in Dallas, only this next year, it’s in Vancouver? Do you have members who still prefer to renew by check? Do you have a bunch of members who all work for the same organization? Do you have a Pinterest page that draws attention from your women members? Or an Instgram account that attracts your young professionals? Do different sized companies use your membership benefits differently? What about your lapsed members? Is it time to solicit them again?

The Offer

Again, obviously, it’s to renew. One trap that associations fall into is getting late in a renewal campaign, seeing that retention rate is falling short of goals, and getting desperate – that is, starting to offer those slowpokes incentives to renew. The problem with that is that you train your members into bad behavior. “I waited to renew last year, and they offered me (extra months, a gift, a discount). I’ll do the same again this year and see what I can get.”

If you want to offer some sort of premium, reward the behavior you wish to see: renewing early in the cycle. Offer something special to the people who renew on the first notice, and for a limited time only. Train your members to good behavior.

The Messages

This is where you start thinking about those segments you identified in considering your audiences and thinking about what will be appealing to them. Remind different segments of what specific benefits they used in the past year, the problems you helped them solve or the goals you helped them achieve, and preview what you have planned for the coming year related to those problems and goals.

Trade associations with relatively few, large members should prepare individualized use reports for their member companies, not least of which because the person approving the renewal payment is often not the same as the many people who used benefits.

Even individual membership associations with lots of members should segment their messages, though. A student member does not interact with your association the same way as someone who is in the first five years of her career does not interact with your association the same way as someone who is mid-career does not interact with your association the same way as someone who is within a few years of retirement.

Tactics

Likewise, different members probably prefer to interact with your association on different platforms. Regardless of the segment, mix up your platforms. Don’t just send all your notices via email. Mix in some ads on your own website, some social media postings, print mail (maybe a traditional cover letter and printed renewal notice, maybe a colorful postcard, maybe both). Try a simplified landing page. Record a video of a few members explaining why they love your association. Maybe try a call from your CEO for high-profile members.

How many notices should you send? More than one and less than one hundred. OK, I’m being a little snarky there, but the only way to know is to test. Run experiments on how early to start the cycle (yes, it’s possible to start too early – have you ever gotten a notice to renew a magazine subscription before you’ve even received your first issue?). Run experiments on how to space out the notices. Run experiments on how long to keep pursuing people. Pay attention to results.

While you’re experimenting with all these platforms and tactics, pay attention to what happens. Use trackable URLs, watch for bumps in activity within a few days of the arrival of mailed notices, see who’s clicking on your social media postings or ads. Then as the campaign progresses, you know where to devote more resources, where to tweak what you’re doing for greater effectiveness, and where to stop putting good money after bad. Speaking of….

Resources

Money, yes, but also staff time and energy, volunteer help, even your whole membership. Take the time to segment and craft targeted messages. Take the time to run experiments and track what happens. Ask your volunteer leaders for their help – can they remind a colleague to renew? Tell your members it’s renewal season and ask them to help spread the word on social media.

Schedule

It’s important to create a detailed plan with what type of notice is going to go to whom with what messaging on what schedule, and who’s responsible to make that happen. It creates accountability, helps you with your results tracking, and ensures that your campaign doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of day-to-day busy-ness.

Metrics

Remember to sit down at the end of the campaign with the entire team who worked on it and assess how you did. Did you meet your initial goals? Why or why not? What worked better than you anticipated? What didn’t work? Is that something you just need to adjust next time, or should you dump it entirely? Celebrate your successes and capture what you learned from your failures. It will help you improve your next campaign. And don’t forget to thank everyone who helped.

Membership lifecycle graphic credit: Marketing General Inc.

Membership 101: The Role of Volunteerism

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE
Oncology Nursing Society volunteer contributions clock

“Engaged members renew.

Disengaged members don’t.”

If you’ve been around the association industry for more than a few minutes, you’ve undoubtedly heard at least one membership professional say that.

Volunteerism is a MAJOR opportunity for engagement.

But as we’ve discussed continually throughout this Membership 101 series, engagement, like brand, is defined by your audiences, not by you.

So how does that impact volunteering? After all, the association defines the board and committee structure, right?

Well, yes, but in 2018 I hope those aren’t the only opportunities for volunteering you’re offering your members.

In 2013, Peggy Hoffman (Mariner Management) and I wrote a whitepaper titled The Mission Driven Volunteer. It’s free, and if you haven’t read it yet, you should get a copy.

Our thesis was – and this remains true – that forces of generational change and differing needs and expectations mean that volunteering needs to change, too. Younger generations aren’t as interested in the type of prestige and position-based volunteering as their elders. They are still willing – even eager – volunteers, but their goals are different, concerned more with independence, meaning, and impact.

We proposed a model, mission-driven volunteering, that empowers individuals through things like micro-volunteering and adhocracy, and provides episodic and virtual opportunities to contribute.

The image above is from one of our case studies, the Oncology Nursing Society.

As Diane Scheuring, ONS’s membership and SIG manager, said: “We don’t want checkbook members. We want our members to say “yes” to ONS and to personally connected with us.”

One way they went about that is, rather than restricting definition of volunteer to committee or board service, ONS asked their members how they DO contribute and how they WANT TO contribute. Members’ responses led them to define volunteerism much more broadly, and also helped them better understand the concept of different levels of volunteering, represented by the clock image above:

  • Small investment: voting in an election, serving as a mentor
  • Bigger investment: item writing for their ONCC certification
  • Even bigger investment: national conference planning team
  • Biggest investment: serving on one of their few remaining standing committees or the board

By both changing the opportunities they offered and surfacing – and then recognizing – what people were already doing, they increased their volunteerism ration from one person in 26 to one person in five. In other words, 20% of their members are considered – and recognized as – active volunteers. This has had a positive impact on two of their key organizational metrics: membership retention and leadership development for individual nurses, which then increases the capacity of the entire system.

What are you doing to increase opportunities for different kinds of people to volunteer with your association? What are you doing to recognize the “hidden” work that’s already happening?

 

 

Membership 101: Who Counts?

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE

Who do you consider to be your members?

That seems like an easy question: “Anyone whose dues are current,” right?

But if you dig a little deeper, it quickly gets a lot more complicated.

  • Do you offer a grace period?
  • Are there ways to pay other than money?
  • What about the people in your profession or industry who haven’t paid?
  • What about the people who support those in your profession or industry?
  • What about their audiences or customers?

For instance, many associations report trouble attracting and retaining young professionals. But if we’ve set up “pay us money” as a barrier to entry, it’s no wonder. Young professionals are young – their employers may not pay for association membership for them, and if those employers don’t pay, young professionals often can’t afford to pay out of pocket. They tend not to be making large sums of money, and meanwhile they’re paying off school debt and/or saving for major life events and purchases. Is there a way those cash-strapped young professionals could contribute something else of value? The most obvious non-monetary contribution would be serving in a volunteer position, but they might not have the capacity to be committee members either. Could they serve as social media ambassadors for you? Volunteer at chapter events? Assist in moderating your online community (after, of course, receiving training)?

As another example, what roles do you offer for the people and organizations who support your profession or industry? What are you doing to work with those who provide training and education to your entering new or career-change professionals, whether they be graduate or undergraduate program faculty or those who provide more hands-on training at technical schools or through formal or informal apprenticeships? Those trainers and educators may not be appropriate targets for your primary membership benefits, since those benefits are likely targeted to people actually doing the work, but they are critical contributors to the profession or industry you serve. What are you doing to build relationships with them?

Many associations offer “supplier memberships,” but those are often little more than fees we charge companies for the right to advertise to our paying members. What can you do to stop treating those companies like a cash register? They are critical elements of your community, too.

There is no one right answer to any of these. But all those groups – people in their grace period, people who contribute to your association in ways other than financial, the rest of your industry or profession (including supporting players like educators who train people and suppliers who make their work possible), even potentially your members’ “end users” – are potential valuable contributors to your community, if you can find the right way to connect with them.

 

The Passive Experienced Member

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE

The MCI Group recently released the American Engagement Index 2017 (the link takes you to a page where you can enter your contact information to get your own copy, and you really should). There’s lots of interesting information in there, but one thing jumped out at me (and Associations Now‘s Tim Ebner), in part because I’ve seen this issue in many of my clients:  disengaged (or, using Tim’s term, “passive”) experienced members.

I’m about to lay an “on the one hand” – “on the other hand” post on you.

On the one hand, maybe it’s OK that a given experienced member is “passive.” She’s probably pretty settled in her career at this point. She has the degrees and certifications she needs to be successful. She’s not jumping jobs every 18 months anymore. And even when she is changing jobs, she has an established, robust network she can turn to for leads and connections. Her kids may be getting older and their lives might be getting more complicated. She might be in a “sandwich” situation, taking care of elderly relatives as well. In short, it might not be about you.

On the other hand, it MIGHT be about you. One issue that comes up over and over in talking with my clients’ members (regardless of profession/industry or whether membership is individual or corporate/institutional) is lack of content that goes beyond the basics. Many (if not most) associations appear to lack programs, products, and services that can help mid-career members achieve their particular most important goals or solve their unique most pressing problems.

Which makes sense. It’s relatively easy to figure out what someone who’s fresh out of school or otherwise new to a given profession or industry is going to need – introduction to basic principles, help understanding how to translate training or a particular degree into the actual jobs in your industry, relationship and network building, soft skills development, your certification – and it’s relatively easy to create programs, products, and services that deliver those things, often using mostly (or only) unpaid volunteers.

It’s not nearly as simple to to do that for people who already know the 101 and 201 level stuff. Their needs will be more complex and individualized. You might actually have to pay some experts (either subject matter or instructional design or both). You might have to act more as a broker, helping those members find what they need outside your association, with the association vetting quality and perhaps negotiating for better rates for association member, rather than creating programs yourself. You might have to step into the role of host, creating a forum for them to share information and experiences with each other, rather than a content-provider (and you should probably rethink what you charge for those different types of experiences). It’s not an easy nut to crack.

So which is it? Should you look at your passive members and think: “No worries – they’re just busy”? Or is it time to panic? How do you what situation you’re in?

You have to ask them. And I don’t just mean via a survey, because the answer here is utterly individual – one member might just be really busy, but the next one might be dissatisfied and ready to walk away if the situation doesn’t improve, and the only way you’ll know which is which is to have genuine one-on-one conversations. That can be scary, because you might hear some negative feedback. But diagnosing the problem correctly is the first step to finding an effective cure.

 

Growth Strategies from Top Fundraisers Q&A

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE

In my last post, I shared the link to the webinar my Steal This Idea! co-author Sohini Baliga and I presented for Wild Apricot on March 21. Sohini and I got to as many questions as we could at the end the webinar, but as usual, we missed a few, so we’re answering them below:

How can wildlife conservation related organizations tap into millenials if we are asking them to be a hero for another species?

EWE: This provides a great opportunity to tell a story of an endangered animal (or species or wild place) in a way that’s compelling and, in that story, explain how your donor/member can be the hero who saves that animal (or species or wild place) by her donation.

What if your membership is a low fee like $25/year?

EWE: Well, at least you’ll probably never hear the objection: “Dues were too expensive”! Seriously, though, that hopefully means you have a lot of people in your membership file. The trick now is to start looking for the ones who do more than just pay their $25 a year – or who want to do more than that.

How have you had best success at gathering stories from members/donors?

EWE: Talk to them. That can be individual and formal (like a phone interview), group and formal (like a focus group), or individual and informal (like a conversation at an event). Pay attention to when he starts talking faster, or a little louder, or in a higher pitch. Watch for when her eyes light up and her face gets more animated. That means you’ve struck gold – you’ve discovered something that member is passionate about. Then it’s your job to look for ways that member’s passions tie to your organization’s mission, and explain to her how involvement in your organization will make a difference to that issue she’s passionate about.

We are a membership association of cause-oriented organizations. But we don’t have a cause ourselves. Will there be materials in this webinar that will help me?

EWE: Sohini and I would like to think so. When you’re a federation of organizations, it can be hard to make that direct, personal tie with people. I’m about to use an example that’s a bit politically charged, so stick with me. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton founded an organization called Onward Together. It uses her high profile and large audience to raise money for small, scrappy nonprofits that are doing excellent work, but that may lack the audience base to effectively raise money themselves. Can you highlight the stories of the organizations you serve?

We are thinking about doing a major gala.  What is the best way to get corporate table sponsorships if you don’t know people within the individual businesses?

SB: The first thing to consider is that corporations look at the bottom line, and want bragging rights – it makes them look good. Now, put yourself in a corporation’s position. You’re not just spending money because it feels good – you have to pay employees and benefits, investors and backers want to see returns on their investment, and you need to be able to stand behind your spending decisions. All of them. So what’s going to make you give? What’s going to make you say, “Sure, I’ve got bills, but you can not only have a big chunk of change, you can put my name up in lights so others come asking me for the same thing”? What will make you say yes? What will make it hard for you to say no? Therein lies your answer – make your best case; make the story of the gala compelling; make it really hard to say no. Make them an offer they can’t refuse.

This is where I will say that nonprofits should not skimp on fundraising staff and professional executive development. A good, connected development officer is worth every penny of salary. And it is their job to make those sponsorships happen in tandem with a board and executive staff that is not shy, and can make the ask clearly, comfortably, and elegantly. There are grants available for hiring fundraising staff and professional development at all levels of the nonprofit world. The bigger the budget, the more they exist – because everyone understands that you have to support staff so they can do their best. It’s not a perk; it’s an investment that allows nonprofits to continue growing and serving their core mission.

What is the best way to get feedback from members? Surveys at events, letters, or…?

EWE: Yes. You want to turn your organization into a sponge for information. That means you want to collect data on your members and other audiences formally (like surveys and interviews) and informally (like conversations and responses to emails). You want to collect it actively (asking people to answer questions) and passively (paying attention to what they do and tracking what behaviors you can without turning into Big Brother and creeping people out).

Collecting the data is only the first step, though. You also have to share it with your colleagues. You’d be amazed at what your “line” staff in customer service knows that you don’t know, because they talk to your stakeholders all the time. Likewise, you’d be amazed at the insights your newer or more junior staff might have into some of your “C-suite” information, because they have a fresh perspective and aren’t jaded by “we’ve always done it this way” and “we tried that five years ago, and it didn’t work.” No information hoarding!

I have a large number of small dollar donors that I want to cultivate to be higher donors. I would like to meet with them to know them better. How should I go about doing that? 

EWE: Ask them. I am a donor to Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (one of our case studies). My relationship with them started by going to one show. I liked it, so I went to more. I liked them, so I became a season subscriber. I realized I supported their mission, so I started donating. Now I’m donating much more, on an annual basis, than I was then. The Woolly development staff started building that relationship by calling me up to ask if I would like to meet for coffee.

Any suggestions on where to start with an all-volunteer organization?

EWE: It’s tough when you have no paid staff. Sustained projects, like fancy integrated multi-channel campaigns, are really hard to do. You need to assess what, for your organization, would constitute low-hanging fruit. Can you easily identify who your super-members are? Can each volunteer take responsibility for calling one of them in the next two weeks? Do you have young people in your volunteer base? Can you get them talking about what sorts of engagement activities they would find appealing? Does your organization have a compelling story, where it’s easy to frame the member as the hero? Could you send out one email that does that? Figure out what the easy thing is, do it, (hopefully) experience some success and learn some things, and build from there.

Missed the webinar? Wild Apricot’s got you covered.

Growth Strategies from Top Fundraisers

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE

My Steal This Idea! Innovations in Cause-Oriented Fundraising for Associations co-author Sohini Baliga and I recently had the opportunity to talk with some smart people about the information in the whitepaper.

Special for those of you who prefer to learn from methods OTHER than reading: Two are videos; one is a podcast. We embrace all types of learners around here!

Video one: Association Chatwith KiKi L’Italien:

Podcast: fusionSpan podcast with Justin Burniske:

Video Two: Wild ApricotExpert Webinar Series:

Check them out to learn how fundraisers:

  1. Build relationships that are equitable (but not necessarily equal) and personal
  2. Create and run effective, compelling campaigns
  3. Attract and engage young professionals (aka Millennials and even GenZ)

Membership 101: Should You Reward Novelty or Loyalty?

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE

It’s a trick question! You should reward both.

Associations generally do a good job rewarding novelty. The new member gets the special rate. The first time attendee gets the unique badge ribbon and the exclusive reception with the board of directors and committee chairs. The first-time book buyer gets the coupon for a discount off her next purchase.

And that’s all fine. Definitely keep doing that.

But what do you do for your long-term, loyal members?

Growth is a result of two complimentary actions: recruitment and retention.

All that rewarding of novelty helps with recruitment.

But the members who stick with you over the long term deserve some love, too.

This past week, I was interviewing chapter leaders for a client, and one shared a loyalty program that caught her eye. She’d been with her cable company five years (which she was not tracking herself), and to thank her, the cable company sent her a card with a code she could redeem for five free on-demand movies.

Simple and effective.

And you know WAY more about your members than the cable company knows about its customers. What could you do to recognize loyalty?

Maybe the long-term member who always attends your conference would appreciate a free – or deeply discounted – registration. Or priority access to the main hotel. Or VIP seating at the general sessions. Or a special badge ribbon noting her “conference veteran” status.

Maybe you could *also* have a special reception for long-term members at your conference.

Maybe the long-term member who buys a lot of books would appreciate some free ones, particularly if you have something high-value or exciting coming out. Pro tip? Just mail it to her with a “thank you for your loyalty” card. Don’t make her jump through hoops to get it.

Maybe you could feature members who achieve significant anniversaries on your website, or in your enewletter, or in your magazine.

Maybe you could send a hand-written thank you card.

Maybe your board chair could make a call.

Maybe for a really significant anniversary (50 years?), you could make the person an honorary life member – you’re a member until you die and you don’t owe us another cent.

What is your association doing to creatively and personally recognize and thank not just new members, but also those who are dedicated for the long haul?

 

Boosting Membership Retention from the Start: Your Members’ First 3 Months

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE

Editorial note: the following is a guest blog from Callie Walker of MemberClicks

Does membership retention really begin the second a member joins your association?

It should! The better you onboard, the more likely your members are to renew.

So the question then becomes…how do you effectively onboard your new members? What should you be doing in their first few months? Here’s a breakdown:

Month 1 – Welcome

When a member first joins, it’s important to reach out to them in a timely manner. Be proactive and extremely responsive (you want to start off on the right foot, after all!). That said, you don’t want to come across as spammy, so spread your communications out, at least a little bit.

  • Send a welcome email with login credentials to the members-only portal.You want your new members to login ASAP, so make it easy for them by giving them all the info (links included!) they need.
  • Post a hearty welcome on your website.Not only will this promote your new members, but it will give them content to share on their own social media channels as well.
  • Follow up with a phone call. Within a week of sending login credentials, contact all of your new members who have NOT accessed the members-only portal. (You want to make sure they’re not having login difficulties.)
  • Use social media to welcome your new members.A quick tweet or Facebook post garners the attention of your new members and gives them that “VIP” feeling. (Who doesn’t love a shoutout?!)
  • Prepare to welcome your new members in your next newsletter.Keep a running list of all your new members (particularly as they fall between newsletters) and make SURE you don’t forget anyone.

Month 2 – Connect

This month is all about deepening the connection you have with your new members and strengthening their sense of belonging within your organization. Take some time to create personal (and unique) touch points for your new members.

  • Write and mail a personal note.Among all the emails, texts, and letters with digital signatures, a simple handwritten note can really stand out. Be authentic here – your members will appreciate it.
  • Schedule a ribbon cutting, open house, and/or other celebratory events.Market the event(s) on your website, social media channels, and via email. Your goal should be to introduce your new members to as many current members as possible.
  • Set up a forum or other personalized area just for new members.Every week, engage your new members in conversation, answer their questions, and share announcements (via a new members-only circle). The more you initiate conversation, the more they’ll likely partake.
  • Introduce them to a member ambassador.If possible, match your newbies with current members who have similar interests and/or expertise. This kind of mentoring can help your new members get acclimated (and engaged) at a quicker pace.
  • Make a special delivery.Surprise your new members with a special delivery! If you hosted an event (for example, the ribbon cutting), bring a framed photo or a special plaque. Other ideas: A branded mug filled with candy or free tickets to an event with a welcome note from the president.

Month 3 – Engage

To boost retention, it’s crucial to engage your new members as soon as possible. Use month three to make sure your first two months’ strategies were successful. By the end of month three, you should have welcomed, connected, and engaged with new members in a way that’s meaningful to them.

  • Post pictures from your celebratory events.If you hosted any new member celebrations, post about them on social media! This is a great way to keep that excitement (and engagement) going.
  • Follow up with your member ambassadors.Call or email your member ambassadors to see how things are going and if there’s anything you can do to help them engage your new members.
  • Send a postcard of upcoming events.Send your new members a postcard with a calendar listing of upcoming events. This will be a great resource for them to reference in the future.
  • Reach out.Call your new members to discuss – one-on-one – how their membership is going so far. Mention upcoming events, referrals, and specific ways to get involved. (If they haven’t attended a new member orientation yet, this is the perfect time to sign them up.)

Got the first three months down? What should you be doing after? When should you start encouraging members to renew? What should you sayto encourage members to renew?

MemberClicks can help! In our free Membership Retention Kit, we explain how to demonstrate your association’s benefits, how to create an effective membership retention webpage, when to send renewal reminder emails (plus templates for each touch), and more! Click here to check it out!

Don’t Get Lazy!!

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE

Putting it all together, maybe the most important thing Sohini and I learned from fundraisers as we were researching Steal This Idea! (and as Sohini has worked with them over the past two decades) is: don’t get lazy.

And it’s really easy to do that, particularly if you’re organization is not in crisis. And many associations are NOT in crisis. According to the 2017 edition of the Marketing General Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, nearly three-quarters of associations who responded are either holding steady or increasing membership. Renewal rates are generally solid. Participation in programs, products, and services – particularly white-label social networks, virtual and in-person event attendance, and credentialing programs – remains robust.

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” right?

Well, no. To quote the whitepaper:

It’s easy to get lazy. We urge you and your team not to, though..The association industry’s operating landscape is shifting rapidly and in unpredictable ways…That’s why it’s important, at least at times, to turn outside the industry to see what other organizations are doing to attract audiences, particularly younger audiences; to build relationships with those audiences on their terms, not the organization’s terms; and to recognize their contributions equitably and make people feel known, heard, special, and appreciated.

To learn more, download your free copy of Steal This Idea! Innovations in Cause-Oriented Fundraising for Associations at https://bit.ly/3eu6ntm. Also, mark your calendar for Wednesday, March 21, 2-3 pm ET. Sohini and I will be delivering a webinar on the whitepaper, graciously hosted (so free for attendees) by the nice folks at Wild Apricot.

 

Reduce Barriers to Entry

Posted on | by Elizabeth Weaver Engel, CAE
P J Hayman & Company Limited - Image

Just about every association I know of is struggling to recruit younger members (aka Millennials).

Part of the reason for that is that we’re erecting barriers to entry rather than removing them.

What’s required to be considered part of your association’s community? A certain degree? A license? A certification? MONEY?

Those are all barriers to entry that a young person may not be able to clear – at least not yet. What you’re telling them, in effect, is: “You are not welcome here.”

No wonder, when they can clear or have cleared those barriers, they aren’t returning. You made them feel unwelcome right when they needed you, when they were new in their careers, when they didn’t have an established network, when they needed a job. You turned them away. And for what? A few bucks?

Fundraising organizations know that if they can establish a relationship and loyalty up front, the dollars will come. Even if they don’t, those committed young fans will contribute in all sorts of valuable ways: volunteering to help with the mission-driven work of the organization, recruiting other supporters, amplifying messages and stories online and on social media.

Learn more about how fundraising organizations create alternate entry points to belonging and how associations can adapt their methods in the latest Spark whitepaper, Steal This Idea! Innovations in Cause-Oriented Fundraising for Associations freely available for download at https://bit.ly/3eu6ntm. Pay special attention to the stories of the Capital Area Food Bank and the CFA Society of Minnesota on pages 28-31.

Photo by Jumpei Mokudai on Unsplash