PPB April 2021

Members Find Value In Belonging More than one in three association members (39 percent) say they are engaging with their organization more often now than before COVID-19, according to Community Brands. Even if their employers didn’t pay for their membership dues, 74 percent of members would still renew. Biggest Obstacles To Gaining New Members Associations face various challenges in growing their membership. These obstacles rank at the top: 46 % Difficulty reaching potential members 43 % Not enough time 33 % Not enough budget 28 % Prospective members were not familiar with the association Source: The 2020 Membership Growth Report from Personify Wild Apricot A Mix Of Events More than nine in 10 members who attended an association’s virtual event found it at least somewhat valuable, and more than one in three said it was very valuable. When planning for future events, promotional products distributors can work with associations to incorporate a mix of face-to-face, virtual and hybrid events. When all events are deemed safe again, here’s what members and employees say they prefer: 37 % of employees prefer virtual events 33 % of both association members and employees prefer in-person events 33 % of members prefer virtual events 32 % of members prefer hybrid events 26 % of employees prefer hybrid events Source: Personify’s report, “The Journey Ahead: The Future of Associations, Nonprofits and Events” Attracting Members To Older Associations The longer an association has been around, the more difficulty it likely faces in growing its membership. In 2020, mature organizations (in existence for 10 years or longer) lost more members than young organizations (less than four years old) and middle-age organizations (six to 10 years old). Promotional products distributors can work with older associations to help them explore new ways of connecting with prospective members. Consider these growth stats: • 12 percent of mature associations shrunk last year, compared to five percent of middle-age associations and three percent of young associations • Five percent of mature associations grew by more than 20 percent, compared to 11 percent of middle-age associations and 24 percent of young associations Source: The 2020 Membership Growth Report from Personify Wild Apricot 3 % 12 % 5 % 5 % 11 % 24 % | APRIL 2021 | 41 GROW