Supporting the Decision to Join: What Association Boards Should Know and Do About Membership and Affiliation

Increasing the value proposition of programs, activities, and initiatives presents an enormous opportunity for associations that wish to increase membership and further their missions. The problem is, the perception of value can be hard to recognize, define, and transmit. Supporting the Decision to Join sifts the research published in The Decision to Join (ASAE, 2007) to identify specific lessons that association leaders and board members must know to enhance their members perception of the association s value. The book provides answers to these questions: What kinds of benefits do members most highly value? Do they care more about personal benefits or benefits that accrue to the entire membership community? How does member involvement translate into members likelihood to stay and recommend the association to others? Do association leaders really know what rank-and-file members value about an association? If not, how can leaders emphasize the programs and initiatives that rank-and-file members perceive to be most valuable and thus engender greater commitment and loyalty? Are the younger generations really less likely to join an association? If not, what can associations do to bring those people into the fold? How will international expansion affect the value perception of domestic members? In addition to interpreting and teasing out the critical points of the underlying research, the book makes it actionable by providing specific recommendations and an exercise to stimulate board discussion of the main points of the book.