You've done it - you've created a fantastic membership program for your nonprofit and have started bringing in new members. But how do you ensure maintain memberships as well as bring in new supporters over time? In this article, we share several tips that will help with nonprofit membership retention and growth.
Are you tired of the membership drive cycle of acquiring new members and sending out renewals, only to find that a significant portion of your existing members have lapsed? A small annual loss in membership numbers might not seem like much, but over time those small numbers can add up in a big way.
Membership is fantastic for nonprofits looking to stabilize their earned income. It’s a great way to build an ongoing relationship with your donors and save some of your fund development resources for new donor acquisition.
But without the right strategy and tools, your membership program could be less beneficial to your nonprofit – and your members.
If you don’t want to spin your wheels anymore, it’s time to take on a new membership strategy. In this article, we’ll walk you through the 7 proven ways to up your nonprofit membership retention rates and create a more engaging membership experience for your donors. These strategies work for nonprofits of all sizes!
We’ll also introduce you to our effective Donorbox Memberships tool that helps you mega-boost your membership – without a lot of extra work on your end.
If you’re wondering how to retain nonprofit membership, this is the article for you.
Whether you’re launching a new membership program or revamping your existing program, it’s so important to first understand what your members want.
The best way to do this is to survey your existing donors or members. This is a great opportunity to learn what you can offer to make your membership seem more valuable, which will boost your member acquisition and retention.
You can use survey services like SurveyMonkey, or simply set up a Google Form. Be sure to ask a variety of questions and include some blank responses for personalized answers. You can send your survey to donors via email.
With Donorbox Donor Management tools, it’s easy to segment your list of donors or members for personalized survey emails. Simply go to the “Supporters” section under “Manage” on your Donorbox account and use the filters to find what you need. You can also filter by membership tier for even more localized data.
Pro tip: Offer an incentive for filling out the survey, like the chance to win a gift card to a local business or a special experience related to your nonprofit. This results in more responses, which gives you more intel!
If you’re not seeing your membership program grow, members might not see the value in your membership tiers. It might be time to reconsider your tiers or offer more variety on your membership form.
The best practice for membership levels is to offer at least three pricing levels, with benefits that increase the higher the price. This way, there’s something for everyone!
Donorbox Memberships lets you add unlimited membership tiers to your online membership form so you can give members options that will work best for them. Check out how The Yard Foundation uses Donorbox to offer four different tiers ranging from $13 to $343.
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We love the names of these tiers – they sound fun, which makes the membership program more inviting! When there are more tier options, your nonprofit membership retention will increase, even if someone moves to a lower membership level.
One great benefit of a truly excellent membership program is connecting with the other members. This is a big part of the membership experience.
Some members might be interested in networking possibilities with other members, while some might just be interested in meeting people with similar interests. Whatever their desire, building a community within your membership will add so much value for both you and your members!
You can create a community by hosting members-only events with shared activities to make networking easier. You can also create an online space with a Facebook group, where you can encourage members to interact regularly.
Onboarding is an important step for welcoming new members to your membership program. It’s also an opportunity to remind them of all of the benefits, so they feel the value of their membership right away – and are more likely to renew.
With Donorbox Memberships, you can personalize the thank-you email and receipt your members receive. This automated welcome email means they receive the info they need right away. You can even add images! Here’s what it looks like to edit it on your end –
Part of your membership program should include regular communication with your members to remind them of their membership. This will help them keep the value of their membership at the front of their mind – which means they’re more likely to renew.
Targeted email campaigns have to do with connecting certain parts of your email list with content that’s made specifically for them. So for example, you might send one email to your older members, and a different one to your younger members. This process, called email segmenting, should also be used for communicating with members at different tiers.
You can use Donorbox to segment your supporter lists by using a variety of filters to find just the list you need. But it’s also important to be sure you’re reaching out often enough, without getting annoying. This is where recording your communications comes in.
For each member profile in your Donorbox Supporters database, you can add a communication note. You can select the direction of the communication and the channel, as shown below, and add a note about it. This will help you track how often you’re really reaching out.
The best way to avoid lapsed members? Have memberships that automatically renew, of course! Automatic renewals save you time since you can avoid the stale membership drives for renewals and focus instead on acquiring new members. It’s also handy for your members, as they’ll only need to enter their payment information once.
With Donorbox Memberships, your members’ memberships automatically renew either monthly or annually, depending on what you offer. This makes the membership onboarding process super easy since members already know that their payment will be recurring. And your members can also log in anytime to upgrade or cancel their membership plans.
We love how Soaring Owls Foundation, Inc offers 5 different tiers for both its annual renewing memberships. Their potential members can also find it highlighted on the membership form that they can login anytime to their member accounts to edit their recurring payments.
Your members do so much for you – why not reward them even more? A special reward will increase the value of their memberships in their mind, even if it’s something simple.
Member rewards should be things outside of your listed membership benefits, and they should be a surprise. This can be a discount at one of your local community partners’ establishments or special members-only merch. Consider what your membership might find valuable and give back to them!
Pro tip: Your member survey is an excellent way to get information about what kinds of rewards your members might want in the future.
Donorbox Memberships offers dynamic membership management tools that streamline your workflow, so you can add a membership option for your nonprofit without a lot of additional work. In fact, our tools are so easy that you can launch your new membership program in as little as fifteen minutes.
When it comes to revamping an existing membership campaign, we got you covered. Your existing members will love how easy it is to update their memberships, and our strong donor management tools will help you engage them in new ways.
Donorbox Memberships offer the following features to help you grow and retain your membership –
It’s easy to get started. Simply sign up for an account or log in if you already have one. From your Donorbox account, select “New Campaign” to create a Membership Form. Now you can completely customize your form so you collect all the membership information you need.
Donorbox Membership offers two membership intervals: renewing monthly or annually. You can add as many of each tier as you’d like, and customize the name and price of the tiers.
Once someone has signed up for your membership, they can log into their own Donorbox account at any time to update it (cancel or upgrade), empowering them to renew and increase their membership levels.
Check out our Membership demo video below to learn more about how this feature works, or read our step-by-step guide on the blog.
A membership program can provide a ton of value to your nonprofit. Membership dues are regularly donated revenue, while ongoing relationships with donors can result in planned gifts and important connections.
But if you’re not seeing the retention rates you want, you may not be spending much time knowing what your members want and how you can provide them with that. That’s why it’s important to adapt these 7 proven strategies to your membership program to increase your nonprofit membership retention rates.
Donorbox Memberships make retaining and acquiring members easy and streamlined. Learn more about it on the website, along with our other powerful products and features.
Plus, we’re here to help with tons of resources in our Donorbox Library, Nonprofit Blog, Donorbox Webinars, and more. Subscribe to our blog newsletter to receive the best collection of all these resources in your inbox every month.
Launch your membership program today.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower