Membership and the Value of Belonging
Aug 6th, 2009 by David Svet
I recently met with several community benefit organizations that are contemplating some aspect of membership. They’re either making plans to change an existing membership program, are adding memberships, or are scrapping memberships. All of this talk got me wondering about the value of belonging.
What does it really mean to belong? Are there different kinds of belonging? Is the membership that we want from a community benefit organization different from membership offered by a commercial business enterprise?
At first blush, I didn’t think there was anything to this. Membership is good, right? I belong to a church, the art museum, a gym, the local NPR radio station, some clubs, and so on. But what I get from each one is different and the transactional nature of the relationship is different as well.
One of the big arguments against paid memberships for community benefit organizations is that they also rely on donations. If I pay for a membership and receive member benefits I may be less likely to make an additional donation. So, the big question for all of the organizations that I met with was whether they were robbing Peter to pay Paul by adding the income of a bunch of small memberships at the expense of losing potential donations. I don’t have a solid answer based on historical facts for that one. But I’m not sure it matters anymore.
I think social media has changed the game when it comes to memberships. When used properly, social media facilitates membership. It enables the creation of small groups. Small groups provide the basis for a sense of belonging. By joining a small group and being welcomed you attain membership. All of the organizations I spoke with were involved in some form of social media and were interested in expanding their social networks. So, they are providing the value of belonging. They are opening up opportunities to instill passion for their cause. They are fulfilling the innate need both to know and to be known. They are creating venues for interaction and participation that foster a team spirit.
Each of these organizations was focusing on what to do with their 20th century concept of a club-like membership structure. At the same time they are all actively involved in a 21st century structure for belonging. The former is exclusive the latter is inclusive. The former is failing and needs to be restructured. The latter is flourishing. The obvious value is in the latter. What remains is to monetize it.
