Highlights from the 2014 Small Membership Survey offering insight about small, often volunteer-led organizations.

1. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
2014 SMALL MEMBERSHIP SURVEY
HIGHLIGHTS

2. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Small Membership Survey
– What’s it all about?
Since so much of the available benchmarking
research focuses on large associations and non-
profits, we wanted to identify the qualities and
experiences that set small membership
organizations apart from their larger
counterparts.
We conducted an online own survey to find out
who manages these organizations day-to-day;
how they are funded; their key priorities and
challenges and much more. We wanted to know
if size matters in reaching their goals.
Here is an overview of highlights from the 2nd
annual Small Membership Survey offering insight
about small, often volunteer-led organizations.

3. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Survey participant snapshot
In 2014, 487 respondents participated in
our survey. Here is a snapshot:
•67.1% are (unpaid) volunteers
•67.3% hold leadership positions at their
organization (e.g., President, Board Chair or
Executive Director).
•45.5% represented professional or trade
associations
•80.6% were based in the United States,
with the remainder mainly from Canada,
the United Kingdom & Australia

4. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
What does a typical “small” membership
organization look like?
Based on our 2014 survey, a typical
small membership organization…
• has fewer than 500 members
• is a stand-alone organization
• is managed by a combination of
volunteers and staff (1-2 full or part-
time staff)
• has local or regional membership
reach
• operates with a budget of less than
$500,000

5. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Top priorities in 2014
The top 3 priorities for small
organizations were:
1.Increasing membership
(20.2%)
2.Increasing member
engagement (16.3%)
3.Demonstrating member
value (10.3%)

6. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Membership Size & Reach
Number of members:
This year, close to 80% of respondents
represented organizations with fewer
than 500 members.
• Fewer than 99 members: 23.2%
• 100 - 249 members: 35.1%
• 250 to 499 members: 20.8%
• 500 to 999 members: 11.7%
Membership reach:
• Local (City / County) 34.5%
• Regional (State / Province)
33.1%
Chapters/ Branches:
• 71.2% represented stand-alone
organizations

7. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Membership Growth & Retention
• Member growth
• Close to 60% experienced
membership growth
• 21.1% maintained existing levels
Retention rates
52% of respondents reporting that 80 to 90%
of their members had renewed.

8. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Who manages small membership
organizations day-to-day?
Day-to-day management:
• Volunteers only - 55.4%
• Staff only 23.8%
• Combination of volunteers and staff
20.7%
Staffing levels:
•28.6% had 1-2 full-time staff
•32.2% had 1-2 part-time staff
•12.1% had 3-5 full-time staff
•7.8% had 3-5 part-time staff

9. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Reasons Members Join and
Programs & Services Offered
The top 3 reasons members join:
1. Networking
2. Professional development
3. Learning best practices
The top 5 programs & services:
1. Member education / professional
development: 63.8%
2. Networking events: 62.3%
3. Information / publications / books:
47.3%
4. Online forum(s): 39.9%
5. Conferences / tradeshows: 36.7%

10. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Here’s a snapshot of the financial status of small membership organizations:
Budgets and Funding Sources
• Budgets: 56.6 % have an annual
budget less than $50,000
• Membership growth
patterns: More than 75% reported
membership levels had stayed the
same or increased 10-50% in the
last year
• Critical sources of revenue: 91.2%
identified membership fees /dues
as the most important source of
revenue
• Fee range: 49.6% identified $21 to
$99 as most common membership
fee range

11. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Small Membership Communications
Top 3 tools for communicating with existing
members:
1. Email: 97.8%
2. Online (website news, blog, forum,
etc.): 76.2%
3. Newsletter or magazine: 57.0%
Top 4 channels for recruitment efforts:
1. Personal outreach and word-of-
mouth
2. Events
3. Email
4. Website

12. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Current challenges
What challenges are small membership organizations facing?
Some of the key challenges that identified in our 2014 Small Membership
Survey included:
• Being “resource-challenged” – AKA doing a lot with a little
• Board and volunteer recruitment, engagement and retention
• Enticing the younger generation to join and become involved
• Developing sources of non-dues revenue
• Technology challenges – getting board and members to use new
technology

13. For more information, visit
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey
Want additional insight into small
membership organizations?
You can download the full 2014 Small Membership Survey Report here:
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey/
About Wild Apricot
Wild Apricot offers cloud software to help small associations, non-profits and clubs build websites,
connect with supporters, grow and manage their membership, and more.
Wild Apricot’s all-in-one integrated software was identified as #1 in
Capterra’s Top Membership Management Software, two years in a row.