Your membership committee plays a vital role in your association—guiding conversations about key membership benefits, identifying potential member pain points, and strategizing solutions to better support your members.
We’re here to help you enhance your membership committee! Empower your membership committee to do its important work by following the strategies in this blog.
What is a membership committee?
A membership committee is a volunteer-based group of members, serving to improve the member experience at an association. Members who serve on the committee have a range of backgrounds and experiences making them fit for leadership.
The team leads a variety of member-based initiatives to improve your organization, including but not limited to data-based membership initiatives, the streamlining of key member processes, and DEI programming. Because members make up your membership committee, they can offer important insights your membership staff may miss.
Why is a membership committee important to your association?
When you involve members in the development and decision-making process of your association, you’ll drive deeper engagement among these members, fostering long-term involvement. Here are seven ways a membership committee may benefit your association:
1. Recruitment and retention
Your membership committee will likely focuses on attracting new members and retaining existing ones, creating strategies to engage potential members, communicate the benefits of joining, and ensure current members remain satisfied.
2. Connection building
A strong sense of community is essential for any association. Your membership committee will work to foster connections among your members by organizing events and encouraging networking. This sense of belonging will enhance member satisfaction and encourage long-term commitment.
3. Diverse representation
Your membership committee should work with your association to represent a diverse range of individuals. By actively recruiting members from different backgrounds, professions, and demographics, you can create a more inclusive and dynamic community.
4. Membership services
Your committee members can work to enhance the member experience by organizing workshops, providing resources, addressing member inquiries, and offering support.
5. Advocacy and support
Encourage your membership committee to advocate for members’ interests within your association. Your committee can listen to concerns, propose changes, and work toward improving policies and benefits.
6. Feedback and improvement
Your members have valuable insights—and your committee can gather feedback, conduct surveys, and assess member needs. This information will guide decision-making and help improve your association’s offerings.
7. Volunteer engagement
If you’re like most associations, you rely on volunteers. Have your membership committee recruit, train, and recognize your volunteers. Their efforts will contribute to the success of your association.
Depending on the goals of your association, the benefits of your membership committee may vary. However, the work of a membership committee can go a long way in creating engaged members and a connected base.
10 elements to include in your membership committee’s guide
Your membership committee is key to enhancing your member experience. As you grow the reach of your membership committee, consider including these ten crucial factors in your membership committee guide:
1. Purpose
In your membership committee guide, you’ll want to consider detailing the goals and focus of your entire membership committee. Offering a clear explanation of your membership committees’ purpose will ensure your members know why they are serving on this committee.
2. Role
You’ll also want to ensure you clarify each committee member’s role in your guide. Due to your association’s large size, your membership committee is likely broken into subcommittees. However, providing a clear explanation of each member’s role will offer great insight.
3. Responsibility
Because of your organization’s large size, you might consider providing a responsibility flowchart in your membership committee guide. A responsibility flowchart can be especially helpful if your membership committee is divided into subcommittees, ensuring serving members know their role in the larger organization.
4. Supporting staff
Including information about your membership support staff liaison will ensure your committee will know where to turn if they have questions or concerns. In your membership committee guide, dedicate an entire section to your support staff liaison, including role details and contact information.
5. Volunteer opportunities
In your guide, highlight the value of volunteering on your membership committee. Share information about the various member initiatives they’ll oversee and detail the member perks that come with volunteering. Including this information in your membership committee guide will encourage more members to volunteer.
6. Membership cycle
In your membership committee guide, you’ll want to include details about your entire membership cycle, including recruitment information and methods, the member application process, and the steps it takes to enroll a new member. Providing a membership timeline that outlines your year-long list of committee activities could also be helpful.
7. Application process
What does the current application process look like for your membership committee? Detail the process in your membership committee guide and be sure to include the selection time frame too.
8. In-person and virtual meetings
Establish your member expectations for both in-person and virtual meetings. Providing these guidelines and reviewing them with your serving members ensures they know the expected conduct. Should an issue arise, you can always refer your members to your membership committee guide.
9. Eligibility
In your membership guide, you’ll want to include information about who is eligible to serve on your membership committee. Who is encouraged to serve as a regular committee member? What about chairs or co-chairs? Establishing these guidelines will make it easier for more members to serve on your committee.
10. Promote member resources
Keep all your members informed about the latest membership committee initiatives through your online community platform. Share membership resources and promote exciting updates to all your members to encourage engagement.
Leverage your online community to create a private membership committee group so your serving members can connect between meetings and share important documents.
