What If Nonprofit Members Want More Than Just Membership?

From professional associations to public media to cultural and community nonprofits, membership organizations can look very different from one another. However, most are wrestling with the same challenges. Membership growth has slowed and member engagement is declining. Long-standing assumptions about what members want are being tested.

In my conversations with membership organizations, the discussion usually circles around the key question:

What makes membership valuable?

Membership models, benefits, events, pricing, and engagement strategies all matter. But they are ultimately expressions of something more fundamental: the member value proposition.

For decades, membership was largely transactional. I joined and got something in return: information, credentials, discounts, access, or benefits.

Over time, many organizations expanded that definition. Membership became less about what members got and more about what they experienced. Conferences became destinations. Museums expanded programming to indie film seminars and DJ Nights. Zoos offered holiday extravaganzas. Public media organizations created live events and speaker series.

Membership value propositions expanded from “I get” to “I experience”.

The Rise of Participation?

What has captured my attention recently is that the notion of membership value may be changing. Or, at least, that another path for membership may be emerging.

Participation. “I build the mission and delivery.”

In my mind, participation isn't the same as supporting a mission through member conferences, peer connections, donations or volunteer service. I think of members contributing to and becoming part of how the mission's value is created rather than simply supporting the organization that creates and delivers it.

Wikipedia is a good example.

Although most people don't think of it this way, Wikipedia is a nonprofit with an interesting model. Its content is freely available. There are no discounts, premium content offerings, gifts, or exclusive experiences.

Yet millions of people give money and time by editing articles, moderating discussions, and helping steward the platform. People aren't simply receiving value from Wikipedia. They're directly contributing to its mission of providing free access to the sum of all human knowledge.

Wikipedia isn’t alone. Open-source software communities operate in much the same way. Contributors write code, improve documentation, identify bugs, and maintain tools used by millions of people around the world. Public media organizations are experimenting with inviting audiences to create and share material, ideas, and reporting leads.

Technology is almost certainly part of this story. Today, participation can happen at a scale that wouldn’t have been possible a generation ago. Millions contribute to Wikipedia. Open-source communities build products used around the world. Public media organizations can invite audiences into reporting, conversations, and content creation. Reddit has provided the means and proven that a disconnected group of people can coalesce around ideas and passions.

What If?

It's fun to think about how this might work for nonprofits.

What if public media become media platforms for member, community-created journalism and programming by providing airtime, training, and editorial guidance?

What if museum members curate the exhibits from the museum’s vast, unseen collections?

What if associations organize around shared problems rather than industries or professions, crowdsourcing solutions to challenges like supply chains, workforce development, or technology adoption?

I don’t know if these are good ideas or not. And this may not be the solution for every organization.

What I do know is that nonprofit membership organizations and associations are under pressure, and the strategic opportunities are worth considering.

Organizations built primarily around access to information will likely face continued declining membership and engagement as AI, YouTube, webinars, and other tools make information abundant and accessible. Organizations built around experiences may be challenged to keep those experiences distinctive in a crowded marketplace.

Participation could offer a way to address these challenges. It can be difficult to replicate because it is directly tied to the mission, the community, and the unique contributions members bring.

Whether participation becomes a feature of future membership models remains to be seen. But if membership has always been about creating value, organizations may want to at least explore participation as they evaluate and strengthen their member value propositions.