Many not-for-profit organization executives lie awake at night wondering what their members really want. Along with my colleague Jack Shand, CAE, I was involved in two projects recently where not-for-profit organization executives, and in the second instance major business leaders, attempted to answer this question. Here is a summary of those findings. Consider it a checklist that you can benchmark your organization against.
1. Information that will help them and their staff
Members want information that will help them; this includes:
- Professional development/training opportunities
- Skill enhancing volunteer experiences and volunteer training
- Trend analysis (how will this impact me/us?)
- Stakeholder access information (e.g. government, media)
2. 24/7 access to information
Members want your information when they need it, and that could be at 9 p.m. your time. A content-rich website that is easy to navigate and retrieve information is a very effective solution.
3. Network opportunities
Leaders want to rub shoulders with other leaders, and not just from your sector. Peers like to talk with peers. Like with like, and in some cases with “unlike me”. Not-for-profit organizations can provide great value by creating such networking opportunities.
4. To be able to define the real value they receive from membership and participation
Members also wake up in the middle of the night asking themselves, “What are we getting for our membership and participation investments?” They would like to have the answers on the tip of their tongue so they can go back to sleep. High performance organizations tell members often what value they are receiving. They post it on the member section of their website. They describe their offerings as “value added” so members recognize them as such. They also look to drive more value. They talk with their key members about how to add value and respond to such feedback. As one CEO said, “They accept our money and we never hear from them again until next year’s renewal”. We all know there are some “chequebook members” who don’t want to be involved, however, they are typically in the minority.
5. Their sector voice being a “go to” organization
Many members expect their organization to be their eyes, ears and voice, often performing an advocacy role for the sector. But more than that, they want their organization to be a “go to” organization; one that influential folks turn to for comment, whether it is about your subject or other topics.
6. High energy staff and use “right” people
Members want their staff to be motivated, energized and passionate about the work of the organization. Jim Collins, who wrote From Good to Great, talks about making sure you have “the right people on the bus” and “getting the wrong people off the bus”. Members want the right people doing what needs to be done.
This is a short summary of what members really want. I hope it will be useful. If you would like more information about our research findings, please contact me.
Paulette in President of Solution Studio Inc., a consulting practice that serves the not-for-profit association community. Paulette co-authored two manuscripts on risk management & not-for-profit organizations and regularly conducts risk management, strategic planning and board development workshops. She can be reached at 1-877-787-7714 or Paulette@solutionstudioinc.com.
