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I am proud member of two professional organizations, NABE and the Association Forum of Chicagoland. NABE gives me a community of peers who enrich my skills and knowledge. It also has been the source of deep and enduring personal relationships whose conversations are more about kids, vacations, and the finer points of tomato cultivation than how to sell a dues increase. The Forum gives me a broader perspective on the trends and issues dogging the association community. It is nice to know that medical specialty societies are facing the same challenges. I can look for solutions beyond my immediate frame of reference and jolt my thinking. Our members are no different. They get something different from the women’s bar than from their national specialty bar.

I am a lapsed member of another professional organization. A couple of years ago when we needed to take an even harder look at our Division budget we each asked tough questions about what we were getting for our dues dollar from our various memberships. We made the determination that as long as one of us was a member, we would still have access to the online materials when we needed them. This was not an unusual approach to the allocation of finite resources. We know that over the last ten years law firms have been making similar decisions on voluntary bar memberships.

While I considered writing a personal check for the dues, I determined my money would be better spent elsewhere. There wasn’t a compelling reason to stay a member. I couldn't attend the annual conferences, publications were marginally beneficial because much of the expertise was available elsewhere, and the value of the listserve was diminishing because of online content and a self-created network. Sound familiar?

Yes, there have been occasional pangs of regret and then something happens that reinforces my choice. The organization made what I consider an incredibly bone headed decision that confirmed --for me at least-- that they are clueless about my professional development needs. I thought they were entitled to know how I felt so I fired off an email to the membership folks.  I was respectful. I was polite. I waited for a response. None has been forthcoming. Not even a form letter. This is decidedly not how to win back a former member. And while I shared my opinion, I am sure there are members out there that are stewing and silent. 

For many bars it is membership renewal season. If you are a voluntary bar what kind of outreach are you planning to your non-renewing members? Is there something you’ve done that has left them uneasy that they aren’t telling you about? How are you going to find out? Enlist the board and other volunteer leaders to make those calls. Create a listening culture. Otherwise, you are confirming a member’s choice not to renew. Use what you learn to inform your decision-making. When we think about membership, member value and member engagement it is as much, if not more, about the personal touch as it is about the slick brochure and the headline speaker.