7 Ways to Help Members Who Can’t Afford Membership Right Now
Members need their association most when they’re least able to afford it. If members have been laid off or suffered business losses, they need to expand their professional network, improve their skills, and add volunteer experience to their resume. Despite these needs, many of them end up not renewing because they can’t afford to pay membership dues.
If you want to stand by your members during these tough times, consider modifying your approach to membership dues. Take advantage of the flexibility of your association management software (AMS) by offering new dues options to your members.
Payment Options for Membership Dues
Finding the money to pay an annual dues invoice is a challenge for many members, not just those in between jobs. Early-career and self-employed professionals also struggle with large dues payments. Smaller dues payments reduce the barrier to joining and renewing.
#1: Monthly Automated Renewals AKA “Pay As You Go” Dues
Members are used to paying for services with automatic monthly charges to their credit card or checking account, for example:
- Gym, yoga, and online fitness memberships
- Newspaper and media subscriptions
- Streaming and gaming services
- Cloud software (SaaS) like Zoom, Dropbox, and LastPass
More and more associations offer monthly auto-renewals for membership dues because their members prefer to pay as they go. Reducing this financial barrier to membership also results in higher retention. “We typically see a 10 point higher renewal rate for members who participate in [automatic renewal programs] compared to those who do not,” said Tony Rossell, senior vice president of Marketing General Inc. (MGI) and coauthor of MGI’s annual Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report.
Don’t worry about people joining to get a member discount to your conference and dropping their membership afterwards. According to an organization interviewed by interviewed by Associations Now, that’s not happening: “If we do see that fall-off, it is usually because there’s a tremendous budget issue with that company.”
Some associations give members the option of adding a small monthly donation to their foundation or scholarship fund. An extra $2 to $3 per month adds up over time.
#2: Dues Installment Plans
Another option for easing budget woes is a quarterly or semi-annual installment or payment plan. Per the MGI report, 25% of associations offer an installment option to members. Among trade associations, the percentage is even higher at 32%.
Upcoming payments gives you a reason to communicate with members, and remind them about the membership value they’ve received and ways to get more out of their membership.
Member assistance programs
With monthly or periodic dues payments, members keep some skin in the game and your revenue streams don’t take a hit. But sometimes, members need even more help.
#3: Temporary Dues Waiver
Many members need a financial break these days. Prior to its annual renewal period, one association we know emailed all its members to offer a temporary dues waiver if they couldn’t afford to pay their dues. No questions asked. Members only had to reply to the email and request the waiver.
The association’s email included the rationale behind this new program: “It has been said many times by many people over the past few months ‘we are all in this together.’ The greatest way for us to demonstrate togetherness is by living our mission statement and helping our members succeed.”
Your association could accept waiver requests on the honor system or develop an application and criteria.
#4: Extended Grace or Membership Period
Members may just need a little additional time to pay dues. Some associations are extending their grace period to 90 days so struggling members don’t lose their benefits. During the early months of the pandemic, ASAE extended their membership year by a few months for everyone.
#5: Special Membership Tiers
Many associations already offer discounted membership tiers to early-career professionals and/or students. These memberships are sometimes restricted to specific online benefits. Another option is to offer an early-career membership package that includes a limited number of credits for introductory online education and certificate programs, career resources, and virtual networking meetups.
This is a good time to launch a discounted membership tier for members in transition, i.e., those in between jobs. Make sure you remind these members about helpful association resources, such as career education, networking groups, and job boards.
#6: Dues Benefactors or Sponsors
Another approach is to find a corporate partner (sponsor) who is willing to underwrite dues for members in transition or for another needy group, such as young professionals or students.
#7: Volunteer Work Credit Program
Offer members in transition a barter deal: they get credit toward next year’s dues in exchange for volunteer hours. Stipulate that these hours must be spent on new volunteer projects, not on what they’re already doing.
Decisions to Make About Member Dues Assistance Programs
Publicized or not? Will you widely promote these programs or offer them only when asked? Will you offer them automatically to non-renewing members? Keep in mind the goodwill you’ll generate if you do publicize them.
Who qualifies? Are new members eligible for these programs, or renewing members only?
Chapters too? Will chapter dues be part of the program? If members pay dues separately to chapters or if a portion of dues goes to chapters, how will that work? Will you rebate chapters for waived or discounted dues?
How will you get the word out? Highlight these programs on your member portal and in your newsletters, especially during the annual renewal period if you’re on a calendar membership year.
Member contact info? With so many people working from home—or in between jobs—make sure you have updated contact information for all members. Encourage them to go to your member portal and update their profile with their home mailing address and a second email address in case their primary email address stops working, i.e., if they’re laid off.
Invoices and payments? If you don’t already email dues invoices, now’s the time to make that switch. You’ll ensure the member receives the invoice no matter where they’re located, plus emailing is much less expensive and time-consuming. And, of course, giving members the option to renew and pay dues online is an absolute must these days.
Before you send out renewal invoices, share reminders about the many ways you’re providing assistance to members during the pandemic and economic downturn. Explain how membership and community are indispensable in times like this.
Helping your members get through tough times will pay off in the long-term with positive word-of-mouth marketing and increased member loyalty.
Request a demo of our flexible AMS to see how we can help with your membership needs.