Association collaborations can take many forms, including joint memberships and partnerships. Another type of arrangement—reciprocal memberships—typically involve a dues discount that allows members of one society to join the other at a reduced rate.

The Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), which has agreements with two national organizations and 16 international societies, is no stranger to reciprocal memberships.

“Reciprocal memberships allow organizations to engage with societies doing similar work,” said Richard O. Moore, SIAM’s director of programs and services. “There’s a business argument and a mission argument for forming these arrangements.”

Not only do reciprocal agreements help associations grow membership by giving them access to new prospects, but they also allow the groups involved to develop relationships that benefit them and the industry or profession they represent.

Business Benefits of Reciprocal Agreements

According to Moore, as SIAM expanded beyond the U.S., it became advantageous to form reciprocal agreements to generate awareness of the association among similar international societies.

 “As we spread awareness, we hope that these agreements lead to increases in membership for both societies, and that’s proved largely to be true,” Moore said.

Reciprocal arrangements can help organizations grow their revenue streams by recruiting new members. These are also opportunities to spread the word about what the organization offers in terms of member benefits.

SIAM’s reciprocal agreement stipulates that each society must offer a 30 percent discount to members of the other organization. This eases the financial burden for members interested in joining both organizations, which can help improve recruitment efforts.

“These reciprocal memberships give us a strong recruitment argument whenever we hold conferences outside of the U.S.,” Moore said. “We let prospects know that we have reciprocal agreements with the society in their country and that will give them a discount on our membership. It lowers the barrier for entry.”

However, it’s also important for associations to recognize that not every similar organization will be a good fit for a reciprocal arrangement.

“If the other organization is too similar, you may be in a position where you’re just offering a discount to people who are probably already members of both societies,” Moore said. “That partnership wouldn’t make financial sense.”

Forward the Mission

In addition to a dues discount, SIAM’s reciprocal membership agreements typically include mutual promotion. Both organizations agree to an exchange of information and communications to members—through membership lists, ads in newsletters, or something similar—to promote reciprocity.

This promotion not only lets people learn more about SIAM and its member benefits but also builds global awareness about the discipline the organization represents.

“While the U.S. is a leader in the development of applied math as a discipline, it’s taken longer for this field to come into its own outside of the country,” Moore said. “Our mission is to advance the discipline of applied mathematics, and we can do that by forming reciprocal agreements with international organizations.”

In addition, making mutual promotion a part of a reciprocal agreement can give both organizations the chance to forward the industries they serve and support societies with similar priorities.

“Reciprocal agreements are all about developing partnerships with like-minded organizations,” said Paula White, SIAM’s membership manager. “That means you need to be willing to match one another, so when the time comes and a partner organization wants to email our members promoting their membership, we’re willing to do it. It generates good will among all your partners.”

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