Membership Models

What are some different membership models? Asked almost no one, anywhere. But it could be a very valuable question to ask. As we know, sometimes learning from others can be vital when evaluating what may work for you. (Just think about that childhood memory of you watching your wild cousin touching that hot stove top ... Aren't you glad you didn't try that yourself?) But in all seriousness, when looking at your membership value proposition, engagement, retention, and growth, your metaphorical cousin in membership may know a thing or two, so let's look at a few different models:

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Nonprofit Memberships

Membership and nonprofits are integrally tied together. The first charitable organization is believed to be The Foundling Hospital in London in 1741 and in 1884, one of the oldest international nonprofits, the YMCA, was founded as a place for wholesome recreation and good citizenship for its members.

Today, ​members are donors or advocates drawn together to accomplish a shared mission, purpose or support shared values. In a membership nonprofit, members might have voting rights to appoint the board of directors or change the bylaws. Benefits or services of the organization might be available only to the members, such as access to programs or listing in a membership directory. Some examples of nonprofit membership organizations include cultural nonprofits, advocacy groups, foundations, educational nonprofits, cooperatives, some churches, international charities, clubs and more.

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Subscriptions (aka Members-As-Consumers)

​Small to large businesses use the subscription model as a source of consistent income, increased retention and significantly higher "customer lifetime value". Subscriptions are usually focused either on products (subscription boxes, etc.), experiences (travel, sports, etc.), access (Amazon Prime, Costco) or digital (video, music streaming, etc.)

In the UK, individuals were able to subscribe to milk deliveries as early as the 1860s, while magazine subscriptions began in the late 1800s. But this has become increasingly popular in the last few decades.

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Associations
Trade Associations are organizations founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. They usually focus on networking and collaboration within the industry and often participate in public relations activities such as advertising, education, publishing, lobbying, and political donations. Associations may offer other services, such as producing conferences, holding networking or charitable events, or offering classes or educational materials.

​Examples may include Professional Associations (writing association, engineering association, nursing association, etc.), chambers of commerce, homeowner associations, and fraternity or sororities.​ ​

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Member Center

Regardless of your membership needs, Member Center can help you run your membership or subscription. We are built on HubSpot, a leading customer relationship management system that integrates with countless services to give you one central location where you can track all of your member and potential member engagement.

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