Since Wild Apricot’s goal is to help small associations and non-profits build websites, connect with supporters, and grow and manage their membership, we conducted a survey to gain insight into the world of the volunteers and staff of small membership organizations. We believe the survey findings provide a wealth of benchmarking information that can help small organizations see where their group fits within their universe, and offers a “snapshot” of the the small membership organization.

1. Survey Highlights
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

2. Small Membership Insight Survey –
What’s it all about?
Since Wild Apricot’s goal is to help small
associations and non-profits build websites,
connect with supporters, grow and manage their
membership, we wanted to gain more insight
into their world.
We conducted an online own survey to find out
about who manages these organizations day-to-
day, funding sources and much more. We
wanted to know: does size matter and if so, how?
Our survey findings offer insight about small,
volunteer-led organizations, as well as
benchmarking information for the staff and
volunteers of small organizations.
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

3. Who participated in our survey?
Here is a snapshot of our 559 survey respondents:
• 63.7% are (unpaid) volunteers
• More than 40% are in leadership roles (e.g.,
President/Board Chair - 22.7%; Executive
Director -20.4%)
• Just over 50% represented associations
• 82.2% of respondents were based in the
United States, with the remainder mainly from
Canada, the UK and Australia
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

4. What does a typical “small” membership
organization look like?
Based on our survey data, a typical small
membership organization…
• Has fewer than 500 members
• Is volunteer-led
• Is staffed by 1 full or part-time staffer
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

5. Portrait of a small
membership organization
Our survey data suggests a typical small
membership organization…
• Has non-profit status
• Is a stand-alone organization
• Has a local or regional membership reach
• Has an annual budget less than $50,000
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

6. Budgets and funding sources
Here’s a snapshot of the financial status of the
small membership organizations who
participated in our survey:
• Budgets: 61.5% have an annual budget less
than $50,000
• Membership growth patterns: More than
75% reported membership levels stayed the
same or increased 10-50% in the last year
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

7. Budgets and funding sources
• Income sources: 63.5% reported
membership fees as a “critical source” of
income; followed by events (34%),
fundraising (21.8%), and sponsorship /
advertising (17.5%)
• Membership fees: 54.6% had basic
membership fees of $21.00-$99.00
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

8. Top priorities
The three top priorities for small
organizations are:
• Increasing membership
(27.7%)
• Increasing member
engagement (22.1%)
• Demonstrating member
value (15%)
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

9. Reasons members join and
Programs & services offered
Top 3 reasons members join:
• Networking (77.1%)
• Member education/professional
development (71.3%)
• Learning best practices in their
profession/field (43.7%)
Top 3 program & service categories:
• Networking events (66.8%)
• Member education/professional
development (64.9%)
• Information/publications/books
(44.1%)
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

10. Who manages small membership
organizations day-to-day?
• Volunteer only - 53.4%
• Staff only - 23.3%
• Combination of volunteer & staff
- 23.3%
Staffing levels:
• 30% had 1 part-time staff
• 23.4% had 1 full-time staff
• 11% had 2 part-time staff
• 11% had 3-5 part-time staff
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

11. Small membership communications
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

12. Small membership communications
• Top 3 tools for communicating with • Recruitment channels:
existing members: – websites - 92%
– email - 97.3% – word-of-mouth - 89.4%
– websites - 63.2% – email - 65%
– newsletters/magazines - 58.7%
• Social media use:
– 54.5% use social media for member
• Top 3 channels for renewal efforts: communications
– email - 85.4% – Recruitment:
– websites -70% • 50% use Facebook for recruitment
– direct mail - 38.3% • 25% use Twitter
• 19.2% use LinkedIn
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey

13. Want additional insight into small
membership organizations?
You can download the full Small Membership Insights Survey Report here:
http://www.wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey/
For more information, visit
wildapricot.com/membership-insight-survey