Volunteers are the lifeblood of associations and membership organizations. They allow these organizations to achieve far more than they could if they relied on paid staff alone, bringing new energy and expertise, providing credibility to educational and certification programs as field experts, actively recruiting new members, and filling essential governance roles. Yet little has been known about these volunteers until now. The Decision to Volunteer presents the most extensive survey data to date to explain who volunteers are and why they do what they do. This book examines the volunteering behaviors of association members, answering questions such as
<li>Where do they perform their community volunteering? </li>
<li>Where do they perform their professional (association) volunteering? </li>
<li>How were they recruited and what do they do? </li>
<li>What motivates them to volunteer? </li>
<li>If they don t volunteer, why not? </li>
<li>What would motivate them to volunteer in the future?</li>
 In addition to several key findings about volunteers based on data from more than 26,000 respondents, this book presents recommended approaches to getting to know your own volunteers and practical suggestions for applying the information to create mutually satisfying volunteer relationships.

The Decision to Volunteer: Why People Give Their Time and How You Can Engage Them

Monica Dignam

Beth Gazley

Association Management Press

How individuals determine value is a deciding factor on whether they choose to join an organization. Yet, the extent to which members are engaged depends on their sense of belonging to a community--and the association's ability to consistently deliver value through the membership experience.
10 Lessons for Cultivating Member Commitment: Critical Strategies for Fostering Value, Involvement, and Belonging draws membership-strategy insight from key findings of ASAE research into what factors go into an individual's membership decisions. The critical decision to belong, rather than merely join, happens when that first-year member gets a membership renewal invoice--making the experience the individual has during year one critical. Using data from more than 16,000 individuals' responses, this book shares the overall perceptions of the value associations provide, the environmental conditions that most affect members' expectations, the benefit of clear and compelling membership benefits listings, and more. Most importantly, it identifies the key lessons that are essential to membership-development strategy.
Leverage each staff and volunteer position within the organization to help get members to respond 'yes' to their next renewal notice. Motivate board members to customize their efforts cultivating committed members according to what those particular audiences perceive to be important, particularly when appearing to younger generations. Break down silos so that all program managers and committee leaders--and not just member services--are involved in delivering results. And, enlist your CEO to be a daily champion for membership retention efforts. This book is a must-have for any association leader looking to better understand what influences someone's loyalty after joining an organization.

10 Lessons for Cultivating Member Commitment: Critical Strategies for Fostering Value, Involvement, and Belonging

James Dalton

ASAE Association Management Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Monica Dignam. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Monica Dignam

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Monica Dignam. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Decision to Volunteer: Why People Give Their Time and How You Can Engage Them

10 Lessons for Cultivating Member Commitment: Critical Strategies for Fostering Value, Involvement, and Belonging