03/12/2024

Embrace Community-led Growth to Improve Membership

Here's how this helped one association

One of the fastest-growing trends among organizations today, community-led growth is an approach in which members help plan a strategic initiative for an organization. That can look different depending on the association, from embarking on critical research to advance the profession or co-creating tools and resources to help peers in the field.

Community-led growth occurs organically and authentically because members feel like they have a say, hold key roles, and belong. This can significantly contribute to an association’s success by boosting engagement, member acquisition, and retention.

This trend became central to the Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA), a member-based organization devoted to advancing technology in education. Five years ago, TCEA had about 30,000 members. Today, the organization serves 80,000 members worldwide, a majority of whom are part of TCEA’s vibrant online community. According to recent member surveys, the online community is one of the main reasons that people join TCEA. The connections that members make in the community help them understand that they are not alone, and that they have resources to help them solve challenges and share successes.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE’s Center for Association Leadership.