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Membership Drive

Best practices on chapter membership drives

CUYAHOGA VALLEY: Growing Our Geographic Footprint

SUMMARY: Board members of the chapter attended a session at the ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC) on hosting chapter events based on the geographical footprint of ATD members in the chapter’s market. Using the ATD member list by state provided by chapter services, the board identified 20 to 30 national members in Stark County and surrounding areas who were not chapter members. The chapter reached out to the ATD national members and found there was interest in creating a geographic interest group (GIG) to hold quarterly professional development workshops. The chapter also reached out via email and LinkedIn to individuals who are ATD national-only members and offered to facilitate a meeting on the benefits of both chapter and ATD membership, power membership. Through this initiative, the chapter gained seven new power members within one month of the first meeting, increasing the chapter’s total membership by 13 percent.

YEAR: 2020

PUGET SOUND CHAPTER: State Meetup at ATD 2018’s Ice Cream Social

SUMMARY: To engage with local talent development professionals, foster networking, and increase the number of ATD members involved in the Puget Sound Chapter, the chapter leaders decided to host a state-wide meetup during the ATD International Conference & Exposition. There were no costs associated with the event, as the chapter capitalized on having the meetup during the conference’s ice cream social. Many attendees were not local chapter members, leading to a surge in new members in addition to identifying a need for a Geographic Interest Group (GIG) on the east side of the state.

YEAR: 2018

SACRAMENTO CHAPTER: Inclusion Initiative

SUMMARY: The Sacramento Chapter strived to connect veterans with talent development professionals, and provide networking opportunities to better serve the community. The veteran’s initiative includes a special pricing structure to attract individuals who specifically have a training background and can benefit from chapter membership and involvement. Another purpose of this initiative is to help new veterans who are in the process of transitioning into civilian life. The chapter has received positive feedback, high satisfaction levels, and more inquiries about membership. The chapter even had a 10-person group join the chapter through the initiative.

YEAR: 2017

CENTRAL INDIANA CHAPTER: Best Places to Work Initiative

SUMMARY: The chapter acquired the list of companies who were selected for “Best Places to Work” in the area and compiled a list of 70 contacts, one from each workplace. The chapter president drafted handwritten notes inviting the contacts to attend a monthly program for free. A special promo code for Wild Apricot was provided, which allowed the chapter to capture additional contact information. The notes were mailed out along with two business cards, a chapter business card and personal business card. The personal business card created a connection with the chapter president.

YEAR: 2017

SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER: Membership Strategy

SUMMARY: The chapter aimed to increase membership by 20 percent, an end goal of 250 active members. The chapter designed a high-touch outreach strategy to connect with new and renewing, and lapsed members. The strategy involved a combination of emails and phone calls that ensured a board member connected with the member. As a result, the number of chapter members from July 2015 to June 2016, increased from 211 to 255. The personal contact created new connections and goodwill that encouraged engagement with the chapter and increased program attendance. Finally, this campaign also promoted Power Membership, which increased to 40 percent during this term.

YEAR: 2016

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN CHAPTER: Spring Membership Drive and Networking Event

SUMMARY:The chapter used an ATD state member list to target the 70 non-chapter members in the area. A newly designed membership brochure, including an invitation to a networking event, a free drink ticket and free appetizers was mailed to potential members. Those who attended received prizes and half priced chapter membership if they joined that night. Twenty-five people attended the event and the chapter gained five new members.

YEAR: 2015

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA CHAPTER: Public Relations and Membership Drive

SUMMARY: The Southwest Florida Chapter chose to act as a sponsor of the Human Resources Tri-County Conference with the intention of introducing attendees to their local ATD chapter and to promote membership. The chapter utilized ATD marketing materials, promoted a special membership offering, and offered prizes for giveaways. The chapter not only recruited new chapter members but increased its prospective member list and its reach in the local community.

YEAR: 2013

CHICAGOLAND CHAPTER: Membership Drive

SUMMARY: The Chicagoland Chapter successfully implemented a 1Q membership drive that increased new members by 19 percent year over year for 1Q. The membership drive incentivized new members with the chance to win free registration to a national ATD education program. The chapter also waived their new member processing fee. The membership drive was promoted through social media sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook) along with a direct email campaign.

YEAR: 2012

GREATER ATLANTA CHAPTER: Membership Renewals Telephone Drive

SUMMARY: To encourage non-members to join the Greater Atlanta chapter, in January 2009 the chapter kicked-off a membership discount program. When a non-ASTD Atlanta member attends a SIG/GIG event and pays the $20 attendance fee then they have to opportunity for the next 10 business days to join the local chapter for the discounted price of $90.

YEAR: 2009

NEW ORLEANS CHAPTER: Membership Drive

SUMMARY: The New Orleans Chapter's board was committed to increasing the membership. They implemented a program where each national ASTD member that attended their monthly meeting was entered into a drawing for a 1 year membership.

YEAR: 2008

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER: Membership Drive

SUMMARY: The Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter’s vice president of marketing divided a list of national members in the area, and board officers invited them to a free networking event. The chapter offered a reduced membership fee ($10 off the regular fee) if the person joined the chapter the evening of the networking event and a reduced fee ($10 off the regular renewal fee) to renew chapter membership.

YEAR: 2007

PUGET SOUND CHAPTER: Membership Drive

SUMMARY: The Puget Sound Chapter held a “Membership Madness” campaign that involved offering discounted memberships to non-members at their “Future of Training Conference” and at a chapter meeting, at which they had a “Bring a Guest” promotion.

YEAR: 2006

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