Membership Hack: Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits’ Two-for-New Deal

How to hack it? Jennifer Blair, membership director at the Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, excites prospective members with a special “two-for-new membership” deal. This summer, she launched a membership recruitment campaign that offers new members access to two free webinars. “Summer can be a slow period for membership,” Blair says. “We took this campaign as a way to give people a reason to join.” Typically, Alliance members pay $29 to access the organization’s “Get More Grants” webinar series, which includes trainings on grant writing, research, and prospecting. Just a few weeks in, the Alliance is seeing a healthy uptick in membership acquisition.

Why does it work? Webinars provide practical value to both members and nonmembers and so were a natural choice for a membership offer. Similar tactics have worked in the past as well: Most recently, the Alliance discounted membership during a “March Madness” campaign.

What’s the bonus? Webinars are a significant source of nondues revenue for the Alliance, and the new-member savings of $58 comes at little cost to the organization. “It’s a win-win. We offer members something that they need, and it doesn’t eat into our revenue at all,” Blair says.

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