---
title: "Data: Top Membership Challenges in 2019"
id: "8759"
type: "post"
slug: "data-top-membership-challenges-in-2019"
published_at: "2019-09-20T00:00:00+00:00"
modified_at: "2019-09-20T00:00:00+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/09/20/data-top-membership-challenges-in-2019/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/09/20/data-top-membership-challenges-in-2019.md"
excerpt: "It’s a question that almost every association executive has heard before: What’s keeping you up at night? As it turns out, the answer is membership. In a GrowthZone survey of more than 500 association professionals, more than half of respondents—57..."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Membership"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "ASAEcenter"
  - "Aspiring Leader"
  - "job recruitment"
  - "Member Engagement"
  - "Membership"
  - "Membership Recruitment & Retention"
  - "Mid-Level Professional"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "Executive Team"
  - "VP"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » Data: Top Membership Challenges in 2019

It’s a question that almost every association executive has heard before: What’s keeping you up at night?

As it turns out, the answer is membership. In a GrowthZone survey of more than 500 association professionals, more than half of respondents—57 percent—said that member engagement or recruiting and retaining members ranked as their top challenge this year.

**What is your biggest challenge in 2019?**

Funding

12%

Attracting Younger Members

12%

Communicating Value Proposition

18%

Recruiting and Retaining Members

28%

Member Engagement

29%

**Source:** *2019 Association Report, [GrowthZone (opens in a new tab)](https://www.independent-innkeeping.org/assets/IndustryNews/2019%20Association%20Report%20-%20Growth%20Zone.pdf)
, January 2019*

[This article was originally published in the *Associations Now* print edition, titled “Membership Challenges Ahead.”]

Tags: [#Aspiring Leader](https://associationsnow.com/tag/aspiring-leader/)
 [#job recruitment](https://associationsnow.com/tag/job-recruitment/)
 [#Member Engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-engagement/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)
 [#Membership Recruitment & Retention](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership-recruitment-retention/)
 [#Mid-Level Professional](https://associationsnow.com/tag/mid-level-professional/)

**Stay Informed**

[Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/)
, *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day.

## You Might Like

- [VideoTerin Bates, MBA, CAE, CX-PRO, Shares Her Experience at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/terin-bates-mba-cae-cx-pro-shares-her-experience-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/)
- [VideoThe Adaptive Leader: Integrating Values and Strategy to Thrive Under New LeadershipDecember 15, 2025](https://associationsnow.com/2025/12/15/the-adaptive-leader-integrating-values-and-strategy-to-thrive-under-new-leadership/)
- [ArticleGrowth Isn’t Enough: Five Signs Your Community Has an Engagement ProblemSeptember 30, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/30/growth-isnt-enough-five-signs-your-community-has-an-engagement-problem/)
- [ArticleMost Component Membership Losses Begin With a Change of AddressSeptember 14, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/14/most-component-membership-losses-begin-with-a-change-of-address/)

## Comments

**Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/)

[Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2019%2F09%2F20%2Fdata-top-membership-challenges-in-2019%2F%23comments)
 to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/)
!