Member Retention and Donations in Nonprofit Service Organizations: The Balance Between Peer and Organizational Identification

Prior research has established that it is valuable for members to have strong organizational identification with nonprofit service organizations. However, research has not examined whether and how members are influenced by other members of a nonprofit. This paper analyzes how peer identification influences member retention and donations using survey data and actual member behavior. It distinguishes identification with the organization from identification with peers. The theory-based econometric model shows that the effect of a member’s peer and organizational identification on the likelihood of he/she will remain a member depends on the member’s relationship stage. Organizational identification has a large effect on member retention in the earlier periods of membership. However, for members of eight years or more, the favorable effect of peer identification becomes larger. Results also show that peer identification has a negative impact on donations whereas organizational identification has a positive effect regardless of stage of the member-nonprofit relationship. This paper also introduces a new construct, peer identity overlap, which influences peer identification. The article discusses how nonprofit service organizations can foster support and affirmation among members, value alignment among members, peer identity overlap, and organizational identification, as well as manage different stages of the relationship.

Testing the effectiveness of a gym orientation program

The study was set at a commercial Fitness Center facility based in Dubai, UAE, and aimed to test the effectiveness of a Gym Orientation Program designed to help new members with little-to-no training experience acclimatize to the facility and to fitness training. The practical end of all orientation programs is to ameliorate Member Retention; the purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the Gym Orientation Program supported member retention via its impact on intermediary perceptual constructs. A longitudinal design was used to collect data at three distinct points in the customer journey, on-boarding, completion of the Gym Orientation Program, and at Membership Renewal, one year after joining. Questionnaire instruments were adapted from studies on Student Retention in Higher Education. Multivariate analysis of covariance and multiple regression were used to determine whether Gym Members who participated in the Gym Orientation Program differed significantly from those who did not on the basis of institutional and social integration constructs. Multiple Regression was used to assess the impact of the integration metrics on self-reported intent to persist. Results suggest that the Gym Orientation Program promoted significantly increased levels of integration and intent to persist, ultimately leading to increased Member Retention. In terms of practical implications, the findings support the conclusion that it is possible to design and implement effective interventions that explicitly aim to increase the sense of institutional and social belonging in order to increase Member Retention. The study adopts an original, interdisciplinary approach by deploying the methodological paradigm deployed and refined over five decades in the field of student retention scholarship within Higher Education, underlining the conviction that there is much to be gained by adopting an interdisciplinary perspective.

The role of community: CSA member retention

PurposeThe purpose of this paper was to better understand motivations for CSA participation with an emphasis on membership retention. Food-related and community-related motivations for participation were examined.Design/methodology/approachCurrent and former CSA members across Wisconsin completed an online survey. Participants were grouped based on their CSA membership status. The four groups were as follows: Keepers (current members planning to renew their membership with their current farm); Switchers (current members planning to switch their membership to a new farm); Stoppers (current members planning to stop purchasing a CSA share from any farm) and Formers (former CSA members). The groups were compared through ANOVA.FindingsKeepers had stronger community-related motivations, and they had more favorable perceptions about communication with their CSA farm. Food-related motivations were reduced among Stoppers but were similar among Keepers and Switchers.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used online purposive sampling; thus, generalizability of results is limited. Switchers were identified as a distinct group that trends younger and appears more willing to change CSA farms but is committed to CSA because of food-related motivations.Practical implicationsInvestment by CSA farmers in community building may improve member retention. They may achieve this, in part, through communication with members that taps into factors related to community, such as offering support and making emotional connections. Offering exemplary product is broadly important to keep individuals committed to CSA, but it does not uniquely keep individuals invested in a particular CSA farm the way community-related motivations may.Originality/valueThis is the first analysis to highlight differences between individuals who plan to renew their membership with their current CSA farm, those who plan to switch CSA farms and those who plan to stop purchasing CSA.