Nonprofit membership should have benefits that accompany it. Sometimes the financial commitment that purchases an initial membership will grant the member access to additional materials or media related to the nonprofit’s mission. Though the benefit cannot be of any significant monetary value, it certainly can and should be interesting. If it is, it can be a strong pull for new members to join.
Another benefit of membership might be the opportunity to be polled for member opinions regarding issues of importance for the nonprofit organization. Some organizations allow their members to vote on some member-specific items that come before the board.
A number of NPOs create media materials that are accessible only to members. This might be an annual report or financial summary, or it may be digital or print supplements to complement online material.
Members, like shareholders, should be kept abreast of what the nonprofit is doing. This information sharing most often takes the form of a newsletter that is produced on a monthly or yearly basis. Electronic newsletters can save time, paper, and postage, so are a good method of distributing information. Financial statements, future visions, activities information and the membership of the board are the most common inclusions in donor-member literature.
Keeping this information available to members of an NPO not only keeps the channels of information sharing open, it increases the involvement of the members themselves, as well.
