How to Get Lapsed Organization Members to Rejoin

How to Get Lapsed Organization Members to Rejoin

Bryce Sanders, President

Perceptive Business Solutions Inc.

As a financial advisor or insurance agent, you are likely involved in one or more community organizations.? If members pay dues on an annual basis, you will have a segment that is behind in their dues and considered lapsed members.? If you consider members at a nonprofit also as donors, you might be shocked to learn the average donor retention rate is 40-45%. (1)? How can you get your member (donor) retention numbers up?

This is not a new problem.? Many years ago, when I was involved with fundraising for my college, I learned the industry as two acronyms for lapsed donors:

·???????? LYBUNTS – Last Year But Not This Year

·???????? SYBUNTS – Some Years But Not This Year

Let us assume your problem is getting recently lapsed members to renew.

1.????? Alert them their membership has lapsed.? This might seem obvious but think about it.? If the lapsed members get the same newsletters, e-mails and event invitations as paid-up members, they might assume their membership is paid up and in good standing.

2.????? Remind them again and again.? In my opinion, once a month for at least three months is a good frequency.? Why?? Because renewing might not be high on their priority list.? Although your dues are low and property taxes are high, the property tax bill goes into the “Priority” folder and yours gets pushed to the back of the line.

3.????? Give them options for paying.? If your membership price is low, they just might decide “I’ll get this over with now.”? Give them the option of paying online or paying by mail.? This means you have a preaddressed envelope requesting the minimum of information needed.? Ideally, they have the option of paying by credit card, check or online.

4.????? Provide an incentive.? Is your organization planning on raising dues next year? Few people announce that ahead of time!? Perhaps you offer a two-year renewal, where they lock in the lower rate for an extra year.? If they plan on remaining a member and simply forgot, this gives them a reason to act now.

5.????? Publicize an upcoming member event.?? This makes sense if a major event is free or discounted to members.? Let them know they are entitled to free or discounted admission, but they need to signup online or show their current membership card.? Ideally, this gets them checking.

6.????? Include a mention in your newsletter.? Does your newsletter go out to both members and nonmembers?? It has probably transitioned to an online newsletter to reduce costs.? Include a prominent box: “Is it time to renew your membership?”? In addition to prompting lapsed members, some current members will pay up early.

7.????? The personal note.? If one of your organization’s members knows them well, sometimes a personal note does the job.? It helps if it is written on personal notepaper and includes the membership form and a return mail envelope.

8.????? Call them.? You might think telemarketers have poisoned the well for cold calling.? That might be true, but these are warm calls.? They are still carried on your books as members.? (Check with your legal folks re Do Not Call rules) Call and identify yourself as a volunteer with your nonprofit.? Immediately add you are (or have been) one of our members.? You are calling and asking them to renew.? Suggest they visit the organization’s website. (Asking for credit card information over the phone has more negatives than positives.)?? Follow up with an e-mail.? Include a link to the membership page on your website.? A personal, handwritten note is good too.

Some people might think membership should be switched off, much like your hotel room keycard stops working after checkout time.? There is a good case for cultivating lapsed members.? Your college alumni association keeps in touch, regardless of if you are a donor or nondonor.? When election time rolls around, if you are registered with a political party affiliation, you get mail and phone calls regardless of your level of activity.? Sometimes it takes effort to bring lapsed members back home.

(1)?? ?https://kindsight.io/resources/blog/a-guide-to-donor-retention-for-nonprofits/#:~:text=The%20average%20donor%20retention%20rate,do%20the%20same%20next%20year .

Bryce Sanders is president of Perceptive Business Solutions Inc.? He provides HNW client acquisition training for the financial services industry.? His book, “Captivating the Wealthy Investor” is available on Amazon.

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