Opening General Session: What Are Those Membership Dues for Anyway? Associations as a Platform for Member Value.

For many membership organizations, the old offer to members was clear: you give us dues, and we provide a newsletter, advocacy and lobbying, an annual meeting and conference, and someone to speak in public on your behalf. Every one of those functions, though, is being transformed by an altered media landscape; people can use the internet to find one
another, communicate, and collaborate on their own. They can speak out in public, singly or in groups. They can raise and spend money by themselves. The old ‘dues for services’ bargain is not enough. This session will suggest new strategies for running your association with members rather than merely for them, becoming a platform where the membership can create value directly for each other.