Community is in the DNA of every association. After all, their very existence was sparked by a shared interest, passion, purpose, or mission. Some associations are nurturing this community dimension, while others have lost the notion of community as part of their central philosophy and core business.
When associations do the latter, they may create only one-way communications and interactions with their members. As a result, their members become passive consumers of information, and outside an annual conference, the community exists as an email list with little or no interaction among members. Not suprising, this leads to uninvolved members, who might end up leaving after a while for more engaging opportunities.
To avoid this, now is the time for organizations to embrace a community approach in order to maintain relevancy, develop deeper member relationships, and achieve greater impact.
Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE's Center for Association Leadership.