I heard something this week that piqued my curiosity,“millennials don’t join membership organizations.” This has been a conversation that is coming up more often among associations and membership-driven organizations.
Immediately I started to think about what organizations I belong to because I am (barely) a millennial. And whether you call it a subscription or membership - it’s the same concept, I give you money on a regular basis, you give me something in return. So here goes the list, I am a member of:
My local YMCA
Virginia Economic Developers Association
Amazon Prime
Netflix
Hulu
Sling
Before you start judging, let me just say I pay less for all the TV services combined than I did one year ago from my former provider and I'm still saving money. Which brings me to my next point – VALUE! I like to save money where I can, and I like to get my money’s worth for the things I pay for. I’m sure a lot of other people in my age demographic feel the same. Maybe you value Chambers of Commerce, shopping clubs, civic organizations, food delivery services, churches, gyms, museums, fraternities/sororities, or associations specific to your job. Which makes me believe - the things you value, you don’t mind investing in and if an organization is providing value people want to be involved.
It’s easy to find the value in YPCV because hello – it’s free. Because of our relationship with the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance we can keep our value high, but costs low. There are many ways to find worth within our organization. If you value relationships, we have our monthly 535s. If you value education, we have professional development events. If you value your community, we have volunteer opportunities. We’re all members of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn (take your pick), but at the end of the day, connections and people (actually in-person) are so very important.