Data from this year’s W.A.C.E. Annual Membership Retention Survey shows that local chambers are holding steady with an average member cancellation rate of 15%—only one percentage point up from last year. The biggest difference came in looking at the number of chambers that saw an increase in membership over the year.
According to the data submitted by 168 chambers, only 51% of chambers reported an increase in membership. This marks the lowest percentage of chambers with a membership increase in more than five years and a drop of nine points from last year’s mark of 60%.
Retention by Chamber Size
When filtering the data by chamber size, the cancellation rates were basically the same whether the chamber had fewer than 500 members, between 500 and 999 members, or 1,000 or more members. Both the small and mid-sized chambers had a 15% cancellation rate, while the larger chambers had a 16% cancellation rate.
Looking at some of the other data based on chamber size, chambers with fewer than 500 members reported an average annual revenue of $331,598 with an average of $119,727 in membership income. This equates to roughly 36% of the annual revenue coming from membership dues. The average overall revenue per member is $942, while the average membership dues revenue per member is $336.
Among chambers with between 500 and 999 members, the reported average annual revenue was $828,311 with an average of $288,927 income from membership dues. This breaks down to 35% of the total revenue coming from membership dues. The average overall revenue per member is $1,111 while the average membership dues revenue per member is $421.
Chambers with 1,000 or more members reported an average total revenue of $1,552,678 with an average of $740,943 in membership dues income. The percentage of income from membership dues equates to 48%. The average overall revenue per member is $1,697 while the average membership dues revenue per member is $501.
Base Dues Level
Entry-level membership dues were up across the board, whether it was employee-based or a tiered dues structure. The average entry-level, employee-based dues for all chambers is $299 while the average entry-level membership dues for a tiered structure was $371.
To view the full membership retention report, visit the members-only page at www.waceonline.com.