I have been in association management for 40 years. In that time, I have watched membership models evolve, technology reshape communications, a global pandemic disrupt nearly every assumption we held about how organizations function — and through all of it, one thing has remained constant: associations and medical societies endure because they serve a need that no app, no platform, and no algorithm has yet replaced. People need their professional community.
The data right now backs that up in ways that should give every association and medical society executive reason for genuine optimism.
Membership Is Rebounding — and Engagement Is Up
After a difficult contraction period in 2021 and 2022, associations have experienced a meaningful recovery. According to the MGI 2024 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report, 62% of associations reported increases in in-person conference attendance — up from 58% in 2023 and just 26% in 2022. Professional development registrations rose similarly, with 53% of associations reporting increases, up from 44% the year prior.
The Naylor/Association Adviser 2025 Association Benchmarking Report, now in its 14th year, found that associations are engaging with their members an average of 30.4 times per month — four more touchpoints than in 2024 — and that live events remain the top engagement tool across the board.
For medical societies in particular, this is significant. Physicians and other healthcare professionals are among the most time-pressured professionals in the country. When they show up — for annual meetings, advocacy days, CME programs — they are telling us something. They find value in being part of something larger than their individual practice.
Community Is the Product
Perhaps the most important finding across recent industry research is this: associations and medical societies that invest in genuine community — real peer connection, meaningful programs, and experiences that matter — are outperforming those that treat membership as a transactional exchange.
The MGI 2025 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report found that 54% of associations reported heightened member engagement and 45% saw improved retention rates, compared to just 31% the prior year. Research consistently shows that more than half of members join specifically to expand their professional network. They do not stay for the newsletter or the membership directory. They stay because they belong somewhere.
Association Headquarters reinforced this at its 2025 Leadership Forum, where leaders across industries — from healthcare to manufacturing — arrived at the same conclusion: today’s members want more than benefits. They want connection, clarity, and value they can act on.
Harrison Coerver and Mary Byers, authors of the widely read Race for Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for Associations, have long argued this point. Their 10th anniversary edition, updated for the post-pandemic world, underscores that the associations best positioned for long-term success are those that have moved from being “everything to everyone” to delivering focused, high-value experiences to a clearly defined membership. That shift — toward depth over breadth — is exactly what the current membership data is rewarding.
The Field Is Getting Younger and More Confident
One of the most encouraging long-term signals is generational. Millennials now make up 25% of association memberships, up from 21% in 2020, according to MGI. At the same time, association executives are significantly more confident: 67% now express optimism about their organizations’ growth and sustainability, up from just 24% in 2023.
That is not a minor shift. That is a field that has been through something difficult and chosen to move forward with clarity about what it offers and why it matters.
What the Research Tells Us After 40 Years
None of this surprises me. The fundamentals of this work have not changed in four decades. Associations and medical societies exist to advance a profession, protect its members, and build the community that sustains it. When they do those things well — when the mission is understood, the advocacy is real, the communication is clear and timely, and the annual meeting is worth traveling for because I will come away better at what I do — people renew, and they bring colleagues with them.
By Kathleen Whalen Van De Loo
President & CEO
Association Development Group, Inc
ADG Communications
Cadeau Nonprofit Management, ADG Buffalo Office
adgcommunications.com
Sources
Marketing General Incorporated (MGI). 2024 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. marketinggeneral.com
Marketing General Incorporated (MGI). 2025 Membership Marketing Benchmarking Report. marketinggeneral.com
Naylor Association Solutions / Association Adviser. 2025 Association Benchmarking Report. naylor.com
Sequence Consulting. “Association Industry Trends for 2025: A Bright Future Ahead.” sequenceconsulting.com
Association Headquarters. “Member Engagement Strategies: Lessons from the AH Leadership Forum.” August 2025. associationheadquarters.com
Coerver, Harrison, and Mary Byers, CAE. Race for Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for Associations, 10th Anniversary Edition. ASAE Management Press.
Vaughan, Chris. “The Membership Model Is Breaking Down — Here’s How Associations Can Rebuild It.” ASAE Center, November 2025. asaecenter.org