Promotion, Recruitment and Retention of Members in Nonprofit Organizations

Cecilia Isabel Calderón Valencia, Judith Cavazos-Arroyo, Alfonso López-Lira Arjona

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781839826603
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

Although research on the value of membership of Nonprofit Organizations (NPOs) is increasing, there remain few theoretical and empirical advances in this area. Addressing this gap, this book offers a fresh perspective, exploring how NPOs' survival is linked to the promotion, recruitment and retention of members.
Highlighting the critical role of NPO members in creating value in the pursuit of its missions, this book demonstrates how NPOs must promote active participation and empowerment of its members to facilitate fund raising, financial administration, and the pursuit of alliances. Providing a road map for improvement in recruiting and retention processes, the authors also showcase the development of strategies to motivate potential members and donors, and the part played by the commitment of the board in the achievement of the NPO's social mission.
In today's global world, this book is insightful reading for those interested in using coordinated action to navigate adverse scenarios. Written primarily for NPO managers who aim to proactively engage their members in the creation of social value, it is also a valuable resource for researchers interested in the underlying foundations of NPO membership.

Chapter 1

The Nature of Membership in Nonprofit Organizations

1.1. Introduction

This book is proposed with the intention of going beyond the discussion of the scopes and boundaries of nonprofit organizations (NPOs) (Defourny, Grønbjerg, Meijs, Nyssens, & Yamauchi, 2016; Salamon & Sokolowski, 2016). The ways in which a nonprofit institution is conceptualized and how it differs from other types of social institutions are very important to progress in the field. However, from our vision, it is more relevant to clarify that, regardless of the type of NPO to which it refers, its members act and create value to achieve the mission pursued; therefore, members are the central theme of the analysis proposed in this work.

Although there are many organizational and legal structures considered NPOs (voluntary associations or membership associations (MAS), volunteering agencies and foundations), all of them have in common that they all seek a social benefit (e.g., welfare of vulnerable groups or unprotected people) and do not pursue profits, tangible benefits or extraordinary gains. Understanding the nature of membership in NPOs requires considering the perspectives of different disciplines and fields of research such as psychology, management and sociology, among others. The motivation to join an NPO or the incentives offered by the organization to attract potential members to participate define the permanence of the members over time. Therefore, being included as a member in an NPO can help to develop social self-identity, reinforcing the desire to belong, that is, the identity of being accepted in the group and incentivize uniqueness, represented by the value of the particular attributes that a member can offer to the organization.

The studies of NPO membership have traditionally been characterized by understanding what motivates members to participate in different activities, such as volunteers, members of the board, donators, managers, employees and other non-traditional members. Many NPOs have been under increasing pressure to achieve their objectives; thus, they need to use the potential of the creative power of collaboration since it is key aspect of their nature. The development of intra-organizational, inter-organizational or sectoral collaboration processes requires the interest, attention and willingness of the members involved. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of the NPOs and the carefulness that members deserve.

1.2. Inclusion and Membership

Inclusion is a critical aspect of membership, because individuals require affiliation and to feel connected, valued and trusted (Cottrill, Lopez, & Hoffman, 2014); thus, they need to belong to groups that have higher perceived social identities (Cottrill et al., 2014). At an individual level, inclusion can be understood as

the degree to which individuals feel a part of critical organizational processes, such as access to information, connectedness to co-workers and ability to participate in and influence the decision-making processes. (Mor Barak, 2011, p. 7)

Inclusion implies psychological processes that affect the motivation and behavior of the members (Mor Barak, 2011), since their valuable unique characteristics and their participation in the fulfillment of the tasks and mission of the organization are encouraged. Therefore, organizations need to create a comfortable atmosphere for members to share their true identities (Nishii, 2013). From distinctiveness theory and social identity theory, membership implies belonging and uniqueness in a sociotechnical system. Therefore, formal leadership positions are essential to create inclusion since group members form perceptions according to the treatment that they receive in the organization (Randel et al., 2018). In particular, belongingness and uniqueness are considered critical components of inclusion (Chung et al., 2019). In this sense, Shore et al. (2011) defined inclusion as “the degree to which individuals experience treatment from the group that satisfies their need for belongingness and uniqueness” (p. 1265). Similarly, Chung et al. (2019) developed a work group inclusion scale and found the same components: belongingness and uniqueness. Below, we briefly explain both concepts.

1.2.1. Belongingness

The sense of belonging is a core aspect of human existence (Malone, Pillow, & Osman, 2012). Belongingness implies the motivation to be and feel accepted by others (Leary, Kelly, Cottrell, & Schreindorfer, 2013) – a subjective sense of being a part of that prevents feelings of loneliness and alienation (Kohut, 1984; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2014). To belong contributes to building and maintaining strong ties, relationships and positive interactions in a stable group; belongingness has two subcomponents: group membership and group affection (Chung et al., 2019).

Previous works have contributed to the topic in different fields (Lee & Robbins, 1995; Patton, Connor, & Scott, 1982). For instance, Lee and Robbins (1995) proposed three factors for belongingness: companionship involving one-on-one contact, affiliation with small groups and connectedness to a grander social context. Hagerty and Patusky (1995) included social connectedness and social assurance; however, Malone et al. (2012) identified two dimensions: Acceptance/Inclusion and Rejection/Exclusion. Chung et al. (2019) found that belongingness has two subcomponents: group membership and group affection.

Members who feel and perceive that they are included and connected to their social groups seek acceptance, attribute positive traits to other members and use them to develop loyalty, cooperation and trust among themselves (Brewer, 2007; Shore et al., 2011). Thus, belongingness can generate high quality relations with group members, satisfaction and the intention to stay and better perform (Shore et al., 2011).

1.2.2. Uniqueness

This component is based on the need to see oneself as a unique and differentiated human being (Snyder & Fromkin, 1980) and to maintain a distinctive self-concept (Shore et al., 2011). It has been identified that people who show a favorable self-assessment are more likely to be attracted to and collaborate with an organization (Turban & Keon, 1993). Members of an organization expect their unique characteristics to be valued and required for the group and the organization (Shore et al., 2011), while at the same time, members recognize their unique personal and social features reflected in the other group members (Swann, Jetten, Gómez, Whitehouse, & Bastian, 2012). In this sense, a member expects to be valued for his or her unique and different attributes but also for his or her contributions and performance (Shore et al., 2011).

From uniqueness theory, it is recommended that members maintain a sense of moderate self-distinctiveness (Snyder & Fromkin, 1980), because perceptions of either extreme similarity or extreme dissimilarity to others might be experienced as unpleasant (Lynn & Snyder, 2002). Some benefits of promoting uniqueness in organizational environments are greater social acceptance of interpersonal differences, feeding the emotional satisfaction of the members and producing psychological welfare (Lynn & Snyder, 2002).

Since belongingness and uniqueness are fundamental human needs and are not necessarily mutually exclusive, it has been found that members can simultaneously satisfy both needs through the assumption of a specific role or expressing their individuality within the group (Jansen, Otten, van der Zee, & Jans, 2014) while contributing to the group processes and outcomes (Randel et al., 2018). Moreover, in a culture of inclusion, leaders see and treat others as unique and different (Maltbi & Wasserman, 2007), stimulating vibrant group membership.

1.3. Motivations of NPO Members

What motivates members of NPOs to give their time or resources for the benefit of another person or organization without receiving apparent benefits? The challenge is becoming real, not only for the importance of the theme in times of generalized economic stagnation, the climate changes, the population migration and the ideological differences, among others, but also for the nature of the human being motivated by his or her search for the common good.

The most influential theories tested in social psychology, which are used to explain human behavior in the NPO context, can be classified in two categories, namely, theories focused on (1) beliefs and attitudes (including the theory of reasoned action from Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975 and its extension, planned behavior theory by Ajzen, 1985) and (2) perceptions of control (including self-determination theory by Deci & Ryan, 1985) to outline the theories explained below, see Table 1.1.

In promotion, recruitment and retention, it is important to understand what motivates members’ participation in NPOs, Murray (1964) defined motivation as: “an internally experience – drive emerging from desires, wishes, wants, needs, yearnings, hungers, loves, hates, and fear – that arouses, directs and integrates human behavior” (p. 386). Subsequently, Gorman (2004) states that motivation is an attempt to explain the “why” of behavior. The author stated that certain behaviors provide us with some form of satisfaction or reward that can act as an incentive to engage in such behaviors.

Voluntary membership is seen as a positive feature by society, because an active member of voluntary associations is perceived as useful, compared to other individuals; furthermore, this membership contributes to exercising his/her freedom of choice between different options of NPOs (Jaskyte...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Chapter 1. The Nature of Membership in Nonprofit Organizations
• Chapter 2. Toward Value for Members of Nonprofit Organizations
• Chapter 3. Donor and Member Funds
• Chapter 4. Recruiting and Retaining Members
• Chapter 5. Social Capital from Non-Traditional Partners
• Chapter 6. Sustainable Development and a Perspective to Nonprofit Organizations
• Index