Keeping your supporters’ best interests in mind, decide on a structure and strategy for membership. Determine the end goal of your program and let that shape how you interact with your members—are they more likely to be donors, consumers or advocates?

Members as donors: This is the most common type of membership program, where members pay a fee to gain status, benefits and the satisfaction of knowing they’re supporting something good.

Members as consumers: This model has less to do with fundraising and more to do with community-building. The hope is that low fees will allow people to reap the benefits of your services, and, in the process, you can build a strong network of supporters.

Members as advocates: To most nonprofit advocacy groups, growing their cause is a larger priority than fundraising. This type of program relies on a more abstract exchange of benefits, where members offer up their skills and voices and the organization provides a formal way for them to use them.